Writing Prompts: A Daily Lifesaver
If you ever jumped into the world of writing, you have probably heard of writing prompts. You may have been given writing prompts during your school days but never understood why your English teacher gave you the prompt in the first place.
Well, writing prompts serve a couple of important functions:
- To help generate creative juices
- To keep writing skills sharp
- To keep practicing the habit of writing daily
Writing, like any skill and tool, needs to be sharpened. Writing prompts offer an opportunity for you to practice the skills and tools you use with your writing. Prompts can even help fight writer’s block by generating ideas that you would not have even thought of before.
Prompts are even potential idea generators of themselves! The tentacle-faced Davy Jones of 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was based on a prompt, for example. You can view the whole story about how that process came to be by clicking here. When using writing prompts, you have no idea how ideas will pop up or what they can lead to. Prompts also help fight against impostor syndrome and help remind you of your own writing style, or even how to deviate from how you normally write. Writing prompts can also take writers out of their comfort zone by writing about concepts and experiences they otherwise would have never explored.
What is the best places for writing prompts? It all varies, but you can click on this list to get you started. Of course, writing prompts are featured on the official MPL Writer’s Group Facebook Page, the MPL Writer’s Group Hangout, and the MPL Writer’s Group official Instagram page.
There is also no definitive time limit for how long writing prompts are supposed to be, or how long it takes to write them. To start, set at least fifteen to thirty minutes on a prompt and go from there. For best results, start with a writing prompt before starting work on your main project.
Below are writing prompt examples:
- You accidently come across a hidden door. Write how you found it and what is behind the door.
- What to do you do to cope with a traffic jam?
- Who was your first pet as a child?
- What book inspired you to be a writer?
- Write a paragraph while walking through an abandoned house.
Hope these help you with your writing journey.
– MPLWG