75 elementary writing ideas

8/2/2019 75 Elementary Writing Ideas

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75 Elementary Writing Ideasfor Middle Schoolers

1. The bestthingto doon a snow day2. If I wasinthe circus, I would _______3. The best placeto play in my neighborhood4. When I grow up5. The mostimportantthing I learned in kindergarten6. Inside my backpack7. If I could rename 10 different crayon colors8. If I could be any animal, I would be9. Ridingon Santassleigh10.If I were a sprinkle, I would goon _______ dessert11.Runningthroughthe forest12.Becomingtiny and exploring your bedroom13.Livingin anigloo14.The best kindsof bugs15.What makes a good treehouse16.Exploring a castle17.Poppingoutof a toaster18.If I could create a new creature19.My pets are like my family because20.Day atthe beach21.Livingin candy land22.My favorite dessertis23.My favoritethingto play atrecess24.If I could learn a new language25.The best day oftheweek26.If I could take any animal on a walk inthe park27.Thegreatest present I everreceived28.My favoritegameto play when I was younger29.My hero30.What I wantto be for Halloween31.I was proud when I __________32.My favoriteseason33.One day when I wenttothe park34.I wish I knew more about _________35.Somethingthatisimportantto my family36.My favorite board game37.What I did last Saturday38.A dream vacation39.If I could only eatone food fortherestof my life,itwould be _________40.What makes a good playground41.My favoritesubject42.Inside my backpack43.The best joke I everheard44.A listofthingsthat make mehappy45.If I could visit any planet46.If dogs could talk47.If I could have any superpower48.Whatiftherewerenotelevision?49.If I won an award,itwould be for _______50.Jumpingongiantsandwiches51.The best field trip ever52.My favorite cartoon character53.If I could build anythingoutof legos54.Good manners are55.My grandparents56.Fivethings Im good at are57.Ridingon dinosaurs


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58.My favorite book characteris __________59.Something my parents used to dowhen I was little60.My first memory61.Thegreatestthing Ive learned so farthis yearis62.If a geniegranted methreewishes63.Somethingthat makes me unique64.Somethingthat always makes me feel betterwhen Im sad is65.My favoriteholiday66.If I had a thinking cap,itwould look like67.If I wasin chargeoftheweather68.I use computers for69.My favoritething about my family70.If I was kingorqueenoftheworld for a day, I would71.I wishsomeonewould build ______ by my house72.Would I ratherhavethree armsorthree legs?73.If I could make anythinggrowontrees,itwould be74.My favoritethingto dooutside75.If I wasinvisible, I would

Journal writingis a powerful tool thathelpselementary childrento begin practicingtheirskillsearly on and onethatwill servethem beyond theirelementary writing years and well intotheiradult lives.

Happy journal writing

Journaling Prompts

Journaling Prompt - Imagine yourself in a place you like to be (not necessarily someplaceyou like to *go*). What do you like about it? What are the most intriguing/appealing aspects?

In contrast, think of a place you do *not* like being. What makes you not like being there?Think how you can use this to develop ideas for writing.

Journaling Prompt - Pretend that you see yourself walking into a room. What's your first

impression of yourself? What stands out about you? Optionally extend this exercise by

changing the "room" you are entering (the gym, the office, etc.). How does that change yourimpression?

Journaling Prompt - Create a list of images that symbolize the following:

1. toughness, cruelty2. toughness, strength

Journaling Prompt - Close your eyes for a minute and imagine you are skydiving. Write

about the physical sensations and the thoughts you have.

Journaling Prompt - Sit yourself in a favorite spot, or imagine an ideal place and describe it

as an expanding bubble or sphere. Start with the center which is you, how you feel, your

thoughts. Slowly expand, taking note of subtle nuances around you. Expand the spherebeyond your field of vision.

Journaling Prompt - Hold your hands out in front of you, palms down. Imagine that you

have a total of six strings tied around your fingers. Write about the objects that are danglingfrom the strings.


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Journaling Prompt - By what do you measure your value as a person? What defines yourworth?

Journaling Prompt - Describe the most important thing in your life. Describe the 2nd and

3rd most important things. Then the 4th and 5th most important things.

Journaling Prompt - What element of nature would you choose as an emblem for yourselfas a writer. Is this a symbol that you use when writing? Does the tone match your writing?

Write using it as a metaphor.

Journaling Prompt - What is the most influential thing in your life today?

Journaling Prompt - Consider the use of seeds as a metaphor for interpersonal relationships.

Write down three instances of someone else giving you "positive" seeds. Then three instancesof someone giving you "negative" seeds. Continue by writing about the result of the seeds.

Journaling Prompt - Creating lists can be a provocative way of assessing your creative

internal thoughts and can spur insightful contemplation. When writing your lists, write whatcomes to mind, even if you feel it is a bit odd. List 15 things that change. List 15 things that

do not change. (Hint don't stop at ten, challenge yourself; go on to 15.) Continue by usingyour lists for journal entry subjects, fiction or non-fiction writing.

Journaling Prompt - "Much obliged." We often interact with people based on how we feelabout them. Relationships require obligation. We are obligated to our spouse, and other

household family members. We are obligated to our co-workers. The nature and extent of arelationship can be looked at in terms of obligation. Contemplate your relationships with

various people in your life and write about them in terms of obligations to those people. Notethat obligation is not necessarily a negative concept. And, admitting that you are "obliged",

does not mean that the other person is trying to be manipulative. Continue the exercise by

writing your response to want you have written about that relationship. A simple example: Aco-worker picks up the donut order for the the office staff. Response: I need to volunteer to

pick the donuts up next week, or need to thank the person for doing so.

Journaling Prompt - Pretend you are dreaming. Write in detail about the dream you are

having. You can use stream-of-consciousness, or plan it out. In this exercise you can have a

lucid dream where you affect what is happening, or choose to have things happen without

your control. ( It might help to first ask yourself what you want to dream about.)

Journaling Prompt - Who do you spend the most time talking to? Clients, customers,

friends, spouse, telephone solicitors, television, parents? Make a list of who you actually talk

to during the day and estimate the amount of time invested in each individual. Does the list

reveal your priorities? Is it proportional to what is important to you? Continue the exercise bymaking note of what you talk about in your daily conversations.

Journaling Prompt - Take note of peculiar sights, things seen in peripheral, unusual colors

and happenings. Have you done anything quirky recently? Break out of your rut and do

something vibrant.

Journaling Prompt - Do you consider opportunity as something that comes to you, or

something that you create for yourself? What are some opportunities that you can act upon?


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Try to come up with three opportunities that will correlate with your creative goals. Are thereareas that you could create opportunity for someone else? It may be helpful to start the

exercise with asking what you need, then brainstorming an opportunity list.

Journaling Prompt - List five wishes that you have. Continue the exercise by writing aboutthe fulfillment of each wish.

Journaling Prompt - What do you do or can you do to build optimism in yourself and for

those around you? Consider actions that you can use as a "restart button" to rejuvenate your

outlook. Keep a log of things you consciously do to promote optimism.

Journaling Prompt - Is there something you are reluctant to say to someone? Pretend thatyou are telling a third party and summarize what you would like to say. Continue the exercise

by considering what would happen if you actually told the person involved. How would youfeel afterward?

Journaling Prompt - Make a list of things you are knowledgeable about, or are highly

interested in. Think of ways that you can extend yourself as a resource to others on these

topics. Consider writing articles, volunteering, collaborating, organizing a small group

focused on the subject, participating in a "barter exchange", etc. Evaluate your skill level and

determine if you need more experience or exposure. What steps can you take to promote

yourself?

Journaling Prompt - Do you consider yourself to live purposely? Write about specific

choices you have made for yourself in the past. Think about the daily choices you make

concerning the following areas: self, relationships, career, and health. For each write a goal

that you have and three things that you can do to accomplish it.

Journaling Prompt - Look for similarities of events in your life. Have you ever felt like you

have found yourself making the same decision with just a different set of circumstances?Think of events having a circular effect. What theme has come full circle for you? Do you

believe that the same "test" comes up over and over again until you "pass"?

Journaling Prompt - Make a record of "acts of compassion" that you observe in your life

and around you.

Journaling Prompt - What is buzzing in your brain? Spontaneously write down 10 creative

ideas/ activities that you can do as an expression of who you are. These may be things you've

never done before and could be as varied as volunteering at your local food pantry or cake

decorating. If you come up short, browse for ideas that support your values. Select four items

and write how you would feel about them, or would benefit from doing them. Are they

practical and obtainable? If you say no to any of them, write why not.

Journaling Prompt - Consider the indulgences in your life. In what ways do you indulge

yourself? List your behaviors, attitudes, diet, routines, etc. Reflect on how you are affected,

both benefits and detriments. Also, reflect on how others are affected, positively or

negatively.

Journaling Prompt - Write about yourself as a friend, parent, child or other relationship

role, focusing only on your positive qualities.


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Journaling Prompt - List three things that are important to you. Continue the exercise bywriting about what motivates, or prompts, you to push forward in different areas of your life.

Journaling Prompt - Write a list of things that "stress you out". Then, next to each thing you

have listed, write one thing that you can do to alleviate, or lighten the stress. When you knowthat you are heading into a stressful situation, use this as part of a plan of looking at the

situation objectively.

Journaling Prompt - Write five personal short term goals

Journaling Prompt - Write down five things that you can do to help other people this week.

Journaling Prompt - Write about the people around you through out the week. Who is the

most interesting person you know?

Journaling Prompt - If you had to leave the city you live in, what would you find hardest toleave behind? If you were to move to a new city, what would you do to connect with the

community, or feel established in a new place?

Journaling Prompt - Track your self esteem. Note how it fluctuates, and try to pinpoint

what affects it positively or negatively. Include things such as amount of sleep, nutrition,

stress, goal setting, and recreational activities. Continue the exercise by writing about what

keeps you in balance.

Journaling Prompt - Write down notes about the people and setting of an actual shop,bookstore, or while in transit from one place to another. Note how people are dressed and

their demeanor.

Journaling Prompt - Extract an overall tone from the experience to characterize the

location. Write a few paragraphs based on your observation.

Journaling Prompt - Write about what you wish you had time for, or had more time to do.

Keep a log during the next two weeks of how you spend your time. Make note of what you

consider to be "free" time and non-negotiable activities. Record the amount of time you

spend in each activity. Review your log entries. Is there time that you can reappropriate

towards what you want to accomplish? Create a schedule guide for yourself to help you shifttowards doing more of what you want to do.

Journaling Prompt - List the books that you have been reading. Write your opinions, and if

you would recommend it to someone else to read.

Journaling Prompt - What is something that you do for solely for yourself as a reward orjust to celebrate who you are?

Journaling Prompt - Transitionals write about the things that are between other things.

(Sidewalk seams, breaths, silence, relationships.)

Journaling Prompt - Write a list of spoofs. Choose a title of a movie, book, or a genre such

as self help and write several spoofs of that title. For instance. "Dr. Strangelove, or How I

learned to Stop Worrying and Love the bomb" becomes "Triple Espresso, or How I Learned


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to Drink Coffee and Embrace the Latte". These work well if you develop a theme for yourvariations.

Journaling Prompt - Write about one thing in society that you really feel is not properly

managed, or you feel outraged about when you think of it. Do you feel that there is any hopeof an improved solution?

Journaling Prompt - Throughout the day take note of three things that you see in front of

you. For example , going to work: 1. traffic light, rear view mirror, dented fender. 2. elevator

button, gold watch, worn carpet. Use these snippets as inspiration for writing.

Journaling Prompt - Write about things people collect, or accumulate. Consider how thecollection can be referenced as a person's history.

Journaling Exercise - Start an entry that devotes one day to writing about the events that you

see happening around you. The next day, record the images that you see, taking particularnote of specific items. In the next entry, write about sounds and aromas and colors, textures

in a more abstract manner.

Journaling Exercise - Write about who you are.

Journaling Exercise - Write about your passion for writing.

Journaling Exercise - Have you been more demanding on yourself lately? Or less? Why?

And do you think it's a good trend?

Journaling Exercise - Do you interpret your father, and his actions and emotions (or inactionand lack of display) differently now than you did when you were a child? Do you see your

father in yourself?

Journaling Exercise - Are you aware of your emotional dependencies? Describe who (or

what) they are, and how your emotional state depends on them.

Journaling Exercise - Write about some of your family relationships. Who is the person that

most influences family connectivity?

Journaling Exercise - Make a list of things that would make up your artistic "survival kit",

things you would not want to be without as an artist.

Journaling Exercise - For the next few days, generate lists of opposites. Example: "Things

that are sharp: ____, Things that are dull:____."

Journaling Exercise - Write about your spending budget. What do you find yourself

spending your discretionary funds on? Are these things that are meaningful to you?

Journaling Exercise - Practice your descriptive skills. Write descriptions of people,

buildings, decor, etc. For each category you choose write at least two separate descriptions.

Journaling Exercise - Practice writing sensory images. Make it a habit to list the five senses

each day and write at least three strong sensory images.


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Journaling Exercise - Define objects in the vein of or similar to Gertrude Stein. Read TenderButtons, Objects:

http://www.bartleby.com/140/1.html

"Stein's innovative writing emphasizes the sounds and rhythms rather than the sense ofwords. By departing from conventional meaning, grammar and syntax, she attempted to

capture "moments of consciousness," independent of time and memory."http://www.bartleby.com/140/

Journaling Exercise - Write a list of "pleasant curses" that are career specific. For example,

a pleasant curse for the plumber might be: "May all your dreams be pipe dreams".

Journaling Exercise - Make a calendar list of your very own custom created holidays and

celebrations. It's fair to use "Friendship Day", etc. but put them on the day you want them tobe on. How about a "Goodbye Sally Mae Day" for the day you paid off or will pay off your

school loans?

Journaling Exercise - Write 4 or more non-fiction character sketches.

Character Sketches: Putting People on the Pagehttp://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=18212

Journaling Exercise - Describe the last time you volunteered to do something for someoneor for an organization. What prompted you to volunteer? Did you follow through? Would you

volunteer again?

Journaling Prompt - List the people that you trust. Write about your list. What are theboundaries of trust?

Journaling Prompt - Write about any incongruent actions. i.e. You want a certain outcomebut in some way work against it happening. What type of story could you write in which themain character works against himself?

Journaling Prompt - Write a series of creative entries based on newspaper headlines.

Journaling Prompt - It's easy to forget how much we've accomplished. Make a detailed list

of all of your accomplishments, big and small, for last year. In the New Year, consider how

you can keep better track of what you've done.

Journaling Prompt - What do you like more than chocolate?

Journaling Prompt - Have you ever justified yourself with that old saying (and 1970's discolyric): "You gotta be cruel to be kind"? Were you rationalizing then? Are you rationalizing

now? Do you have that song stuck in your now (like I do)?

Journaling Prompt - What do you know that you could (and/or *should*) teach to others?

"Others" could mean your children, other people's children, the parents of those other

children, or anyone or any group. And, of course, what you teach and how you teach it is up

to you. How would test your students to make sure they learned what you were teaching?


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Journaling Prompt - Do you have any outstanding/unfinished "seasonal projects"? What areyou doing to complete those projects?

Journaling Prompt - In what ways does the political party you most identify with not

represent you at all? And, conversely, in what ways does the political party you considerfurthest from your personal ideology represent you best?

Journaling Prompt - Holiday family gatherings bring their own particular breed of stress--

even if you *like* your family. How do you feel about your various family (and extended

family) members? How would you like to feel? Or are you're planning to stay home this

year?

Journaling Prompt - Write a "post mortem" for the year, as described here.

Journaling Prompt - Are your favorite drinks your favorite because you enjoy drinking

them? Or is there something more sinister at work? When was the last time you tried a newtype or flavor of drink?

Journaling Prompt - What can you do to nurture your important relationships?

Journaling Prompt - What is your obsession?

Journaling Prompt - Write about how you expose yourself to outside ideas, interests and

viewpoints. Or write about how you protect yourself from the same.

Journaling Prompt - Describe the various ways you seek external validation and approval.

Do you have a friend or family member you can always count on to appreciate you or yourefforts? Who do you wish you could count on? Do you know who counts on you?

Journaling Prompt - What are your comfort foods? Comfort books? Comfort TVshows/movies? Comfort music? Comfort activities? Is there a common theme in how you

seek comfort?

Journaling Prompt - Consider yourself from your neighbors's perspectives. How do you

think they see you? What do you think your neighbors might know about you (right or

wrong) that you don't suspect?

Journaling Prompt - Have the "close calls" of your life prompted you to learn new skills oradjusted your attitude about anything? In what ways? Or does it take an actual accident or

brush with bad luck to get your attention?

Journaling Prompt - How does the changing of the seasons affect you? Do you findyourself looking backward? Forwards? Elsewhere? Which seasons affect you the most?

Why?

Journaling Prompt - Do you have unquestioned beliefs? What are they? What has caused--

or could cause--you to question them?

Journaling Prompt - How hard (or easy) do you make it for other people to help you? Do

your friends and family know when you do (or don't) want (or need) help? Are you too


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independent (or too needy)? How much do you project your own attitudes towards asking andreceiving help onto the people closest to you?

Journaling Prompt - Have you added any new hobbies lately? Did the new hobby or

hobbies displace any existing hobbies? What attracted you to the new hobby or hobbies?What keeps you involved?

Journaling Prompt - What toys have you kept (or recovered) from your childhood? What

toys did you have that you wish you still had (and not just so you can sell them on eBay)?

Journaling Prompt - How many people live within a few doors of you that you've never

met? How would you go about meeting them?

Journaling Prompt - Describe "the perfect job" for you. How does that compare to yourcurrent job? What would you have to do to find (or create) that perfect job?

Journaling Prompt - What type of art or culture moves you--or inspires you--the most?

What is it about that type of art that draws you in?

Journaling Prompt - What do you think are your blind spots about yourself (or about

anything)? What do you think other people think are your blind spots? What do other people

tell you are your blind spots?

Journaling Prompt - Have you planned (or fantasized about) your funeral? How do you

want it go? Do you want a religious funeral? Sombre or festive?

Journaling Prompt - When was the last time you met someone who became a friend? Howdid the friendship grow?

Journaling Prompt - Pick a decision you've been considering (or putting off). Describe theworst possible outcome you can imagine. Now describe the best possible outcome you can

imagine. Which outcome did you give the most detail? Which outcome seemed the most

improbable?

Journaling Prompt - Do you know your "hot buttons"? The ones that anyone can press and

set you off? (If you're not sure, just ask your friends. They know.)

Journaling Prompt - Write about honesty as a virtue. Now write about honesty as a vice.

Journaling Prompt - What is the worst thing about your day? What are you doing to get rid

of it?

Journaling Prompt - Close your eyes for a minute and imagine you are a constellation in the

night sky. Write about the physical sensations and the thoughts you have.

Free Writing Prompts


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Free Writing Prompt - Take the prompt provided below and develop it into a story. Thisparticular prompt is an example of selecting a scene and allowing the character to reveal

"himself". Write for 15-20 min without editing.

Prompt: A man gets into a cab at the airport.

Variations: After you complete the exercise see how changing an element affects the story.How will the story differ if it is a woman instead of a man, or if two people, strangers or not,

get into the cab.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 15 minutes using the following phrase as your first line.

"After the door shuts and the footsteps die..."

Free Writing Prompt - Use the following line as inspiration. Write for at least 20 minutes

without editing.

"Tracing the outline of her face from a photograph..."

Free Writing Prompt - Use the following phrase as a focal point to write from:

"The stain will not come out..."

Free Writing Prompt - Using the following phrase as a starting point write for 20 minutes

without self editing:

"Collapsing under a canopy of green..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write short prose or poetry using the following theme: transparency

Free Writing Prompt - Write for twenty minutes starting with the phrase," The inside of anegg..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following phrase as the title:

"Prolonged Exposure"

Free Writing Prompt - Select a scene that involves 2-3 characters. Write a paragraph from

the point of one character, then write the same interaction from another characters point of

view. For example, the point of view of convenience store clerk contrasted with a customer'spoint of view of the same incident.

Free Writing Prompt - Without using color names, describe a tree.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) using the following prompt:

"The distance between two points increases over time."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) using the following prompt:

"This morning marks the anniversary, the anniversary of two people dying."


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Free Writing Prompt with Prop - As a visual reference, select a box that has dimensionsunder 12X12 inches. Tape the box closed. Set the box in front of you. Write a story, poem or

free writing based on what is inside the box.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for twenty minutes using "white noise" as your title.

Free Writing Prompt - Flip through a magazine and select a page for your inspiration. Youcan use the subject matter, or the illustration.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following prompt:

"The afternoon..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following prompt:

"My life is made up of seconds..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes in any style using "Flowers for Ann" as the

title.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes without editing using the sense of black and

white vision, as in film or photographs. The piece can have a historical or nostalgic feel,

surreal, or futuristic.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using this

prompt: "Jerry was a nice guy..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using "non-

descript" as your title.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style about a character

named "Vegas"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using "everyday

object" as your title

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style: using"Parenthetical" as the title. (Be divergent.)

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style: using, "turning

into silence".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using "At This

Very Moment" as your title.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style: using"pendulum".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style, using "The Man"

or "The Woman" as your starting point.


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Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using "HiddenCamera" as your title.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style: using "faded

denim" as your title.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style: using "franchise"as your starter.

Free Writing Prompt - Write a list of all the words you can think of that start with "mag-".Select three of the words, using them for your 20 minute free-write. For a second list, use

"tri-".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style: using"Clippings" as your starter.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using "arrivals

and departures" as your starter.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using this as your

starter: "In the event of an emergency..." Consider writing with humor.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using the title,

"The Bumblebee Chronicles".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes in any style using the following as your title,

"Spending Purgatory with... " Consider using humor.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style, using a

Laundromat as your setting.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes, (without editing) in any style, describing one

of your parents.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes, (without editing) in any style using "Why

Claire Left" as a starter.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes, (without editing) in any style using: "My last

memory of..." Consider writing something surreal.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes, (without editing) in any style using "The East

India Company..." as a starter.

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using, "Moth

Whispers".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using, "Soap

Bubbles" or "Bottle Rockets" as your title.


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Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style using, "StringTheory". Or "Modern American Fantasy". Or , "An Ordinary Morning".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes starting with "The Color of Smoke". About

halfway through, interject, "The Use of an Elevator".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using "Shallow Breath".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes starting with "The gypsy reads the tea leaves"

or, "The First Time I Saw the Circus".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using , "Clairvoyant". Or "MundaneOccurrences."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter,

"Masquerade".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes in any genre using the phrase, " The door shut,

before I....". Or, "Three scenes depicting *__________". (i.e. death, love, karma.)

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter, "Diamonds

aren't for giving..." Or, use, "Images are blurred..."

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter, " A Penny

on the Sidewalk ".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Yelling

with meaning"

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter:"Overdrawn flowers"

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Devout

Hurting"

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the title, "The Bubble Gum Contest".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the title, "The Shadow Children".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the starter, "disappearing".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the starter, "Cardboard Box".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the starter, "Under the Microscope".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Theillusion of..."

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Identity"


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Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the letter "x" as your starter.

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the phrase, "This is a photograph of..."

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the phrase, "Cut Your Losses".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the phrase, "Within Reach".

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter or title:

"Fourth Person Tense"

Free Writing Prompt - Write a for 20 minutes without editing using the following title:"The Salesman".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following: "Removing the Stitches".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes without editing using the following title, "The

Cat Came Back".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes without editing using the following title,

"Children's Games".

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "The world

is divided into two types of people."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your title or starting

phrase: "A song of allusion..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your title or starting

phrase: "Consider Blasphemy"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "This year,

on my summer vacation, I ..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "I stood upand gave my name..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Captain's

log, supplemental ..." Or, if that's too cheesy: "Fascinating ..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "An

avalanche of words..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Thankyou..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Everybody

knows..."


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Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "HelloCoffee..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "If you are

reading this..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "WhatDorothy found..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "PestControl..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "The

Chameleon Spoke"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "SummerFalls"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Nice

Bully"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Inadequate

Plumbing"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "SellingShort"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Black

Frosting..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Five

Fingers"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Touching

the edge..."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Antique

Glass"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Nose to

Nose"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Off the

Map"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Rooseveltburied the shoe in the back yard, then took off."

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Excuses

Ready"


16/28

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "BeansSpilled"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "After

Hours"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Scalingthe Walls"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "TheRabbit Trails"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Self

Storage"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Pancakes"

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "Odds Are"

Poetry Prompts

Poetry Prompt - Write an Anaphora poem. An Anaphora is "the repetition of a word or

expression several times within a clause or within a paragraph". In poetry the repetition of thephrase can be just at the beginning of each line, setting the tone as a meditation or a mantra,

or it can be utilized more subtlety within the poem. The poem can be free verse or prose style.

Poetry Prompt - Write a free verse poem using "sparrows".

Poetry Prompt - Write a series of questions and answers to compose a poem.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem that describes a walk through a house from the perspective of

a child.

Poetry Prompt - Write three different impressions of "saturation". (e.g.: color, sound, aroma,

urban-ness, etc.)

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the prompt: "chain-link fence"

Poetry Prompt - Write a three part poem using "metronome".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem concerning the "absence" of something. Consider the absenceas a positive, or a negative.

Poetry Prompt - List ten items that you would buy at an auction, or tag sale. Write a poemincluding those items. You may chose to title your poem, "Things Found At An Auction".

Variation, have someone else create a list for you.


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Poetry Prompt - Write a poem that starts with a one word title, two words in the first line,three in the next, and continues by adding one word per line. (Variation: use as a prose

exercise.)

Poetry Prompt - "This and That"- Write a list of phrases such as "salt and pepper", "cats anddogs", "love and war". Write a poem with the first stanza about the first word and the second

stanza about the second word.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem based on the concept or idea of a "Mobeus strip".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem that begins with a description of an event, telling what

appears to be happening. Then give a description of what is really occurring.

Poetry Prompt - As an exercise, write a solo "renga". (Not to argue the authenticity of arenga being written by two poets - not one) A renga is a Japanese poetic form similar to

haiku, but a series of stanzas linked by an idea. Please visit these pages for a full, non-confrontational definition of renga:

http://www.ahapoetry.com/renga.htm#sea

http://thewordshop.tripod.com/renga.htm

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using, "paper and chalk".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the following title: "Another Language", or"Translation".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the following start: "What good is a day..."

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem about the "ultimate" poem, or what a poem "should" do.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem in the disguise of a postcard message. Continue by writing a

reply postcard message.

Poetry Prompt - Create a poem using three trinkets. Such as, a shell, a silver charm, and afeather.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the phrase "a foreign language".

Poetry Prompt - On a slip of paper write a list of 15 "free association" words. Use the 15

words in a poem. Variation: Create and exchange a list with another person. Then use their

list of words to write a poem.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using, "how to...". For example, "how to write a poem", "howto break my heart"," how to distinguish a flower from a frog".

Poetry Prompt - Write three shaped-verse poems. Shaped-verse poems are a form of

"pattern poetry", where the letters, words, and lines of the poem are arranged to form apicture/outline of the subject of the poem. An example is a poem in the shape of a Christmas

tree discussing your thoughts about Christmas itself, family traditions, and so on.


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Poetry Prompt - Write a poem that repeats a selected word in each line. Consider usingforeign translations of the word. (cat, gato, catze).

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem with a seasonal theme.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem about seasonings. For example, "Salt and Saffron".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the title, "Paradise of Strangers".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using, " Between Silences".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using "Writers Anonymous" as your title. (Or, "Hi My Name

Is")

Poetry Prompt - Transitory - Write a poem based on transitory things.

Poetry Prompt - Make a list of your favorite lines from poetry. Use these lines in a collage

or create a pocket journal that has one line per page. Memorize them. (And then, optionally,for you Mark Strand fans, eat them.)

Poetry Prompt - Write a Tercet. Examples:

http://www.gardendigest.com/poetry/tercet.htm#Selected

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem about something that "spirals".

Poetry Prompt - Write a culinary poem celebrating food.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem that is representative of language/communication.

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem about a very small object.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem using images of things that are connected, such as

"paperclip(s)", or "trains".

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem that is about the "un-truth".

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem about things that are transparent.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem that starts at the end, moving backwards.

Poetry Exercise - Write a villanelle, or a terzanelle.

villanelle

A 19-line poem of fixed form consisting of five tercets and a final quatrain on two

rhymes, with the first and third lines of the first tercet repeated alternately as a refrain

closing the succeeding stanzas and joined as the final couplet of the quatrain. (from

http://www.dictionary.com)


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terzanelleA terzanelle is a poetry form which is a combination of the villanelle and the terza

rima. It is nineteen lines total, with five triplets and a concluding quatrain. The rhymescheme is as follows: Ending Type 1:fAFA' (from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terzanelle)

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem using the theme of, "x-ray", or seeing through layers.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem that focuses on sound.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem about playing Jacks, Hopscotch, or another such game.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem in three parts aboutthree different people and their

interaction with an item that is the same. The object can be passed between them, or it can be

the "same" possession and not the "actual" object the other people have.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem that uses the style of a devotion and prayer.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem that is written in the style of magnetic poetry. For your word

bank you can use one or two pages from a book, magazine or newspaper. You might want to

make a photocopy of the pages and cut the words apart,or just transcribe them randomly to

your word bank.

Poetry Exercise - Write a poem that is based on a painting. (You can find many classicpaintings here: http://www.wga.hu/index.html)

Example: Pieter Brueghel, The Fall of Icarus

http://www.english.emory.edu/Paintings&Poems/Williams.htmlhttp://www.english.emory.edu/Paintings&Poems/Auden.html

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem that refers to "Romeo and Juliet".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the title, "Lines of Conversation".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the title, "Love Poem Number 137".

Poetry Prompt - Write a poem using the title, "You Need to Have a Plan".

Prose Prompts

Prose Prompt - Use the following sentences to begin: "It's not the street I usually go down.

But for some reason, that day I turned down a different road."

Prose Prompt - Develop a character or create a scene in the style of a "film noire".

Prose Prompt - Next time you watch a movie take note of the people in the background.

Develop a character sketch by selecting a peripheral character. Follow an extra off screen and

reveal who he is and what he is about to do.


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Prose Prompt - Writing the known and the unknown. Close your eyes, let a landscapeappear. Allow yourself to view the landscape, taking note of texture and mood. Next, pretend

that you have a rose petal in your hand. Feel it between your fingers and give it color andscent. Allow yourself time to make it a realistic experience. Now go back to creating your

landscape, again focusing on details and texture. Continue writing about your landscape.

Prose Prompt - Write about someone discovering a key.

Prose Prompt - Write about a reflection in the mirror.

Prose Prompt - Write two pages (500 words) with the scenario of a character urgently

needing to get in contact with a family member.

Prose Prompt - Write using the adage, "these things happen in threes."

Prose Prompt - Create a character sketch based on the type of car the character owns. Selectthe car, ie: Buick, El Camino, Limo, or use the lack of a vehicle, as your starting point.

Prose Prompt - Close your eyes and think of a specific place, such as a grocery store or a

bakery. Think about what it looks like early in the morning. Write about the people who work

there. Visit the same place at different times of the day.

Prose Prompt - Create a legend, myth, or fairytale about falling stars.

Prose Prompt - Write a list of "circumstances" that you can use as prompts for a storyline.Throw in a touch of fantasy (e.g. a garden where people grow small if they smell a certain

plant, a person recovering from a car wreck discovers a conspiracy). Select one and create thestory. Write allowing yourself a sense of humor and relaxation.

Prose Prompt - Set yourself a word limit. This can be used as a daily writing exercise. First,test yourself to see how many words you can write before you start to feel "stretched." This is

your comfort zone. Write in your comfort zone each day for a week or two. Then experiment

by increasing your word limits incrementally. Conversely, play with creating "short short

stories" where you confine your writing to fewer words (e.g., 50 - 100). As an example, write

125 words using, "I noticed you...", as your starter.

Prose Prompt - Write a short story using "Small Town Hero" as your title or beginning.

Prose Prompt - Write a character sketch exploring three aspects of the character's life (home

life, childhood, dating, hobbies, marriage, career, foibles, etc.).

Prose Prompt - Create a progressive story chain that follows the trail of an object, or beginswith the introduction of one character leading into the introduction of another, producing a

chain of unrelated events that are linked by one momentary "shared" element.

Prose Prompt - Use "symphony" or "circus" as a metaphor for a city day.

Prose Prompt - Write a story about or tribute to an author, poet or musician (fictional or

nonfictional).


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Prose Prompt - Write a story that begins with your character peering out from behind acurtain.

Prose Prompt - Write a story about a person who has an obsession with shoes and claims he

can predict a person's future by the shoes they wear.

Prose Prompt - Write a story about a family vacation at a beach house. Consider writing it inthe form of an one-act play.

Prose Prompt - Write a children's story about a crow who either is learning to read, or whowrites words for others to read.

Prose Prompt - Write a story about a person who is illiterate.

Prose Prompt - Write a "diary excerpt" from a character of your choice, or one of the

following suggested characters: a spoken word poet on a short tour, a person who hassuffered the loss of a elderly parent, an actor who is "very talented", waiting to be discovered,

or a successful author who is working on a new novel.

Prose Prompt - Write a short story involving the sale of a car.

Prose Prompt - Take the inverse of "regression", or past lives, and write a story about

"progression", or future lives.

Prose Prompt - Write series of short sketches in which one character is relating stories orexperiences to another. For example, "What the Moon Saw", by Hans Christian Andersen:

http://hca.gilead.org.il/moon_saw.html

Prose Prompt - Write a list of five first and last names. Select one of the names and writeabout the character.

Prose Prompt - Write a short story using, "Foolproof plans for..."

Prose Prompt - Write a short story using, "Shifting her glance to the side of the chair shenoticed a small green suitcase."

Prose Prompt - Write about "hands" in three different genres. (If possible, look at a

stranger's hands and take notes.)

Prose Prompt - Write a personal essay based on the most memorable/ poignant purchase that

you have made.

Prose Prompt - Write a story with "Domestic Breakfast Scene" as your title.

Prose Prompt - Write about something that transforms into something more or less than itstarts out to be.

Prose Prompt - Write a prose description/synopsis of the novel that you will never write, or

the one you will never read.


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Prose Prompt - Write a story based upon the use of subliminal messages.

Prose Prompt - Write a short story using the title, "The Ladder at the Edge of the World",(or "Fire Escape").

Prose Prompt - Write a short story that uses an alarm clock, a match, and a vintage post

card. (optional substitution: packing crate.)

Prose Prompt - Write a short story about a character with an unusual pet.

Prose Exercise - Write a story that uses an animal as an omen of good or bad.

Prose Exercise - Write a short story about a woman who is antique shopping.

Prose Exercise - Write a pilot episode or synopsis of a soap opera, which has a title such as,

" The Strong, the Weak, and the Silent".

Prose Exercise - Write a story in which a letter is found behind a mirror.

Prose Exercise - Write a short prose story with the title, "Three Shades of White".

Prose Exercise - Write a story about a character who tries to do good, goes out of his/herway to help, but in actuality sets in motion a tragic incident. i.e. a woman tries to help a lost

dog by offering it water. The dog, untrusting of people changes its route, ultimately gets run

over by a car.

Prose Exercise - Write a short story using the title, "When the Ice Melts".

Prose Exercise - Write a short story using the title, "Comfort".

Prose Exercise - Write a short story titled, "The Secret Life of The Flower Vendor".

Prose Exercise - Write a story that involves a person who has a compulsive habit. Considerusing humor.

Prose Exercise - Write a job resume for a character from a fairy tale or from Aesop fables.

Prose Exercise - Write a story about a man who is forgetful.

Prose Exercise - Write about a character who believes he is something other, or is becoming

something other than what he is.

Prose Exercise - Write a series of pieces that are based on judgmental, harsh assessments of

one character by another.

Prose Exercise - Write a short story based on living life on a loop.

Prose Exercise - Write a short story based on a cat who collects pocket watches.

Prose Exercise - Write a short story using the title, "The Apology".


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Prose Prompt - Write a short story using the title, "Permanent Press".

Prose Prompt - Write a short story using the title, "We All Fall".

Prose Prompt - Write a short story using the title: "Simon Says".

Prose Prompt - Write a short story using the title: "Attention Deficit".

Prose Prompt - Write a short story based on the parable of the grasshopper and the ant.

Memoir Prompts

Memoir Prompt - Autobiography. If you had 15 minutes to tell someone who you are, what

would you tell them?

Memoir Prompt - "Who's Aunt Sally?" Create a family directory, or a family tree which

includes information about each person's life. A short paragraph listing occupation, interests,and relation to you can be sufficient. Or you could create a "questionnaire" for family

members to fill out. Questionnaires could relate to specific events, people, themes, and beshared at family gatherings.

Memoir Prompt - What do you enjoy about your life?

Memoir Prompt - Record the history of items you consider to be family heirlooms. The

heirloom doesn't have to be valuable, so long as it is important to the family.

Memoir Prompt - Write about a childhood family tradition. Write about your current

traditions and the thoughts that you want to convey through them.

Memoir Prompt - Answer the following: Do you have a mentor? Are you a mentor for

someone? Tell about your relationship.

Memoir Prompt - Write a list of "firsts" (i.e. first time you drove a car, first employment,

etc.) Select a few and write about how you felt about what happened.

Memoir Prompt - Write about the places you have lived. Think about what was unique

about each and reflect upon your life at the time.

Memoir Prompt - Catalog your souvenirs and mementos. How did you come across these

items and why are they meaningful to you?

Memoir Prompt - Write about your memories of summer.

Memoir Prompt - If you were to assemble a time capsule of your entire life, what itemswould you select or make reference to? Reflect on things you have done and events that have

happened in your lifetime.

Memoir Prompt - Write about a person that you love.


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Memoir Prompt - Write about your religious tradition (or lack of religious tradition)growing up. Continue by writing what you believe in your life today and the personal

philosophy you live by.

Memoir Prompt - Write a recollection about a friendship you had at some point in your life.

Memoir Prompt - Write about three people that you have lost contact with. Write first aboutyour relationship with each. Continue the exercise by writing about why, or if, you would like

to reconnect with that person again.

Memoir Prompt - Write a summary of your parents' life thus far.

Memoir Prompt - What were your childhood pastimes?

Memoir Prompt - Did you grow up with pets? Write about a specific memory.

Memoir Prompt - Write about an event or time that you made a deliberate change for

yourself. Write about what motivated you to make the change, and how you think that change

has affected your life.

Memoir Prompt - 1. Do you know how your grandparents met? Find out and write about the

story.

Memoir Prompt - 1. Write about an employment that you had which you either learned a

great deal from, or which you dreaded. Write in a narrative form.

Memoir Prompt - Write the story of how you came by your scars. Be sure to describe the

scars, including their locations.

Memoir Prompt - How do you celebrate birthdays in your family? Write about pasttraditions and current ones. Write about your feelings about past birthdays. Is there a specific

birthday that stands out in your memory? As you get older what will be most significant to

you?

Memoir Prompt - Write about three people who have influenced your life the most.

Memoir Prompt - Write about the things that you enjoy most and are most passionate about.

Do you feel that you devote enough time to each?

Memoir Prompt - Write about your memory of a pleasant time with one or both of your

parents.

Memoir Prompt - Describe what your typical day as a child was like. Pick a period of your

childhood like pre-school or elementary school, or a particular age like 4 or 6.

Memoir Prompt - Describe how you stayed in touch with your loved ones before you got acellphone and/or email. Do you talk to them more now, or less?


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Memoir Prompt - If you attended college, talk about how you decided on your collegemajor. Were you influenced by your parents? Future job prospects? A guy/girl you liked?

Even if you didn't go to college, talk about what influenced your life after high school.

Memoir Prompt - Where did you go during summer vacations as a child? How did thosevacations compare to what you wanted to do at the time? And how do those vacations

compare to the vacations you take now?

Memoir Prompt - Were you ever in a contest or competition? What prompted you to

participate? What made the experience meaningful to you?

Memoir Prompt - Write about a school trip or a camp that you attended.

Memoir Prompt - Write about how you felt the first time you were fired from a job or had toquit.

Memoir Prompt - Write about any unexpected opportunities that came up this year. Are

there specific things that you had done prior to the opportunity that made it possible, orallowed for you to act upon it?

Memoir Prompt - Have you ever received something from a contest or giveaway? Try to

recall all the things that you have "won" and what you did with your winnings.

Memoir Prompt - Write about why you decide to date/ marry the person you are

dating/married to.

Memoir Prompt - Write about the clubs or organizations you were a member of when youwere in school.

Memoir Prompt - Write about the your high school/college graduation.

Memoir Prompt - Write about your current family relationships.

Memoir Prompt - Write about a career negotiation that you have experienced.

Memoir Prompt - Describe how your life was affected by a war that occurred in your

lifetime.

Memoir Prompt - Write about your current projects and what you are accomplishing right

now.

Memoir Prompt - Has any one in your family suffered from a chronic illness? Write aboutyour experience. Consider interviewing the person about their experience with living with

illness.

Memoir Prompt - Write about your plan for your "elder years". Also, what are your wishesabout your funeral arrangements?


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Memoir Prompt - What are the different ways you've celebrated the New Year throughoutyour life? Do you have a traditional way you celebrate New Years with your friends and

family? How has that tradition changed over the years?

Memoir Prompt - Everyone goes through hard times. Write about one of the hard times ofyour life. Write about how you overcame the hard time (or didn't).

Memoir Prompt - Did you live in the same house throughout your childhood? Or, like me,

did you move around a lot? List the places you remember living as a child. Do you have any

special memories (good or bad) from each house you lived in?

Memoir Prompt - Have you ever attended a school or class or military reunion? Write aboutthe experience of seeing people you once knew well but haven't talked to in years. Were they

the same people now as then? Were you? Did you find yourself falling back into your oldrole from that time period?

Memoir Prompt - Describe the biggest and/or most important project you worked on for an

employer. How long ago was that? Is the final product still in use?

Memoir Prompt - Describe the times you have voted, either at the local, state or nationallevel, when your vote meant the most to you. What was at stake? Did you win or lose?

Memoir Prompt - What holiday family traditions have you inherited from your parents (oryour spouse's parents)? What holiday traditions did you create on your own (even if by

accident)?

Memoir Prompt - Tell about major storms you and your family have survived. What seasonwas the storm? How did the season affect how you managed? Was it unbearably hot or cold?

Did your neighbors help you? Did you help your neighbors? How did the storm and its

aftermath affect your life from then on?

Memoir Prompt - What did you drink as a child? Tea? Coffee? Milk? Juice? Kool-aid? How

did your drinking habits change as you grew up? Do certain drinks remind you of specifictimes in your life? What are the most exotic beverages you've sampled?

Memoir Prompt - Do you have any friends you've known since elementary school? Highschool? College? Previous jobs? Have you stayed in touch all that time? Or did you have

some periods "off and on"?

Memoir Prompt - Write about your more most memorable spring break and spring vacation.

Memoir Prompt - Describe the types (and quantity) of souvenirs have you collectedthroughout your life. From vacations, trips, jobs, relationships, anything. Which souvenirs do

you still have?

Memoir Prompt - Tell about your most interesting/intriguing/infuriating encounter in an

elevator.

Memoir Prompt - List the books you most remember reading through your life. Was it the

book itself, or your circumstances at the time you read it, that make it so memorable?


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Memoir Prompt - How did you spend the 4th of July this year? (Or some other summerholiday if you live outside the USA.) Do you have any special traditions you try to follow in

your celebration or remembrance?

Memoir Prompt - Tell about the time you won the lottery. Or maybe it was just a raffle or adoor prize. Have you ever been *really* lucky? That is, through no skill or choice of your

own, you came out way ahead?

Memoir Prompt - "Where were you when ... ?" Have you witnessed any national or large-

scale tragedies? Describe where you were and what you were doing when you learned the

news. Describe what you first thought and how you felt. What do you remember most?

Memoir Prompt - Have you ever run for public office? Why or why not?

Memoir Prompt - Make a list of the books you read (or movies you watched; or music you

listened to) for the first time this year. The books (or movies or music) don't have to be newin 2008, just new to you.

Memoir Prompt - What's the worst thing that ever happened to you? Have you ever

discussed it with anyone?

Memoir Prompt - Describe the food you ate as you grew up (breakfast, lunch, dinner,

supper, potluck, snacks, etc). Did your meals fit a particular cuisine (American "Southern",New England, Mexican, Italian, Asian, etc) or a blend? How does what you eat now differ

from then?

Memoir Prompt - What cars (or trucks or motorcycles or ...) have you owned? Did you buythem new or used? Did you have to repair or rebuild any part of it? Did you name your car?

Why? Which car do you think was the most "you"?

Memoir Prompt - List (and describe) the top 5 musical concerts or events you've attended.

Memoir Prompt - List the computers you've owned or worked with (or played with) in your

life. Do you remember any of them more vividly (fondly or unfondly) than others? Tell why.

Memoir Prompt - Have you ever been robbed? What kind of robbery was it? How did it

change your life (or did it have no lasting impact)?

Memoir Prompt - What's your most interesting coincidental meeting/encounter?

Memoir Prompt - List the toys you remember having as a child.

Memoir Prompt - Is your luggage better traveled than you are? I once flew to Australia

while my luggage flew to England. Write about the humorous (at least in retrospect) mishaps

that have occurred in your own travels.

Memoir Prompt - How have the household chores you do (or delegate) changed in your

lifetime?


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Memoir Prompt - Make a list of what you have in mini-storage. Or in your attic. Then gocheck the list against what's really there, creating a new list if necessary. Keep both copies.

Memoir Prompt - What is your favorite, "go to" cooking recipe? Is it from a cookbook?

How has the recipe evolved over the years you've been using it?

Memoir Prompt - List the friends you remember from the various stages of your life: gradeschool, junior high, high school, college, work.

Opinion Prompts

Opinion Prompt - Write about three films that you think are exceptional.

Opinion Prompt - Do convenience items better our daily lives or shortchange our life

experience?

Opinion Prompt - What do you think makes a charity organization effective? What needs inyour community are meet by charitable organizations?

Opinion Prompt - Do you think that parents are obligated to pay for their children's college

education?

Opinion Prompt - Writeyour thoughts about modern housing and neighborhooddevelopments.

Opinion Prompt - Writeyour thoughts about adult responsibility of providing care for

aging parents.

Opinion Prompt - Do you believe that the city you live in is supportive of racial diversity?

Opinion Prompt - What do you think about athletes use of performance enhancing drugs?

Opinion Prompt - Do you think that people have the right to decide when to end their life?

Opinion Prompt - Do you think that people should have the right to own exotic animals like

leopards and monkeys, etc., or should the practice be banned?

http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/tjresources.php

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-teach-writing.html

75 elementary writing ideas

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