Writing Prompts

“In the past, memoir was the country of old people, looking back, a reminiscence. But now people are disclosing their lives in their twenties, writing their first memoir in their thirties, and their second in their forties. This revolution in personal narrative that has unrolled across the American landscape in the last two and a […]

“All great literature is one of two stories; a man [or woman] goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” ― Leo Tolstoy Free write for ten minutes about each of these scenarios. Then turn one―or both―into a more developed piece. 

“The best memoirs, I think, forge their own forms. The writer of any work, and particularly nonfiction work, must decide two crucial things: what to put in and what to leave out.” —Annie Dillard, An American Childhood If you were to write the story of your life today, what would you put in and what

“The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where human perception begins.  He appeals through the senses, and you cannot appeal through the senses with abstraction.” —Flannery O’Connor, Mysteries and Manners Describe a morning in your life primarily through your sense of smell. Repeat, describing the same morning, primarily

“If you don’t face the dangerous in your writing, you won’t change other people, because you’re not changing you.” —Naomi Wolf Brainstorm a list of things that would be dangerous to face in your writing. Then write about one of them.

“If you travel far enough, one day you will recognize yourself coming down the road to meet yourself. And you will say—YES.” —Marion Woodman Tell me about a time you said yes to yourself.

“There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside the dullest exterior, there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.” —Mark Twain Tell me about a great dramatic moment in your life. A comedy. A tragedy.

“Writing is a struggle against silence.” —Carlos Fuentes Tell me about all the different kinds of silence you have known. Start each paragraph with the words, “There is the kind of silence…”.

“One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment.” —Hart Crane Over the next week, compile a list of ten-twenty of your favorite words. You can love them because of their sound, their resonance, their meaning, their specificity—or for

“The past actually happened, but history is only what someone wrote down.” —A. Whitney Brown Tell me about a historical event you lived through or witnessed—the story of where you were when it occurred. Choose one you remember well.

“It only takes a reminder to breathe, a moment to be still, and just like that, something in me settles, softens, makes space for imperfection. The harsh voice of judgment drops to a whisper and I remember again that life isn’t a relay race; that we will all cross the finish line; that waking up

“A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said, ‘I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.’ “The grandson asked him, ‘Which wolf will win the fight in your

“Considering how common illness is, how tremendous the spiritual change it brings, how astonishing, when the lights of health go down, the undiscovered countries that are then disclosed, what wastes and deserts of the soul a slight attack of influenza brings to view, what precipices and lawns sprinkled with bright flowers a little rise of

“Of course, you should throw in weather as you write about your brother, how it was raining out the day you finally realized he was always going to be better in school than you, that no teacher would praise you the way they did him. Or it was snowing out the last time you saw

“Lower your standards and keep writing.” —Willliam Stafford Write a really bad story, something you know is really bad. Use every cliché or hackneyed phrase you can think of, every boring plot device. Include one-dimensional, predictable characters and lousy dialogue. Cut loose. Have fun writing your really bad story. It will loosen up the perfectionist