- Introduce yourself all month as a writer
- Read an article on writing technique
- Two characters are snowbound. What happens?
- Write about a non-December holiday
- Write about a character who gets engaged
- Use this week to write a DOW story
- Set a story in the days of radio
- Research online markets for your writing
- Write a fable for our times
- What did you do today? Have a character do the same.
- Write a story all in dialogue. No speech tags!
- Write about weather you’d consider the opposite of what you’re having today
- Write an article on writing, then why not query it?
- Write a “what happens next” for a fairy tale or nursery rhyme
- Write about an art forger
- Write about a writer
- Write about a diner at midnight
- Write about someone creating something with his/her hands
- Write about a deadline. Include consequences of missing it.
- Write a character whose birthday falls on or near a holiday
- Start with: “If he is awake early enough the boy sees…”
- Use these words: nemesis, triumphant, battle.
- Describe movement 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- List 5 streets in your neighborhood; write for 3 minutes on each.
- Write about being true to yourself.
- Write about an unexpected return
- Read some poetry or short stories today
- Write one paragraph of backstory for an existing character
- Write about a character eating while something else is going on
- Use the theme of “silver and gold”
- Dust off an unfinished piece and add an ending before midnight!
Category Archives: WP 2004
December 2004
November 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Write about something simmering in a pan.
- Write about Fall from a leaf’s point of view.
- Make a list of three things your character did when he/she/it was four.
- Start a story with “I sealed the envelope.”
- Write about a sticky situation.
- Explain why you picked a certain name for a character of yours.
- End a story with “She poured the tea.”
- Write about a dog collar.
- Describe your character’s greatest weakness.
- Write about a little lie that grows into something large.
- Write about a sacrifice.
- Use the words “message,” “pumpernickle,” and “wishing well” in a story
- Start a story with “Why was the door painted purple?”
- Write about a character named Myron Bailey.
- Take yesterday’s writing prompt and change Myron’s occupation
- Stuck in a story? Change a character’s marital or relationship status
- Explain a character’s scar or other physical injury
- Research contests and resolve to enter one before New Year’s Eve
- Use song lyrics to inspire a story or poem
- Write about a clock that stops ticking
- Write about the minutiae of your neighborhood.
- Use these words: opportunity, truth, image.
- List 5 words; 2nd starts w/ last letter of 1st, etc; use each in a sentence.
- Describe grief 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- Start with: “They were walking along the river path…”
- Go people-watching and take your notebook to jot down conversations & ideas
- Change a character’s name and rewrite accordingly
- Set your story backward or forward in time by 30 years
- Begin your story in the middle of the action
- Write about a change someone smells coming
October 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Write about something that was forgotten.
- Start with “The week started out a disaster…”
- Take a walk. Describe what the leaves look like today.
- Write a conversation between a cat and a dog.
- Describe a lizard climbing a wall.
- Write about coins.
- End with “I took a deep breath of fresh air.”
- Write about a sports event.
- Take a deep breath through your nose. Describe what you smell.
- Start a story with “The window was broken.”
- Look up. Write a love story between the first two objects you see.
- Change characters’ names to ones w/ distinct ethnicity. Edit accordingly.
- Include these five elements: water, air, fire, metal, wood
- Encourage a friend to do some creative writing (and share TC’s URL)
- Do a story or poem based on one of your FUM answers
- Indulge in another art form today. Use as writing inspiration.
- Use an archived Sunday Brunch prompt to continue today’s exercise
- Give your character a weakness s/he believes is a strength
- Write about an early snowfall
- Stuck? Begin your next paragraph with “The worst thing possible…”
- Describe tears 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- List 5 things you want to do before you die; write 100 words about each.
- Write about a parent.
- Start with: “She stands up in the garden where…”
- Use these words: delinquent, scion, ingenious.
- Write about something that is unnaturally orange
- Dragging out the decorations, your character found something. It was…?
- Read some poetry. Let it inspire you to economize words.
- A secondary character is having a birthday. You main character doesn’t know.
- Sign up to receive The Writer’s Almanac!
- Write about a character wearing a real or figurative mask
September 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Write about making hot apple cider.
- Write about a man in a car.
- Start with “Last September had been warmer.”
- Where would you go if you had a magic carpet?
- Write about something lurking in a cave.
- Describe a fight between two brothers.
- Use the words sausage, aerosol, global warming, and balderdash.
- What would one of your characters say to your favorite author?
- Lie under a tree and look up through the leaves. What do you see?
- Create an illness and describe someone who has it.
- Write about a cake with candles on it.
- End a story with “And then the doorbell rang.”
- Start with “Sometimes I’m not so sure about love.”
- Write a conversation between two people with opposing viewpoints.
- Use the line “pit of my stomach.”
- Open a magazine and use the first ad you see as the start of a story.
- Write about being stood up.
- Write about a character who is an optimist in the face of something hopeless
- Choose a song for your character’s “soundtrack.” Explain why.
- Write about a stalker.
- Start with: “She heard a knocking, and then…”
- Write about your first painful memory.
- List 5 songs; write for min., incorporating one line of lyrics from each.
- Describe lust 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- Use these words: engulf, flavor, tide.
- Center a story around a personal ad that starts: “MILF looking for fun…”
- Write a rejection letter.
- Start with “I believe…” and write for minutes.
- Creatively incorporate a recipe into a story/poem/essay.
- Write a blog entry from the PoV of a person who is extremely pretentious.
August 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Start a story with the first random quote shown when you click this link.
- Write about a heat wave.
- Write about an ice cube.
- Write a story using the words gallery, equipment, raven, and soup.
- Describe a garden.
- Invent a new summer holiday and describe the customs.
- Write a letter to an old friend.
- Describe a child’s day at the playground.
- What is it like under the ocean?
- Have a character do something unexpected.
- Write about an insect.
- Write a song based on a story you have in mind.
- Set a scene in a colony. You choose the colony- space, ant, American, etc.
- Write about a journey in the desert.
- Start a story with “The bottle was empty.”
- Write about a donut.
- Describe a painting without using any color words.
- End a story with “She watched the milk drip onto the floor.”
- Write a paragraph without using the letter e.
- Use the words vampire, slippers, poodle, and recipe.
- List 5 things you can cook; in cooking-show style, describe how to make one.
- Describe laughter 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- Use these words: thoughtless, homily, respect.
- Start with: “When I turned four, my father taught me…”
- Write about something you believe in.
- Write about a blade of grass.
- Describe a melting popsicle.
- Write about a conspiracy.
- Write a story with exactly 1words.
- Write about something that happens at midnight.
- Write about a wilted flower.
July 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Write about a day that is too hot.
- Start a story with “The lemonade tasted strange…”
- Imagine a new invention. Describe what it does.
- Write about fireworks.
- Write about watermelon seeds.
- Start a blog or online journal
- Write about a day you wish you could forget
- Write about a new love interest
- Describe the best kiss you’ve ever had
- Write a letter to a childhood enemy
- Use the words random, ice cube, television, and robot in a 500 word story.
- Write about ants at a picnic.
- Write a 50 word story.
- Write about a baseball game.
- Pick three characters. Have one describe the second to the third.
- Start with “I didn’t think the rain would ever stop.”
- Write a review of your favorite band
- Write a story or scene that takes place in a high school
- Write an obituary for one of your characters
- Take an ordinary object and write for 5 minutes describing it
- Describe anger 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- Use these words: yoke, unyielding, weight.
- Start with: “The women of this family…”
- Write about an “earworm”–a song stuck in your head.
- List 5 things you avoid doing; write 50 words about each.
- Write about a last minute addition
- Read some poetry
- Write a 500 word children’s story and post it
- Write about an impossible deadline
- Begin with “It had been raining for six days.”
- Harry Potter’s birthday! Write about a boy wearing glasses
June 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Write a book jacket blurb describing a story you are currently working on.
- Write about a temper tantrum.
- Describe a flower without using any color words.
- Start a story with “If I hadn’t lost that nickle…”
- Write about mouldy bread.
- Write about a “one-tank trip”
- Read “The Yellow Wallpaper” and write about anything yellow
- Write 500 words in one sitting
- Write two nursery rhymes or one children’s story
- Pull out an old story and rewrite the last page
- Write about a person with claustraphobia.
- Savor a hot or frozen drink. Write about the effect on your tastebuds.
- End a story with “Of course, the lollipop was grape.”
- Take a ride on public transportation. Describe a person you see on the ride.
- What would your character do if someone gave him or her a dozen carrots?
- Pick a scene you’ve written and rewrite it using a different point of view.
- Start a story with “As I was going down the escalator…”
- Base a story on this offbeat news item.
- Write about a race.
- Write about snails.
- Use these words: jargon, import, virtual.
- Start with: “She wants to write a book about…”
- Write about a noise you can’t identify.
- List 5 items in your medicine cabinet; write for minutes about one.
- Describe voices 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- End a story with “She almost believed me.”
- Write a scene in which children are fighting over a toy.
- Pick a crayon, then use it to write about something that is the same color.
- Write about a wedding anniversary.
- Describe someone who is eating a grape.
May 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Write a review of any movie based on a book.
- Write about a character who is mistaken for the opposite sex.
- Write about someone fired/expelled for an opinion expressed in a blog.
- Write about what someone w/o an heir decides to do with his/her possessions.
- Write about a pop culture phenomenon that you just don’t understand.
- Use these 5 words in a story/poem: toxic, mustache, mama, sunscreen, motto.
- Write about something forgotten.
- Describe the perfect treehouse.
- Write about a speeding ticket.
- Describe a character who is eating pudding.
- Write a poem about laundry.
- Go to a park. Write about something you see there.
- Write about a muddy sneaker.
- Create a new color, and write about objects that have that color.
- Write about a pebble.
- End with “I only saw him once after that.”
- Write about a man in a suit.
- Write about time travel.
- Describe the perfect cookie.
- Watch someone in a crowd. Make up a past for them.
- List 5 things you can see out your window; write for 3 minutes on each.
- Write about a brief encounter.
- Start with: “The woman is standing near the window…”
- Use these words: bedridden, gnarled, quiver.
- Describe envy 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- Find a blog with a different perspective than yours & write an entry for it.
- Someone has TP hanging out of his/her pants. Write the ensuing conversation.
- Take a favorite recipe and incorporate it into a story or poem.
- Give 5 pieces of advice to someone considering your career/education program
- Write about your favorite pen.
- Write about a conflict in a laundry room / laundromat.
April 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Start with “How could I have been such a fool?”
- Use these words: ingratiating, verbose, tawdry.
- Write about April showers.
- Write about a character with an alias.
- Write something that takes place during spring break.
- Write about a “black Tuesday”
- Write from a dog’s point of view
- Take one of your existing stories and rewrite the last five paragraphs
- Base a story on one of your FUM answers
- “Saturday night’s all right for fighting…”
- Write about an old coin.
- Create a myth explaining a natural event
- Write about something that sparkles.
- Describe an underground cavern
- Write about something that happens during a thunderstorm
- Write about the scent of wet earth
- Start with “I knew it would be crazy…”
- Base a story on a dream you had recently.
- End a story with the line “And that’s why I never told him.”
- Write about a car trip.
- Write about buying a pair of pants.
- List 5 clichés; write 300 words that utilize all five.
- Describe division 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- Use these words: xylem, perpetual, syncronicity.
- Start with: “My mother did not tell me…”
- Write about a smooth pebble.
- Write the same scene from two different points of view.
- Rewrite a scene using a different tense or voice.
- Write about something orange.
- Write about magic.
March 2004
Daily Writing Prompts
- Write a love letter to yourself.
- Describe your favorite soft drink.
- Start with “______ wasn’t exactly the sharpest crayon in the box.”
- Write an entry in your character’s diary/journal/blog.
- Start with “We left the drag show to go to the lesbian bar.”
- Your character takes a long bath and thinks of…
- Write in a style you’ve never/rarely tried
- Write about a father figure
- Write a sensory-heavy piece about fire
- Open an favorite book and begin reading in the middle
- Write a song
- Write about a bowl of soup
- Start with “No one listened to me when…”
- Describe your character’s hands in detail
- Practice telling an impromptu story for an audience.
- Outline your plot.
- Write about a friend from kindergarten.
- End with, “I won’t forget it.”
- Perform a random act of kindness.
- Write a story and use as many swear words as you can think of.
- Use these words: lighthouse, zephyr, edge.
- Describe joy 3 ways, drawing on a different sense each time.
- List 5 books on your shelf; explain why you keep them.
- Write about belonging.
- Start with: “When the team reached the site…”
- Write a five-line poem
- Declare this a “reading weekend” and read a book
- Continue your “reading weekend”
- Write an opening paragraph for an article
- Weather permitting, take a walk to get creative energy and fresh air
- Write about the phrase “out like a lamb”