15 Quick Writing Prompts

to get you in the writing mood

AI-generated image: “people flying”

Nothing prevents me from sitting down and writing quite so much as the thought, I have to write __ today. Whether you’re writing a novel, a short story, or an essay, the entry point is often the point of most resistance. But a magical thing happens when you start writing: you keep writing.

So here are a few quick prompts to get you started today, tomorrow, or any day. Don't think, I'm writing a story or I’m writing a novel or I’m writing my memoir and my mother will read it.

Just scan the list, pick a prompt, and start writing. What you write doesn’t need to have anything to do with a bigger project. Forget the novel. Forget the story. Forget the essay or the memoir. Just write for five minutes and see where it goes. Usually, this works better when you write in first person—which is the most natural point of view for many writers, the one that creates the least friction.

If you have a Substack, write the thing and then, if you like it, hit send. (But don’t think about hitting send while you’re writing it. Just write.)

1. Write about falling.

2. Write about the last person you fought with.

3. Write about flying.

4. Write about the last time you went swimming.

5. Write about a work of art/book/movie.

6. Write about the last thing you lost.

7. Write about the last thing you found.

8. Write about a place that is very hot.

9. Write about a place that is very cold.

10. Write about something your mother/father/teacher/best friend told you.

11. Write about shoes.

12. Write about a ritual from you childhood.

13. Write about snow.

14. Write about somewhere you've never been and want to go.

15. Write about somewhere you never want to return to.

Do this every day for 15 days. It’s easier than you think and harder than you think. It will take you places you don’t expect to go. It will remind you of things you’d forgotten. There will be days when the writing is energetic and nights when you lie awake, thinking of something you want to add to that piece that just started out as a quick riff and turned into something longer.

You can fill a whole notebook this way (maybe start with a small notebook, which feels more finite and more motivating). You can start a new Substack this way. You can take a break from a bigger project, or use it as a way to ease into your writing each day before you transition to the bigger project. Do what works for you. Of course, all of these prompts work better with a cup of coffee.

Thank you for reading The Caffeinated Writer! As always, happy writing!

Do you want to start your novel? Foundations of Novel Writing—my 8-week course designed for first-time novelists, will help you get your novel off the ground.