Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt: Foolish Things

Explore what would happen if your main character abided by this quote from Colette: “You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.”

Writing Prompt: Time Travel

If your protagonist could travel through time, like Gil Pender in Midnight in Paris, which time period would she choose? Write that scene.

Writing Prompt: The Obituary

Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, had a bizarre and life-changing experience: seeing his own obituary. It changed his life.

Writing Prompt: Have Hero, Will Travel

You know where you’d like to go this summer if time and money were no object, but do you know where your protagonist would go?

The fire alarm blares. Your character awakens in the middle of the night panicked and terrified. She races outside, dialing 911 on the way. Looks back through the open door. Oh no! Still inside is her precious….what?

Writing Prompt: Spring Forward, Fall Back

Where is your story set? What time of year is it? If you could set your story anywhere else, you haven’t given your story a strong enough sense of place. Ditto for season.

Writing Prompt: Getting to Know You

What item does your protagonist have in her bedroom that no one else does? What does that say about her?

Writing Prompt: Lost on S/Hero Island

How well do you really know your protagonist? Imagine that you were cast away on a desert island alone with nothing but your backpack and your protagonist. Will you survive?