Sometimes, when you’re feeling really stuck, you just want to turn to creative writing prompts. A spark of inspiration, something to get your imagination going and your pen (or keyboard) moving. Maybe you turn to writing prompts to get you out of a slump, or as a means of practice. Either way, there are lists upon lists of great prompts out there on the internet to try. But what if you don’t want to be at the mercy of a list? What if you want to be able to put together your own writing prompts? Maybe you want them for breaking through a spell of writer’s block? Or for a writers’ group, or a Reddit post, or any other reason? If that’s how you feel, help is at hand!

Today’s post will take you through what makes a great creative writing prompt, and how to build your own. It’ll talk about how to make best use of writing prompts. And, just in case you came here looking for one of those lists and aren’t in a DIY kind of mood, it’ll also list some of my favourite prompts. Let me know if you try any of them out!

What makes a good creative writing prompt?

The best writing prompts tend to be specific, but not too detailed. Honing in on something specific tends to get a better response, but an excess of detail just railroads you into re-writing the prompt with a little more fleshing out. I think the writing prompts subreddit is a prime example of this; it’s full of ideas that are basically cool short stories, but don’t leave a lot of room for real creative exploration. Absolutely no disrespect intended towards the writers on that subreddit, of prompts or responses. I’ve spent hours scrolling through posts on there and had a great time.

Something evocative—a vivid image, or something that brings a strong emotion to mind—can make a great prompt. If you’re struggling for inspiration, a prompt that makes you feel something can break through that and give you something to work with. I think creative writing picture prompts are popular for precisely this reason; they can convey strong or complex feelings that the writer can then work to explain.

A prompt that asks a question can be highly effective. How might a situation arise where you met your main character? What would change about your daily routine if you lived underwater? An ideal prompt will help you hone in on details that you’ll find interesting to explore, and that exploration forms the basis of a piece of writing.

Change it up! Writing from a perspective you don’t usually use, or in a genre you’ve never tried, can be very freeing. A creative writing prompt that encourages you to step outside your comfort zone and work with new ideas, or old ideas in a new way, is sometimes just what you need to get those creative juices flowing!

Sometimes the best prompts impose strict limitations on your writing. While narrowing your options might feel counterintuitive at first, one of the reasons prompts are so popular is because when you can write about anything, where do you start? With that in mind, it can be surprisingly fun to work with a prompt that imposes some rules. Seeing how long you can keep a character interaction going without dialogue, or writing a scene where you only describe physical sensations. You can also impose rules on form or length, writing a prompt specifically for a sonnet or a 200-word story.

A creative writing prompt doesn’t need to follow every one of these rules to be good. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t need to follow any of them if it works for you! But if you’re trying to come up with your own prompts, whether for personal use now, future practice or sharing with a group, try playing around with one or more of these ideas to build your prompt.

How do I use writing prompts?

Don’t give up if you can’t think of something right away. Sit with the prompt for a bit, relax, and see if anything comes to you. And if it doesn’t, start writing anyway. If you find a prompt challenging to work with, try pushing through that and writing something anyway; you might be surprised how good the result is.

Something that can help if you’re struggling with a prompt is to think very big, or very small! Either step back from the prompt to look at the big picture, whatever that means in context, or focus in on a tiny detail and really dive into that. Either approach can help you to come up with something for a prompt that initially has you stumped.

Also, don’t be afraid to use the same prompt more than once! Whether a certain prompt really inspired you and you had more ideas than you knew what to do with, or writing for a prompt felt like pulling teeth, it can be interesting to see what happens if you revisit it. Even if you start writing from the same place, you’ll be surprised at how many different directions your imagination can take you if you let it!

My favourite creative writing prompts

Finally, I did promise I’d include some actual prompt ideas. So, if you don’t fancy coming up with your own, here are some that I’ve come across and really like!

• It starts with a family ritual
• What does a ghost miss most?
• The things you’ve lost
• A day at the office, observed by an animal

How do you feel about using prompts?

Do you make them part of your writing practice? Do you like to use them when you get stuck? I’d love to know what your experience has been like, and if you use the tips from this post to come up with your own prompt please share is in the comments so we can all have a go!