The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bowling Green chapter.
Whether you are trying to get out of writer’s block, you want to have a little fun with words, or you just need a pick-me-up, these creative prompts can help! When it comes to writing we all have our own styles; personally I enjoy fiction and poetry. I enjoy creative writing warm-ups that force you to think outside of the box, or in this case, the page.
Here are my top 5 favorite creative writing prompts:
Paint Swatches
- Have you ever picked up a paint swatch and wondered; how in the world did they come up with those names? Well, paint swatch writing utilizes all those crazy names incorporating them into one story. This activity can be done on any type of paint swatch, whether it has 2 or 20 colors on it. Also, when you go to pick your paint swatch you can choose based on the color or the names on it. When you have picked out your paint swatch use the names given, in the order of the swatch to write a story or poem. When you are writing, you can either do it on another piece of paper, or if it is short enough, you can write it on the swatch itself.
Black-Out-Poetry
- Black-out-poetry is perfect for anyone who has ever wanted to draw in their books. First take a newspaper, magazine, or other text (maybe photocopy the book, unless you are ok with destroying it). Then pick out a few words or short phrases from the page to create a new sentence. These words or phrases typically should be in an order, so that when the page is read normally, you can see your new sentence. The rest of the words you aren’t using you will want to black-out in some way, whether it is just crossing them out, or by drawing a picture over them, the point is to make them illegible, so only the words you want will stand out. There are lots of great examples online for you to use for ideas as well.
Blind Picture Writing
- If you’re like me, when I write, I tend to get caught up in all the grammar, spelling, and flow of my stories, and struggle to just write. This prompt is perfect for getting the creativity flowing and allowing yourself to write badly. This prompt is best done on a computer/word document, but you could try to do it on paper as well. For this prompt search online for some visual writing prompts, find one you like and get ready to write about it. Before you write, make sure to change the text color to white, or apply a highlight of black onto your text. This will allow you to write without seeing what you are writing. Now, you might still see the correction lines, or go a little slower depending on your typing skills. But the point of this prompt is to get you writing, it does not matter if it is good. After you are done, change the text or highlight back to normal and read it. If you want to clean up your grammar or spelling you can.
Ugly Acronyms
- Sometimes poetry can feel overwhelmingly mushy or happy. This prompt helps to show how poetry and acronyms can be used for all types of reasons. Start off by thinking of a word/item/activity that you hate or dislike. Then use that word to create an acronym for why you hate it. For each of the letters you can try to create a stanza of a poem, or just write one word answers. For example, MUD can become Messy, Unpleasant, Dreary.
Pass-Back Stories
- This one is a group activity that is best done with more than 4 people. Start off by giving everyone in the group a piece of paper and a writing utensil, this works best on physical paper, but can be done online. Each person will start a story on their piece of paper, using 1-2 sentences. When everyone is done, pass the papers to the left, and write another sentence or two based on the original sentence. Now, before passing the papers again, fold the paper so that the first sentence is hidden and the only thing the next person sees is the sentence you just wrote. Continue adding sentences, passing, and folding until the stories get back to their owners. Enjoy reading the finished products aloud for some entertaining stories and plot twists.