Delicious
Nifty
Adjust
Skittish
Deluxe
Sofa
“Out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
What do all of these words have in common? Aside from describing me in some way, of course. They're all prompts from The Fictionista Workshop's WitFit. I'm sure some of you are saying, “Fit? No thank you, I don't need to get anymore gorgeous than I already am. My boobs are perfect!” but that's not the kind of fit we're talking here.
WitFit is an exercise for writers, offering them a daily prompt to help encourage them in their writing. If you've read anything by the author Rochelle Allison, then you've heard of WitFit, I'm sure. If you go to the WitFit portion on the Fictionista website, you'll get lots of info about the program, as well as find out how you can sign up to get the daily prompts emailed to you. Each day, Monday through Saturday, you'll receive an email with a word, phrase, topic, or concept to write about. You don't have to come up with a long chapter, just a few hundred words will do. The point is for you to get into the habit of writing each day, and to write with the idea of including a word or words that you might not normally write about. It's a great idea and so many authors are taking advantage of it.
As a reader, I love it. It typically means that an author will update everyday, and that the chapters will be shorter and not take too long to read. With all the kids I've got around here, and the multiple school schedules to keep up with, short and frequent chapters are one of my favorite things! Not every author uses them for the same storyline, but most do. And each author is supposed to send in their entry for the day to Fistionista, where it's posted on the site. You can find lots of authors that maybe you haven't seen before. There's nothing like discovering someone new and falling totally in love with their words. Or their body, but that's a subject better saved for another day.
Since I wanted to learn a bit more about this process, I asked some of the authors that I know who use the WitFit prompts to answer some questions about them. Let's see what these hottie girls had to say...
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Rochelle Allison – Sultry and Malicious
Mrs. White: How did you find out about the Wit Fit Prompts?
Rochelle Allison: I found out about them through the Fictionista Workshop's inception. A good friend of mine, Tiffany, helped start it, and so i knew about it (and the wit fits) from the get-go.
MW: Do you have a favorite/least favorite word you’ve had to write a chapter for?
RA: Well, some are pretty random, but I find almost anything can be used. I have definitely been stumped a few times, most recently with "vacuum".
MW: Do you always try to post daily?
RA: I do try to post daily, but I'm not as hard on myself with a baby at home now (as well as an 8 year old. And a husband.) Fictionista Workshops gives us Sunday off, too.
MW: What made you want to use them to write your stories?
RA: At first, I just wrote a different scenario each day but after a few chapters started linking them together. I guess it just felt more fulfilling to do it like that, to create little stories.
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jennde – Landscape
Mrs. White: How did you find out about the Wit Fit Prompts?
jennde: I work extensively with Fictionista Workshop on their writing workshops, so I knew WitFit was one of their signature programs.
MW: Did you find it difficult to get started?
jd: No, actually. The first chapter was really easy. There was what was called a "dialogue flex" and it was something along the lines of "Don't touch my stuff." I clearly heard my daughter saying it and based the story on just that – a little girl saying that phrase.
MW: Do you worry about other authors writing their own versions of the prompts?
jd: Not at all. It amazes me how the same word or phrase can be the genesis of something completely different from one author to another.
MW: It seems that many of the authors that use the Wit Fit Prompts post without having their work beta’d or preread. Is that a requirement or the author’s personal choice? Does it make you uncomfortable to post that way?
jd: That's my choice and in no way a requirement of Fictionista Workshop. I'm fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best betas and pre-readers in the fandom, it's just that I would never ask anyone to beta every day. I think it's a bit much to ask anyone. Also, I really base the story on the prompts and only have a very general idea of where it's going, so I couldn't ask anyone to edit a story that has no clear defined outline. In addition, I sometimes don't finish writing until pretty late at night, after my other responsibilities are over for the day.
That being said, I have had help with some of my chapters from some great women, including Songster, arfalcon, and Just4ale. If I'm feeling particularly iffy about a chapter I can usually hit one of them up for a quick read. They prevent me from posting anything too stupid.
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SammieLynnsMom – Thrifty
Mrs. White: How did you find out about the Wit Fit Prompts?
SammieLynnsMom: I am an active participant with the Fictionista Workshops, and I stumbled on the WitFit link when I was on their website. This is the first time I'm doing an actual WitFit story, but I've been getting the prompt for well over a year, and have one story that is just a bunch of drabble WitFit prompts.
MW: Did you find it difficult to get started?
SLM: I don't think so at all, but each author is different. Some write a completely different storyline every day and some do an actual plot. It's all in what works best for the individual author.
MW: Do your readers seem to enjoy reading your stories inspired by the prompts?
SLM: So far my reviews have been really positive, and most are shocked by how informative the one story I'm doing now is. It's about Edward and Bella in a couponing environment, and I try to teach a small lesson in each chapter. Most lessons I had to learn the hard way.
MW: Do you worry about other authors writing their own versions of the prompts?
SLM: Not at all, and I think that is what makes WitFit amazing. Jennde, Rochelle Allison, and I are all doing the same prompts just about every single day, and none of our stories are alike. This is just an example of three, and I know there are many, many more. I also love seeing what others are doing, because all of our plot lines are very different as well. It's fun to see what inspires people to write what they are.
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dolphin62598 – WitFIt Prompts
Mrs. White: How did you find out about the Wit Fit Prompts?
Dolphin62598: Well when Fictionista Workshop started they requested to be my friend on Facebook and they followed me on Twitter. That made me curious so I checked out the site and stumbled upon the WitFit prompts!! I was intrigued and signed up to have them emailed to me daily. I've never done anything with them until recently though!
MW: What made you want to use them to write your stories?
D: I haven't used one yet to write a multi-chapter story, but I did have one entry that my readers begged me to continue so I used the prompt the next day and wrote a conclusion chapter.
MW: Do you always try to post daily?
D: I do! I really really really try very hard to post daily, but it's been next to impossible!! Most of the time when I get a few minutes to write it's after version 1.4 and ¾ has gone to bed and I'm exhausted with no ambition to do anything but collapse on the couch and watch the BBC version of Top Gear!
MW: It seems that many of the authors that use the Wit Fit Prompts post without having their work beta’d or preread. Is that a requirement or the author’s personal choice? Does it make you uncomfortable to post that way?
D: It's actually suggested that you post your work unedited on the Fictionista Workshop site. I'm not entirely sure that it's a requirement, but if you're posting daily it might be hard for some betas to keep up with the demand of short drabbles daily. The beauty of WitFit is that you are writing what comes to mind without editing. It's VERY hard to post without it being edited, but you just have to do it. I think the hardest thing I've had to deal with since starting the WitFit Prompts is not going back while writing and self-editing. When I write I usually read and re-read paragraphs over and over again making little changes until I'm happy and I've learned from doing the prompts that it's really not the best way to write for me. Now I focus on getting my ideas down on 'paper' and going back later to edit.
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Mrs.Robward – See You Again
Mrs. White: How did you find out about the Wit Fit Prompts?
Mrs.Robward: I think I saw where another writer whom i enjoyed reading posted these 'Witfit' chapters everyday. I became curious and asked her about it.
MW: Do you think using them has helped you with your writing? Has it helped you on other stories where you were NOT using them?
MR: I don't know if it helped or not. I guess ANY writing makes you get better. I actually miss writing my Witfit fic, it seemed to flow easy for me. As far as helping me with my other fics, it makes me wish I was using prompts sometimes.
MW: Do you have a favorite/least favorite word you’ve had to write a chapter for?
MR: I think the scene prompts were way harder than just a word prompt. In SYA, the chapter with an 'erethal being' talking to you about the future, that was hard!
MW: It seems that many of the authors that use the Wit Fit Prompts post without having their work beta’d or preread. Is that a requirement or the author’s personal choice? Does it make you uncomfortable to post that way?
MR: I kinda preferred it. I love writing a chapter, finishing it & then posting it immediately. I think it is encouraged to not have it beta'd, it's more about writing on the fly. I added a disclaimer letting my readers know that it was unbeat'd so if they're the type of reader that can't stand to read a fic that might have mistakes, I totally understood if they didn't read it.
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See? What did I tell you, these WitFit things are kinda awesome! I'm actually a little excited to sign up for them, if for no other reason than the fact that I'll get emails that don't come from the high school football team, begging me to come cheer for their practice again. I mean geez, you forget to put bloomers on under your skirt one time...
Oh, and you might ask what this whole WitFit thing has to do with Summer. Well hello! These authors are working on the Summer Prompts. Well, that's what their stories say, anyhow. :D
Go, read, stay out of the heat and hurricanes. With all this “prompting” talk, I think I need to go “prompt” my neighbor guy and see what pops up...
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