Creative writing prompts are those little phrases, situations, or questions that you can use to get your writer’s brain working on creating a story. When I was teaching writing, I would often give my students creative writing prompts to get their thoughts flowing. Whether you are writing a short story, an essay, or a novel, having a creative writing prompt will help get your creative juices flowing and get your story ideas flowing. Below, I will teach you how to write a creative writing prompt that will allow your subconscious to flow and get your creative juices flowing. Just remember: your story doesn’t have to be perfect the first time you write it down. Just get the ideas flowing and then go back and edit as you go. That’s what editing is for!
Pick A Situation That You Can Transform
The best creative writing prompts are those that you can use to transform a real-life situation into a story. For example, if you have a troubled past, you can use that as the basis for an essay or a novel. Maybe your family has a history of mental illness, or perhaps you have a friend or a coworker who is struggling with addiction. Those are all perfect situations for a creative writing prompt. The key is to find a situation that you can transform into a story. If you can’t think of any scenario that you can use, pick a subject that you are passionate about. That will automatically pull you into the zone where you can write comfortably. When you are in the zone, your brainwaves will be scrambled, and you may find that you think creatively without even realizing it. That’s what makes this type of writing so effective; you aren’t overthinking things, you are just allowing your unconscious mind to flow. After you pick a situation that you can transform, try to come up with an idea for a story that involves that situation. You don’t have to have the whole story written out before you start writing. Just get the ideas flowing and see where they lead you. That’s the beauty of creative writing.
Make It A Double, Split Personality
One of the best things about creative writing prompts is that they allow you to explore two different sides of yourself at the same time. For example, if you have a tendency to be a little too serious, you can use this type of writing prompt to explore your lighter side. Or perhaps you are a very serious person who doesn’t let their emotions show that much. This type of writing prompt will give you the opportunity to explore that side of yourself that laughs and smiles more than you think. Creative writing prompts are the best because they allow you to explore different aspects of yourself that you may not have exposed yet. If you do this effectively, you will open up new possibilities for yourself as a writer and a person. This is not to say that all creative writing prompts will help you do this—you have to find the ones that you are most effective at using.
Keep It Relevant To The Rest Of Your Writing
It is essential that your creative writing prompt is relevant to the rest of your writing. This means that when you write your story, the prompt should flow naturally from the scenario into the narrative. There should not be any major jumps in logic or continuity. For example, if you are writing a science fiction story and you use the phrase “cyberpunk” as your creative writing prompt, when you use it in the story, it should seem natural and seamless. Your readers should not be able to pull apart the text, piece by piece, to find where the phrase came from because there should not be any clues in the text. This is why it’s important to keep your creative writing prompt relevant to the context of your other writing. You can also use your other forms of writing, such as dialogue or narration, to guide you toward a relevant phrase, situation, or question. That way, when you sit down to write, the story will come to you easily and without too much thought. It will simply be there, waiting to be told. Your subconscious is a funny thing—it can take over when you least expect it!—and the more you use this method of writing, the more you will start to rely on it. That’s what makes it such a useful tool.
Make It Easy For The Reader To Follow The Plot
It is essential that the reader is able to follow the plot of your story. This means that they should be able to figure out what is going on quickly and without any problems. If you use a lot of abbreviations, slang, and jargon that might be difficult for a reader to understand, you might end up with a bunch of confusion on your hands. Your readers will not be able to keep up, and you will likely lose them. You can use your other forms of writing, such as dialogue or narration, to guide you toward making your story easier for the reader to follow. Remember: you are writing for an audience. You have to represent them as best as you can, even if you are writing in your head. The story you are telling is not necessarily about you; it is about your characters and what happens to them. You have to keep that in mind as you write. If you do, you will not waste your time writing something that is hard to enjoy or follows complicated plot lines that are difficult to follow. Your readers will thank you for it.
Have Fun With It!
When you write, you are supposed to have fun. It is no secret that writing is difficult, and when you are not having fun while you are doing it, you are likely to end up doing it poorly. The same goes for any other creative activity: if you are not having fun while you are doing it, you will likely end up doing it poorly. It is important to look for the joy in creativity and keep that in mind as you write. If you do, even if you are writing something difficult, you will be able to enjoy it because it is still your creative work. You will then be able to take pride in what you write and will likely end up doing it much better than you would if you were writing for the sake of art or perfection. You should look for the joy in creativity and keep that in mind as you write.
There are many different types of creative writing prompts, and I hope I was able to help you understand how to write a good one. Remember: if you can use a situation from your own life, you can write an autobiography about your experiences that will be both compelling and entertaining. The key is to find the joy in creativity and to keep that in mind as you write. Happy writing!