Follow this handy graphic from The Writer magazine. My usual technique for prompts of this sort is to write a minimum of 200 words, no maximum. If it comes, let it keep coming!
This is the original link:
https://www.writermag.com/writing-inspiration/writing-prompts/28-day-challenge/
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Writing prompts. Where do they come from? I once read a tweet by Benjamin Dreyer who I defer to in almost all matters of grammar and copyediting, but there are two things I disagree with:
1. an historic is correct, and
2. He is incorrect when he says that not everything is a writing prompt.
In fact, EVERYTHING is a writing prompt.
That bird nestling in the tree outside your garage. Writing Prompt.
That car that went through the stop sign. Writing Prompt.
A sink full of dirty dishes. Writing Prompt.
Your child’s laughter. Writing Prompt.
Everything around you is a writing prompt.
Take for example this week’s Target ad. Advertisers tell you what you should be focusing on in the new year and encourage you to better yourself whether you need to or not. The first couple of weeks of ads focus on that new year, new you spirit, and of course they want you to buy things. If you follow the seasonal editorial/advertising schedule you’ll also see what people are interested in and looking for.
Going through the Target ad there are easily ten separate things that can be written as features, blog posts, listicles, and whatever else you might think of. Just like “Low Prices!” Target copywriters can offer titles or sub-titles to a longer piece: “Home Refresh” and “Clean Every Surface“.
The subjects include, but of course are not limited to: laundry, cleaning, restocking essentials, baby stuff – diapers, formula, furniture, vitamins, exercise equipment, office and stationary organization and “essential items” now with taxes right around the corner, and at the end of the ad is the reminder that Valentine’s Day is coming soon so get those blog posts written and those pictures taken.
Personally, I’ve already made my list from the ad of most of the things we’ve run out of over the holidays while we were preparing and celebrating Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s. We made do with what we had, but now it’s time to restock.
I’ve also started writing in my new calendar/planner so I need to begin writing with some of the prompts I’ve been collecting.
These are some of my go-to resources:
Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer
Evernote app
Business Calendar 2 app (I use the free one, but I plan on getting the pro version sometime in 2022)
As a writer, I’ve hit the proverbial road block. It is so hard to just sit down and write about anything that isn’t coronavirus related. I spend my entire day reading Twitter, watching Governor Cuomo’s daily briefing, finding interviews with Dr. Fauci, and listening to relevant podcasts. It’s exhausting.
But I feel that I need to stay informed.
However, my writing also needs to continue. Whether that means weekly election connection posts or finally sitting down to get serious about my two books or any number of writing projects that I want to work on. I need to re-balance my life to include my writing, and for better or worse, some of that writing will need to be about what I am going through now.
I wanted to share with you some of the things I’ve discovered on my online sojourns and internal discernment.
The Writer Magazine Writing Contest Short Story Contest due June 2, 2020. (There might be a fee to enter.)
Historian Suggests Keeping Record of Life During Pandemic
Journal Assignment. Graphic posted below. Link is to other assignments and a place for students to upload their work. This was originally from Bryan Shaw of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District in California
Podcast from Writing Coach, Ann Kroeker: One Thing Writers Can Do in a Pandemic: Document the Days
From Actor, Misha Collins:
Breathe in what?
Breathe out what?
“I was explaining one of the simplest meditation techniques to the kids: “Sitting, eyes closed, you breathe in good things you breathe out bad things.”
Maison [his daughter] said, “So you breathe in sparkly rainbow unicorns and you breathe out broken guitars?””
Haiku Writing with John Pavlovitz
30 Day Writing Challenge beginning tomorrow (April 1, 2020) from IngramSpark, a self-publishing company. They will send daily emails for the writing challenge from The Writer -30 Day Writing Challenge – these are daily emails from a self-publishing/pod (publish on demand) company.
Camp Nanowrimo for the month of April!
Camp Nanowrimo – nanowrimo.org
Journal Assignment by Bryan Shaw. (c)2020
Theme: Comfort
Prompt: Sleeping
This session of the memoir workshop I attend has the theme of comfort. All of the prompts will relate to the overall theme of comfort.
First prompt of the twelve is:
Bath
I was inspired by my friend’s tea cup which had an infinity spiral as part of the design at the bottom, and I have been drawing a lot of spirals lately from flowers to coffee steam swirls to spiritual incense, and Celtic spirals, so seeing the inside of the cup really stayed with me all day.
I drew it in my sketch pad, thinking that I’d do something with it later.
After my little adventure earlier in the week, I decided to do a little bullet journalling, but write it in the spiral using different colored pens.
I really liked it.
I mean, I really liked it.
I think I’m going to draw a few spirals and use one each day of my trip to wind down and remember the day while it’s fresh in my mind. At the end of the trip, I’ll have at least ten spirals and a neat little souvenir from my special trip.
The directions follow: Continue reading
What is your foolproof strategy for getting rid of Writer’s Block?
It is spring and there is a new writing group on the horizon. Six weeks of memoir writing, which means twelve new prompts.
Our theme this session is Choices and What Ifs. Over the course of our lives, there are so many of those big and little choices that take us where we go, sometimes where we long to go, and sometimes where we have to go.
As the Doctor (Who) says, “We don’t always go where we want to, but we do go where we need to.”
Nothing could be more true than my life in the past almost decade or so.
We all have those moments – should we turn left? Or right?
Go to college or get married? Or both?
Have children or wait?
Eat that cheeseburger or grab a salad?
So many seemingly unrelated choices that form our reality.
But what if we had turned right instead of left?
Taken that gap year to Europe?
Lived impulsively or more prudently?
Here’s our chance to explore those choices and remind us of the ones we did take, and where we are now.
It’s not simply about regret or justification; it’s so much deeper than that.
Let’s go.
The first prompt is an assignment. It was the first one I was given at the start of this session.
Make a list of life choices.
They are not necessarily things you would change or keep. We’re not there yet. Just the choices in your life.
For an example, here are three of mine (of a much longer list):
1. Choosing a major for college
2. Reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
3. Attending a political protest
They seem innocent enough, but have all had a major impact on my life and future choices.
First Sign of Spring
Shoes
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 