Posts Tagged by writing prompts
How To Use Prompts To Polish Your Writing
| December 9, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under Prompts |
Writing prompts are short, concise scenarios that are designed to induce freewriting. Prompts are meant to lead you to the ideas you already have but haven’t discovered. The process is simple—read the prompt and start writing. Forget about form, punctuation, and grammar. You’re looking for an idea, not a finished product.
M. Klein and Henry W. Wynne received US patent #68445 in 1867 for an ink chamber and delivery system in the handle of the fountain pen.
Some people set a time limit. They write as much as they can for ten minutes, or whatever amount of time they choose, then stop. Others just write until they can’t write any more. Either way, you get to see what’s lying around in your head. This is called freewriting. Think of it as a process, like picking apples. When you’re done, you’ll have a bushel of fruit, but some of those apples will be perfect. They’ll stand out from the others. Like a bushel of fresh apples, the ideas that come from prompts will be many, but a few of them will be gems.
When you’re done with your freewriting, set it aside for a day or two and come back to it. You’ll find that the choicest ideas have ripened, and they are easy to pick out. Here are a couple of prompts to get you started:
You’ve just come home from a long day at work. As you go to the kitchen to get a bite to eat, you notice something strange on your kitchen table. It wasn’t there when you left. What is it, and why is it there?
- You’re outside on a chilly winter evening as the sun begins to set. In the dimming light, you see two young children skipping along. Who are they, and where are they going?
- You’re outside of an old mansion looking through the window. There’s a masquerade party going on inside. What kind of costumes are the guests wearing?
- You’ve been hired to write a sitcom. What’s it about?
Pick one and have some fun. If you want to share the results of your free writing, please do.
Writing prompts are short, concise scenarios that are designed to induce freewriting. Prompts are meant to lead you to the ideas you already have but haven’t discovered. The process is simple—read the prompt and start writing. Forget about form, punctuation, and grammar. You’re looking for an idea, not a finished product.
M. Klein and Henry W. Wynne received US patent #68445 in 1867 for an ink chamber and delivery system in the handle of the fountain pen.
Some people set a time limit. They write as much as they can for ten minutes, or whatever amount of time they choose, then stop. Others just write until they can’t write any more. Either way, you get to see what’s lying around in your head. This is called freewriting. Think of it as a process, like picking apples. When you’re done, you’ll have a bushel of fruit, but some of those apples will be perfect. They’ll stand out from the others. Like a bushel of fresh apples, the ideas that come from prompts will be many, but a few of them will be gems.
When you’re done with your freewriting, set it aside for a day or two and come back to it. You’ll find that the choicest ideas have ripened, and they are easy to pick out. Here are a couple of prompts to get you started:
You’ve just come home from a long day at work. As you go to the kitchen to get a bite to eat, you notice something strange on your kitchen table. It wasn’t there when you left. What is it, and why is it there?
- You’re outside on a chilly winter evening as the sun begins to set. In the dimming light, you see two young children skipping along. Who are they, and where are they going?
- You’re outside of an old mansion looking through the window. There’s a masquerade party going on inside. What kind of costumes are the guests wearing?
- You’ve been hired to write a sitcom. What’s it about?
Pick one and have some fun. If you want to share the results of your free writing, please do.
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