I must have been thinking about jumping off points as the New Year rang in, for the prompt magically popped into my mind for my Write Club group: precipice. It’s a precipitous word, isn’t it? So edgy. You can take this prompt and run with it, if you like. Just make sure you’re not too near a drop-off when you do. (Smile.)
Okay, I had to lighten the mood, after presenting such a heavy take on what should be a fresh beginning. This blog is all about inspiration for writers. So let’s talk about the opportunities for “jumping off points,” if you will, for the precipice prompt.
Source: Pixabay
At Play on the Precipice
We tend to think of a precipice as a physical place: a cliff edge, a sheer drop, a point beyond which there is no easy return. But in storytelling, the word opens into something much larger — and far more flexible. There can be a hole in one’s thinking. A precipice of thought that leaves one unable to form a sentence at some odd moment, perhaps due to shock or fear or a near-miss accident.
A precipice can be a moment rather than a location. It’s the instant before a confession, a resignation, a betrayal, or a leap of faith. Characters don’t have to fall to be changed; sometimes simply standing at the edge is enough. The tension lives in the pause — what they know, what they fear, and what they haven’t yet decided.
In fiction, the precipice can also be emotional or moral. A marriage on the brink. A secret just waiting for the explosive moment of exposure. Or perhaps a careful, purposeful person realizing quite suddenly that one choice could undo everything. These are quiet precipices, often invisible to outsiders, but they carry danger and foreboding, just like a cliff’s edge.
Speculative and genre stories can stretch the idea even further. A civilization at the edge of collapse. A scientist one experiment away from discovery… but what if that thrilling ah-ha results in disaster? What if the precipice isn’t just personal, but collective? Society on the brink.
What makes the precipice such a powerful writing prompt is its lingering question. It asks the writer, and our main character, what if?… and then it makes us ponder the intriguing and potentially tragic answers. We are forced to ask not only what happens if they jump, but also what happens if they don’t? Throw a stone over the wall. How long before you hear it plop?
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: Generated with Leonardo.ai
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 Contact Jayna.