Archive for the 'Writing prompts' Category

Writing prompt: the Old House

Ruin near Rankins Springs, NSW

On my trip to Sydney earlier this year, I took a somewhat circuitous route to get there. I wanted to spend some time in the Lake Cargelligo area to do some birding. You can read about that trip on my other site Trevor’s Birding. I have fond memories of a visit to this area some years ago. The route I took went through the large towns of Mildura and Hay. Just before reaching Lake Cargelligo I went through the small village of Rankins Springs. This is a lovely area and is a mecca for birders like me.

An old house

Just north of Rankins Springs, I stopped in a roadside rest area near the edge of Jimberoo National Park. I didn’t have time to fully explore the area, so instead, I walked a short distance along a dirt track. After a few minutes, the open forest took me to a spot overlooking some farming land. In the middle of the nearest paddock was the ruin of a house, shown in the photos above and below.

A peaceful scene

This peaceful scene set my writer’s mind whirring. Here are some thoughts I had which you might like to use as writing prompts.

Writing prompts:

  1. Write a fictional account of the discovery of this area and how one farmer had the vision to build this house.
  2. Write a short story about the building of this house and the difficulties of constructing it.
  3. Write a story from the point of view of the old house. What did it see and hear during its early days? How does it feel about being left to decay? Who was its favourite occupant? Why was it abandoned?
  4. Choose a fictional character who once lived in the old house. Tell their story as it relates to the house.
  5. Relate the story of a tragic event that once occurred in or near the house. Was it a sudden death? A murder? perhaps death by drowning in a nearby creek? A violent robbery?
  6. Imagine that the house was built for a newly married young couple and their wedding was held in the house or in the hills nearby. Write a story about their joys or heartaches that followed.
  7. Imagine that you grew up in this house in the 1800s. Write a story about the delights or hardships of living in this isolated house.

Ruin near Rankins Springs, NSW

Conditions of use:

  • Feel free to use any of the story starters listed above.
  • Change anything to suit your needs.
  • Give it your best shot.
  • Edit your work carefully before sending it off to a publisher or posting it on your blog.
  • Let me know in the comments section how it went.
  • If you publish your story on your web site or on your blog let me know so I can make a link to it for others to read.

Good writing.

Trevor

More short story starters

Over the many years of writing articles on this site, I have written many posts listing what I call Short Story Starters. They have proved to be some of the most popular articles that I have written.

Frustration

One of the frustrating things that sometimes faces writers is coming up with ideas. These story starters aim to prompt your thinking so that a story flows easily from the way I have started it off. Sometimes, that it all we need – just a simple starting point and the creative mind kicks in and the imagination soars like an eagle. I hope one (or more) of these writing prompts help you to soar, too.

How to use these starters

Read through the list of suggestions. Choose one that you think you can use. Start your story using the idea you have chosen, changing anything you want. Start on your story and write, write, write.

Hint: Don’t edit your work at this early stage: JUST WRITE. The editing stage comes later.

Short Story Starters:

  1. Ali couldn’t decide which book to read next – the page-turning thriller or the murder mystery. She…
  2. Callum grabbed the letters from his mailbox. He shuffled through them until he came to the envelope he had been expecting now for over a week.
  3. Eloise couldn’t believe her eyes. What was her best friend carrying?
  4. After the party, Grant was totally confused by the events which had just taken place.
  5. It wasn’t like Harry to forget an appointment, but on this occasion, it was quite understandable.
  6. Josh and Jerry were inseparable friends until the day Kevin entered their lives.
  7. A sudden crash woke Loretta from her deep sleep. She sat up in bed, grogginess swirling in her head.
  8. She stopped, looked back and saw Margie following her. ‘Go away!’ she shouted. Margie kept coming closer.
  9. As the train loomed closer, Paul accelerated frantically.
  10. Despite searching all over the house, Rowena could not find her cat.

More short story starters and writing prompts:

You can find many more ideas for writing stories here.

Conditions of use:

  • Feel free to use any of the story starters listed above.
  • Change anything to suit your needs.
  • Give it your best shot.
  • Edit your work carefully before sending it off to a publisher or posting it on your blog.
  • Let me know in the comments section how it went.
  • If you publish your story on your web site or on your blog let me know so I can make a link to it for others to read.

Writing prompt – peaceful places

Peaceful garden in the grounds of the fistula hospital in Addis Ababa

In the bustle and hustle of modern day life, peaceful settings to do our writing is sometimes an elusive thing. Over the centuries many writers have sought refuge in gardens, both private and public. I certainly find that the peaceful environment can be conducive to writing in the generation of new ideas, the consolidation and development of existing ideas or even as places to actually write new material.

In today’s photo I’ve shown a very peaceful garden in the grounds of the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to have a tour of the hospital when we were in Ethiopia a few years ago. You can read about our experience on my travel site here.

The women who come to this hospital have suffered terribly because of this horrible condition. A simple operation usually solves the problem and their lives are transformed. The peaceful hospital facilities, including the wonderfully kept gardens, are a vital part of their rehabilitation and healing. It was amazingly serene in these gardens considering the noise, smell and turmoil of life outside of the hospital grounds.

Writing prompts:

  1. Write about a garden you know well, and explain how it impacts your writing.
  2. Visit a favourite garden, take pencil and notepaper and record your feelings, or even write a poem about what you see.
  3. Visit a well-kept garden – private or public – and take a camera to record what you see. Use some of the photos to inspire your writing.

Good writing.

Peaceful garden in the grounds of the fistula hospital in Addis Ababa

More short story starters

Over the years, I have posted many of these articles. They have become some of the most popular posts on this site.

These story starters are designed to get your creative juices flowing. We all have those dreaded times when we just can’t think of an idea to write about. These story starters are designed to get you going. You may end up not using the exact wording I have given. You may even change any names I have used. The setting I have proposed could also change. It is really up to you. Accept my ideas if they suit you; change what doesn’t ring true for you.

These short story starters could be used exactly as I have suggested. They could be the start of a story which you finish, polish up, rewrite, edit, proofread and send off to a journal or magazine or even a writing competition. Or, you may just use some or all of these ideas just as writing exercises – warm-up writing attempts to flex your writing muscles before your work-in-progress gets attention for the day. It is entirely up to you how you use these ideas. Or not.

Short story starters:

  1. Frank found what he was looking for, but not where he had expected. He felt totally perplexed. How did it get in the washing machine?
  2. It was moments like these that Greta enjoyed. The sudden appearance of her best friend in the cafe opened up the day to untold opportunities.
  3. How on earth could Harry complete this task in the time allotted? He knew that his fate was in his own hands. What he did in the next hour would determine the course of his life, one way or the other.
  4. ‘What are we to do now?’ asked Ingrid. ‘That was the last chance we had.’
  5. Finding her husband lying on their bed in his pajamas was the last thing Jenny expected that day.
  6. Karen raced to the check-in desk and stopped. Hardly able to breathe she waved her boarding pass and waited to be served. ‘What if I’m too late?’ She suppressed the thought and smiled.
  7. Tony and Lauren knew from the first day that it was going to be a struggle. Despite the challenges ahead, they stepped out believing that they were up to the task set before them.
  8. At the beginning of the week, Murray had believed that he was on top of the workload for the month. What he hadn’t foreseen was the accident.
  9. Naomi blinked. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed.
  10. The children ran screaming towards the open door. They crowded around the visitor, jumping and reaching towards the box he carried.

Conditions of use:

  • Feel free to use any of the story starters listed above.
  • Change anything to suit your needs.
  • Give it your best shot.
  • Edit your work carefully before sending it off to a publisher or posting it on your blog.
  • Let me know in the comments section how it went.
  • If you publish your story on your website or on your blog let me know so I can make a link to it for others to read.
  • Now start writing.

Good writing.

Trevor

Writing prompts: Who lived here?

Who lived here?

Who lived here?

During our tour of Morocco some years ago now we came across many beautiful buildings. Many of them have exquisite tiled floors, decorated walls and ceilings and were architecturally very interesting. As we travelled through the Berber regions in the southeast of the country, through the Atlas Mountains and the intervening valleys, we came across many abandoned kasbahs, similar to the building shown above. In fact, this photo was taken on the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs.

Writing prompts:

  1. The Road of a Thousand Kasbahs has an exotic and interesting ring to it. Write a story explaining how this road came to be so named.
  2. Ask yourself the question: ‘Who lived in this kasbah?” Write about their lives, their romances and perhaps why this was their chosen place to reside.
  3. Write about how this particular kasbah came to be deserted sometime in the distant past.
  4. Write a series of love poems about a person who had lived in this kasbah, and how their love had been thwarted by political or family events.
  5. Research the history of the Berber people or the kasbahs in this region. Incorporate some of your discoveries in a story of fiction, weaving real events into your fiction.

 

Conditions of use:

  • Feel free to use any of the story starters listed above.
  • Change anything to suit your needs.
  • Give it your best shot.
  • Edit your work carefully before sending it off to a publisher or posting it on your blog.
  • Let me know in the comments section how it went.
  • If you publish your story on your website or on your blog let me know so I can make a link to it for others to read.
  • Now start writing.

Good writing.

Trevor