Weekend Writing Challenge: Ripped from the headlines!

If you’re a publishing news nerd like most of us at WD, this week you’ve undoubtedly heard the chatter about Oprah naming Jonathan Franzen’s epic Freedom as her latest Book Club pick.

Back in 2001, the pages hit the fan when Oprah picked Franzen's The Corrections, and the author made a few remarks about Oprah’s selections, prompting her to revoke his invitation to the show. ("She's picked some good books, but she's picked enough schmaltzy, one-dimensional ones that I cringe, myself, even though I think she's really smart and she's really fighting the good fight.")

Which brings us to our weekend writing prompt—

"Ripped From the Headlines!"
Feel free to take the following prompt home or post a
response (500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring) in the Comments section below. If
you’re having trouble with the
captcha code sticking, e-mail your piece and the prompt to me at
writersdigest@fwmedia.com, with “Promptly” in the subject line, and I’ll
make sure it gets up.

Without using Oprah or Franzen, write a fictional scene about a writer who receives something innumerable authors might kill for—but, for reasons of his own, rejects it.

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Want more writing prompts and exercises? Brian Kiteley has packed more than 200 wildly original ones into his 3 A.M. Epiphany. Check it out here.

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