How to Make the Most of Writing Prompts
By Mary Kole
Former literary agent, a freelance editor, writing teacher, and story and IP developer.
Writing prompts are a great way to get your creative juices flowing and jumpstart your writing practice. Whether you’re a professional writer experiencing a dry spell, an aspiring novelist, or someone who simply loves to write for fun and self-expression, writing prompts can help you find inspiration and create content that is both meaningful and powerful. Here’s how to make the most of writing prompts.
Choosing the Right Writing Prompts for You
The first step in making the most of writing prompts is choosing the right ones for you. Usually, fiction writers will want to focus on writing prompts that target plot, worldbuilding, and character development. A lot of creative writing hinges on developing complex characters, so you can’t possibly do too many writing prompts in this arena. (Keep in mind that most of the development work you’ll generate by using writing prompts won’t end up in the final manuscript, but it’s better to have too much material and to develop various story ideas to choose from, rather than ending up with too few.)
You can find writing prompts online or by searching through books dedicated solely to this purpose. Try using a social media platform for writers like X/Twitter and Instagram—there are plenty of hashtag challenges that offer up interesting writing prompts each day. Writing prompt ideas are an almost limitless resource. You might also try visiting websites that specialize in publishing short stories or poems—these sites often have daily or weekly challenges with different writing prompts that can give your work a fresh perspective.
Don’t worry if the writing prompts you find aren’t exactly aligned with your story idea. You never know what will come from freewriting for a bit. Treat the exercise of using writing prompts as creative play.
Getting Into Your Creative Flow with Writing Prompts
Once you’ve found a source of writing prompts and chosen a few to try, it’s time to tap into your creative self! Start by taking some time to sit with the prompt itself—what do you think about when you read it? What emotions does it evoke? Jot down any ideas that come immediately to mind and turn off your inner critic. In fact, developing the ability to silence your internal editor is one of the big benefits of weaving writing prompts into your creative practice.
Now start building out any ideas you get into sentences and paragraphs: maybe the material you generate can be part of a larger story, a short story in and of itself, a poem topic, or a novel first chapter for an existing manuscript. Whatever it is, let yourself follow where your creativity takes you!
Don’t worry too much about grammar or structure at this point—just focus on getting all those ideas out onto the page (or screen). Using writing prompts should be freeing, like writing a first draft.
You might come away from these writing prompts with a journal entry that you’ll never look at again, or you could be spurned to explore a completely new idea or creative direction. If you decide your prompt response is worthwhile, you can always revise and refine what you came up with later. Add it to a project, or tuck it away for a new WIP.
Writing Prompts as Tools
As with any creative endeavor, you are engaging in a journey when you use writing prompts, not just aiming for a destination. Writing prompts are an amazing tool for writers of all levels and backgrounds—whether you're working on your next book project, just trying out something new for fun, or simply looking to blow off steam and get out of your own head (the latter can be a huge challenge for us writers).
Writing prompts offer opportunities for exploration and discovery, helping you tap into a different side of your creativity. By finding the right prompt for yourself and getting into your creative flow, you can make the most of these inspiring tools and amp up your writing practice!
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