The Wardrobe
The only rule here is to throw all writing rules out the window! Look at this with the wondering eyes of a child and let ideas burst forth! 🧚✨⚡ Then, in the words of Louis L’Amour, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” Now, then, for Narnia and for Aslan! *grins and gives you a friendly shove into The Wardrobe*
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5
Random Inspiration for Untold Stories
Each of these images tell me a story…what does it tell you?
Nothing Gold Can Stay Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. - Robert Frost
How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
Henry David Thoreau
Quotes
We all hold secrets like breath.
Rebecca Ross, Sisters of Sword and Song
I believe in the power of stories. I believe that when they hint at a rebuke to the darkness, when they whisper to us that a hero may rise to set things right, they tell the truth. So, in a way, these stories are true.
S. D. Smith
Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a bright star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Fairy tales in childhood are stepping stones throughout life, leading the way through trouble and trial. The value of fairy tales lies not in a brief literary escape from reality, but in the gift of hope that goodness truly is more powerful than evil and that even the darkest reality can lead to a Happily Ever After. Do not take that gift of hope lightly. It has the power to conquer despair in the midst of sorrow, to light the darkness in the valleys of life, to whisper “One more time” in the face of failure. Hope is what gives life to dreams, making the fairy tale the reality.
L. R. Knost
The Green Ember burns; the seed of the New World smolders. Healing is on the horizon, but a fire comes first. Bear the flame.
S. D. Smith, The Green Ember
We all forget from time to time, and so we need each other to tell us our stories. Sometimes a story is the only way back from the darkness.
Andrew Peterson, The Warden and the Wolf King
“There is a writing from one’s suffering that can be more powerful than writing about one’s suffering – art forged in a hidden crucible.”
James K. A. Smith
You should know that the darkness is seldom complete, and even when it is, the pinprick of light is not long in coming – and finer for the great shroud that surrounds it.
Artham, “North! Or Be Eaten” by Andrew Peterson
The Ultimate Story Prompt Board!
MG author Lillian Keith created Pinterest boards for all kinds of genres, characters, and stories, brimming with inspiration! No matter what you’re writing, I promise there’s something just for you!
Still stuck?
Then I’ve got some practical tips and encouragement for you, along with a few fun challenges you can try yourself!
Want a second opinion?
I’ve been There™ before. Struggling with a plot snag, some complicated character backstory, or not knowing where to take a certain scene. If you’re There™ and would love a fresh perspective, I want you to shoot me a message below! Explain your problem, and if you’d like, link or copy and paste the part of the scene that’s being tricksy. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible! I can’t guarantee I’ll solve everything, but I can help you brainstorm ideas. So fire away!
Saraina Whitney 