Writing Prompts: Some Ideas to Get You Started!
Willy Pleasance
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Every creative person knows the pain of finding ourselves in the mood to create. We get our pens, paint brushes, knitting needles, sit down and ready to go and…nothing.
Not a crumb of an idea.
Just staring at a blank canvas, both literally and figuratively, hoping our brains will snap into gear.
Fortunately, we have writing prompts!
Writing prompts are useful in many ways. They’re a good starting point to get your brain working, and can also help you come up with your own ideas. In my experience, if I get bad writing prompts, my brain starts to explain why and what could be better. I start thinking, “the character motivation isn’t strong enough,” or “this plot hook has been done to death,” or “I don’t like this genre.” As you start to get into the reasons for why you don’t like the prompts, your brain will start to populate its own.
Which is great – because it means you have ideas! How wonderful!
So, without further ado, here are some creative writing prompts. If you don’t like any of them, see what your brain comes up with. The imagination is a wonderful thing!
I’ve broken them down into two categories:
- Non-genre fiction: Non-genre fiction focuses more on underlying themes and character development, rather than plot. Some famous examples include To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby.
- Genre fiction prompts: These focus more on the plot and setting. Batman comics are a good example.
Skip the ones you know you won’t like, try the ones you do, or use this as general doodling paper. Whatever tickles your fancy.
Non-genre fiction prompts
Prompt 1:
Your character has just shot the winning goal in a game of soccer. How do they feel? Who was there watching? What happens next?
Prompt 2:
Your character is having a big dinner with family and/or friends, and someone had just said something shocking. What did they say? Why is it shocking? Or, is anyone surprised by what was said?
Prompt 3:
Your character has just seen someone they recognise in the yard. Where do they recognise them from? Are they happy to see them? Why/why not? What happens next?
Genre Fiction Prompts
Prompt 1:
A dragon is about to attack the village your character lives in. What kind of dragon is it? Has it attacked before? Why is it attacking? What are people in the village doing?
Prompt 2:
A castle resides atop a huge mountain. What does the mountain look like? Does anyone live there? What rumours surround the castle?
Prompt 3:
A spaceship has crashed to Earth with aliens steering the ship. What do the aliens want? Where have they come from? What do they look and sound like? Why have they come to Earth?
There you go! Get your imaginations in overdrive with dragons, aliens or soccer games!
Every creative person knows the pain of finding ourselves in the mood to create. We get our pens, paint brushes, knitting needles, sit down and ready to go and…nothing.
Not a crumb of an idea.
Just staring at a blank canvas, both literally and figuratively, hoping our brains will snap into gear.
Fortunately, we have writing prompts!
Writing prompts are useful in many ways. They’re a good starting point to get your brain working, and can also help you come up with your own ideas. In my experience, if I get bad writing prompts, my brain starts to explain why and what could be better. I start thinking, “the character motivation isn’t strong enough,” or “this plot hook has been done to death,” or “I don’t like this genre.” As you start to get into the reasons for why you don’t like the prompts, your brain will start to populate its own.
Which is great – because it means you have ideas! How wonderful!
So, without further ado, here are some creative writing prompts. If you don’t like any of them, see what your brain comes up with. The imagination is a wonderful thing!
I’ve broken them down into two categories:
- Non-genre fiction: Non-genre fiction focuses more on underlying themes and character development, rather than plot. Some famous examples include To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby.
- Genre fiction prompts: These focus more on the plot and setting. Batman comics are a good example.
Skip the ones you know you won’t like, try the ones you do, or use this as general doodling paper. Whatever tickles your fancy.
Non-genre fiction prompts
Prompt 1:
Your character has just shot the winning goal in a game of soccer. How do they feel? Who was there watching? What happens next?
Prompt 2:
Your character is having a big dinner with family and/or friends, and someone had just said something shocking. What did they say? Why is it shocking? Or, is anyone surprised by what was said?
Prompt 3:
Your character has just seen someone they recognise in the yard. Where do they recognise them from? Are they happy to see them? Why/why not? What happens next?
Genre Fiction Prompts
Prompt 1:
A dragon is about to attack the village your character lives in. What kind of dragon is it? Has it attacked before? Why is it attacking? What are people in the village doing?
Prompt 2:
A castle resides atop a huge mountain. What does the mountain look like? Does anyone live there? What rumours surround the castle?
Prompt 3:
A spaceship has crashed to Earth with aliens steering the ship. What do the aliens want? Where have they come from? What do they look and sound like? Why have they come to Earth?
There you go! Get your imaginations in overdrive with dragons, aliens or soccer games!
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By Jeffrey
Franz Kafka, the famous Czech writer, never married but was engaged numerous times. He would write to his first fiancee, Felice, 2, 3 or 4 letters daily when he was working in Prague and she was living in Berlin. By Kafka’s own reckoning, he wrote to her perhaps 500 letters.
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2 MIN READ
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