Embers ~ February 2023
A collection of writing prompts
Hello to my paid subscribers!
I hope your reading and writing ventures are going well.
This month’s edition of Embers contains writing prompts I wrote back in my early days on Substack. I’ve been meaning to recycle these prompts for quite some time, so in a strange way, it feels good to be cleaning out the closet, so to speak.
I hope in some small way these prompts are useful to you.
Thank you for supporting me and my writing!
- Justin
Fifty-word and hundred-word stories (also known as “dribbles” and “drabbles”) are effective writing practices because they force writers to think about word choice. It’s useful for the editing/revision process as well. Sometimes when you put parameters on stories, it makes your mind work in a different way because you must economize language and consider every single word used.
For this exercise, try to write a dribble or drabble that ties into the topic/theme of trust.
Every day we make thousands of decisions. Most of them are made with little to no thinking involved, but every now and then we make choices that can change the course of our futures forever. Today’s exercise: throw a character in the middle of an important, life-altering decision. He or she must choose one of two roads. Let’s assume the character chooses "Yes” or “No” — whatever this means for the situation you’ve created. (A proposal, a job offer, moving to a new country, adopting a child — there are endless possibilities here.) Write the scene, the story, and the outcome. If you’d like, consider writing the same scenario, but have the character take the other route.
Write a scene or story that ties into the “message in a bottle” concept. There are a couple of scenarios that might serve as decent starting points for this. Option one: imagine a character wandering the beach/shoreline finds a message in a bottle and opens it. What does the message or letter say? It could be fine to write this as if the character is actually reading the letter. Or, option two: imagine a character writes a letter and inserts it into a bottle/sends it off via “ocean” mail. Take on their perspective, as well as whatever geographical location they’re sending it from. Regardless of your approach, this has always been an interesting premise — one that you can get very creative with!
Write a scene or story that occurs in an attic. Some questions to consider:
Is someone/something hiding there? Who are they hiding from?
Is a character storing or hiding an item/boxes/belongings there? If so, what is being stored or hidden, exactly? Why?
If the above ideas don’t resonate with you, think about what’s in your physical attic (or brain attic — what are you storing up there?) and write about it. If you don’t have an attic, write about your basement. (Or closet, or junk drawer — remember, break the rules, tweak the prompt, and get some ideas rolling on the page!)
Write a scene or story about a character having a meltdown. Is a toddler throwing a fit over not getting his or her way? Maybe a middle-aged workaholic (or alcoholic, or parent, or ex-con — fill in the blank) is having a midlife crisis? As a fun starting point, brainstorm a list of potential characters who might fit this bill. The most important question to ask is: why is the meltdown happening?
Write a story or scene that centers on a rumor. Who is the character telling/spreading the rumor? What’s the scenario? Does the character benefit in any way by committing this act? Take this a step further: what would happen if the other character found out about the rumor? Let’s see some fireworks, people!
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a few minutes. Imagine that you or a created character is blind or has gone blind. Write about the world you are a part of and the way in which you take in the world. It would be interesting to write this from a first-person perspective, but this choice is obviously up to you.
In honor of one of the most disturbing short stories I’ve ever read (“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson), write a story about a ritual, sacrifice, or time-worn tradition. Try to keep your story under 250 words. For a real challenge, incorporate all three ideas.
Write a story about a birthday, anniversary, or some type of special occasion. Bring on the feels!
Write a story about physical or emotional scars.
Write a scene or story about success, failure, or both.
Write a story that includes a place you know well (your hometown, the house you grew up in, a restaurant, a bookstore, etc.). This “place” should somehow be woven into your story.
Write a scene or story that uses the following words: forest, portal, and alone.