I love writing prompts. This isn't a surprise since I also love sharing prompts I come up with on my Facebook and Instagram accounts, and I do it every Wednesday (follow me to get these!).
Here's an example:
I use a writing prompt almost every day in my writing practice, and I think about it as writing drill before I head over to my work-in-progress (WIP). I suppose it's similar to the way athletes perform sports drills before getting into the game.
Sometimes what emerges from a prompt turns into a longer piece, as if it had been there all along and just needed a little push to step over my mind's edge and drop onto the page.
Most of the time, however, it stays a practice piece, locked away in my notebook - though I do read over them from time to time and "borrow" things to use in my WIP.
I've also used prompts while writing my WIPs when I get stuck, feel bored, or am deciding between two or more possible directions.
Because I've been writing with prompts for years, I frequently get asked, "But where do you get all these prompts from?"
This question used to stump me because for me, prompts are everywhere. Anything can be a prompt. Old photographs, words from a book I'm reading, something from my journal yesterday, objects on my desks, text messages, social media posts... Literally anything can serve as a prompt.
But not everyone enjoys choosing a prompt or having such a vague prompt. I don't always like it either. Especially when I'm using a prompt because I feel stuck or the muse is sleeping that day.
At those times, I want one handed to me or one with a little more "meat" on the bones to help me get started.
That's when I go online. You can find genre-specific prompt sites, prompts for kids, prompts for adults, prompts for poetry, photo prompts, prompt generators ... you name, Google will find it.
FIVE GREAT SOURCES FOR YOUR NEXT WRITING PROMPT
From my prompt-related searches, I've found many sites with interesting prompts or prompt generators. I thought I'd share some along with a screenshot of what to expect when you get there.
Here, in no particular order, are five sites with writing prompts I've especially enjoyed:
1. The Writer Igniter from diyMFA.com
This first prompt site is relatively new to me, but I love it already. The prompt consists of a character, situation, prop, and photo of a setting. Use these elements to start writing! When you land on the page, a set or elements is already there, but I find I like to click shuffle until something resonates.
I **LOVE** this page because it combines visual art with a writing prompt. Heaven! Each prompt has a picture of a painting or other piece of art, an explanation, and a prompt. I've used just the picture, just the prompt, or a bit from the explanation to get going with my writing.
3. Creative Writing Prompts from Reedsy.com
Each week, the folks at Reedsy post a new prompt. You can scroll in reverse chronologic order or select a genre and get prompts relevant to it. If you create a Reedsy prompt account, you can submit your writing for a chance to win $50 and publication on their website and newsletter. I've never done this, but it might be fun!
4. 400+ Creative Writing Prompts to Find Your Next (Best) Book Idea from Self-Publishing School Like the name says, this page houses over four-hundred writing prompts so you always have something to write about. They're sorted by genre and include nonfiction prompts as well as prompts from Reddit. You can skip to a genre or scroll down and "shop" for a prompt that resonates. For each genre, the page also includes a "how-to" section on writing in that specific genre. For example, under Romance Prompts, the page includes tips in bullet point format and a video on how to write a healthy romance.
5. Writing Prompt Generator from ServiceScape A super cool prompt generator I've used for story and poem ideas that lets you search for a prompt by keyword (and sort results by genre, either SciFi or Romance) OR choose a theme by genre(s) and receive a number of related writing prompts. Some of the prompts are short - a sentence or two. Some are lengthy situations with background information. All are great fuel for the creative fires.
I hope you find these sites useful in your search for your next best writing prompt!
I know I've enjoyed them and plan to keep using them in my writing practice.
Until next time, happy creating!
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