The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction (Writers Digest) (Hardcover)

~ The Editors of Fresh Boiled Peanuts (Creator), Phillip Sexton (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Go ahead. Play with matches.

Not the usual advice, is it? But doing so will help you find inspiration, overcome writer's block, and develop a writing habit--forever. Sounds like a big promise, right? But it's true.

Inside, you'll discover more than 1,000 writing prompts designed to get your creative fires burning. Consider each prompt a "match" of sorts, capable of starting anything from a tiny blaze (a short story) to a raging inferno (a novel).

You'll also find guidelines for using these matches to boost your creativity in fun, unexpected ways, along with dozens of inspirational quotes from some of the world's greatest writers.

So open the book. Pick a match. Starting a fire has never been so easy.

About the Author

Fresh Boiled Peanuts is a literary journal. The staff are composed of editors and published writers who bring a range of writing experience to the project.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158297411X
• ISBN-13: 978-1582974118
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #445,422 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very fun to use!, November 8, 2005

By	TheCafeWriter (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This kind of book isn't every writer's cup of tea, but it was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for! There are 3 types of prompts throughout: a line of dialogue, a sentence describing an action or setting a mood, or an "assignment" where the prompt is a little more detailed, immediately followed by a few suggestions for taking it in different directions. All 1,001 of them are viable jump-starts to a short story or scene and, as the authors point out, if you wrote one every day, you'd get almost 3 years out of this book. There's also an appendix with a game, where you roll a die to change some aspect of the prompt, such as gender, ethnicity, age group, etc., which extends the versatility of each prompt.

There aren't the usual navel-gazing fare like "Write about a time you were angry" or "Describe someone you know well" that are so often found in writing books. I have never found those kinds of suggestions useful for me. If I wanted to write autobiography-as-fiction, I'd keep a diary.

I hope there'll be a sequel to this one. If you ever sat down to write and found yourself groping for somewhere to start, you'll find this book extremely useful.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Idea Generator I've found!, February 25, 2007

By	Kelly Wallace -- Romance Author "Contemporary... (Tucson, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

This is the book I turn to again and again when I'm stuck for ideas. I love the fact that it isn't filled with essay titles such as: "Your worst day in college", or "Your first time seeing snow." I need active ideas to spark my creativity and this book does just that.

When stuck, I'll open the book to a random page and grab the first dialogue entry I see then run with it. Such as, "Shut up, man. She'll hear you." My mind instantly begins weaving an entire scene, what the characters look like, and more. Bits of dialogue, taken from real life or a book such as this are one of the greatest ways I've found to beat writer's block and add freshness when I feel my story is lagging. It does have many scene ideas as well, such as: While working on the air conditioning, a father finds some loose floorboards in his teenager's bedroom.

I rented this from the library and after bringing it home I immediately ordered it through Amazonn.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Ideas to Get You Started, October 25, 2006

By	J. Gilmer "PetPassion" (US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read, written and collected TONS of prompts of all kinds over the past couple of years. A lot of places repeat the same old tired prompts, but this book was filled with a large array of new prompts and 'thought joggers' that I haven't seen elsewhere.

I enjoyed just flipping through this book and now look forward to going back and start writing from the highlights I've made.