Cameron Chapman

There’s nothing wrong with getting story ideas from the stories and books of others. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and just because something has already been published doesn’t mean everything it contains is immediately off-limits. A word, a line, or a paragraph from someone else’s work can provide great inspiration for your own work. So each Tuesday and Thursday I provide a short excerpt from classic literature or other books in the public domain. All excerpts are taken from Project Gutenberg.

If you’d like to share whatever you write based on these excerpts, please feel free to do so in the comments below. At some point in the future, this may turn into a weekly competition with prizes. So get your practice in now!

A couple of basic ground rules for submitting your work. Please, nothing derogatory or defamatory about any person, living or dead. Also, please keep your writing samples PG-13 rated. I reserve the right to remove comments that I don’t find appropriate for the site or that I deem may be potentially offensive.

Classical Writing Prompt #54

The inhabited part is not more than four miles in length, and varies in breadth from half a mile to less than a quarter. The rocky vine-clad cliffs on one side tower almost perpendicularly from their base to the height of at least fifteen hundred feet; while across the vale—in striking contrast to the scenery opposite—grass-grown elevations rise one above another in blooming terraces.
— Typee, by Herman Melville