creative writing prompts for adults

creative writing prompts for adults

Creative Writing Prompts for Adults

1. Introduction

Welcome to Creative Writing Prompts for Adults! This book is designed to provide you with a variety of writing topics in different genres and give you the confidence to complete projects. Writing for self-exploration, personal growth, original artistry, and professional development, this book is a shot in the arm for any writer who wants to fire up their creative engines. This book could be a valuable resource for teachers of creative writing as well. With this book, you can choose one, complete it on your computer, or write the entire story and give it life later. Whether you try them first thing in the morning to get your brain going, as a break from research or the more intensive writing of your other projects, or just before bed to exercise your creative mind, I’m sure you’ll find the writing both enjoyable and beneficial. Enjoy! The book is divided up between the major genres of fiction and suggestions for non-fiction projects. In the fiction section, you will be offered a one-paragraph idea and then a longer description of the setting and some characters, a conflict to get you started, and suggestions for the conclusion of the story. It is largely up to you where you take it from there! The non-fiction section offers either an exercise to help you better understand or describe a specific event, place, object, etc., or a lengthy assignment to create an autobiographical or biographical piece or something from your own personal observation or experience. At the back of the book, you will find tips on things like “how to write a book,” “which writing style is for you,” “methods of characterization,” and “common clichés to avoid,” etc. These have been placed toward the back as they are not typical exercises to get your ideas flowing and may have been found too distracting if placed within the rest of the book. But they are things often left desired in an ideas pool for a story and will help to guide the development of your work once the ideas in this book have got you started. If you are in need of ideas for a specific genre and low on money, remember just using a random prompt and tweaking its details (e.g., location, characters, time period, etc.) can lead you in a direction you may not have otherwise gone, and you may also find the idea of working in a new genre to be a significant exercise for your development as a writer. For some further advice on coaching and techniques into how you can get the most out of this book, please visit the information section. And now let your creative journey begin…

2. Section One: Exploring Personal Experiences

Exploring personal experience is an essential part of developing as a writer. It is a key ingredient in generating writing ideas and developing a story. At the bottom of this page, you will find a list of recent writing prompts with an emphasis on exploring personal experience. These are great for those who are new to writing or feel they are out of touch with their life and themselves. Try writing just an opening paragraph to a potential story and see what amount of plot or character development is hidden in your past. If the result is thin (and you will find that with a lot of these exercises it is at first), it simply means there is more mining to be done. You are on the brink of a good idea or story, but it remains hidden amongst the experience and guarded by the emotions. Sometimes, the reward for completion of the exercise may seem evident. A friend of mine admitted that some exercises I set him had inspired an attempt at his life story. The best thing about these exercises is that they are simply catalysts for your own projects. These prompts are like springboards, giving you a colored picture of something to think about.

3. Section Two: Imaginative Storytelling

The use of the word “said” is being practiced less today in the literary context. A rising number of genre fiction writers favor using adverbs or adjectives specified for the way dialogue is spoken. Everyone knows that “said” has no subjectiveness, but using an adverb or an adjective creates a clear difference in tone for what is expressed in the dialogue. This will be practiced minimally in the activities provided as not to change the complete structure of the creative writing corner, but we hope the concept is taken into consideration for future use and the stories created from these prompts could be an accurate display of this.

One of the greatest attributes of these imaginative writing prompts is that they offer an alternative reality. That is of utmost importance because it will keep the writer motivated to keep the story on the right track. If there is a specific event that leads to the creation of an alternative world like a severe pandemic outbreak, a World War, climate change collapse, fast forward in time, etc., it must be made clear in the story (provided below). The worst mistake a writer can make is accidental plot deviation in an alternative reality story. Each story should stay in the specific world it was created in; dipping back into the real world only when completely necessary. This is the guideline that SWU readers must follow. If done correctly, the reader will find their story blog-worthy and of high entertainment value.

With these story prompts, you’ll be well on your way to writing an imaginative and exciting tale. Whether it’s sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, or adventure that you’re after, you’ll find it all here. Mix and match the prompts for a variety of different stories! Step into another world for a little while.

4. Section Three: Writing from Different Perspectives

Perspective writing can be a great way of getting your students to understand that different people may have a different view of the world, which in turn affects how they make decisions. Sometimes it is best if students work with a model or a character when writing from a perspective. There are a range of people they could choose from; for example, someone alive, someone in history, a public figure, themselves in 20 years time or a fictional character in a book that was studied in class. Writing from a different perspective can be a therapeutic way to see past events in life in a new light. This task can provide closure for events that have caused a student pain, and it can allow a student to re-imagine an event where perhaps they made a decision that they are not too proud of, and it may help them avoid making a similar decision in the future. It can develop empathy and understanding for other people when students imagine a situation from another person’s point of view.

5. Conclusion

You’re on the right track. Creative writing is critical for personal and academic endeavors. This workbook is designed to enhance creativity and nurture the craft of writing, providing both beginning and experienced writers with challenging and enjoyable ways to open new doors to the imaginative mind. The exercises in this workbook prompt the user through the acts of creation, drafting, and revising, and they help develop fundamental writing techniques in a wide range of areas. Written for individuals or small groups, the activities offered are flexible and adaptable to a broad range of learning and communication styles. Based on the understanding that the best writing is iterative, the workbook’s activities spiral back upon one another, prompting writers to revisit and reflect on their ideas in the context of their entire work. Each exercise is intended to last about an hour, providing time and a structure for an individual writer to clearly think through and experiment with the topic at hand. In keeping with the spirit of creative exploration, the exercises are also enigmatic enough to provoke responses in users of widely divergent creative experience and self-efficacy. Overall, these exercises help students to practice a specific writing technique and interact constructively with peers to advance both their attitudes towards and skills in the art of writing. Though the workbook is tailored for use in a college writing class, these exercises can be effective in any teaching or tutoring environment with a goal to improve students’ creative abilities in both fiction and non-fiction writing. The exercises work on a number of levels and can be used by an instructor providing simple instruction as well as by students working independently.