Category: Prompts

My grandmother (Nana) making noodles with my sister and my niece, circa 1974.

Write about a special person in your life. The person can be alive or no longer living. It could also be an animal.

#justwrite #iamawriter #amwriting

It’s Halloween week.

Does this mean anything special to you? Or, ho-hum, just another day/evening?

Did you go trick-or-treating as a child? With siblings, cousins, friends?

If yes, where did you go?

What was that like?

Describe your favorite and least favorite Halloween costume that you wore.

What clever or interesting Halloween costumes have you seen? Where did you see this?

Is Halloween week a fun time for you? Or is it a trickster, something you really don’t like?

If you worked with children/students, what was / is Nov. 1 like?

#justwrite #iamwriting #iamawriter

Did you wear a uniform for work or school?

If yes, describe the uniform.

What were your duties while wearing this uniform?

Worst part of the duties and uniform?

Best part of the duties and uniform?

OR:

What is your reaction when you see somebody in uniform?

Marching band, sports uniform, law enforcement, firefighter, doctor (white lab coat or scrubs), prison inmate, postal workers, FedEx and UPS employees, private security guard, housekeeping staff, life guard, food delivery person, etc.

How to make your writing memorable.

Step 1. Choose something you have written.

Step 2. Circle all to-be verbs.

Step 3. Replace “to be” verbs with strong verbs.

Step 4. Rewrite, using the idea of “show, don’t tell.”

Links to blog posts about strong and memorable writing:

Why Should You Use Strong Verbs?

Strengthen Your Writing

How to be a better writer

Sparks, memorable writing on The Write Spot Blog

In “The Wizard of Oz,” the tinman wants a heart, the scarecrow a brain, the lion wants courage. And, of course, Dorothy wants to go home.

Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, and Professor Marvel also want Dorothy to return safely home.

Their neighbor Almira Gulch wants to capture Dorothy’s dog, Toto.

Is the Wizard of Oz a charlatan, like Professor Marvel?  Or is he a bumbling, absent-minded imposter?

And, of course, Dorothy must overcome obstacles before she can return home.

And then there is the wicked witch, the Munchkins, the monkeys, the hired hands, and of course, Glinda, the good witch, or is she a witch?

Which Oz character do you identify with?

What do you want? In general, what do you want?

Is there a place or time you want to return to?

October is breast cancer awareness month.
I would like to expand to body awareness.
Write about an illness or a physical change you, or someone you know, went through.
Include your age and who was involved.
How did you find out about the illness?
What was the next step?
What happened?
Are you still affected by this illness/physical change?

#justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter

Photo by David Zinn

Prompt: A fish out of water story.

Write about a time you felt like a fish out of water, where you didn’t fit in, or you wondered if you belonged.

Inspired by Sept/Oct 2024 Writer’s Digest, “Level Up Your Writing Life,” by Sharon Short.

#justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter

According to Diane Stark, author of “Life of the Party,” a Chicken Soup story in “Be You:”

“If your favorite activity is a busy one that involves lots of people, you are an extrovert. If your activity is a quiet, solitary pursuit, you are an introvert. The vast majority of writers are introverts. It’s just how we’re wired.”

Diane discovered, “I am a social introvert. It’s someone who is outgoing, but also requires alone time to be healthy.”

Prompt: Are you an introvert, an extrovert, or a combination?

List your three favorite activities.

Are these things you do by yourself or in a small group, or with a lot of other people?

When you are tired or stressed, what activity appeals to you most?

After being by yourself all day, are you anxious to be around other people?

Or, do you need downtime to recover?

What energizes you?

What restores your equilibrium?

Just Write!

#amwriting #iamawriter #justwrite

What would you like to do when you get a chance?

What will it take to get that chance?

Should you leave it up to chance?

Or, can you make it happen?

Imagine. For a moment. That thing happened.

How would you feel?

What is the first step you can take to make it happen?

What would you need to change to make “it” happen?

If you can’t actually make it happen, can you write about it?

Can you write around it, over it, under it, through it?

Just write!

And maybe it will manifest. Whatever “it” is.

Prompt inspired by a line in Writing Your Parents’ Stories.