Starting in May: Sunday Writing Prompts

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Starting May 3rd, Sundays will be all about a fun writing prompt. Each week I’ll toss up a writing starter to get the creative juices flowing and spark some ideas. The prompts will take one of several forms:

1. The Free Write

These prompts will focus on running with a general idea, with no goal in mind aside from writing whatever inspires us.

2. The Skill Builder

These prompts will focus on an exercise designed to work on a particular skill or technique, such as a POV exercise or character builder.

3. The Story Starter

These prompts will offer a seed to a story and let you take it from there. Maybe it’ll be a premise, a first line, or a title to get you started. The goal here is to write a complete story, but length is entirely up to you—create anything from flash fiction to a whole novel if the seed grows that large.

4. The Challenge Prompt

These prompts will challenge you to step out of your comfort zone. They’re designed to push your creative boundaries and stretch those artistic wings.

5. The Chain Story

These prompts will start a story, but I’ll leave it up to you to carry it on in the comments. Add a single word or a few paragraphs, and we’ll see where the story might go.

6. The Photo Prompt

These prompts will be nothing more than an interesting image. What you do with it, is up to you.

I encourage everyone to share their results in the comments (just use a snippet of anything that runs long), but feel free to do these on your own if you’d feel more comfortable.