Hey there, writer!

(Read to the end for a special coupon just for you.)

I love writing prompts. They are the perfect antidote to the Fear of the Blank Page (or the Blank Word Doc, in most of our cases). It can be hard to find good ones, however, so I wanted to fix that.

I know that some of you are new to prompts, so here are some instructions:

1. A prompt is just that: not a directive, not an order; just a gentle nudge to get you going. There is no "right answer" to a prompt. If you write something in reply to a prompt, you're done it. The entire point is to get you writing, so you can go off-roading as much as you want.

Say the prompt is a picture of a circus elephant, and that reminds you of your Aunt Millie who loved the circus, and that reminds you of that one time you went to the mall with Aunt Millie when you were 5 and you got lost and it was really scary. Don't feel like you have to write about that damn elephant. Go to the mall.

2. I recommend using prompts as a daily writing exercise. Pick a prompt a day and write whatever comes to mind. Don't think too much before writing. Do not edit yourself. Just let the word blurp out all over the page. (Blurp is a word.) If you can write for a dedicated chunk of time each day, that's great. And it doesn't have to be long: 15 minutes is plenty.

3. I'm a big fan of longhand writing (you know, with a pen. And paper. Like we did in olden times) but I know this trips some people up. So use whatever method you're most comfortable with: longhand, computer, chiseling, whatever. Wait, why are you chiseling?

4. Some of the prompts are nonfiction; some are fiction; there's even a little poetry stuck in here. If you want to write fiction, you can use the nonfiction prompts that way. So, for example, if I were to prompt you to write about an embarrassing incident that occurred in kindergarten, you might write a story about a girl who threw up on her buddy while the class lined up for recess. Ta-da! Fiction!

On the other hand, if you're a nonfiction writer and don't feel like mucking around in the fictional world, you can use the fiction prompts that way. If I ask you to write about a story about a circus elephant, well—see above, re: Aunt Millie. You can go where your memory takes you.

All that said, I highly recommend playing around in different genres. Don't get too caught up in thinking "I'm not a fiction writer" or "poetry is scary." This is all for fun.

5. Fun! This should be fun. HAVE FUN.

6. Oh, and: I recommend waiting at least a week to read what you've written. Let the writing sit for a while. Then, if you want to edit and possibly expand something you've started into a real essay or story, that's great! And if you want to tell me about it, even better! You can always email me at [email protected]. (You should also email me with any questions or comments.)

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