A Prompt for Every Purpose

A Prompt for Every Purpose

By Victoria Fortune

If you’re a writer, you have undoubtedly been told to write every day, come up with a regular routine, don’t wait for the muse. You have also, no doubt, sat in front of your computer staring blankly at the screen, in the grip of writer’s block. Whether you are in the middle of a work in progress, or ready to start something new, writing prompts can be the cure.

I haven’t always been a fan of writing prompts. The trauma of having to respond to them on high stakes tests in high school gave me an aversion to them; but having written some of my favorite stories based on prompts, I’ve come around. Some work well for me while others don’t. The trick is finding the type that works for you and your purpose for writing.

I recently signed up for an online class at Grub Street to provide deadlines and keep my novel in progress a priority during a hectic time in my life. I was a little hesitant—the class entails weekly prompts, and I worried whether they would aid my progress, or be a diversion. Having previously taken a class with the instructor, Annie Hartnett, I trusted I would be in good hands, and I am. I have not been able to participate in discussions as much as I would like, but the prompts are specifically tailored for homing in on critical elements and scenes of a novel and are helping me keep up my momentum.

In other circumstance, however, different types of prompts work better for me.  I took a flash fiction course in which the prompt each week was an object or a smell: footprints, car alarm, smoke. I found these perfect for flash fiction. They would evoke an image in my mind and a feeling that would become the basis for a scene, putting no parameters on where or when or who was in it. These prompts also work well for poetry.  

One of the best places to find pithy prompts is on twitter. #Daily Prompt offers a writing prompt each day, and @FlashFicHive provides a weekly prompt and a deadline—submissions are due each Thursday. There is also @Microprompts, offering a one-syllable prompt, such as “Bye” or “Hiss” and #HangTenStories that inspires writers to create a ten-word story based on a one word prompt.

If you’re not on twitter, the website The Write Practice provides prompts that are great for flash fiction or personal narrative. And Nancy Stohlman’s  30 Flash Fiction Prompts focus on some element to include as an anchor but leave most parameters of the story up to writer. My favorites include, “Write a story that is based in or uses elements of mythology–any mythology from any culture or time period,” and “Rewrite a scene from history.”

Some of the most common prompts are those that present a scenario, such as “While painting a portrait of what was thought to be a fictional subject, an artist has a revealing flashback about their childhood that uncovers some forgotten memories.” I find these constraining, but they work well for a lot of writers.  

If you like this sort of prompt,, Writer’s Digest offers Creative Writing Prompts, and you can download their Writing Prompt Boot Camp, with 2-week’s worth of similar prompts. Bookfox provides 50 Flash Fiction prompts of similar story-starters. Although they are called flash fiction prompts, many present scenarios that could easily lead to longer stories. And if you want to get feedback on your work, join Reddit’s Writing Prompt Wednesday. A new prompt is posted each week, and once you’ve written your response, you can post it and get feedback from other participants.

If you like to write in a variety of forms, Melissa Donovan on Writingforward.com, offers an eclectic list of 25 prompts that specify the form (story, essay, poem) along with the prompt. If you’re really ambitious, Thinkwritten.com provide 365 prompts—a year’s worth of daily inspiration. Some could spark a story idea; others are better for journal writing.

If you are interested in narrative and personal writing, The New York Times has amassed 650 prompts for this purpose, culled from a decade’s worth of daily prompts based on articles from the paper. Though they were designed for students, they are well-suited for adults, as well, and include links to the articles they are based on.

Writers today have an endless supply of writing prompts at their fingertips. Next time you find yourself staring at the blank screen, wondering what to write, go to one of the sources listed here, or search for others, and you are sure to find a prompt that inspires you.

 

Photo credit: 6451312 © Baldari - Dreamstime.com

 

 

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