Write a Novel with Prompts

If you are interested in writing a book but don't know where to start, consider using this tutorial teaching how to write a Magic Mirror novel with 60 writing prompts.

I am a language arts teacher at a middle school who teaches English as a second language students. Last year my students used these prompts to write their own books. Several of them were featured on one of our local television stations. If you are interested in the interview, you can find it at

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/news/local-news/education-matters-middle-school-students-become-book-authors/647274146

If you are interested in learning how to write your own book using these prompts, you can find them as well as more information about them on my website at

https://innovativeliteracy.com/novel-writing-prompts/

The students are given sixty writing prompts. Each prompt leads to the next and follows the hero's journey. It begins with a group of students visiting a long-term substitute teacher's classroom during Fall Festival and looking into a magic mirror.

Whatever they see in the mirror becomes reality. For example, if they see themselves as being shorter than their friends, they start getting shorter and shorter. If they imagine they have the powers of whatever hero they are wearing the costume of, they might get powers similar to that character.

Unfortunately, one of the characters is cursed by the mirror, such as getting shorter. They might have been dressed as a gorilla and start turning into one.

To make matters worse, the substitute teacher disappeared after the Fall Festival with the mirror. The friends have to search for her so that they can break the curse on their friend.

They are opposed by another group of students who also gained power from the mirror. These students don't want to risk losing their powers however and try to stop the first group from getting to the mirror.

If you are worried that your story won't be original, I wouldn't be too troubled by it. The stories of each student who wrote the book were completely different.

You are in charge of what powers the characters have as well as where they go. You decide if it is a serious or humorous book. You are the driving force behind the prompts. Feel free to change them to suit your needs.