Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Some Writing Prompts to Trigger Creativity



I came across few of these writing prompts in a book. I tweaked and modified most of them to suit our  current needs: keeping our WIP in mind. I am sharing them with you all, in the hope that it will help us out of tight spots and knots in plots.



  1. Select an ordinary domestic item  such as a teapot, a mug, a jeweled brush, a broom and write an article on it. For eg: the jeweled brush can belong to a princess, the broom can be a witch’s who has lost her magic powers. This prompt  creates wacky short stories.

  1. Write a conversation between your protagonist and antagonist. This prompt can pinpoint  the weaknesses and strengths of  both the protagonist and antagonist and will assist when its time to bring them face to face.

  1. Interview your protagonist at different ages: 7,11,15,19, 23, we can even reach their old age. I am sure this prompt will be fun and will help us with our protagonist’s goals. What kind of a person has our MC become in old age, have they achieved everything that they set out to do? How did they achieve everything? Are they happy, or bitter?

  1. Try Time Warps. Imagine you or your protagonist coming back from the future and confronting your present self, or, the present day world. We can also send the protagonist into an alternate universe. This writing prompt can also be tried for the antagonist.

  1. Take some unusual  pictures and  write about it from the Point of  View of one of the characters in your WIP. This will make us see things from that person’s perspective and give us a peep into that character’s mental makeup.

  1. Stare into the fire, clouds, rain, tree, a table, or, even a house and see what pictures start to form. The setting sun or the sunrise are wonderful prompts. Write the scenes that you see  from the point of view of your protagonist. What feelings do these  scenes evoke? What is the protagonist’s emotional state when he/she encounters the above scenes?

I seldom try Writing Prompts (I may have just tried few). But these have motivated me to give them a go. What about you all? Do you do writing prompts, or, are you like me and generally give them a  miss? Any favourite prompts you want to share?

Picture Credit and Copyright Melissa Crytzer Fry
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20 comments:

  1. Meera GuptaApril 5, 2011 at 3:04 AM

    Hello Rachna, thanks for these wonderful writing prompts. You try so much to help other writers. Will try them out. :)

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  2. Cheryl KlarichApril 5, 2011 at 3:40 AM

    Rachna, I think these are wonderful for bringing life to a manuscript. I love details that are clear and relevant. These would be great for journal writing also!

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  3. Olivia GreenApril 5, 2011 at 5:04 AM

    Thank you for posting these. Prompts rarely worked for me, but the one about the protagonist at different ages seems useful and fun to do. I'll definitely try it.

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  4. Sheryl GwytherApril 5, 2011 at 6:00 AM

    I really like these, Rachna. and yes, interviewing the protagonist (and antagonist) at different ages would be extremely useful - who knows how he/she has developed over that time? A whole lot of secrets revealed! :)

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  5. Robyn CampbellApril 5, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    I don't do too many, Rachna, but I have tried a couple. Writing a letter to my protagonist and this one I got from Writers Digest. It's really fun.

    One morning you are sitting in front of your computer working on your novel when, suddenly, the computer starts talking to you. What does it say? Does it deliver an important message or just want to chat? Great post.

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  6. Kenda TurnerApril 5, 2011 at 7:18 AM

    Thanks, Rachna, for the ideas! I especially like #5. Lots of potential there to go deeper into my protagonist's head. I'll have to try it.

    I enjoy trying my hand at writing prompts. I may not ever use what comes as a result, but I often come away from the exercise feeling like the writing "wheels" have been oiled and I'm more ready to go. Funny, but we're sort of on the same page in our latest posts--I posted about a writing prompt, too :-)

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  7. Laura S.April 5, 2011 at 7:26 AM

    I love writing prompts! These are great. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Elizabeth MuellerApril 5, 2011 at 8:55 AM

    Hi Rachna! <3

    I don't usually do the prompt thing. I did it twice and a full blown novel flew from one of them! The other I just set aside for another day, but I do intend to finish that. :)

    ♥.•*¨ Elizabeth ¨*•.♥

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  9. FaithApril 5, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    I tend to use prompts to write short stories -- I love them that way, as they help direct my thoughts. I haven't tried using prompts in a larger WIP, though there are some great ideas here!

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  10. Lydia KangApril 5, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    I like the antagonist/protagonist conversation idea. You can really get to the essence of your story this way. I'll have to try it (or at least, imagine it!)

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  11. Lynda R Young as Elle CardyApril 5, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    Oh, I really like the idea of interviewing the protagonist at different ages.
    Great writing prompts :)

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  12. Lingchen DorjiApril 5, 2011 at 9:17 PM

    Thanks for the advice Rachna. Before, I used to get lot of ideas while taking long journey in buses and taxis. Now since I drive on my own, I am losing all those opportunities. Maybe I should start traveling in buses and taxis again. : )

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  13. AnonymousApril 6, 2011 at 12:45 AM

    Great ideas. I shall have a go at some of them when I'm not feeling so ghastly :O)

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  14. Ellie GarrattApril 6, 2011 at 1:30 AM

    Fabulous prompts to kick start a writing session. Thank you!

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  15. AnuApril 6, 2011 at 6:37 AM

    I have tried few times but could never finish any as I fall short of Ideas....thanks for the Ideas..will try them out :)

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  16. Victoria DixonApril 7, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    You know, they're wonderful things to do, but I rarely use them as such. A lot of times, I'll see something: a sunset, a curious landscape, recently a bit of Arabic script, and I just have to write about it. I just created an entire world, faith and story out of a bit of Arabic script, so I'm darned happy with myself right now. LOL

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  17. Alka GurhaApril 7, 2011 at 9:49 AM

    Great tips...Rachna i attended Vijay Nairs creative writing class in Blore...Now I am in Gurgaon. Do you take classes for 14 yr olds....some of my old friends were inquiring?Where in Blore are u located?

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  18. AnonymousApril 7, 2011 at 4:26 PM

    Wonderful article. I don't think I have tried this.. I will have to give it a try..:)

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  19. Margo BerendsenApril 8, 2011 at 12:08 AM

    These are great ideas! I am bookmarking this post for later use. I esp. want to try the first one. I'd love to write more short stories.

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  20. alexiaApril 8, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    Thanks, I love these!

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