Writing Prompts of the Week

Once again, here are seven prompts, one for each day of the week. I’ve been having so much fun coming up with these, and I was recently encouraged to share my own responses to some of these prompts. This said, I have accepted the challenge and in the coming weeks, you can expect to be able to read – and if you feel like it, give feedback on – some short stories I wrote while inspired by a selection of these prompts.

But, I’m not quite there yet. In the meantime, here are seven new writing prompts for a brand-new week.

Sunday, March 7th

Everybody’s had them. Every single person has been part of an awkward situation. They’re practically inevitable. It might not have been you who was ashamed, embarrassed or humiliated, but you’ve at least witnessed someone who has been.

For the first prompt of the week, write a story that captures that moment and all the feelings attached to it: the inner panic, the debate between avoiding (running and hiding) or facing the facts (laughing with the others), and the incessive thoughts that come afterwards (will you be reminded, teased, and possibly bullied?)

Feel free to invent an awkward situation or, if you’re willing, make this a creative non-fiction work and tell us about something that has happened to you personally.

Monday, March 8th

We often write from perspectives that we are familiar with, meaning we often write from the point of view of or about characters that have a similar age range to our own.

This said, for this prompt, try getting out of your comfort zone and write from a child’s point of view (POV). How do they see the world? Do they understand everything the adults are saying? If they can’t speak yet, how do they attempt to communicate with others?

Tuesday, March 9th

This prompt is for the creative non-fiction writers out there, or for those who wish to try creative non-fiction. For this exercise, I need you to think back to your best food-related experience. This doesn’t necessarily mean your favourite meal, dessert, or snack. What you need to find, is the time you ate food that affected you in some way, even if it might have been for a brief second. Was it the first time you ate cotton candy? When you ate an exotic meal in a foreign country? When you were tasting treats at a display counter at Costco? Tell us about it.

No matter what the experience was, describe it as colourfully as possible, and try to evoke as many of the senses as you can (odour, taste, touch, sight, sound). With your story, make us feel as if we are there and tasting it ourselves.

Wednesday, March 10th

Everyone, at one point, has had a secret. It might have been your own, or something someone has confessed to you. Everyone knows what keeping a secret can feel like: some want to tell it to the next person who walks by, others are terrified about anyone discovering the truth. It all depends on what type of secret it is and how it could affect others if it is ever revealed.

This said, for this writing prompt, write a story in which someone has a secret. You may choose to have the secret revealed and write about the effects of it or write about how a secret came to shape itself (for instance two friends did regretful acts at a summer camp and swear to each other to never tell a soul).

No matter what you choose, the secret must at least be revealed to the readers of the story. Knowing this is what will keep them invested and wanting to know more.

Thursday, March 11th

Tough Thursdays are here once again! For this challenge, pick a flower, any flower. Most flowers – if not all of them – have a special meaning. For instance, one of the most popular ones is the red rose, which symbolizes love.

For this prompt, choose a flower and research its meaning. Then you have two choices: either write a story about that flower and its meaning (without telling us directly that the flower symbolizes a certain thing) or use this flower and give it a new meaning. For instance, describe a world where white lilies symbolize regret rather than purity, or where lavender symbolizes disruption instead of calmness and serenity.

Friday, March 12th

For this prompt, I want you to make something impossible possible. However, this is not a fantasy challenge (don’t worry, some are to come in the following weeks). No, this challenge is a science fiction one. The first step for today’s writing exercise is to choose one of the laws of nature (gravity or time, for instance). Then, allow someone or something to be able to break those rules.

Who knows about it? Can someone time travel? Is someone able to levitate and keeps it a secret, or do they use it to do good? Did someone find an object that is small, yet can’t be moved? What do they do with it? Keep it to themselves or report it to the authorities to have it studied?

Saturday, March 13th

When we talk with our family, friends, coworkers or even with strangers, we don’t often answer their questions with the exact answer they are looking for. We often use facial expressions, make jokes, repeat what a person has said but with a different tone, or simply just ask another question.

In short stories or novels, when every spoken word is giving the exact information needed, the story becomes unrealistic, and the characters often lack personality. By not answering directly, the characters can become sarcastic, serious, flirty, etc.

This said, for this last challenge of the week, I want you to write dialogue. However, at least one of the speakers can only reply with questions.

That’s it for this week! I’d love to read your responses to these prompts: feel free to share them with me via my Instagram page (@n.m.blom) or my Facebook page (Noémi Blom – Writer). And yes, I’ll be sharing some of my creative writing soon as well. I hope you’ll like it!

Not inspired? Check out last week’s prompts here.

See you next week!