Idea Lab
Not sure what to write? Stuck? Just want to play a little?
Chart paper prompts 1
Write from one of the story seeds you posted.
Chart paper prompts 2
Choose someone else’s story seed and run with it.
Chart paper prompts 3
Write from one of your own story seeds or someone else’s--from an alternate POV.
Random
Choose three random items from the vicinity. Don’t think about them first. Jot down what they are. Write the beginning of a piece using one, two or three of the items. Use them as literally or loosely as you’d like.
Themed memories
List every memory you have of… [your choice of something that figures importantly in your life]. Any stories from this list you want to tell?
(Link for an inspirational list of Richard Wright's earliest memories.)
Character Study
Browse portraits online. (The National Portrait Gallery and ICP have some good ones, for starters.) Choose one. Imagine everything you can about that character: background, daily habits, family members, skeletons, desires, problems, etc. Keep your hand moving/keep scribbling. Don’t stop until the well is dry. Go back into it and find the pearl.
Or: interview the person in the portrait.
Harriet the Spy
Like ‘Character Study,’ above, but with a stranger you see. (This one may feel uncomfortable or intrusive. You may run up against your own preconceptions. This could make it an interesting exercise. Or flat out wrong.)
Dialogue 1
Use portraits or people (see Character Study and Harriet the Spy, above), select two, craft a dialogue.
Dialogue 2
You might also put together two people from different story seeds you posted.
Rant 1!
About any one thing. Turn the tap on and don’t stop writing/ranting until you’re finished. Circle best/strongest lines. Use them to start a fresh piece.
Rant 2!
Same as above, but from the point of view of someone else—real or fictional.
Place descriptions
Choose your place. Go. See where the seed leads you.
Alternate: Describe a place without using adjectives or adverbs. Highly recommended!
What's in a word?
Dive into one of the words on the Racial Equity Tools Glossary. Use it as a point of departure for writing of any kind.
Structure
Take a story you’ve written. Break down by beats/moments/chunks. Title each beat in the margins. Number each beat chronologically. (See Eve for more info on this.)
Write from art, photos, an IG post
Loosely or literally
Social identity map
Make a map of the groups to which you belong. (Click through for my example.) Do any of these groups or your place in them suggest a story or poem or other written piece?
Take a walk
Every few minutes, stop, take in everything around you, jot down whatever comes to mind first. Once back at your desk, prune for good seedlings.
News
Find a random sentence or paragraph from a newspaper. Walk it in an unexpected direction.
Sentence
Like News. Take the first complete sentence on page 98 of any book at hand. Use it to jumpstart a piece.
Whose line?
Variations on News and Sentence. Take compelling lines (of prose or poetry). Start with one and head toward the second. Keep your pen moving or the keys clicking. Give yourself a time limit (and make it short). Don’t judge. See what you want to salvage and what you want to toss.
The Periodic Table
Borrow an idea from Primo Levi. Take an element from the Periodic Table (or, say, a spice from the spice rack), and work it into a character sketch, directly or indirectly.
Annotated list
Annotate a list. Your resumé; a list of your partners; a shopping list; a playlist, etc. etc. See what comes out of it.
Copy change
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Take a poem or short piece you love. Use the framework, rhythms, sounds, format, opening phrases, etc. as a base.)
Write it into being
...because you want it.
What are you afraid of?
Donald Barthelme tells us to "write about what you're most afraid of."
The story you don't want your (parent, child, partner, best friend...) to know
Write it without censoring yourself.
Letter of Recommendation
Like the NYT column where writers extol the virtues of... fan mail, talking to yourself, souvenir spoons, holding a grudge, play-doh... you get the idea.
Write a review
Album, restaurant, book, etc.
Before and after
An event that divided your life into before and after. Go.
Five prompts borrowed from the late, great writing teacher, Wendy Bishop. Do them as creative nonfiction, or walk them in an imagined direction:
Your voices
When did you have a voice? When didn't you? How many do you have? Whose voice do you borrow? What do you sound like, inside, outside, alone, with others? What would you like to say that you haven't, yet?
Names
Your name, nicknames, given names, imagined names, personas, naming others, naming yourself, place names.
Architectures
Houses you've loved, you've hated, places you've built or want to build, cities, space within and without, materials, meanings
Taboos
...and breaking them
Circles and Sets
Seasons, elements, four corners of the world, wonders of the world, dream catchers, webs, fates, muses, mysteries, space...
And finally, a handful of revision games
Translate your prose piece into poetry or dramatic writing.
Remove all punctuation and paragraphing. Re-do.
Change tenses.
Switch up POVs.
Change tone (serious to comic, for example)
Change genre/type of writing
Reduce a section by 50% Then increase it by 50%.
Write from one of the story seeds you posted.
Chart paper prompts 2
Choose someone else’s story seed and run with it.
Chart paper prompts 3
Write from one of your own story seeds or someone else’s--from an alternate POV.
Random
Choose three random items from the vicinity. Don’t think about them first. Jot down what they are. Write the beginning of a piece using one, two or three of the items. Use them as literally or loosely as you’d like.
Themed memories
List every memory you have of… [your choice of something that figures importantly in your life]. Any stories from this list you want to tell?
(Link for an inspirational list of Richard Wright's earliest memories.)
Character Study
Browse portraits online. (The National Portrait Gallery and ICP have some good ones, for starters.) Choose one. Imagine everything you can about that character: background, daily habits, family members, skeletons, desires, problems, etc. Keep your hand moving/keep scribbling. Don’t stop until the well is dry. Go back into it and find the pearl.
Or: interview the person in the portrait.
Harriet the Spy
Like ‘Character Study,’ above, but with a stranger you see. (This one may feel uncomfortable or intrusive. You may run up against your own preconceptions. This could make it an interesting exercise. Or flat out wrong.)
Dialogue 1
Use portraits or people (see Character Study and Harriet the Spy, above), select two, craft a dialogue.
Dialogue 2
You might also put together two people from different story seeds you posted.
Rant 1!
About any one thing. Turn the tap on and don’t stop writing/ranting until you’re finished. Circle best/strongest lines. Use them to start a fresh piece.
Rant 2!
Same as above, but from the point of view of someone else—real or fictional.
Place descriptions
Choose your place. Go. See where the seed leads you.
Alternate: Describe a place without using adjectives or adverbs. Highly recommended!
What's in a word?
Dive into one of the words on the Racial Equity Tools Glossary. Use it as a point of departure for writing of any kind.
Structure
Take a story you’ve written. Break down by beats/moments/chunks. Title each beat in the margins. Number each beat chronologically. (See Eve for more info on this.)
Write from art, photos, an IG post
Loosely or literally
Social identity map
Make a map of the groups to which you belong. (Click through for my example.) Do any of these groups or your place in them suggest a story or poem or other written piece?
Take a walk
Every few minutes, stop, take in everything around you, jot down whatever comes to mind first. Once back at your desk, prune for good seedlings.
News
Find a random sentence or paragraph from a newspaper. Walk it in an unexpected direction.
Sentence
Like News. Take the first complete sentence on page 98 of any book at hand. Use it to jumpstart a piece.
Whose line?
Variations on News and Sentence. Take compelling lines (of prose or poetry). Start with one and head toward the second. Keep your pen moving or the keys clicking. Give yourself a time limit (and make it short). Don’t judge. See what you want to salvage and what you want to toss.
The Periodic Table
Borrow an idea from Primo Levi. Take an element from the Periodic Table (or, say, a spice from the spice rack), and work it into a character sketch, directly or indirectly.
Annotated list
Annotate a list. Your resumé; a list of your partners; a shopping list; a playlist, etc. etc. See what comes out of it.
Copy change
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Take a poem or short piece you love. Use the framework, rhythms, sounds, format, opening phrases, etc. as a base.)
Write it into being
...because you want it.
What are you afraid of?
Donald Barthelme tells us to "write about what you're most afraid of."
The story you don't want your (parent, child, partner, best friend...) to know
Write it without censoring yourself.
Letter of Recommendation
Like the NYT column where writers extol the virtues of... fan mail, talking to yourself, souvenir spoons, holding a grudge, play-doh... you get the idea.
Write a review
Album, restaurant, book, etc.
Before and after
An event that divided your life into before and after. Go.
Five prompts borrowed from the late, great writing teacher, Wendy Bishop. Do them as creative nonfiction, or walk them in an imagined direction:
Your voices
When did you have a voice? When didn't you? How many do you have? Whose voice do you borrow? What do you sound like, inside, outside, alone, with others? What would you like to say that you haven't, yet?
Names
Your name, nicknames, given names, imagined names, personas, naming others, naming yourself, place names.
Architectures
Houses you've loved, you've hated, places you've built or want to build, cities, space within and without, materials, meanings
Taboos
...and breaking them
Circles and Sets
Seasons, elements, four corners of the world, wonders of the world, dream catchers, webs, fates, muses, mysteries, space...
And finally, a handful of revision games
Translate your prose piece into poetry or dramatic writing.
Remove all punctuation and paragraphing. Re-do.
Change tenses.
Switch up POVs.
Change tone (serious to comic, for example)
Change genre/type of writing
Reduce a section by 50% Then increase it by 50%.