365 Writing Prompts for Writers
by Toby A. Welch
Copyright 2011 Toby A. Welch
Smashwords Edition
http://www.tobywelch.ca
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Cover art by Andysc
This follow-up to the popular e-book 365 Prompts to Kickstart Your Writing features writing prompts geared for writers. Interspaced between prompts that are appropriate for anyone, every third prompt deals with some aspect about writing.
Writing prompts can help you get into a writing groove. Instead of staring at a blank page, prompts give you the kick in the butt you need to get writing. Follow them in numerical order or jump around to a question that sparks your creativity. Use the following prompts to get writing, one prompt for every day of the year.
1. If you had the opportunity to change lives with anyone for a week, who would you pick and why?
2. If you could go back to any age and start your life over again with the knowledge that you have now, what age would you like to go back to? What decisions do you think you would make differently?
3. What are your strengths when it comes to your writing? What are your weaknesses?
4. If you put aside one dollar a day for the next decade of your life, in ten years you would have $3,650 saved up. Not taking into consideration inflation or what you think the power of the dollar will be in a decade, what would you spend that money on?
5. If you had to go to Venice, the city in Europe with no streets, only water with boats to get you from place to place, how do you think you would adjust to having no land beneath your feet? Do you think you would enjoy it or would it be challenging to you? If you have been to Venice, how different is it to get from place to place by boat and not walk or drive everywhere?
6. Imagine your ideal editor. What does he or she look like? What makes him or her your dream editor?
7. What is one thing you’ve always wanted to do but never accomplished? It could be learning to play an instrument, partaking in an activity, or going somewhere. What has stopped you from achieving it and why?
8. At what point, if any, does age difference play a role in a relationship? Is 20 years too big of a gap? 30? Or perhaps 40? Or is it not possible to have too big of an age gap between lovers?
9. Your writing voice plays a role in how successful you are as a writer. Some people say you are born with your writing voice while others claim you can develop a strong writing voice. Which do you think is true and how often do you think about your writing voice?
10. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? If you have become that, how would your life be different today? If you are in that career now, is it what you thought it would be when you were a child?
11. Are physical or emotional affairs more dangerous to a marriage? Explain.
12. If your only job and responsibility in life was to be a writer, what would your schedule look like? Chronicle a typical day for yourself.
13. If you could go back and change one decision you made in your life, what decision would you change and why? What would you do differently?
14. Do you think the ability to be a good listener is a skill that most people have? Do you think you are a good listener? It is often said that when someone is talking, the listeners are usually formulating in their head what they are going to say next and not really listening to what the other person is saying. Do you agree with this?
15. Do you think luck, perseverance, or talent plays the greatest role in being a successful writer? Explain.
16. Who is the closest person to you in your life? If they were kidnapped, how much ransom money would you be willing to pay to get them back? Would they pay as much for you, do you think?
17. Are little white lies acceptable? If so, in what situations? If no, why not? Do you tell many of them?
18. Who is your favourite writer? What makes him or her your favourite?
19. Private detectives cross into some areas of people's lives that some may deem unacceptable. What rights should private detectives have? How far should they be allowed to go?
20. If you were told to get into your vehicle (or to rent a vehicle if you don't have one) and drive any direction but you had to leave this moment, which direction would you go? North, east, south, or west? Where would your journey take you? Your time on your adventure has no limit.
21. You are a literary agent and you have to write a “No thank you” letter to a manuscript that almost hit the spot but it fell short. You want to give them encouragement while saying no. What would the letter say?
22. How much do you know about your mother’s years as a teenager? What do you think her childhood was like? How about your father’s years as a teenager and what that time was like in his life?
23. Karma is something people either believe in or they don’t. Do you think that what you do now will turn around and affect you in the future?
24. You have been given an assignment – you have two months to write a book about a holiday. It can be on any topic and can be fiction or nonfiction. What holiday would you choose to write about and what would the content include?
25. Who is the biggest superstar you can think of? What do you think a typical day is like for him or her?
26. All residents of the most obese city in the world have been given a trampoline and have been instructed to jump on it for thirty minutes a day. It is the law! What changes, if any, do you think the city will undergo in six months time? How about one year?
27. Editing is the least favourite task of some writers but others love it. What are your thoughts on editing? Do you put it off until the last moment in dread or do you look forward with anticipation to polishing up your words?
28. Stephen R. Covey said that “communication is the most important life skill we’ve got.” Do you agree or disagree with Covey’s statement? Explain.
29. We all know that texting or talking on the phone while driving is extremely dangerous and can kill people. Even with that knowledge, why do you think some people still do it despite being aware of the dangers?
30. Think of the most recent place that you have been to for the first time. Describe it in great detail.
31. Write a brief story that starts with the sentence, “The letter came in a white unmarked envelope.”
32. Do you think that some people’s behaviours increase their chances of getting cancer and other diseases? If yes, why do you think people do things that increase their risks of premature death. If no, do you think people getting sick is just the luck of the draw? Explain your thoughts.
33. Writers block – is it reality or an elusive myth? Explain your position on writers block.
34. When people are engaged to be married, do you think too much emphasis is placed on the wedding and not enough on the marriage itself? Or do you think the appropriate amount of focus is spent on the wedding, the day the couple ties the knot?
35. A meteor will hit the Earth in 72 hours. How will you spend your last three days?
36. Fear of failure is often cited as a reason for writers failing to write. Do you agree with this sentiment? Why or why not.
37. If you had a whole day to yourself, 24 hours with no responsibilities and no one else to take care of or deal with, how would you spend your time?
38. You’ve just won a contest! Your local building supply store will build any addition onto your house that you choose! What addition would you pick, how would it look, and what would you include in the space?
39. What is your favourite writing gadget at the moment? What makes it your favourite above all other writing gadgets? Also, if you could have your choice of any writing gadget in the world given to you as a gift for free, what item would you pick?
40. If you had to open your own supermarket, how would you organize it? Draw a picture or describe in words how you would lay out the store. Also, do you think you would enjoy being a supermarket owner? Why or why not?
41. If the human body was magically able to get away with two hours less sleep a night, what would you do with your time? How would you spend the gift of two additional hours a day?
42. You came across a beginning writer who is struggling to balance writing time with the other responsibilities and activities in his life. What advice would you give him about dealing with this problem?
43. You are looking to get into the movie business. You’ve been hired to direct and produce any movie of your choosing. What kind of movie would you look for and what would be the ideal storyline for you.
44. What is the official or unofficial sport in whatever place you live? Do you follow it? Why or why not?
45. Distractions during your writing time can keep you from being as productive as you can possibly be. How effective do you believe you are when it comes to handling distractions? What distractions do you find the most challenging to deal with?
46. In your life, have you more often been a bully or a victim of a bully? What situation was the most challenging? Bullies can be cruel to the point of debilitation. On the whole, do you think boys or girls are meaner bullies? Detail your thoughts on bullying.
47. No matter what country you live in, how do you think life in military housing differs from life for civilians? Do you think there is a stronger or weaker sense of community in military housing?
48. Are writing goals something that you do or do not use? If you use them, how effective do you think they are? If you don’t use them, why not?
49. Happiness is an intangible concept. On a scale of ten, how happy are you now and how could you make that number go up? What do you think you would need to be truly happy?
50. Decades ago, most married couples slept in the same room in one double bed. Nowadays many married couples are opting to each have their own bedroom, even couples that are happily married. Do you think this is a good or a bad thing and why?
51. Are writing rules made to be broken or should they be followed to the letter? (To get you thinking, some common writing rules include ensuring the subject and verb are in agreement, using active voice only, avoiding sentence fragments, not using double negatives, never splitting infinitives, never using clichés, and never using a fancy word when a simpler one will do.)
52. Do you think people are lazier today than they were 50 years ago or were they lazier back in the day? Do you think that all the gadgets that were made to improve our lives and make things easier have made us more or less lazy?
53. Common sense is a complicated ideal. Even if you believe you have it, others may not agree with your thoughts and vice-versa. What is the last thing someone did that made you shake your head in bewilderment? For people with no common sense, do you think it can be learned? Why or why not?
54. Free writing is the concept of writing anything that comes to mind with no thought for quality or content. This is a method some writers are encouraged to use when they can’t get words flowing. Have you ever tried free writing? If yes, how effective have you found it to be? If no, would you be willing to give it a try when you can’t get started writing? Share your thoughts on free writing.
55. If you were jailed for a crime you didn’t commit but were found guilty of, how do you think you would deal with the injustice of the situation?
56. Statistics vary widely but over half of all marriages end in divorce. Why do you think this is?
57. You have 90 days to write a 60,000-word fiction book of your choosing. Share the details about your book, what the topic is, and how you will get it done in three months.
58. Are zoos a cruel environment for animals or are they a safe haven? Explain your position on zoos.
59. Should saving money for retirement be mandatory from the time a person first begins working? Or is it a person’s own responsibility to ensure they will be fiscally able to take care of themselves when they retire?
60. You have to use a writing partner or you will face imminent death. What projects will you most enjoy partnering with another person on? What projects will you dread having to work on with another person? What writing tasks will you encourage your writing partner to take on?
61. What is the most heartbreaking thing you can imagine happening to you in your life? For some people, it would be the death of a spouse or the loss of a child or the unfulfillment of a dream. Thinking of your most heartbreaking thing, how do you think you would handle it if it happened to you?
62. The lifestyle of a professional ballerina is intense. Regardless of whether you are male or female, if you had the talent for it, would you have liked to be a ballerina? Why or why not?
63. Every writer is faced with emotional challenges on their quest to become a writer. What emotional challenges have you faced in your journey thus far?
64. “The Abyss” is a movie about creatures that live deep, deep in the ocean. Do you think there is anything that lives in the ocean in places that are deeper than we have ever been able to explore? If yes, what kind of creatures do you think exist? If no, why not?