| The following are literary journals being produced by students in Dave Wanczyk’s Fall 2024 Editing and Publishing class at Ohio University. Please peruse and submit! Writing prompts for many of the magazines appear below. |
20 High Afterwards Beyond the Green Cat Chronicles Concinnity Fellowship of the Unmoored Foodstuff Fragile Forms The Gilded Fable The Great Dark Underworld the scoreboard Kindred Late-Night Horror Review Loose Leaf Journal Open Space Zine Screen to Page Trauma Dump Unearth Verity The Wistful Moth 20 High Prompts What if we breathed through our skin? Have you ever done something that wasn’t good for you that turned you out for the better? What if people aren’t real when we leave their area? What music affected you the most in your life and how? What’s that weird thing you know way too much about? Write about a group of smoke people deep in the woods. Write about a social issue or historical moment you believe to be important/ you want to teach about to other people. |
| Afterwards Prompts -Describe a post apocalyptic reality -Tell story that takes place on a distant planet -What will Earth be like in hundreds or even thousands of years? -Take a current large/worldwide problem and expand upon it. What would life be like if that problem was never solved hundreds of years from now? -Tell a story about someone living in the future -What would humanity look like life from an outside perspective? Foodstuff Prompts Creative Writing Example: – Write a story of how you encountered a ghost on your way to make mac and cheese at 4:00am. Non-Fiction Example: -A tale of the foods that you ate when you were younger, how they now remind you of those times. The nostalgia inherent to some foods and what that means to you now. Poem Example: -A poem that could double as a recipe, sprinkled in-between lines concerning the greater intricacies of life. How specific ingredients start as plants in a garden and end in your recipe. Kindred Prompts 1. Describe an unusual tradition your family partakes in. How did it begin? How has it evolved over time? 2. (poem) Create a dating profile for a close friend that you consider family. What are their most endearing qualities? What are their loving “icks”? 3. Is there a specific food/meal that brings your family together? Describe it. What memories does it bring up? Does it hold cultural significance? 4. “To be loved is to be changed.” How has love from your family changed you for the better? 5. Describe the feeling of summer through a child’s eyes. how was it made better alongside family/friends? 6. Interview, or write an interview from the perspective of an elder in your family. what have they endured to get to the present? Beyond the Green Prompts Write about how the color green might represent hope, healing, or rebirth in the face of terminal illness. Tell a story that challenges traditional views on mortality or illness, focusing on unexpected emotions, humor, or the complexity of relationships. Explore different “shades” of green as symbols of life stages, from beginnings to inevitable endings. Reimagine what “healing” means in the context of terminal illness. Late-Night Horror Review Prompts 1. Think about the last truly terrifying horror movie you watched. What cinematic techniques enhanced the terror of that movie? What made it so effective at scaring you personally? 2. When was the last time you felt like you were being watched? Has anything you’ve experienced gave you the feeling of “uncanny valley”? 3. Do you have a favorite horror director or actor? What about them makes you want to see a horror film? 4. Have you experienced something unexplainable, as if it were supernatural? Share that experience. Fellowship of the Unmoored Prompts – Have you ever had a dream or nightmare that felt so real, you still felt it when you woke up? – Is there an aspect of yourself you feel you need to ‘perform’ for others? Or a ‘mask’ you wear in certain settings. What purpose does it serve, and what would it mean for you to set it aside? – What is a fear or insecurity that has haunted you for a long time. Trace its origins and how it has shaped your journey – Describe a day when everything felt out of place. – Describe a moment when you felt like an outsider in your own life. What led you to feel this way, and how did you respond to it? – Write a short story about an actor who spends so much time in character can’t tell where their real personality ends and the role begins. Loose Leaf Mag Prompts 1. Write about a place in nature that you have an emotional connection to. What is it like? Why is it so special to you? 2. What’s a bizarre plant you didn’t know existed? Research it. 3. You’re gardening one day. You run your hands through the soil, and they brush up against something hidden in the dirt. What is it? the scoreboard prompts Uniform and Identity: Reflect on the gear, uniforms, or even hairstyles you’ve adopted for sports. How does your appearance on the field reflect who you are as an athlete and as a woman? Game Changer: Narrate a significant win or personal achievement that felt like a breakthrough. How did it change your perspective on your sport, your abilities, or the recognition of women athletes? The Sound of Victory: Describe the sights, sounds, and feelings of a memorable victory, either personal or as part of a team. What did this moment mean to you beyond the game? How does it reflect the community or sisterhood in women’s sports? Reflect on a time when you witnessed growth, even subtle, during grief or after the loss of a loved one to cancer. Beyond the Green Prompts Write about how the color green might represent hope, healing, or rebirth in the face of terminal illness. Tell a story that challenges traditional views on mortality or illness, focusing on unexpected emotions, humor, or the complexity of relationships. Explore different “shades” of green as symbols of life stages, from beginnings to inevitable endings. Reimagine what “healing” means in the context of terminal illness. Concinnity Prompts • Write about how a stranger that interacted with but never spoke with, inspired you. • Write about connecting your past self with your future self • Write about being a part of the human experience on this planet. How or where do you fit in? • Write about a significant connection or a missed connection and how that affected the path you have taken in life. • Write about three different peoples life evens and how the three ultimately connect with one another. • Use emotions to think about (and write about) how a lost friendship or family connection has affected you. • Write about how your community (or family, or friends) came together during a crisis. • Write about one of the most difficult times in your life and how someone unexpected helped you through it. • Write about an odd (or inspiring) moment you had with a stranger and how it affected you (or how/why it has stayed with you). • Write about how a teacher (or doctor, or mentor, etc.) in your life provided one of the most important lessons in life. • Write about how an unexpected person (or animal/pet) has helped you when you felt most alone. Fragile Forms Prompts What are your experiences with body image? How has your family, culture, or identity impacted your body image? How has your body image changed since you were a kid? How has social media impacted your body image? How has your body image affected your mental health? Describe your journey with body image, is it a positive experience? Is it negative? Has the way you looked influenced the choices you’ve made in your life? Describe what it would be like for someone else to live as you for a day. Is there a pivotal moment when you felt a strong emotion towards your body image? What did that look like? Imagine you could separate yourself from your body, what would you say to it? What do you hate about your body? What do you love about your body? The Wistful Moth Prompts 1. Talk about a time when you wished you could be a child again. 2. Think of a memory so vivid and cherished that you wish you could relive it once more. Tell me about it! 3. Describe a photograph, video, or writing that holds deep nostalgic significance for you. 4. Write about a moment from your past when something changed unexpectedly—something that felt so small at the time but now seems pivotal. 5. Tell me about a time when you felt sad but somehow peaceful. 6. Have you ever lost touch with a family member or friend? Maybe you grew away from them? I’d like to hear about it. 7. Have you ever felt sad even though there “wasn’t a reason to be”? That sounds like something I’d love to read about! 8. Do you miss your childhood pet? Write about that! (Not great) a. What is the craziest thing that your childhood pet has ever done? (Not great) 9. Has there ever been a moment in your life when you’ve felt happy and it seemed more appropriate to be sad, or somber? 10. Tell me about when you revisited a place you frequented as a child but stopped as you got older. What changed? You or something else? The Great Dark Underworld Prompts Prompt 1- What would be a moment in which you would describe that you felt the most vulnerable when having an emotional moment with someone regarding a personal relationship? Prompt 2- Have you ever had an argument with someone, where you and the other person were looking at a situation in fundamentally different ways, and which was never fully resolved, yet affected you in both a positive and negative manner? Prompt 3- How often do you have moments where you are left to stew in your mind about scarring memories and what can you tell us about how you deal with them? Perhaps describe how these felt to you in and out of the moment? Unearth 1. How might compost relate to a relationship in your life? 2. Imagine stepping into a body of water and sinking into the mud below. What is the worst thing that you could experience in this moment? 3. What do you expect to see on a list of items to bring on a camping trip, and what would surprise you the most? Open Space Zine Prompts Write about a first queer date. How did it feel? Just dump your feelings, thoughts and how you felt. Write about your first queer breakup. How did it feel? Write about your first queer experience. How did it feel? Write about the time you came out. If you haven’t come out yet write about how that makes you feel in a society that is everchanging. Echoes of queer people. Set your story in a specific time period where Queerness wasn’t as visible as it is today. Tell the story of two characters who find each other despite the dangerousness among society. Specifically set the story during the time period when the Lavender scare was happening leading into the AIDS crisis (if you want) Write about a character who comes to terms with who they are in a place where they might feel wanted. This setting could take place in a night club, online, etc. The idea of the prompt is that they don’t really come to terms with their sexuality until they see other people celebrating its openness outload. Write a letter to someone that will never be sent. This could possibly include a crush, someone like a parent that didn’t accept you for being queer, the idea is to get these thoughts and feelings out whether you include something like a confession, or an apology is up to you. This could also possibly be a letter to your past self and how you regretted some things. Write about maybe a place you never felt wanted or someplace that has past rejection or shame connected to it. The idea of maybe a loss of youth in a high school is a good one because maybe you grew up in a place that didn’t really accept being queer. Or maybe your home for example. Write about a queer relationship where one of the partners dies? How does the character take this news? Do they turn to some substance? Depression? It can be really open ended. Write a coming out scene between a character and their parents. Maybe the idea is that they’re accepted just as they are, or maybe they aren’t excepted. Write something based off that and take it anywhere. Verity Prompts Write about a time when someone tried to define you by a stereotype. How did you respond or redefine yourself? Describe a moment when you felt like you were on the outside looking in. What did you see from that perspective, and how did it shape you? Explore the legacy you’ve inherited from your family, community, or culture. How does it influence your identity and decisions today? Describe what “home” means to you—whether it’s a place, a person, or an internal feeling. How has this sense of home evolved over time? Describe a personal act of defiance, big or small, that was meaningful to you. What did it reveal about your values and identity? Write about a word, phrase, or label that you’ve reclaimed. How has reshaping its meaning empowered you? Share an experience or a side of yourself that you feel is often hidden or misunderstood by others. What does it mean to you to reveal it? Page to Screen -What’s your best Letterboxd review? -Have you ever walked out of a movie, and why? -What movie have you unashamedly watched multiple times at a movie theater? -What’s the weirdest movie you’ve ever watched, and why? -What is one movie you’ll never even think about watching again, and why? -What movie resonates with you most on an emotional, spiritual, and/or psychological level? -What is one movie you like that no one else does, and why? -Film and MDIA Students – What are your passions, motivations, fears, and concerns about trying to make it in the industry? -Write a one-page screenplay with no dialogue, just screen action. -What’s the best film review you wrote for a class? -What movie industry figure has influenced you the most, and why? |
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