Writing Prompts of the Week

Hello everyone and welcome back to another week of writing prompts. This week will cover monologues, poetry, fanfiction and more. Plus, because many of you have been encouraging me to share some of my work, I decided to publish a sample of my writing as an answer to one of this week’s prompts. I’ve rarely ever shared my work with anyone, so this was quite nerve-racking, but I’m also proud of accomplishing this step and putting myself out there. This said, I won’t keep you waiting. Here are this week’s prompts (and a link to one of my poems!).

Sunday, March 21st

On this first day of a brand-new week, we are celebrating World Poetry Day. For this challenge, let yourself be inspired by some of the classic poets – Shakespeare, Dickinson, Wordsworth, Angelou – or by some of the current best-sellers: Sin, Kaur, King Holmes, etc. What do they write about, and what makes their work stick out from the rest?

If you’re not familiar with poetry, choose an artwork or a photograph. It can be one hanging in a museum, or one you’ve created or taken yourself. Then, compose a poem about it: about its details and about how it makes you feel. These descriptive poems are called Ekphrastic.

As promised, I decided to start sharing some of my own writing, but I will start small by sharing a poem. It is an ekphrastic poem, which answers to a part of this prompt. Plus, it makes use of alliterations, which was one of the challenges a few weeks back. You can find it here.

Monday, March 22nd

For this prompt, write a story in which the main character is an animal. Think about how you want to portray them: are they animals that you can personify (like in Zootopia, or many other animal-based Disney films) or are they only animal-like? If they do, how do they communicate? How is this specific animal (your main character) different from all the others of its species?

Tuesday, March 23rd

Today’s challenge requires some research. For this prompt, I want you to write about a person who practices a religion that you are unfamiliar with. Ask yourself: who is their God(s)? How do they practice their religion? What are their religious holidays and what are their significance?

Take this opportunity to learn about another community. By doing research, you will be making fewer assumptions and avoid incorporating false information, and it will hopefully help you in your future writing. Plus, it will widen your perspective and facilitate understanding if ever you encounter the religion you chose in some of your future readings.

This said, write a short story about a day in the life of one of these people, and make sure to incorporate their religion in one way or another (it can be very subtle).

Wednesday, March 24th

For this challenge, choose one of your favourite books, movies, tv shows, video games… anything with characters that have complete and distinct personalities. Then, with the story world that you chose, write some fanfiction!

Think up a “what if?” situation and put the characters of the world you chose into that situation. For instance, what if Hermione ended up with Draco? What if Denis Duquette doesn’t die in Grey’s anatomy? What would his and Izzy’s relationship look like? What if Moana made a deal with Ursula?

Thursday, March 25th

For all the Lord of the Ring fans out there, this one is for you. For those who aren’t familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien, don’t worry, this one is also for you. Because it is Tolkien Reading Day, this prompt is inspired by one of his series. For today’s challenge, write a story about a ring! It can be fantasy-based like Tolkien, or completely based in reality: it’s up to you. No matter which type of writing you choose, make the ring the central element of your story.

Friday, March 26th

Okay y’all, it’s time to put your thinking caps on once again. Your challenge is to make up your own holiday. What date is it? How long does it last? What is being celebrated? What is the dress code? What’s the food like? Ask yourself these questions (and many more) and create your own holiday.

Last week, for one of the prompts, I asked you to invent a town. If you want this challenge to be slightly more specific, take this opportunity to create the town’s foundation day celebration.

Saturday, March 27th

For the last prompt of the week, I want to push you to develop your writing skills by asking you to write a monologue. It is rare in fiction that we include monologues. We might include long paragraphs of inner thought, but long paragraphs of someone speaking without being interrupted? That's not seen often. This said, write a monologue, a speech. It could be a welcome back speech from a principal to his students, or a eulogy, or a breakup speech. No matter what, only one person should speak the entire time. Others are present, but they can’t or don’t dare to interrupt the speaker.

That’s it for this week! I’d love to hear what you thought of these prompts, and of my poem (constructive criticism is always appreciated). I invite you to comment on either my Instagram (@n.m.blom) or my Facebook page (Noémi Blom – Writer) and to let me know your thoughts or share your own writing, even if it’s just a line or two.

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

See you next week!