Today is the second day of February's FLASH WEEK.

• We start with a blank sheet of paper.
• For seven days, we pledge our 10 minutes a day to Flash Week.
• We end with a complete flash fiction story of ~900-1200 words.

This month, we are using Dan Harmon's story circles framework to shape our outlines. If you're not familiar, it's a simple eight-point structure involving a protagonist who descends into the unknown and returns, changed. You, Need, Go, Search, Find, Take, Return, Change.

This is still (always) a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write. But for this special flash fiction week, rather than using standalone exercises for our kickoff prompts, we will carry our work from Day 1 over to Day 2, etc, all the way through Day 7 and THE END.

Today is Day 2 and today we commit to a core idea and entertain possibilities. As usual your anonymish host is writing along. She does some light Googling about one of her "maybes" during her ten minutes -- gotta stay within the time!

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

Today is the start of February's FLASH WEEK.

• We start with a blank sheet of paper.
• For seven days, we pledge our 10 minutes a day to Flash Week.
• We end with a complete flash fiction story of ~900-1200 words.

This month, we are using Dan Harmon's story circles framework to shape our outlines. If you're not familiar, it's a simplified eight-point structure involving a protagonist who descends and returns, changed.

This is still (always) a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write. But for this special flash fiction week, rather than using standalone exercises for our kickoff prompts, we will carry our work from Day 1 over to Day 2, etc, all the way through Day 7 and THE END.

Today is Day 1 and today we brainstorm story seeds. As usual your anonymish host is writing along. She's leaning toward writing a piece for one of the markets she highlights in the ep.

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is focused on dialogue! We're writing a conversation that's really about something else, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. She has to admit that she got her core idea from a Reddit post.

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

Our dialogue exercises this month, with a couple of exceptions, will focus on the mechanics of dialogue writing. The subject of the conversation is less important than the effect of specific mechanistic choices or constraints that we'll be playing with.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

Write a scene where a couple argues about a small issue (who left the porch light on? whose turn is it to cook dinner?). The argument they seem to be having is masking a much bigger conflict (are they going to make rent that month? is someone cheating?).

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is a love story! We're telling an artist how much we love their song, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. She would lay a bet that a third of people will write to Taylor Swift.

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

In the US, we celebrate Valentine's Day in February. This day is usually seen as a celebration of romantic love, but love is a many-splendored thing. We love our parents, we love our pets, we love writing, we love New York. This month we'll be writing about love in all its forms.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

Write fan mail to an artist, real or imagined, who wrote the sender's favorite song. The letter writer should not generally like all the artist's work or the artist themselves, but the song in question changed their life.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is focused on comedy! We're mocking ourselves with imagery, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. She hurt her own feelings a bit, but came out the other side just fine.

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

Gene Perret is a master of classic humor, and in Comedy Writing Step by Step he coaches the reader from a blank sheet of paper all the way to developing a standup routine. We're going to adapt a few exercises from the book this month, and today's exercise is one of them.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

Gene Perret says "not all audiences have a sense of humor about all topics." Take an aspect of yourself that may be sensitive for you or for other people with the same characteristic -- a facial feature, a belief, a funny walk.

Now, brainstorm visual images that exaggerate that characteristic to a comic degree: eyelashes so long they sweep spiderwebs from the ceiling, or a nose so drippy the owner walks around holding a bucket to his chest. If any of your images suggest a complete joke, that's great, but focus on coming up with striking and exaggerated imagery.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is focused on dialogue! We're writing direct and indirect dialogue, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. One of her characters is boring the other, but which one is it?

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

Our dialogue exercises this month, with a couple of exceptions, will focus on the mechanics of dialogue writing. The subject of the conversation is less important than the effect of specific mechanistic choices or constraints that we'll be playing with.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

Write a back-and-forth conversation between two people who are catching up after they haven't seen each other for a while.

One character's part in the conversation should be written entirely as direct dialogue -- verbatim quotes of the words they say.

Use only indirect dialogue for the other character, where the narrator summarizes what they say with no quotes at all.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is a love story! We're showing love without telling, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. This is something she wants to improve in her writing, so she sets herself an extra challenge.

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

In the US, we celebrate Valentine's Day in February. This day is usually seen as a celebration of romantic love, but love is a many-splendored thing. We love our parents, we love our pets, we love writing, we love New York. This month we'll be writing about love in all its forms.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

Write out a quiet moment in a work in progress or a story you know well in which one character shows, through their actions, that they love someone else. Neither the character(s) nor the prose may explicitly state or describe feelings of any kind.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is focused on comedy! We're matching up nouns for fun, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. The Pink Panther is tooooo tempting, she had to cut herself off.

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

Gene Perret is a master of classic humor, and in Comedy Writing Step by Step he coaches the reader from a blank sheet of paper all the way to developing a standup routine. We're going to adapt a few exercises from the book this month, and today's exercise is one of them.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

• Brainstorm a numbered list of nouns, leaning towards specificity when you can. Rather than a lamp, write a Tiffany lamp. Rather than a girl, write Red Riding Hood.
• When you have a list of fifty, close your eyes and pick a random number less than 25. Now, write a joke about that noun, but you must also incorporate a noun of your choosing from the second half of your list.
• Repeat until time is up.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is focused on dialogue! We're moving our dialogue tags around, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. She is newly conscious of how rarely she puts her tags at the beginning of the line.

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

Our dialogue exercises this month, with a couple of exceptions, will focus on the mechanics of dialogue writing. The subject of the conversation is less important than the effect of specific mechanistic choices or constraints that we'll be playing with.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

Write a back-and-forth conversation between two people who are trying to drive in an unfamiliar city. For the first two lines, put the dialog tags at the end of each person's speech:

"You're going the wrong way," she said.

For the next two lines, put the dialog tags at the beginning. For the next two, don't use any dialog tags. Then, put the dialog tags in the middle:

"The problem with traffic circles," he said, "is no one knows how they're supposed to work."

Repeat this cycle -- start, end, none, middle -- as the conversation continues. Notice how the placement of the dialogue tags affects the rhythm of the scene.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

2025 New Year's writing resolution: spend 10 minutes a day getting words on the page.

Today's 10-minute writing exercise is a love story! We're putting ourselves in a doggy headspace, and as usual your anonymish host is writing along. She is a dog owner irl and had a lot of fun with this one.

This is a no-homework podcast! Every episode, we build in ten minutes of time for ourselves to do the assignment, and the assignment is always to write write write.

You can write to our daily writing prompt, but you could also:

• journal
• brainstorm
• write for your work in progress

All that matters is that you do write and you don't cheat and you don't stop writing until the music comes in.

In the US, we celebrate Valentine's Day in February. This day is usually seen as a celebration of romantic love, but love is a many-splendored thing. We love our parents, we love our pets, we love writing, we love New York. This month we'll be writing about love in all its forms.

For today's ten-minute writing exercise:

Write a scene from a dog's point of view in which the dog's favorite person comes home. They can be coming home from a war, or from a trip to the corner store.

Our themes this month are:

• Love in all its forms
• Dialogue
• Comedy Writing Step by Step by Gene Perret

We will also write a complete work of flash fiction together in a week from Feb 17 - Feb 23. No pre-work needed, and as always, zero homework outside of our ten minutes a day. This month we'll use Dan Harmon's story circles method to plan out our stories.