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.
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.
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.
