Category: Writing Prompts

Prompts are short, fun exercises that can be used to get the creative juices flowing or break the ice at a critique meeting. They start as a brief list of ingredients, forming a challenge for the writer to incorporate all of them into one self-contained piece. There are many ways to come up with prompts and each author will find a unique way to express a given prompt.

“Now You May Feel a Momentary Discomfort”

  • k-avatarjust a nip
  • a Swedish gynecologist
  • such as Mr T
  • we watched professional bowling
  • This angered Bruno

“Now you may feel a momentary discomfort, just a nip.”

Sue nodded, wondering how a dental procedure came to be invented by a Swedish gynecologist. Also wondering why her dentist had a mohawk. The hair would look normal on some outrageous celebrity, such as Mr T. On a dentist it looked like he couldn’t possibly be a real dentist.

I have got to get better insurance, Sue thought. Then she winced, but only for a moment.

“There, that wasn’t so bad, right?”

She nodded again, then shook her head, then tried to smile apologetically and that really hurt because of the way her lips were stretched out of the way.

“It’s okay, I understand,” her dentist assured her hastily. “I haven’t seen such a confused sequence of emotions since we watched professional bowling with my uncle, and my cousin Bruno rolled seven consecutive strikes but lost the match.” He sighed. “This angered Bruno so badly that he bit through a pin. Which is how I got into dentistry.”

Bonus points for using the prompts in order!

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Gertrude Lifted Up the Lid of the Coffin

  • by jencarried them off on a ship to Denmark
  • escape from one calamity
  • lifted up the lid of the coffin
  • and rubbed it
  • having dosed him with liquor

Gertrude lifted up the lid of the coffin and found it empty, save the white satin pillow. She sighed. “They were at least able to escape from one calamity,” she said to Rupert.

Rupert smiled grimly. “While I am relieved to know that Tristan and Stephen weren’t buried alive, I become increasingly concerned that some nefarious force has carried them off on a ship to Denmark where it will be exceedingly difficult for us to find and rescue them.”

Gertrude patted Rupert on the shoulder. She was not surprised that his mood was maudlin, having dosed him with liquor herself to fortify his courage.

Rupert dropped his aching, gin-soaked head into his hands and rubbed it.

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Bertram Told His Story For the Fortieth Time

  • k-avatarsuddenly the foe cries out
  • ears, a tail, paws
  • like a crushed strawberry
  • peace reigned once more
  • held his head and groaned
  • I grabbed the nose picker’s arm

Bertram told his story for the fortieth time. Each successive rendition has featured a new nonsensical twist, so I listened closely.

“Suddenly the foe cries out like a crushed strawberry!”

That was it. Cecil held his head and groaned, but others in the circle chuckled. I spied Cecil covertly probing his nostril, so I grabbed the nose picker’s arm and gave a rude yank.

“…ears, a tail, paws…” Bertram had deviated yet further from the rather less interesting truth. The fact was that he’d crept upon our old nemesis in his sleep (Bertram’s somnambulism was at times a plus) and now peace reigned once more.

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Felicity Relaxed Her Expanded Nostrils

  • by jennicknamed “the incubator”
  • I am Morris
  • the last man on the list
  • relaxed her expanded nostrils
  • an insoluble cryptogram
  • I shall wear my sash all the time

Felicity relaxed her expanded nostrils and called the name of the last man on the list.

He took the stage and said, “I am Morris, nicknamed ‘The Incubator’ by my last girlfriend, who also said I was an insoluble cryptogram in bed. If I win the title of Mr Universe, I shall wear my sash all the time.”

Felicity felt her nostrils flaring anew as Morris The Incubator flexed his pecs rhythmically at her.

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Dear Mum

  • k-avatarwoe to all unlabeled invaders!
  • I have posed a little puzzle
  • a momentary feeling of satisfaction
  • I’ll skip the boring details
  • The thrill has remained dormant
  • that is a weird notion

Dear Mum,

Stationed now in the produce department. I’ll skip the boring details. Central Command wants stickers on all the fresh fruit, and woe to all unlabeled invaders! So I have posed a little puzzle for the stockboys. But it only brought a momentary feeling of satisfaction, until the customers started throwing tomatoes. My manager expects morale to improve now that we’re using the new aprons. The thrill has remained dormant. Hoping for reassignment to frozen foods. Need to make contact with the turncoat liaison, and I’ve heard he’s a cool cat. Insurrection is predicted in the toothpaste aisle. That is a weird notion.

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“Devlin is Such a Scamp!”

  • by jenforcing them to drop their wood
  • kissed each other good morning
  • his manhood in public
  • “Stop him! Stop him!”
  • enormous flocks of ducks
  • wolves, ibex, reindeer
  • reacts in a unique egotistic manner

“Devlin is such a scamp!” exclaimed Minerva du Mauvais to Bogman Bill after they kissed each other good morning, chastely, as was their custom. “Whenever he accomplishes something grand he reacts in a unique egotistic manner by exposing his manhood in public while surrounded by enormous flocks of ducks, wolves, ibex, reindeer, and children. The first time he did this it was so amusing! He paraded past a group of villagers out collecting firewood for the coming winter, forcing them to drop their wood in astonishment at the size and beauty of his man-meat, and causing the faint-of-heart to cry, ‘Stop him! Stop him!’“

She smiled indulgently at the memory.

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“Professor Hillcrest, I Believe You Are Mistaken”

  • k-avatartotal perspective vortex
  • hillcrest
  • defiantly
  • brilliant blaze of silence

“Professor Hillcrest, I believe you are mistaken.”

The class gasped at Ryan’s audacity while the professor met his unprecedented verbal challenge with a brilliant blaze of silence. The old man’s cold stare was malicious, but Ryan met it defiantly.

The battle of wills continued, with Hillcrest standing mutely in front of the chalkboard where his fallacious proof went unfinished, and Ryan standing resolutely on the small platform which the professor had, in his arrogance, labeled the Total Perspective Vortex – the only spot in the lecture hall from which a student was allowed to speak.

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Victoria Hesitated

  • by jenhesitated
  • lights
  • lived
  • isolated

Victoria hesitated, staring across the water at the flickering lights. It really wasn’t her place to get involved. She knew she should just ignore the phenomenon and hurry home before her parents got worried. But there was something intriguing about the lights out on the isolated island where nobody lived. What would an extra few minutes matter?

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“Just Climb Over!”

  • k-avatarmoonless
  • collecting
  • snag
  • climb over!

“Just climb over!“

Trudy gave up fumbling with the latch and heaved herself over the gate. She felt her pocket snag, felt her bomber jacket become a trap, stranding her with one knee hooked over the top of the iron barricade and one foot waving uselessly a few inches from the ground where Emily crouched. The dogs were getting closer.

Collecting mushrooms in their familiar woods on a moonless October night, they had discovered, inexplicably, an ancient wrought-iron fence had separated them.

Trudy slipped one arm free of her coat and dropped beside Emily. She reached through the bars to extricate her pocket and heard a low growl.

Which side of the fence were the dogs on?

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Fin Stared at the “Stereotype Questionnaire”

  • by jencrucifix
  • stereotype questionnaire
  • drugs
  • pose
  • independently

Fin stared at the “stereotype questionnaire.” Was it worth it to fill the whole damn thing out, all 6 pages, for $25? He sighed. He needed the money.

#7 “What traits do you associate with women who use drugs? Check all that apply. Please work independently.”

Fuck it.

Being careful to stay within the ovals, Fin filled out his answer sheet so that the colored dots formed a rudimentary crucifix, with Jesus in a less-than-dignified pose.

He spent the next half hour napping, then handed in his papers and collected his cash.

Next stop: liquor store.

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