In 2015, I published a Daily Story Seed every day via email for 92 days. In February of 2019, I published 30 of my favorites in an ebook.
You can download a free collection of thirty of my favorite Story Seeds at my Scott Is Writing website.
********
WHAT ARE DAILY STORY SEEDS?
Daily Story Seeds are narrative appetizers, little “what if?” writing exercises that often have a hint of the fantastical (though they’re usually inspired by some factual online post I’ve read).
I send out one each day by email (for free!), and I publish them under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE?
Absolutely!
“Desert Drift” (inspired by an article on the U.S. bombing Mexico (twice!) and the trailer for Disney’s Tomorrowland movie)
Jon swore he’d never again follow Gears into the desert at night, but here he was.
And there was Gears, looking every bit like a desert drifter: lit up like a Christmas tree and covered in electronic optics, sniffing for the silent spots he swore were out there. Gears called them slip winds. Jon called them pipe dreams, though never to Gears’ face.
The drifter walked like a drunkard, weaving left then right then back again, following a scent of positrons hoovered up by his surveillance gear.
Jon looked up at the night sky, a cloudless canvas sparkling with stars. Maybe they’d be home before sunrise. Maybe he’d be early enough for the first batch of migas tepitanas at El Caribe. Heck, maybe Gears would even buy.
‘You catch the latest cast out of Mexicali?’
Jon looked down, realized he was talking to himself. Gears was gone, vanished without a sound, and Jon was standing alone, surrounded by miles of sand, cold realization settling on his shoulders that perhaps Gears wasn’t completely crazy after all.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT DSS
“Chefs always talk about the search to create ‘the perfect bite’ — the single mouthful that encompasses the entire experience of a dish — Scott Walker’s Daily Story Seeds deliver a perfect bite of fiction, every day.”
– Gareth-Michael Skarka, game designer and writer
“I love Daily Story Seeds! Like any gardener knows, not all seeds sprout; many I keep in a file marked ‘clever amusement.’ Then there’s one, or two–no, three–that find fertile soil in my mind membranes, take root, and blossoms into an actual creative project. It happened to me, it can happen to you, too.”
– Aaron Vanek, writer and game designer