Writing Prompts: 7 Fun Tips for Creating Your Own

“The Content Will Find You.” – Dave Pell, journalist

 

It’s a challenge, but we like creating our own writing prompts.  And it can be fun, as we recently re-discovered while reading journalist Dave Pell’s “An Internet Journalist Shares Eleven Breakthrough Moments.” At the top of his list of breakthrough moments, Pell notes, “The Content Will Find You.” You’ll discover by creating your own writing prompts the content will indeed find you. It’s a fun way for you as a new author to get your muse to show up and help you write.

 

Pell’s list of breakthrough moments offers a thoughtful and amusing collection of ideas. This makes it an excellent source for an exercise in generating your prompts.

 

In this guide, we share what we did to create exercises by using sentences and ideas from Pell’s list of breakthroughs. While you can follow the same techniques by using other suggestions, Pell’s list just happens to be thoughtful and full of fun, tongue-in-cheek, ideas. Elevate your writing journey with your own writing prompts.

Titles & Taglines as Writing Prompts

One technique morphed into several ideas as we employed using titles as writing prompts. Here are a few tips using titles or taglines.

 

• Fill-in-the-blanks. Add the details for this fill-in-the-blanks title. To create the “blanks,” we added brackets and italics: “What [an article that hasn’t been written] gets wrong about [a topic I know nothing about].

 

Example: “What Joe Smart’s Article about Al Growing Trees gets wrong about AI.”

 

Alternatively, you can use an article that has already been written on a topic you are familiar with to craft a title prompt.

 

• Fill-in-the-blanks #2. Another fill-in-the-blank title from Pell’s list is “This App Will Change Your Life” (App and content TBD). In this exercise, you can come up with a name for an app and list 3-5 ways it could transform your life.

 

Example: “This text-to-speech app will change your podcast by saving time, adding interest, and adding a unique voice.”

 

• Title as a Question. Consider changing the title of one of your articles into a question, assuming it isn’t already phrased as a question. Pell shared how he revamped one of his old pieces simply by replacing its title with a question. For this exercise, you don’t need to rewrite the entire article. Instead, list 5-6 answers to the question or pose additional related questions.

 

• Be More Specific. Pell uses a clever sentence to help develop more specifics. We used a similar one in our university courses to get students to use more specifics in their writing. Here’s Pell’s sentence: “One extremely unusual dude in a very remote place did something highly irregular that was hardly noticed by those in closest proximity.”

 

Make the sentence more specific by answering these questions:  Who is the “extremely unusual dude”?  Where is the “very remote place”?  What did the dude do that was “highly irregular”?  Who were those “in closest proximity”?

Making a List

While Pell humorously mocks the idea of creating lists, they can be highly engaging for readers, allowing them to quickly grasp information without sifting through lengthy text. In Pell’s final breakthrough moment, he suggests writing a list beneath a captivating image sourced from the internet. You can find a royalty-free image and create a list to accompany it. We like to use Unsplash and Pexels.

Writing 1 Paragraph

While Pell suggests making “one hilarious chart” to make current events accessible, we would also say, how about writing a brief paragraph.  At his writing in 2014, the events included the violence in Eastern Ukraine, immigration, and yet another crisis in the Middle East (or Western Asia as some refer to it). To put this technique into practice, select one complicated current event, and write a one-paragraph synopsis. You might also consider how it would relate to your usual audience.

Writing a Reflection

While many readers give little time to reflection, most writers find it essential. Pell shares his breakthrough moment of describing his experiences and thoughts while reflecting on a previously written piece. He suggests various subject matter possibilities, like millennials still living with their parents or the Kama Sutra.

 

How would you reflect on a piece you’ve written or on the overall experience of writing it? For instance, what else did the topic lead to when you were writing it?

Wrap Up

Creating your own writing prompts can be challenging, but it’s also rewarding work. It allows the content to find you (your muse to show up). By exploring these writing prompt techniques and leveraging Pell’s list as a source of inspiration, you can enhance your writing practice and uncover new creative possibilities.

 

Try creating your own writing prompts now, and let the content find you.

 

For tips on conquering writer’s block, see Overcome Writer’s Block Fast: 10 Tips to Ignite Creativity.

 

We hope you’ve found the writing prompt techniques useful and motivating. We hope they’ll equip you with the insights and tools needed to help you succeed as a new author.

 

Writing is a journey of continuous learning and improvement. You don’t have to go it alone. We’re excited to continue the journey with you, providing guidance and encouragement every step of the way. Our goal is to provide basic insights and practical advice to help you navigate the writing world with increased confidence.

 

Don’t wait. Start today!

 

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