I’m really good at having ideas, generally speaking. All the time, I’m being hit from left field by ideas for things to write about. Admittedly, I have about seven or eight ideas that I squeeze and cobble together with the new ideas to make them even better (I hope!).
The thing is, sometimes I’m waiting for that spark. I was lucky enough to get that spark with my NaNoWriMo novel, and I’m hoping to get it with the next novel I plan to write, since it still needs to be plotted and tweaked and revised before I even begin writing.
So, occasionally, I will start cheating.
I use creative writing prompts. They’re amazing. They don’t always seem totally relevant to what you’re writing at the time. But if you try to write a short story, for example, based on one of the writing prompts you encounter, you may create a character or a setting that is perfect for a bigger project. Try it, I dare you. Here are some links to some great creative writing prompt websites:
- Creative Writing Prompts–love these, so many, so random, so good at sparking your brain!
- Prompts from Writer’s Digest–even more prompts than the above link, and you can share them on the site.
- Writing Prompts Tumblr, from Luke Neff–I love the visual aspect of these, and how clean his lay out is in general
If you get a short story, or a novel or an epic poem or anything else out of these prompts, let me know!! I would love to check it out! Drop me an email or a comment, and let me know if you’re taking the prompt plunge!
