Writing Prompt Generator

How to use the Writing Prompt Generator

I designed this page so that you can use it with as little friction as possible. No sign-up, no wait time. All you need to do is use the site's features one by one.

1. Filters: Set the Type, Genre, and Audience for the writing prompts in the sidebar. Once the Filters are set, simply click "New prompt" to draw a random prompt from the filtered set of writing prompts. Promo Page - Filters Example
2. New prompt: Choose to generate a new random prompt from within the filter parameters that have been chosen. The same prompt will not be chosen for immediate repeat use (i.e., a pool of more than one prompt will yield a different prompt with immediate repeat use).
3. Copy prompt: Copy the current prompt to the clipboard. You can then paste it into another document or share it with others in a chat or writing group.
4. Save: Saves the current prompt to the saved panel below the scratchpad for the duration of your session. These will be deleted when you close or refresh the page, so copy them first.
5. Daily Prompt: Appears at the top of the tool as the Prompt of the Day for the respective calendar day. This prompt is the same for everyone visiting the tool that day. Thus, it is perfect for writing groups or a classroom's writing warm-up.
6. 10- minute timer: Start a writing sprint. Pause it, resume it, or press Reset to start over at 10 minutes. The timer turns blue when it's complete. Use with Scratchpad for a self-contained block of time to write, without distractions.
7. Scratchpad: Write within the browser. Live word count. The Scratchpad is a local entity. It does not get sent to any server. Copy your writing before you leave the page using the "Copy my writing" button.

Types of writing prompts explained

For each of the six prompt types, there is a corresponding type of writing.

• Story starters – These are very open stories that begin with a character, setting, or situation and then go in any direction.
• First-line prompts: Start with a complete first sentence and continue from there. Note that this prompt type can go in any direction that you want.
• What-if prompts: Develop a story around a speculative premise or an alternate world where things are not as they typically are. These work well for fiction (such as Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Magical Realism) as well as personal essays exploring 'what if' scenarios, such as alternative choices in life.
• Journal prompts: Journal prompts are similar to the fiction prompts above but are written to prompt personal reflection as opposed to fiction. These prompts are often used for morning pages, therapy, and end-of-day reflection. Many are open-ended questions or scenarios that prompt memory, opinion, emotion, and self-examination.
• Dialogue prompts: Set up a conversation between two (or more) people. Practice your ear for how real people speak, explore the subtext, and watch how conflict plays out in the dialogue.
• Poetry prompts: Poetry prompts can vary greatly but can be limited to a certain image or even a rule to follow in a poem. They can be purely imagistic or follow a certain form. They can be used for any style of poetry; no need to rhyme!

How to make the most of a writing prompt

These are the ways by which one can get so much more out of writing prompts than simply reading them. A writing prompt is a door, not a destination.

• Write 10 minutes non-stop. I mean it. You can edit afterward; you can even read it out loud afterward. In the 10 minutes of freewriting, don't stop for anything. The early part of the writing is your warm-up. The good stuff comes after you have written out the obvious points.
• Interpret the prompt in different ways than the obvious. Write down the one answer that immediately comes to mind for a prompt and then ask yourself what the second and third possible answers to that prompt are.
• Use the filters to search for prompts within your current project. So if you're writing a mystery novel, then filter by mystery + story-starter until you find a prompt that can be used as a scene idea within your current work. If you're working on your character's voice, then try looking at some of the dialogue prompts and insert your current characters into the scenario.
• Your writing may belong in a different category than you think. Use a poetry prompt in a journal entry, or use a what-if prompt as a character's backstory. Just because you used a prompt of a certain type does not mean your writing has to be of that same type.

Looking for a more structured starting point? The Plot Generator creates a full story outline, including protagonist, setting, conflict, complication, and twist.