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young writers

Creative Prompts for Young (and not so young) Writers

Melinda Tognini January 5, 2021 No Comments

Stephen King believes that ‘Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work’.

So here are some prompts to help you get to work!

1. Five random words

Start writing a story, poem or even a piece of artwork incorporating the following five words/phrases:

  • microwave beeps
  • beginner
  • pen
  • poppy
  • gel pen

2. Images

Choose one of the following images and ask ten questions you would like to know about the person in the image—obviously you will not know the answers simply by looking at the image.

Now, use your imagination to create the answers to your questions.

Let these answers help form the beginning of a new story.

[Photo by Tien Vu Ngoc on Unsplash.]
[Photo by Juli Kosolapova on Unsplash.]
[Photo by Kenny Luo on Unsplash.]
[Photo by Dan Senior on Unsplash.]

3. Fire and Flood

Create a poem or story about a fire or a flood.

Alternatively, look up the words to Vance Joy’s song ‘Fire and the Flood’ and write a story based on these lyrics.

[Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash.]
[Photo by Nazrin B-va on Unsplash.]

4. Last Sentence

Pick up a book you haven’t read for a while. Turn to the last sentence of any chapter.  Use this as the first sentence of a new poem or story.

5. First Sentence

Diana Rahim’s short story ‘A Minor Kalahari’ (which can be found in the anthology In This Desert, There Were Seeds, edited by Elizabeth Tan and Jon Gresham) begins with the following phrase:

It all started when …

Write your own story that starts with this phrase.

Over to You

Which prompt will you start with first?

Remember: just begin.

 

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Previous 6 Degrees of Separation: From Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to The Muddleheaded Wombat
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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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