What Are Writing Prompts and How to Use Them

Writing prompts are short statements, questions, or scenarios designed to inspire writers and stimulate their creativity. They can serve as a starting point for stories, essays, poetry, or any form of writing. Prompts come in various types, each serving to push writers to explore new themes, characters, or settings. Here, we delve into the different types of writing prompts, provide examples, and discuss how they can help overcome writer's block.

Examples of Writing Prompts

Character-Based Prompts

These prompts focus on a character, often providing a backstory, personality traits, or a specific situation. By exploring these aspects, writers are encouraged to develop their characters in depth.

Example: And just how long have you had this she asked, running her fingers over the tarnished brass lock and water-warped wood. He nudged the old trunk with his foot. Oh no, I never said it was mine.

Setting-Based Prompts

These prompts describe a setting or provide details about a specific location, challenging writers to write about the environment and its impact on the narrative.

Example: The rain soaked through his cloak and pooled in his boots, leaching the warmth from his body as he packed the empty vials into the bag. His frozen, shaking hands fumbled one and it slipped and shattered on the street. He cursed in the old tongue then immediately covered his mouth.

Scenario Prompts

These prompts provide a specific situation or event that writers can use to build a story around.

Example: The scream of the jets overhead ripped into her eardrums and she jumped into the hole she had been digging to huddle out of sight in the mud. Maybe if they didn’t do this she spat, I would not have to be down here all day!

Theme-Based Prompts

These prompts focus on a particular theme or idea, encouraging writers to explore it through their narrative.

Example: Your character is aboard the ESC Ursula, a private asteroid miner. Upon returning from a run in your mining skiff, your character finds that a freak collision has left the whole ship flooded with hazardous poison/radiation/something. After sending a distress call, two ships receive it, one from your character’s nation and one from the nation your character’s nation is at war with. One military vessel offers co-ordinates for a rescue, while the other remains silent, despite the communicator showing that they received it.

Dialogue Prompts

These prompts provide a dialogue to get the story started. They often include two or more perspectives, creating conflict and depth.

Example: Your character is an adventurer for hire who has found themselves in a tight situation. Trapped and carted away, a succubus/incubus/typically villainous minion offers them help, expressing boredom with being evil/xir morality that isn’t your character’s. When skeptical, their would-be savior explains that being evil would also entail betrayal, especially betraying evil people, or good people betraying good is especially evil. And points out that your character isn’t exactly bristling with alternatives. The character decides to join up with said creature and escape, unwittingly setting in motion a prophecy long forgotten by everyone except the immortal villain/good-guy/venerated leader of whatever xir morality your character isn’t.

Plot Device Prompts

These prompts introduce an element that could be a key to unlocking a bigger story, often serving as a tool to kickstart creativity and exploration.

Example: Your character is a random person/thing. It’s a normal day until a truck crashes in the busiest part of town/city/densely populated place, and a mysterious widget is forcefully ejected from it along with a pair of extremely oddly dressed characters. Your character can see all this happen because the widget is a plot device of paramount importance, and shenanigans ensue.

Using writing prompts can be a great way to overcome writer's block and ignite new ideas. One popular method is to flip through periodicals and find an interesting picture or headline, then write a fictional story around it without reading the details. This can lead to some surprisingly creative and unique stories.

Don’t forget to explore the wide range of writing prompts available online. Just search for ‘writing prompts,’ and you’ll find countless resources to help you spark your creativity. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, these prompts can be an invaluable tool in your creative toolkit.

Conclusion

Writing prompts are a powerful tool for stimulating creativity and overcoming writer's block. Whether you're starting a new story, exploring a specific theme, or simply need a spark of inspiration, these prompts can help you dive into the creative process with confidence.