Welcome to the monthly newsletter from Write Club, authored by me, Jayna Locke. Each month I publish some writing inspiration as well as our group’s writing prompt of the month. Believe it or not, this is my monthly inspiration as well — not the prompt itself, but writing about writing, and what inspires us, and about creative ways to use the prompt of the month.
I think anything a writer can do on a regular basis to tickle the brain’s creativity is a good thing. I went through a dry spell recently (as you do). It happens. We get busy. We get sick. We get distracted and forget what joy this craft can be. At any rate, all of those maladies plague yours truly. How do we stay inspired? Moreover, how do we clear the cobwebs and get back to it when the busy period or illness or desire to make excuses have come and gone?
You take a prompt. You think about its meanings and its angles. You pick one of those angles. And you start writing. That’s what you do.
Our June 2025 Write Club Prompt: The Deep
Ah, the deep! Deep caverns, deep ocean dives and deep freezes. What’s not to like? In the deep dark places where humans can physically travel, like the ever mystical and enigmatic ocean, there is much to inspire the heart and mind of a writer — from mythical creatures like mermaids and the Kraken to sharks, sunken treasure and shipwrecks.
Just what is it about those spaces under the sea, and under the earth’s surface, like caverns and tunnels, that can strike terror in one’s heart? Is it the darkness, or the things that can lurk therein? Is it the fact that no living thing that is familiar to us could survive in some of those places, as J. R. R Tolkien so perfectly captured in the portrayal of Gollum? Can you imagine coming up with a creature so iconic and so powerful?
Okay, let’s look at some actual story ideas for this prompt. This is my favorite use of AI. I don’t want AI writing my stories for me, but I do love to see what it comes up with for storylines. Here are six ideas:
1. Psychological Horror – Below Still Waters
A deep-sea diver exploring an uncharted trench begins receiving messages through her headset from her long-dead brother — messages that reveal buried family secrets and a growing presence in the abyss that knows her name.
2. Science Fiction – The Deep Code
In the near future, a programmer discovers an ancient AI buried in the ocean floor that speaks in forgotten languages. As she deciphers it, she realizes the code is rewriting the laws of nature — and her own mind.
3. Fantasy – The Song from the Deep
Every generation, a coastal village chooses one person to descend into the sea to sing to the slumbering god below. When a rebellious girl is chosen, she sings a different song — and wakes something unexpected.
4. Literary Drama – Depths of Grief
After the drowning of his daughter, a widowed father retreats to a remote lake cabin. There, in the quiet deep of the lake and his sorrow, he begins writing letters to her and finds unexpected signs she’s listening.
5. Mystery / Noir – The Deep End
A disgraced detective returns to his coastal hometown to investigate a cold case: a girl who vanished at sea during a storm. But everyone in town seems to know more than they’re saying, and the tide is bringing secrets back to shore.
6. Humor – The Deep Dish Incident
At an underground pizza-making contest held in a secret submarine base, sabotage threatens the annual Deep Dish Championship. It’s up to a rookie chef and his talking octopus sidekick to save dinner — and the world.
More Ways to Launch a Story
Getting started is sometimes the hardest part. One technique that’s fun, if you haven’t tried it, is to pick a character, a setting, and a conflict, and then start writing a story based on what you’ve selected. For example, here are some mix and match options:
| Character | Setting | Conflict |
| A person looking for answers to a family mystery | Deep in a coal mine | Dangerous creatures |
| The head of a forensics team | A coral reef | Fear of the unknown |
| An explorer | The caves at Lascaux | Loss of light or food |
| A person looking for treasure | A tunnel network beneath a city | Dwindling oxygen |
When you allow your mind to wander and let settings, scenes and characters take shape in your mind, there is no end to what you might come up with. How do you get started on a story? What are your favorite ways of getting into creative writing mode? I’d love to hear from you.
Learn More About Write Club
Write Club is an online writers’ group for short story authors, with a focus on writing for mainstream publications, literary journals and genre magazines. We are committed to publishing our work in the many professional publications and short story anthologies accepting submissions. Some of our members are successfully published, and others are on their way, with the help of the honest yet caring critiques from our workshop members. In fact almost all of my published short stories were written from Write Club prompts.
How Does the Community Work?
Each month we launch a new writing prompt. Write Club members are required to write a short story based on the prompt, and then review and critique each other’s stories. These requirements are central to who we are. Every writer needs an outside eye to help them see what they may have missed and to provide perspective. This invaluable feedback can make all the difference in taking a story from promising to published.
The next phase is to revise our stories based on the workshop feedback, and (optionally) do another round of critiques. This method helps us to prepare our manuscripts for professional editors.
Is It Possible to Join Write Club?
While we purposefully remain a small group to ensure that we can all read each of the other stories that are submitted for critique each month, we do occasionally welcome in a new writer with experience who is looking for an online writing community for mutual support, writing critique and comradery. If you are interested in exploring whether Write Club is a fit for you, visit us in our Discord server or reach out via my Contact page.
Note: If you enter our Discord server you will be in a waiting area where we can chat with you and learn more about your interests.
Here’s what’s expected of our members:
- You should already have a strong foundation in short story writing, excellent English skills, and a desire to continue your development as a fiction writer.
- You should have the goal of publishing your work in professional publications.
- You must be ready to commit to writing one story each month.
- You must be willing to provide helpful feedback to other writers and support their journey as well as your own. We are all required to critique every story produced within the community.
Looking for Prompts and Writing Resources?
If you’re just looking for inspiration, watch for our monthly writing prompts, which are published at the beginning of each month on jaynalocke.com. Feel free to use them to inspire your short stories. You can post them on Hive, Medium, Vocal, your WordPress blog, or wherever you like. Note that we do not offer critiques for those who are not members of our workshop. This is just for inspiration!
All we ask is that you provide a link back to our prompt post that inspired you so others can be inspired too. Thank you!
I love to share tips and ideas about creative writing! Here are two treasure troves for you:
- You can find many of my tips and resources on my website, in the On Writing section.
- I also share writing tips in The Ink Well community on Hive. See the complete catalog for the full list of articles.
Have fun and keep writing!
Featured image source: jackdrafahl on Pixabay
About Jayna Locke
Jayna Locke is a Minnesota writer who has had a lifelong love of fiction. Her short stories have appeared in a range of literary journals, including Great Lakes Review, Portage Magazine, and Bright Flash Literary Review, as well as several anthologies.
Her collection of short stories, Somewhere in Minnesota, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kirk House Publishers, and indie bookstores. She is reachable through her contact form at bit.ly/ContactJayna.