Spring 2023 prompts
January 26
Write a story based off a song of your choosing.
Song to Story
February 2
Nonlinear Narrative
Write a nonlinear narrative (a story told out of chronological order) using any of the following one-word prompts:
Reminiscent
Sleep
Future
Lost
Accident
Forgotten
Whisper
Panorama
Breathe
February 9
Love Story Switch-Up
Take an established dynamic between two existing characters, be they your own characters or from some other medium, and switch up their relationship when you spin the wheel!
February 23
Ephemerality
Write a piece that captures the idea of ephemerality.* You can write an ode to mortality, you can write a performance piece that you delete or tear up, or anything else related to fluctuation.
*In terms of art, lasts only for a short amount of time.
March 2
Damon Galgut - Allegories
Using third person omniscient like Galgut, write an allegorical story. For example, a story about a girl disappearing in a forest might be an allegory for human trafficking. A sci-fi story about a disease plaguing the planet might be an allegory for COVID-19 or AIDS. A story about a man peeling an orange might be an allegory for self-sustenance. Let your imagination run wild!
In this story, consider elements of Galgut’s style: dialogue without quotations, constant switching of narration, stream of consciousness within different characters’ minds, social commentary, blunt descriptions, etc.
March 9
Picture prompt
In the spirit of Women’s History Month, write a short story, poem, or other piece of literature based on this artwork by Rozeal.
Some inspirations:
Challenging gender norms
Challenging views of sexuality
Challenging views of beauty
March 23
Collaborative story
Find someone (ideally a few someones) with whom to write a story! Each person begins with a notebook on which they will write the start of their own story. Then, once three minutes have passed, the notebooks will be passed around and the new author will continue the story on a new page. Do this until all pages for the following transitional prompts have been used:
Once upon a time, there was...
Every day...
But...
So...
But then...
Because of that...
Finally...
March 30
Fairy Tale Switch-Up
Take an urban legend or fairy tale and mix it up! You could change:
the characters' personalities
the moral of the story
the story's ending; the setting (time period, location, etc.)
anything else that strikes your fancy
April 6
Write an acrostic about love. Interpret “love” however you choose!
Acrostics
April 14
Limericks
Write two limericks. Try to write one that conforms to the traditional rules (5 lines, AABBA, LongLongShortShortLong, rhythmic, goofiness). Then write another one, but change, ignore, or adapt one or more of the classic rules.
April 20
Write a villanelle about loss.