13 Fiction Writing Prompts that Don’t Suck
Tis the season for clichéd writing prompts. Help combat the December slump with some unexpected prompts!
All last month, I used prompts from Ravyne Hawke and Promptly Written to write a story every day in November. I love writing prompts. A good writing prompt can spark dozens of fascinating stories or poems.
My first novel, Out of Order, was based on a writing prompt. It was just before the start of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and I had no idea what to write about. I was given the following prompt on a message board: “Write a scene that takes place in a public bathroom.” Another comment below that one, I remember, added something even more absurd: “Bonus challenge: your whole novel takes place in a bathroom!” At the time, I thought it impossible. What a weird prompt! But then I started writing, and, like the magic inspiration bug had bit me, I wrote a 50,000 word novel that took place — get this — almost entirely in public bathrooms.
At this time of year, you’re likely to encounter a lot of writing prompts surrounding the holidays. Prompts like “you receive an unexpected gift” or “write a story about shopping for someone who has everything” or “write a story about being stuck in a shopping mall on Christmas Eve.” We like those prompts…
