30 unserious writing prompts for the seriously stuck writer
Use them as warm up exercises, or to unstick yourself if the words aren't flowing.
In the Northern hemisphere, the weather has started to turn. Mists have begun to gather over your favourite bodies of water. Leaves are throwing themselves to the ground in oh-so-dramatic faints. In the Southern hemisphere, the weather has started to turn. Sunlight glitters over your favourite bodies of water. Leaves gossip under their breath to each other in the summer breeze.
Regardless of which pole you lay your laptop closest to, it’s beginning to feel a lot like it’s time to make some proper progress on writing projects before the year hurtles to a close (or is that just me?).
At the same time, the last few weeks of the year also make my brain feel as if it’s started to blur at the edges, and the words feel very hard won.
My self-prescribed cure? Something lighthearted and fun to unblock our metaphorical creative tap.
Without further ado, here are 30 writing prompts to spark creativity and inspire plot! You can use them as warm up exercises, or to unstick yourself if you’ve become stuck on a scene. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m the latter.
30 unserious writing prompts for the seriously stuck writer
Write a scene that begins with a party, from the point of view of a character who was definitely not planning to be there.
Have one character make another character really irate. Maybe they have an annoying habit that drives them to distraction. Does anyone else notice it? Do they feel like they’re going mad? Are they actually going mad?
Have one character confront another, and have the second character deny whatever they’re being accused of outright in the most hilarious way you can think of (with a mouth full of jelly beans? while trying to hide the thing they are being confronted about?)
Write a scene in which someone tells an absurd lie and gets away with it.
Begin a paragraph with: “It didn’t seem like much at the time. It also wouldn’t seem like much later, but…”
Have a character spend far, far too long deciding on a sandwich.
Look up the lyrics of the last song you listened to. Use the lyrics from the fourth line of that song as your prompt (mine is: "They say looks can kill and I might try").
Set something on fire.
One of your characters discovers an object that was hidden away many years ago. For very good reason.
Someone gets stabbed in the back. Literally or metaphorically – your choice.
Have one of your characters guide the others through a task/challenge as if it were a how-to. Think: The Dummies Guide to Battle Magic, or similar.
Include a reference to every one of your protagonist's senses in your next scene (ie: they see something, hear something, taste something, smell something, feel something).
Subvert a common stereotype for one of your characters.
One of your characters cracks open a fortune cookie...
Someone forgets their glasses/contact lenses, and hijinks ensue.
Write a scene that takes place in either intense heat or intense cold. Try to make the action something that would ordinarily not happen in this type of environment.
Two of your characters have a blowout argument.
Start a sentence with "[Character name] was not sorry."
One of your characters ends up on the evening news, and is not pleased about it.
Whatever happens, by the end of your scene, make sure every single plate/glass in your characters' current location (a house, a pub, a restaurant, a shopping mall, a spaceship) is broken.
Your protagonist either receives or sends a ransom note.
Write a scene from the perspective of the antagonist.
One of your characters is forced to swallow their pride and do something they really don't want to do.
Write a scene in which a teacup plays a crucial role.
Someone is caught in a bald-faced lie.
Begin a scene with the sentence: "That was/wasn’t the first time [Character Name] [extreme action]."
One of your characters gets advice from a completely unreliable source, and are convinced to take it.
Begin a scene by describing two hands.
Write a scene in which something happens in slow motion.
Have one of your characters start a conversation with: "I've never told this to anyone..."
Feedback and feature requests
In my last newsletter I shared the link to the new home for First Draft Pro feedback and feature requests.
I’ve added a lot more features to this list, so feel free to upvote your favourites (or add your own if there’s something in particular you want to see).