School’s out. People are eager to leave town and begin their vacations. Here’s a story idea to chew on wherever you’re relaxing this June.

While looking back over the original LegendFire discussion thread in preparation for May’s post, I realized that a point got lost in the shuffle – a point Scintilla wanted to discuss. I’ve strung together bits from her follow-up and initial posts that highlight this glossed over detail.

I more meant to discuss consciously using our personal lives in our writing… I’ve often felt like I “should” write something that consciously expresses the feelings I have at the time, but in practice, I don’t think I ever have, except a little bit as a teenager, badly. Maybe I’ve figured out some level that it’s not that easy to go directly from how I feel to a decent piece of writing.

Got any exciting summer plans? None for me, right now. Regardless of how much (or how little) you’ll be doing this season, here are some prompts you can chew on in between.

I’m taking a brief hiatus from Reclaiming the City to catch up on other projects. For now, enjoy this flash piece I wrote in February.

Madame Carmine consulted the astrological charts spread out on the desk in front of her as she scribbled some kind of arcane math on a notepad. Avery nervously tapped his heel against the leg of his chair. If his superiors knew how he was spending his lunch break…

My town is in the middle of a heat wave. Summer is definitely around the bend. Here’s a story idea to keep you occupied when the weather in your town gets unbearable.

A few months ago, a LegendFire member going by the screen name Scintilla asked an intriguing question. Is creative writing truly self-expression? She posed three particular questions to the forum:

What role, then, should personal emotions have in fiction and poetry? Does your writing have a self-expression component, and how has your life affected what you write? How can a writer make use of personal emotions while still writing well?

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in the audience. Here’s a bouquet of writing prompts for you to enjoy.

For April’s bonus idea, imagine a trade guild. If you’re not familiar with these organizations, you may want to briefly read up on the medieval trade guilds of Europe or today’s labor unions.

The scenery outside the train brightened as it ascended on elevated tracks toward Mason Plaza. The city spread around and beneath them like a well filled with warm electric lights.

A lawyer’s job is more than stirring speeches and courtroom theatrics. There are legal precedents to research and analyze, and briefs to carefully write which lay out your arguments before you ever get to present them verbally in court (if it ever gets that far). This story will focus on the more mundane adventures that make up a lawyer’s career.