Many authors—both seasoned and new—use writing prompts. But what are writing prompts, and why should you use them?
What are Writing Prompts
Writing prompts are phrases, words or scenarios presented to writers to “spark their imaginations,” and help them create. These can be single words, longer phrases, or in the case of two I used in the past, titles. In fact, my short story “Rumspringa” was developed from the title alone. I used writing prompts during the 2018 short story challenge as well, and found the exercise energizing. The prompts offered a starting point I could launch from.
Why People Use Them
I divide the people who use writing prompts into two groups. The “I gotta” people are those who use them because they’re stuck. On the other hand, the “I wanna” people are more focused on how to become better writers by using prompts. Most of us fall into both groups depending on the day.
Sometimes, we’re stuck. Whether it be a scene we can’t complete, or a missing event we just can’t create, getting stuck temporarily is part of being a writer. In this scenario, a prompt might push you to write a passage where your main character is described by someone who loves them…or hates them. Or, place the main character in another location, such as a starship when you write contemporary romance.
In some ways, the absurdity of the prompt forces you to create something very different. And while it’s unlikely you’ll be able use what you’ve written based on the writing prompt, it may dissolve the block and let you continue your original story.
The “I wanna” people use writing prompts to stretch their minds and strengthen their author muscles. When I took on the short story challenge in 2018, my goal was to practice writing shorter pieces. My thought was that by writing shorter, yet complete stories, I would remove some of the “excess” that many of us, (okay—me) include in our writing. The goal was tighter writing, which you have to do in flash fiction.
Why They’re Valuable
Writing prompts offer writers great opportunities. For one, they require us to be versatile. By engaging with prompts across various genres, styles, and themes, you expand your literary toolkit and develop the flexibility to tackle any subject matter with confidence. Think about it: if you write romantic suspense (an often ignored sub-genre, by the way), yet you write to a prompt for a horror story, you’re challenged in ways that stretch your abilities. That’s what happened while I wrote “Rumspringa,” and another romance story. But in the end, I enjoyed the challenge and think both stories might be worthy of significant revision and submission to magazines.
Prompts can also help you experiment with constraints that you normally wouldn’t encounter. For example, say like me, you rely heavily on dialogue, yet a writing prompt requires that you work solely in narrative for a short story. Many writing prompts come with built-in constraints, such as word limits or thematic elements. Constraints like these force you to make deliberate choices, sparking innovative solutions and unexpected discoveries along the way.
They Offer Variety
Remember also that writing prompts don’t have to be words, they can be pictures as well. The Maryland Writers Association used photographs in their short story contest a year ago, where folks were encouraged to write stories based on one of five black and white photographs. The stories that won the contest—in addition to a few more included to round out the collection—were wonderful! And all of them were created in response to carefully selected visual prompts. My story in the collection, entitled “A Wasteland of Bad Memories,” is one of the best I’ve written. Thanks, Maryland Writers Association!
They’re Fun
During the 2018 short story challenge, I wrote stories ranging from 183 words to a little over 7,000. Beyond the range in terms of words, however, I wrote romances, fantasy stories, horror stories (actually, “creepy,” according to my friends), and westerns. Writing them was fun, and a pleasant diversion from my novel writing.
Writing should be fun, and writing to prompts ensured that for me. Maybe for you, too?
