In college, I didn’t need a lot of motivation to write. That’s because I had an empty brain. If I read about a difficult word, it prompted me to look it up in the dictionary. Then, my mind would start getting excited about the “novelty” of the word, causing me to write it in my own terms. I tried to use the new word like a new pair of shoes. Then I would start looking for synonyms. The new word that I just learned has become functional and widespread as a tree.
Writers Digest shares five websites we all could use to jolt our imagination. You can try them when you’re stuck, or feel like juggling the collection of unused words in your head.
Bulwer-Lytton
Mainly for aspiring novelists who can craft a jump-off-the-page first sentence. It’s an exercise of creativity, however, don’t hope too much on compensation. Your judges are based in San Jose State University in California.
Creative Writing Prompts
You can get a great source of writing prompts straight from the Writers Digest website. However, life will be a lot easier if you just scroll around this page so you can directly read the writing prompts without having to click on any page.
Easy Street Prompts
Originally a blog (and still is), this website has a variety of creative prompts to get your gray juices flowing. It could be a bunch of random words, a video, or a photo. Great for college students who want to sharpen the axe when it starts getting rusty from too much Facebook usage.
Six Sentences
It’s really simple. Six sentences is all it takes. If you win, your submission gets posted. If you don’t, you have to try harder. My opinion? The line between prose and poetry is very blurred. You can tell a haiku when you see one.
Six-Word Memoirs
All you have to do is input your life’s story on the blank space. The only catch is, you can’t make it seven or five words. Mine would probably have to be: I’m soaking wet in Texas drought.
Writing prompts are great if you have plenty of time but can’t think up of something to write about. It works best when you’re sitting in a boring class while your Ecology teacher discusses the effects of osmosis.
