In my early years of writing, back when I had an iPad for school and a junky keyboard, I spent many late nights googling writing prompts, scrolling through websites that would freeze from the sheer amount of pop-up ads hoping that one of the abstract words listed there would inspire some kind of novel or short story idea.
This was how creative writing worked in school, anyway, and when your brain is moving a million miles an hour, sometimes it is good to hone yourself in on one or two words, to turn them over in your mind, let your imagination run wild, try and think of what is abstract enough it wouldn’t be what most think of first.
Historically, writing prompts have inspired famous novels. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein whilst with other Victorian writing friends, when competing to write scary ghost stories. Though this was not the writing prompt found on a modern writing website, beginning with a theme or goal in mind can work in similar ways to this modern writing prompt.
Nowadays, AI can hold more involvement in writing prompt generators, and I’m sure there are some writers out there who, in the midst of a particularly bad bout of writers block, have turned to ChatGPT and similar generative AI sites in order to gain some clarity.
AI and prompts can provide a sense of calm when overwhelmed with ideas, unable to decide on what the “right” idea is or the “best” idea is. It can also provide ideas when none of your current ideas feel inspirational or enjoyable to write about. Like any creative, it is common in the writing business to grind to a halt at times, the ideas that once flowed like water drying up into a dusty riverbed.
Nonetheless, I don’t need to explain the downsides of Ai when it comes to copywrite laws, training, and especially environmental factors. At the end of the day, there are better ways to generate inspiration or clarity that are more true to you.
These are the “prompts” that have helped me at my most stuck:
Walk, wander,
Let your brain be unfocused. Don’t try to think of a story idea, character, scene, anything to do with writing. Let your mind wander. Let the train of thought move where it wants to go, but don’t write down what does come to you, whatever you think is a “great idea” in the moment will not be your best idea.
When you have done the longest walk you are able, then sit down at the computer or notebook. Write what comes. Don’t edit. When you’ve finished your scene, chapter, story, leave it for a while. Writing needs time to fester, to grow fungus you don’t want anywhere near your skin.
Read, consume,
Feeling stuck or idea-less is usually because you don’t know enough. Research the history of wherever you are setting your story, or where you would like to base your setting on.
You might not know enough about the genre, about the typical conventions. You don’t need to copy the exact conventions of the other stories in your genre, but knowing them means you know how to twist them too.
Reading your genre can also show you what you like or dislike about similar books. Try reading a really badly written book in your genre. The anger and frustration you get from reading it will drive you to think “I could do this better” and then start writing and plotting.
Go on an awkward first date with your character
If you’re feeling really stuck, start with a name, then an age, then basic information about your character. Move up until you have at least a page about your character, or you can visualise them as a real person in your mind.
What scares them? What do they love more than anything? Why?
What do they do with their spare time? Why?
How does your character speak? Why? What does this say about them?
How does your character move? Do they snort when they laugh? Do they sneeze really quietly, or really loudly?
Does your character have any physical scars? Is it an obvious one? Why?
Ask yourself “why” for every detail you can write down about the character. Why would they be short vs tall? Why would they choose that school over another? Why would they become an assassin instead of a retail worker?
Your “whys” don’t need to result in anything more than your knowledge of the character. Do not worry about whether they align with your personal interests, morals, or attractions.
Once you know your character, you’ll be surprised with what stories come from that. You should be able to arrive at an internal and external goal – what they wish, deep down inside, and what they tell everyone they wish. These can conflict, which creates your story, or they can align, which creates a different kind of story.
Visit the graveyard
If you’re feeling really stuck, go through your graveyard of old ideas and merge some together. There will be some reason they didn’t work in the first place, but maybe you can fix those holes by changing key features and patchworking different things together.
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