Why writing prompts

When writing a prompt, first determine which type of essay the students will be writing. Common essay types include: argument, descriptive, expository also known as evaluative, reflective, or analytic , narrative, opinion, and persuasive. Prompt construction: One useful approach to prompt writing is to break it into three parts. The first part introduces the topic to the students; the second part encourages students to think about the topic, possibly with a pre-writing activity in which students brainstorm for ideas; the final part describes the writing task Brevity: Writing prompt should be short and focused to avoid confusing students, but the instructor must ensure they provide sufficient information in order for students to clearly understand the assigned writing task.

Repetition: The parts of the prompt may be repetitive. Using parallel wording helps students remain focused on the specific writing task. Bias and sensitivity: Topics should be inclusive of and equitable to all of your students. Prompts should be written in a manner that all students will have knowledge and experience to understand them regardless of cultural and other factors.

Prompts should avoid cultural, ethnic, gender, or other stereotyping. Writing prompt construction: Part 1. Introduce the topic or writing situation with a statement or generalization to orient the student to the topic. Part 2. Encourage students to brainstorm and to make a personal connection with the topic. The instructor might include specific ideas promote ideas.

Part 3. Describe the writing task, purpose, and audience. The instructor should provide sufficient information for the students to fully understand their task.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go? You have a billion dollars in your bank account. How did you make it? Describe what you see. If you could do anything for work, what would you do? You live on an abandoned island, describe your morning routine. You wake up today with the superpower of your choosing. Go to Twitter or Facebook and write about the first post you see.

Just as your flight takes off, you discover a shocking note under your seat. None of your friends remember you, describe yourself to them. There's nothing more frustrating than finding the time but not the words to be creative. Enter our new directory! If you're ready to kick writer's block to the curb and finally get started on your short story or novel, these unique story ideas might just be your ticket.

Which, as all aspiring authors know, is the 1 challenge — and solution! Feel free to filter through by the different genres, which includes Comedy — whether satire or slapstick, this is an opportunity to write with your funny bone.

Dramatic — if you want to make people laugh and cry within the same story, this might be your genre. Romance — one of the most popular commercial genres out there. Check out these story ideas out if you love writing about love.

Fantasy — the beauty of this genre is that the possibilities are as endless as your imagination. Mystery — from whodunnits to cozy mysteries, it's time to bring out your inner detective. Thriller — there's nothing like a page-turner that elicits a gasp of surprise at the end. Historical Fiction — your chance to transport readers to times gone by. For Kids — encourage children to let their imagination run free. Want to submit your own story ideas to help inspire fellow writers?

Send them to us here. Finding inspiration is just one piece of the puzzle. Next, you need to refine your craft skills — and then display them to the world. We've worked hard to create resources that help you do just that!

Check them out:. While writing prompts are a great tactic to spark your creative sessions, a writer generally needs a couple more tools in their toolbelt when it comes to developing a rock-solid writing routine. Once your mind is clear, just write the first few things that you think of. Liar, Liar: Make up a poem or story of complete lies about yourself or someone else.

Obituaries: Look at the recent obituaries online or in the newspaper and imagine the life of someone and write about that person. Pocket: Rummage through your pockets and write about what you keep or find in your pockets. Cinquain: Write a cinquain poem, which consists of 5 lines that do not rhyme.

Fight: Write about witnessing two people get in an argument with each other. In the Clouds: Go cloud watching for the day and write about what you imagine in the clouds. At the Park: Take some time to sit on a park bench and write about the sights, scenes, and senses and emotions you experience.

Should, Would, And Could: Write a poem or story using the words should, would, and could. Timer: Set a timer for 5 minutes and just write. Write for a Cause: Write a poem or essay that raises awareness for a cause you support. Out of the Box: Imagine finding a box. Under the Influence: What is something has impacted you positively in your life?

Remote Control: Imagine you can fast forward and rewind your life with a remote control. Symbolism: Think of objects, animals, etc. Light at the End of the Tunnel: Write about a time when you saw hope when it seemed like a hopeless situation. Shipwrecked: Write about being stranded somewhere — an island, a bus stop, etc. Quotable: Use a popular quote from a speaker and use it as inspiration for your writing. Mind Map it Out: Create a mind map of words, phrases, and ideas that pop into your head or spend some time browsing the many mind maps online.

Write a poem, story, or journal entry inspired by the mind map. Email Subject Lines: Read your email today and look for subject lines that may be good starters for writing inspiration.

Doodle : Spend some time today doodling for about minutes. Write about the thoughts you had while doodling or create something inspired by your finished doodle. Chalkboard: Imagine you are in a classroom.

What does it say on the chalkboard? Flashlight : Imagine going somewhere very dark with only a flashlight to guide you. A Far Away Place : Envision yourself traveling to a fictional place, what do you experience in your imaginary journey?

Promise to Yourself: Write about a promise you want to make to yourself and keep. Brick Wall : Write a poem that is about a brick wall — whether literal or figurative. Making a Choice: Write about a time when you had to make a difficult choice.

Outcast : Write about someone who is not accepted by their peers. Scary Monsters: Write about a scary or not-so-scary monster in your closet or under the bed. Title First : Make a list of potential poem or story titles and choose one to write from. Get Well : Write a poem that will help someone who is sick feel better quick!

Concrete : Write about walking down a sidewalk and what you see and experience. This Old House : Write about an old house that is abandoned or being renovated. Clutter: Is there a cluttered spot in your home? Go through some of that clutter today and write about what you find or the process of organizing. On the TV: Flip to a random TV channel and write about the first thing that comes on — even if it is an infomercial!

Movie Conversation: Use a memorable conversation from a favorite movie to inspire your writing. Idiom: Choose from a list of idioms one that speaks to you and create a poem around that saying or phrase. Ie: It is raining cats and dogs. Playground: Whether it is the swings or the sandbox or the sliding boards, write about your memories of being on a playground. Rock Star: Imagine you are a famous rock star. Write about the experience. Come to Life: Imagine ordinary objects have come to life.

Write about what they do and say. Airplane: Write about meeting someone on an airplane and a conversation you might have. Write a poem, short story, or journal entry inspired by a product label. Instrumental Inspiration: Listen to some instrumental music and write a poem that matches the mood, beat, and style of the music. Personality Type : Do you know your personality type?

There are many free quizzes online — write about what type of personality traits you have. Decade: Choose a favorite decade and write about it. Say it: Write a poem or story that uses dialogue between two people. The Unsent Letter: Write about a letter that never made it to its recipient. Records : Go through your file box and pull out old receipts or records…write something inspired by what you find! Serendipity: Write about something that happened by chance in a positive way. Word of the Day: Go to a dictionary website that has a word of the day and use it in a poem, story or journal entry you write.

Forgiveness: Write about a time when someone forgave you or you forgave someone. Underground: Imagine living in a home underground and use that as inspiration for writing. Classic Rock: Pick a classic rock love ballad and rewrite it into a story or poem with a similar theme.

Motivational Poster: Look at some motivational posters online and write a poem or journal entry inspired by your favorite one. Games: Write about the games people play — figuratively or literally. Turning Point: Write about a point in life where things turned for the better or worse. Review: Review your week, month, or year in a journal entry or poem format. Detective: Write about a detective searching for clues or solving a mystery.

Camera: Take your camera for a walk and write based on one of the photographs you take. Congratulations : Did you write a poem, short story, or journal entry every day for a whole year? If you love this list and want an easy to print and customize version of this list of writing prompts, please be sure to check out the printable ad-free version which includes print-ready files to print a list, prompt cards, AND all the design files you could possibly need to customize to your own liking!

We hope you enjoy these creative writing prompts! I have been on a reading binge since being on vacation from school. I stumbled across this while looking up unit supplements for my kiddos, and thought, hey, write a page a day and see what happens! Thank you for this collection of prompts!

Thank you again! I am in a large abandoned warehouse with a flickering light The only light in the whole room. Where is the only light in the room? Where is the flicker? Where am I? Where are the bloody teeth? This is such a helpful tool!

Definitely a recomended sight! I am new at the blogging game. You have provided some wonderful ideas for blog posts. Great ideas just to get used to writing every day. This list is really impressive and useful for those of us who are looking for good topics to blog about. Very nice list. Thanks for compiling and posting it. Wow, thanks so much for all these wonderful prompts! They are lots of fun and very helpful.

I use this for my homeschooling-I love it! Thank you so much!! This is a wonderful list. So creative! The Parent Trap, right? Never seen the whole movie, but it seems funny. Thank you for consideration. What I like most about these is how you can combine them and get really weird ideas. For example, empathy from the rooftops: what if you shouted something positive in public every day — or if everyone did so?

It might be fun to try, and then write a diary about it. Could it change our language or customs? It would be cool if we could have goggles that showed places during a certain time period. Like Seattle And you could buy special plugins, like specific people you want to hang out with, famous or non. It is amazing what creative writing could do to you. Daily prompts have proven to be very inspiring and overtime writers develop their own style of writing depending on how passionate they are about it.

I would love to write about all 3, online, space, and time travel. I belong to a writing club. We seem to have a lot of prompts to use. I love stories having to do with rain. Would you join me. I am jim. I really love the list of writing ideas you have compiled here. I will be using it and others to get myself back into writing every single day if I can be away with it. Also, I have noticed a few problems with this list. One is a repeat topic.

Those are numbers 76 and And you skipped a number. And have only days of writing. Still through! All these ideas are absolutely amazing and awesome ideas! I commend you for putting it all together in an easy to read format too. Thank you so very much. Wonderful compilation of ideas! I will send your blog along to my many Creative Writing students.

Now i sit in the prison cell, Waiting for my call My friend across the room smiling, my eyes begin to swell, My neck snapping on the, from my sides my hands fall. Thank you very much! You are such a life developer, who can virtually transform a life busy with unnecessary activities humans are posted to through internet.

Thanks to the proponent of this great idea. Damn this shit is disappointing. Hi John, the weather might seem boring, but there are a lot of ways you can springboard from that — maybe you write a story about a character who despises the sunshine or melts if they get rained on or they live in a underground tunnel and the house gets flooded…You can also use it as an exercise in developing more descriptive writing that shows, not tells for the scenes in your story.

It was a perfectly reasonable sort of darkness. The kind of darkness you might get if you wake up an hour before sunrise. But it was late in the morning.