Category Archives: creativity

10 Writing Prompts for August 2

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  1. “Get your girlfriend’s family here as soon as possible!”
  2. We knew we didn’t belong, but we were all she had…
  3. “Quick, contact social services!”
  4. It looked completely safe to me.
  5. “The worst thing I could do for you is feed your chocolate habit.”   
    I formed a fist…
  6. “A second injury? No way!”
  7. We needed it to be low-cost and under-the-radar…
  8. “Hey, I’m not here to marry your daughter!”
  9. “Go ahead, make my year.”
  10. “Honest! It’s 100 percent pure!”  
    “Oh, yeah, something here is definitely pure.”

Other use for writing prompts:

I look for one that speaks to what has happened to me or what I’ve read or seen in the last 24 hours that spurred anger, gratitude, or laughter.

Number five applies to my wife’s recent attempts to cut back on sugar. [No, no fist was formed in the making of that writing prompt.]

10 Writing Prompts for July 27

  1. “Cool! A key to the executive bathroom!”

  2. “You got the career I always wanted. Now hire me back.”

  3. We had no clue what was going on in his head…

  4. “Trust me, I am not worried about the soul of the person standing in front of me.”

  5. “Don’t you understand why you’re here?”

  6. “Of course, I’m capable of meeting my obligations! Here, take a look!”

  7. “Do you regret any of what just happened?”

  8. “Is talking about this upsetting you?”

  9. “What are you thinking about right now?”
    I could keep this date going and lie. Or I could be honest.

  10. Anyone would shut down from something like this.

10 Writing Prompts for July 23

  1. “I swear I heard you use that argument with your own mom.”
  2. “Clearly you all planned this.”
  3. Here was a thought: Could I divorce my whole family?
  4. “Congratulations, you’ve turned your mother into a monster.”
  5. “It’s not so easy being the one who’s always right.”
  6. “You two never show me any appreciation!”
  7. “Let’s just say you’re off our Christmas card list.”
  8. “Lights! Camera! No! No! No!…”
  9. “There’s a problem. We stink..on ice.”
  10. “Maybe she won’t notice…”
    How I might use these prompts: Numbers 1-6 offer built-in conflict that could shape a story.

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10 Writing Prompts for July 20

  1. “I can’t go back to the way things were.”
  2. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to need a lawyer.”
  3. “Come on, George, we both know all that stuff was just talk.”
  4. “Oh, sure, we threw away our future today, but we still have enchiladas!”
  5. It made us feel like kids again. And we couldn’t stop…
  6. “You really never believed in me!”
  7. “I’m calling today, ‘Launch Day’!’”
  8. “I’m afraid I’ve hit a creative roadblock.”
  9. Her mother…coming up the walkway. There had to be a place to hide…
  10. I sensed tension. Lots of it. I looked to Barkley for relief…

Note: These prompts only starting points and might–and probably will–elicit entirely different characters, settings, dialogue. If so, mission accomplished!

#9. Her mother…coming up the walkway. And my wife miles from the house. There had to be a place to hide. If only I could vaporize my car so the ‘nobody home’ message would ring loud and clear.

But nothing was ‘loud and clear’ to this woman. Except when she screamed at PBS commentators. That was loud and clear.

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10 Writing Prompts for July 18

  1. “No matter what happens, this is how I want to remember my time here.”
  2. “Darn it.  I think we have a future together!”
  3. The Ferris wheel seemed to be as good a place as any…
  4. “As I’ve always said, never judge a book by its table of contents.”
    My brother and I looked at each other and cocked our heads.
  5. “This might seem a little narrow-minded, but I’m pretty sure the only real solution is to get a dog.”
  6. “Make sure you stop over and say bye to the kids.”
    “Oh, yeah,     that I’ll do for sure.”
    I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.
  7. “Can you take this call?”   The only right answer was ‘no’. And yet…
  8. “Isn’t she the absolute perfect bride?!”
    We stood in the back and chuckled. How long would it be before…
  9. “I can’t do this anymore.”
    “This? What do you mean ‘this’?
  10. She had finally figured out who she was. How unfortunate for all of us.

Photo by tanialee gonzalez on Unsplash

10 Writing Prompts for July 16

  1. “So THAT’S why she was following you! I knew she wasn’t that socially desperate.”

  2. “Hey, everything I do is above board!”

  3. “My job is to put away bad guys.” It was impossible to not roll my eyes.

  4. “You’re not exactly playing by the rules.”

  5. “I’m just not following your point.”    
    “Your obtuseness—so convenient.”

  6. “If that phone beeps one more time, you’re going to need it to be surgically removed.”

  7. “I understand that you’re doing your job, but do we really need to be frisked? And twice?”

  8. “Why don’t we team up on this?”   It seemed like a good idea. But my gut said otherwise.

  9. “Sure I’ll testify against him. But I need some reassurances.”

  10. “Everything he claims? Baseless. Absolutely baseless,” he said as he backed his way out the door.

Photo by Nick Herasimenka on Unsplash

Ten more writing prompts…and one more Warmup strategy.

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Another use: I have reduced one of my hard copies to 1000 strips of paper, each containing a Warmup. I pull out four or five at a time and see what story develops.
[Note: My first ebook of Writing Warmups is currently free.]

  1. “Why don’t you come with us?” As she considered the request, the three of us turned our backs and winced.
  2. “Don’t sweat it. You’ll get the hang of it.”
  3. I swear when I grabbed her hand for the first time, a jolt of electricity shot up my arm.
  4. “How do you get anything done in here?” 
  5. “All due respect…” Oh, geez, I knew anything but respect was on its way.
  6. The deadline was approaching, but our solutions weren’t.
  7. “So, what’ll it be—root canal or a date with my brother?”
  8. “Should my hands be sweating like this?”
  9. “Let’s just make believe we get along…just for tonight.”
  10. “What is it with you? Why does everything have to be so organized?”

**Photo by Jeremy Beck on Unsplash

 

Ten more writing prompts…and one more Warmup strategy.

imagine jeremy-beck-405603-unsplash

Another use: I have reduced one of my hard copies to 1000 strips of paper, each containing a Warmup. I pull out four or five at a time and see what story develops.
[Note: My first ebook of Writing Warmups is currently free.]

  1. “Why don’t you come with us?” As she considered the request, the three of us turned our backs and winced.
  2. “Don’t sweat it. You’ll get the hang of it.”
  3. I swear when I grabbed her hand for the first time, a jolt of electricity shot up my arm.
  4. “How do you get anything done in here?” 
  5. “All due respect…” Oh, geez, I knew anything but respect was on its way.
  6. The deadline was approaching, but our solutions weren’t.
  7. “So, what’ll it be—root canal or a date with my brother?”
  8. “Should my hands be sweating like this?”
  9. “Let’s just make believe we get along…just for tonight.”
  10. “What is it with you? Why does everything have to be so organized?”

**Photo by Jeremy Beck on Unsplash

 

Another ten writing warmups…

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Another of my writing prompt strategies…

I often merge two or more Warmups into a scene for practice writing or one that might show up in a work-in-progress. [Note: My first book of Writing Warmups is currently free.]

  1. “Let’s just say your mom will not be pleased.”
  2. She was a master at starting rumors about herself.
  3. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m just the middle man!”
  4. His family business was impeding our progress, not to mention his parenting skills.
  5. We’d been looking at the wrong person this whole time.
  6. Her nationality remained a mystery…to us…even to her parents.
  7. And so began my climb up the corporate ladder…
  8. “Just one more problem.” He showed us the photo.
  9. “We will probably need some reinforcements after a couple of hours.” “Are you kidding me? We’re talking about a group of kindergarteners!”
  10. “Oh, I forgot to mention…”

**Photo by Clément M. on Unsplash

Ten more writing prompts…and yet another way I use them.

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Another way I use my writing warmups: I will close a mediocre writing day with a burst of Warmup-inspired words to help kickstart  my next session. [Note: My first ebook of Writing Warmups is currently free.]

  1. “He gave me a detailed description of what he wanted.” I held it up. “This is as close as I could get.”
  2. The speaker hobbled across the stage to the podium. I leaned to my buddy. “This is going to take a loooong time.”
  3. The bank statements told an interesting story.
  4. “Just jot your name on the dotted line and all will be well.”
  5. “That guy across the street? Been there three straight days.”
  6. “Not so fast. I need a few minutes to read this over.” Totally not what I wanted to hear.
  7. The books were stacked. The coffee was brewed. The all-nighter had begun. And then the phone rang.
  8. I held the document up to the light. “Very interesting.”
  9. In strutted a fashion disaster. “Which way to my dressing room?”
  10. “I have absolutely nothing to hide.”

 

Note: