Why Writing Prompts?

• A writing prompt is a much easier thing to face than a blank piece of paper or an empty screen. A prompt gives you a jump-start, a place to begin. It's the impetus that gets you going and starts words flowing on the page. Just facing a blank sheet of paper with no idea where to start or what to write about is terrifying. A prompt is an effective way to manage that terror and begin.

• Writing prompts can help you access memories and stories you can't retrieve directly. A good prompt can make you remember something you hadn't thought about in a month, a year, or even fifty years.

• A writing prompt can help you whether you're a beginner or an experienced writer. A good prompt can jumpstart a novice or enable a three-time novelist get inside their character's head.

• A writing prompt will get you writing, and keep you writing, much more effectively than the idea, "I should write." With a prompt, you have something concrete to respond to. And if you make it part of your personal writing practice to respond to the ones that I send out each week, you won't have to think them up yourself.

See a sample of the Writer's Journey Roadmap below.