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Writing prompts for young writers

Creative Prompts #5

Melinda Tognini August 20, 2019 No Comments
Image of young man with backpack on standing on a hill looking over a valley

You may be aware that I continue to update my list of Competitions for Young Writers, as old competitions inch past their closing date and new ones come to my attention. The following creative prompts draw on some of the themes identifiied in the competitions open at the time of publishing this post.

Regardless of that, I hope you’ll find something to spark your creativity – and you don’t have to be a ‘young’ writer to benefit from them either.

Pinterest Image: young man with backpack on back looking down over a valley

 

1. Random Words

Choosing five random words is one of my go-tos if I’m stuck and need to trick my creativity into getting with the program. So, here’s five words to get you started.

Creative Prompt: Write a story or poem or song, or create a piece of artwork that includes the following words: teacup, newspaper, freedom, laugh, blanket

 

2. Images

Select one or more of the following images as the starting point for a piece of creative work.

Image: Young man looking out over a valley
[Photo credit: Almos Bechtold on Unsplash]
Image: dog with its head out the window of a car, mouth slightly open
[Photo credit: Andrew Pons on Unsplash]
Image: a girl with one arm stretched out to touch the side of a cliff and her other hand reaching out to grab someone's hand
[Photo credit: Dineslav Roydev on Unsplash]

3. Freedom

The Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition (which has closed for this year) had freedom as its theme. Here’s a couple of questions to get you started.

Creative Prompt: What does freedom mean to you? What would losing your freedom look like to you? Create a story in which one person loses some aspect of their freedom and another gains theirs.

 

4. Crime/Mystery

As a teenager, I loved a good mystery novel (and still do). There’s currently a couple of competitions  encouraging entries about crime and/or mysteries, and even if you miss the deadline on them, I’m sure there will be other opportunities for these sorts of stories.

Creative Prompt: Brainstorm a list of myster and/or crime stories you've read or watched and identify where each was set. Were there settings common to more than one story? Were there any unusual or interesting ones? Create your own unusual setting for a mystery or crime story.

 

5. Local History

I’m a big fan of local history because it often uncovers stories and events not yet found in the major history books. It can offer up wonderfully specific details that can be ‘borrowed’ for fiction projects, too.

For example, I recently heard a woman reminiscing about the Second World War in Perth, and showed me a photo of her father’s car with the headlights blacked out. I would never have known that detail about the headlights if she hadn’t pointed it out to me, and it will become a small but important detail in the historical novel I’m writing.

Creative Prompt: What is the history of your suburb or town? If you know someone who has lived in the area for many years, find out their memories of the place? What news was on the front page of the newspaper 70 years ago? 100 years ago? What other information can you find out about that news story, abou tthe that time period in your area, or other local stories of the time?

 

6. Objects

Red Room Poetry currently have a competition involving writing about a special object. If the following prompt appeals to you, you may also want to check out Red Room Poetry’s additional learning resources to develop your ideas further.

Creative Prompt: Choose an object that has special meaning to you. Why does this object have special meaning for you? Imagine you are the object - what story do you have to tell? OR return to the piece you created with the five random words. Continue the story by adding in your special object. OR write a poem featuring your special object.

 

7. Provenance

Provenance is defined as ‘the place of origin or earliest known history of something’.

My grandfather recently shared with me the story behind a painting hanging on his wall. He knew who the artist was, and where he bought the painting. He also shared with me how and why he came to own it. Not only was the artwork of significance to my grandfather because of its associated memories, but it now means much more to me because it’s story – or provenance – has been passed on to me.

Creative prompt: Find an object that has a special meaning to someone else. What is the story behind the object? Ask the person who owns it why it is special. How did it come into their possession? Can you find out anything about who made it or how it was made?

 

Over to You

Which of these creative prompts appeal to you?

I’d love to hear how you go!

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Previous 6 Degrees of Separation: From Wilder Country to Always Another Country
Next Writers in Exile #4: Isabel Allende
Melinda Tognini

story-gatherer & mentor

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Latest Comments

Apologies for the late reply! I shall go check out your post - even the title is intriguing!
In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Orbital to Imperfect
I haven't read any of the books on your chain (though am reading Orbital currently) but love the clever links... And now adding Writer Laid Bare to my TBR.. my post is here - https://www.ladyinreadwrites.com/two-roads-diverged-in-the-words-with-trivia-twists-too/
In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Orbital to Imperfect
You're welcome! Thank you for being so generous with your time in answering my questions as well as all the incredible work encouraging creatives everywhere!
In Reflect. Simplify. Create: In Conversation with Amanda Viviers

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