Improbable Press Blog — Writing Prompts

When in doubt just write anything. I see you sitting over there squinting at this prompt. Something about it…it's…it's just…it's not singing. Or you're looking at that temp gauge and remembering you wanted an iced coffee. Or neither. Or both. Or some secret third thing. The point is, this writing prompt is causing writing of no sort whatsoever in your fingers, heart, or brain and yeah that coffee sounds pretty good right now but before you go — cause yeah, I agree, a brew would be ideal — STOP WHERE YOU ARE. If Writing Is Hard CHEW IT By that...

Hello from a soon-to-be hot week. Though I am not fond of 99F° (37°C) days, this does not stop such days from happening anyway, WHICH OF COURSE I CAN TIE TO WRITING YOU JUST WATCH ME. So it's like this: if we haven't written in awhile and we have this itchy inkling feeling we no longer can and so we don't… Well. Well would you look at that, the-not-writing happened, so hey, what exactly have we got to lose by kicking our doubts to the curb, biting the bit, and writing something now anyway. It couldn't possibly be worse than...

Sometimes you just need a push to get yourself writing. Or a pull maybe. (Hey! Do you remember the push-me-pull-you from Dr Doolittle? That creature both unnerved me as a kid and…yeah, no, they just unnerved me. They're unnerving me as we speak. (Is me bringing this up going to help you write? Who is to say?)) So anyway, sometimes we need a pull up or a push forward to get words on the page, and Improbable's going to aim to offer a prompt every other week (or weekly if anyone expresses interest in that frequency) to help you do...

I think a prompt is everything that motivates you. It can be anything, and it doesn't have to have anything to do with what you go on to create, it's simply a catalyst. Maybe that's what this semi-regular column should be called: catalyst. Whether you're writing a poem or a polemic, if you're noodling on a novel or stewing over the next step in a short story, sometimes a lyric is enough to propel you forward – I know lyrics can often help me as I walk around grumbling to myself about a plot point – and speaking of point,...

Back with prompts in time for holiday time! Let this inspire you to write, should inspiration you wish! As ever this is for Anarion because she takes such a delight in these and gives delight with the stories she tells. Let your story find voice by sharing what's in that beribboned box. Or what you see at the corner of your eye when you look at those dots. Maybe the tale you'll tell is about what shadows see in the dark, or how Hades feels about the color black. Perhaps you'll start there and veer to a story about rain...