Writing Prompts

  1. Eve and Pandora meet for coffee. Write about why they are meeting. What did they discuss?
  2. Use the last line of the last story or poem you wrote as the first line in a free writing exercise.
  3. Look up a menu of a restaurant you have never been to before, anywhere in the world. Use one of the dishes or drinks on the menu as the title of a poem or story.
  4. Write a “found poem” take a page from a book or magazine article. Use some of the words from the article to make a poem.
  5. Choose a random passage from a religious text. Set a timer and write whatever comes to mind for 10 minutes.
  6. Select a song from one of your music playlist and write whatever comes to mind, non-stop for the duration of that song.
  7. Write a poem or story that begins with “I am in my grandmother’s room”. Feel free to change grandmother to whatever you resonate with.
  8. Write a poem that contains the following three words: mirror, tainted, sum
  9. Or these three: October, angelic, pride
  10. Or these: pizza, rats, tongue
  11. Write an epistle.
  12. Take a poem written by someone else. A poem that you love or dislike. Rewrite it in your own words.
  13. Write a poem as an offering to a beloved ancestor or elder.
  14. What is your astrological sign? Use your sun, moon or rising (or any one of houses or signs) as the “voice’ that you will use to write the poem. Title the poem after the sign you are using. For example, If you are using a Scorpio Rising lean into those traits and let the words flow. Look up your sign if you need more clarity. Even if you don’t “believe in” astrology, lean into the characteristics of your sign and see what words flow.
  15. Write an abcedarian, a poem in which the first word of each line in the poem begins with a letter in the alphabet. You can also use words or names in place of the alphabet.