Prompt idea by cogito—ergosum via yeahwriters:
Write about any decision, good or bad, taken under the influence of alcohol/drugs.
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From Writrs:
Write a story where 3 siblings work together to make a meal for their mother. They could be adults or they could be young children. What are they making, where are they, and why?
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Prompt #13
From: camillelapetite:
Write a story about someone leaving the funeral of a person they weren’t very close with.
•Who was it that died?
•How were they acquainted?
•How does your character feel about their death?Photo via Steve Hanks
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(Source: lacarpa)
From whichurlcanitake:
Character-Focused Writing Prompt
This is something I did as an exercise in my Language of Literary Arts in college. It was a foundational course for English majors.
Write a letter from a pet to their owner. Make sure to treat the pet like they are a real animal, not a human.
Good luck-Billy
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Prompt#11
From CamilleLaPetite:
Write a story about a female assassin.
Pay close attention to imagining the types of weaponry or gagdets she would need to have on her, don’t make it the entire focus of the story but try to include a scene where she either gets dressed in the morning or undresses at night recounting or taking inventory these various objects.
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Prompt #10
From yeahwriters:
Write a story/scene/poem/etc. where a web acts as a major symbol.
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Prompt #9
From camillelapetite:
Write a story leading up to a long journey on foot.
•Where are they from and where are they going?
•Why did they have to leave?
•Who were they before they left?(image via jayb3)
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From NaNoWriMos via Billy:
Be a People Watcher!
If you want to be a good writer there are two important things you need: First you need a good imagination, and Second you need to be observant about the things going on around you.
Here’s what I want you to do for this exercise! Go out someplace, maybe a bar, a restaurant, or a coffee shop. Any place where you can sit down for a good amount of time.
Look for someone that looks out of place or interesting to you. (For example, the other night I was with some friends at a bar and there was a girl sitting at a table at 1am working on her laptop.)
Now that you have your person, spend some time trying to figure out who they are… Chances are that you will be wrong, but that doesn’t matter! You aren’t chronicling their life, you are just being a writer. If you’re feeling brave, you can interview the person and ask what they are really doing, but I think the impact of the story is better if you just go off on a whim. Use your imagination!<When you find a person that inspires a good idea for you, write your short story about it: Who are they? Why is this person there doing whatever they are doing?
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This also reminded me of a discussion we had last November about writing in public where we briefly touched on the importance of people watching and learning from real life things outside of your personal experiences. :)
Prompt #7
From yeahwriters:
Prompt idea by shrewdslytherin:
Write about someone walking down the street and finding an old friend who has become homeless. How did the person come to be homeless? What is the relationship between the two?
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Prompt #6
From camillelapetite:
Write a short story from beginning to end about a young girl who turns into something supernatural:
•Who was she before? Who or what is she now?
•How did it happen- A virus? A bite? A curse? A Myth?
•Will she be caught? Can she Recover? Will she do any damage?
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(Source: redgaloshesforfeet)
Prompt #5
From yeahwriters:
Write a story/scene/poem/etcc. about a non-straight couple, but do not make the conflict have anything to do with their sexuality. Their relationship should just be a fact of the story.
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Prompt #4
From camillelapetite:
Think about an imaginary world or dream world.
Take a minute to scribble some notes about your place to help you get started, and then write a short story that takes place there! Some things to consider might be:•What does it look/feel/smell like?
•Who/what lives there? Is it a good or a bad place?
•How do/did you get there?
•When/how are you able to leave?
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Prompt #3
From CamilleLaPetite:
Sometimes a fleeting moment can reveal a lot about a character. Make yourself a cup of tea, coffee, cocoa, or another hot beverage. Whatever you prefer. Cup the drink in your hands, close your eyes and describe what you feel, taste, smell and hear. Then with your eyes still closed imagine you are someone else and describe what you see, not only your surroundings but the hands, the cup, the liquid also.
•Where is this person you imagine you are? Why are they there?
•Are they holding a tea cup, a handmade mug, a styrofoam cup? Is it significant?
•Why might your character have chosen this type of beverage opposed to the others?
•Does their sensory perception of this moment trigger any memories?
Open your eyes and write a story based on the things you just imagined.
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(Source: imoanmoanover)
Prompt #2
NaNoWriMos via Camille:
This is based on my favorite prompt from an Intro to Fiction Writing course that I took in college.
The objective is to write a short story about one of the following people by describing only their living space! You must not use the description of the character from below in your story, you may mention the character but you must not directly speak about them, and the character themselves must not physically appear in your writing.
• An amateur photographer
• Someone going to night school to be a doctor
• A professional athlete
• A down-on-her-luck waitress
• A newlywed couple
• The father of a family of five
• Someone who has just been dumped
• A teenager in the school musical
• Someone who compulsively plays the lottery
• A homeless person
• Someone trying to start their own business
• A bachelor/bachelorette that lives with three pets
You can accomplish this through the eyes of another character in the person’s life or through basically any third person, omniscient or otherwise, walk-through description of the space.
I have posted my story from this exercise on the submission blog already to help you guys get an idea. See if you can figure out which character I chose!
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Prompt #1
NaNoWriMos via Billy:
I found this one in my first copy of “The Writer” magazine — Do you ever follow your horoscope? Well maybe you should start! Astrology can be a great springboard for writing.
Take your horoscope, or any of the 12 that you like, and write a story where the plot is based on the events it foresees. It’s up to you whether or not the character reads the horoscope, but you can also just let the story flow from the idea.
Some places to find horoscopes:
• A newspaper or magazine
• Yahoo! Astrology
• Astrology.com
Some of you may already recognize this prompt! It is a repeat of the activity that sparked the idea of posting these for you regularly. Mostly because I’m still testing the submission blog, so if any of you have written one of these please submit your stories!
Plus there are twelve new horoscopes every day so this is a great exercise to do whenever to need some quick inspiration!
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