*storying is not in the dictionary, but it is a verb after my own heart.

For the past 17 years as a college instructor, higher education editor, and creative writing group leader, I have generated and used original writing prompts to help students, clients, and writers approach the blank page with freedom and curiosity.

Most of us write our way to clarity, yet many writers do not know this. Instead,

• We stop writing when the blank white page overcomes us.

• We stop writing when a grammatically incorrect sentence shifts us into editing mode rather than writing mode.

• We wait to write because we have a seed of an idea and don’t know where to begin, so we don’t start at all.

• Or maybe the thought of that bright red pen from high school English or the tactless feedback from a reader keeps us from continuing forward.

But the more we write uninhibited, silencing our inner critic and exploring every thought that comes—even for 10 minutes—the more we see our ideas breathe, resonate, and lift off the page.

Our writing may head down a path we never envisioned, and we may begin to see a story that’s been lurking underneath the surface.

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