Writing Prompts; Inciting Inspiration

Prompts aren't just things, nouns, objects. Prompts are also verbs, actions, occurrences. They can come in forms we don't expect - an article in the newspaper, a conversation with a friend, the chirp of birdsong, the smell of campfire smoke in late evening.

Put another way, a prompt is anything that incites us to create something; anything that sparks inspiration.

Within the context of writing, the purpose of a prompt is to incite you to write. If a prompt gets you to write down words, then it's succeeded!

It's also important to know that prompts come in many different forms. Just as each writer is unique, so too are we uniquely sensitive to different sources of inspiration; attunded to particular frequencies, wavelengths, resonances.

Different people are prompted by different things. Some prompts may not incite you to write, whereas they incite a creative frenzy in another. Knowing yourself - your style, your genre, your format, your stories, your setting, your characters - is as much a component of inspiration as the prompt that incites it.

Here are some examples of different prompts that we used as examples during our Sept. 2026 meetup at the Okotoks Public Library:

Written Prompt

Pick one of these opening lines and write a paragraph based on it.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
- George Orwell, 1984

It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.
- Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

The cage was finished.
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon

Source; https://www.indigoextra.com/blog/creative-writing-exercises

Image Prompt

Write a paragraph from the perspective of one of the characters in this picture.

Music Prompt

Listen to this song. As you do, note down the atmosphere, vibes, and imagery it induces in you.

Experiences

Our own experiences are a great font of inspiration; humans are first & foremost experiential creatures.

Write a scene based on stubbing your toe really, really hard. No 'normal' swears are allowed, but creative cursing is encouraged!

Sensations

The wonderful power of writing is that you're able to immerse your reader in a world merely by using your words. Putting yourself into your work can be a source of inspiration in & of itself.

Write a scene based off the following line, with one sentence for each sense; sight, sound, scent, taste, touch, temperature.

Stephan opened the door, inhaling deeply...
- Tristan Mazurek

Nature & Environment

Nature is a font of inspiration in all varieties. We do not exist separately from the context in which we exist; we are inextribably bound to the world around us.

Grab your phone/a notebook and go for a walk - inside or out - for 15 minutes. Pay attention to the world around you. Soak up the atmosphere. Exist in the moment. Write down whatever comes to you.

Inspiration is a fickle & fleeting creature.

When something prompts us, incites us to create, we must harness our inspiration in that moment, regardless of the form it takes; banishing concerns about creating a structured, refined, or polished product from our minds. After all, we can always come back later to refine, edit, expand upon, or integrate the ideas into something else entirely.

And just as the outcome of a prompt doesn't necessarily have to be a structured, grammatically-correct paragraph, chapter, or scene. Any form of artistic expression - prose, notes, impressions, vibes, sketches, imagery, or otherwise - are desirable outcomes of artistic inspiration. If a prompt incites you to create, then it has succeeded.

My ultimate advice to you, dear reader, is not to hunt for inspiration. Rather, I suggest that you simply allow life to present you with prompts wherever they may reside; empty your mind, change your routines, seek new avenues to walk, and open yourself up to the possibilities in your everyday life.

Personally, I find things that incite me to write everywhere in my own life:

• books & audiobooks I've read/listened to,
• conversations I've had & overheard, movies & TV,
• half-remembered dreams scrawled in old notebooks,
• listening to blogs & vlogs about topics I'm interested in,
• hikes in the Rockies or along the Sheep River.

Inspiration can come from anywhere so long as you cultivate a mentality of curiosity & openness; being in such a way where you welcome opportunities to be prompted.

Post-script; Follow-ups

I'm gonna start posting these write-ups after every meeting; for those who cannot make it, missed it, or might not be feeling up to leaving the house.

Even if we can't See you; We're still thinking about you; we want you to feel included.

• Sasquatch; El Presidente; tristan.