Prompts

Prompt: What My Pet Taught Me

The prompt this week was:

What my pet or an animal taught me.

Have you learned a life lesson from your pets or from an encounter with an animal?

Maybe this isn’t about a personal story but an encounter with a pet or animal for another character. What happened? What was the response of the character and the animal? What did they learn?

Prompt: Write Like William Stafford

As part of the preparations for the Centennial Celebration of the birth of William Stafford, our prompt was:

Write like William Stafford.

You may read selected poems by William Stafford from the William Stafford Poetry preserved by the Friends of William Stafford to assist you with this prompt.

We’ve also put together a post with more information on William Stafford and his work.

Prompt: Something You Know By Heart

The prompt is to write about something you know by heart.

Look deep. Peel off the layers. What do you know down to your soul or toes or whatever metaphor you wish.

You may write a personal story or use characters to demonstrate something they know by heart.

Prompt: Writing with Verbs Only

The prompt involves writing with verbs only to describe a scene.

  • Moving in a confined space. How does the character or characters move around within the space of the scene. Think of moving verbs that describe sound as well as movement like slither, slide, struggle, face.
  • Talking in a particular volume. How does the character(s) speak. Use speaking verbs that describe the sound and volume to paint the picture like shout, scream, whisper, hiss, mumble, argue.
  • Extend a body part. Have the character(s) move their limbs with verbs that paint the movement such as reach, push, pull, lift, thrust, curl, stab, twist.

Prompt: Doodle with Words

The prompt this week was a fun one.

Doodle with words.

The goal of the exercise was to break through writer’s block. Taking a blank piece of paper, write a word. Write another word attached or near it. Play with the way you write the word. Maybe draw a picture next to the word. No rules, just keep adding words one by one and see where they take you. When you are ready, start writing.

Prompt: I’m Fine…When You’re Not

The prompt this week was:

Saying fine when you’re not.

Set yourself a scenario where your characters are in a stressful or bad situation and they have to say that they are fine when they aren’t. They have to be brave. Consider situations of bullying when a child or adult is asked but compelled to respond with “I’m fine” as some form of protection or defense.

Prompt: Home Remedies

Growing up, did your family have home remedies, possibly passed down from generation to generation?

Some home remedies have been proven to be effective. Some are mere panaceas, of comfort to those giving and receiving the treatment.

The prompt is to write about a home remedy in your family or one you’ve overheard. Tell the story by tapping into the emotional and sensual descriptions of the experience, good or bad.

Prompt: Hiding It From the Family

The prompt this week involved keeping secrets.

You or your character knows something that the family shouldn’t know. Write about how you successfully or unsuccessfully hide the information.

Keeping secrets comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors, but hiding something from family, people who know you or the character well and share a history, that’s more complicated.

How do they hide the information? Are they successful in doing so? It is important that we know what the secret is or just that something must be hidden from the others? Consider familial events such as family dinner gathers, holidays, or reunions.