One day you sit down to write and find that you have nothing to say.
Or you manage to start the flow of words from mind to paper but it feels flat.
If you’re feeling a bit of writer’s block, one way to punch through the resistance is to simply start by writing, “I don’t know what to write about…” and go from there.
Or you could pick an object near you and start writing about that.
Some days, you just feel so hopelessly stuck it feels like there’s no way you’re ever going to write again.
Or life just gets busy and you don’t have the kind of time for writing as you wish you did.
Keeping up the practice is especially important when it feels challenging to do so.
Because it’s only by pushing through that resistance that you grow.
As a person and as a writer.
If you need a break, take a break.
If all you can manage is one word, then write that one word. But whatever you do, don’t give up.
“There is no excuse. If you want to write, write. This is your life, you are responsible for it. You will not live forever. Don’t wait. Make the time now.”
— Natalie Goldberg
It doesn’t matter what kind of writing you do.
Journaling or letter writing.
Fiction or non-fiction.
Sometimes we all need a boost.
And so, I thought I’d put together a list of prompts you can use when you’re feeling stuck when you’re feeling like you want a different kind of flavour.
Plus, using creative writing prompts is fun as hell and allows you to add variety to your journal.
It also teaches you how to add texture to your regular writing.
Even when you mainly write for personal journaling, creative writing prompts can help you coax out things you’ve long since forgotten.
Like the ghost in your grandmother’s attic, or the way the old jalopy your family drove in your childhood sounded.
22 creative writing prompts to support your writing practice:
- Write about a ghost.
- Write about a grandmother or grandfather (yours or someone else’s).
- Use your last text as your first sentence.
- What’s a movie you’d like to rewrite the ending to? How would you change it?
- Describe the feeling you get when you listen to your favourite music.
- Write about going through a day without having slept.
- Write your day as a dog or cat.
- You just opened the last book on Earth.
- You have 10 days left to live.
- Write about the last time you did something.
- Write about a day when you longed for something you couldn’t/can’t have.
- You wake up one day to find that none of your friends remember you.
- What’s dangerous about February?
- Write a poem about something ugly.
- Write a satirical tribute. Tell rude customers, bad cab drivers and irritating neighbours how grateful you are for what they’ve done and how you’re better off because your paths crossed.
- Write about the most embarrassing memory you have.
- Things to do on a rainy day.
- Write about why no one ever sends you snail mail.
- Write from the point of view of a flower being gifted.
- Invent a food and write a recipe for making it.
- What to say to an uninvited guest at a party?
- What does your pet think of you? If they could talk, what would they say?
Want to get more out of reading books?
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Understand yourself better as a reader, engage more with the books you read & make space for creative self-expression. Get it now!
“When Sasha Barrett gets bitten by a snake on a mission, her squad captain’s quick actions not only save her life, but also make her realise something she may have known all along…“
