Writing Prompts and Ideas

April 2010
Vol. 1, Iss. 4

Coming up with a prompt a day has been tedious and tiring. Are you actually using them? Perhaps you only use one every now and again. If you are using our prompts on a regular and consistent basis and would like to see these continue along that path, please [drop us a line].

Here are some prompts for the month of April, with the very first prompt of the month located [here].

And I Thought Yesterday Was Hot!"And I thought yesterday was hot!" is Flickr user Cayusa's title. What does this picture inspire? What story can be told? You might find after 15 minutes of freewrite that the story evoked has nothing at all to do with the picture! Give it a try and see what you come up with.

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Speaking of hot, think about the first time you ever ate really spicy food. How did you react to this experience? What were the physical responses? Did anyone around you happen to notice? If you were to tell someone else about your experience, maybe to help them prepare for their first time eating really spicy food, how would you?

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Get to know your characters:

Are you stuck? Does your character lack depth? How about a writing exercise to get to know your character a little better?  Your character has the flu. You are his/her caretaker for the next twenty-four hours. Is s/he bullheaded and insistent on getting back to work? Whiny and complaining? Constantly rings the bell asking for this or that? Pushes you away gently while joining you and the family at a distance for popcorn and movies? Explore!

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Seasonally Affective

Study the following pictures carefully. If it makes it any easier, click on the photograph (opens in new window) to get a closer look. Pick one of the photographs and then write for 15 minutes, capturing the essence of one of the seasons depicted, or convey a season through the writing of a setting.

change of season 2

Seasons Greatings

Seasons

Four Seasons

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Write a story about:
  We've given you several topics to write about, pick one or pick them all and go to town writing! You do not have to use the word/topic.
  • vanity
  • religion
  • traditional
  • serendipitous
  • Harley
  • sunshine
  • frozen
  • stalwart 
  • spring break
  • Easter Sunday
  • Palm Sunday
  • spiritualism
  • rabid bunnies
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Finish the sentence, finish the story:
  Here are several story starters. Finish the sentence, then carry on and write a story.
  • "Listen, we both know that you're not cut out for the job. You squirm every time you even ..."
  • She picked up the rock and studied it, tossed it up and down in her hand as if to guess its weight, and then, without so much as a flinch, she ...
  • Five seconds were left on the clock ...
  • "Run, dammit! Run!" And that's when I knew I just had to...
  • He stood at the door, his face pale, discolored. In his hand, he loosely held ...
  • They turned and looked across the babbling brook and past the lifelike fronds, mesmerized by the opalescent, and quite odd, ...
  • In a matter of seven minutes, seven even, measured, no less and no more, minutes, everything in their world disappeared and in its place, sprawling before them...
  • He stood over them, looking down, his forehead smooth, his eyes narrow, and he opened his mouth to say, ...
  • I had nothing left to give...
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Write about one (or more, or heck, even all) of the following events. You can make up a story, retell a story, or for an added twist, tell the story from another person's perspective!
  • Your most embarrassing moment
  • The very best day of your life
  • The lowest point in your life
  • The day you lost your innocence
  • First day of kindergarten/first grade/high school/college 
  • Kindergarten/high school/college graduation
  • High school/college graduation night
  • Day you became an adult
  • Event that called you into adulthood
  • Denial
  • The moment you fell in love
  • The moment you crashed and burned as you fell out of love
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Write about your character's:
  • Most embarrassing moment
  • Very best day of his/her life
  • Lowest point is his/her life
  • Day s/he lost his/her innocence
  • First day of kindergarten/first grade/high school/college
  • Kindergarten/high school/college graduation
  • High school/college graduation night
  • Day your character became an adult
  • Event that called your character into adulthood
  • Moment s/he fell in love
  • Moment s/he crashed and burned as s/he fell out of love
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We're always interested in adding to our growing collection of writing prompts and welcome you to submit some. You can do this by emailing us at TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com (use the link for a preformatted email that will make it to the top of the pile).


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