There is nothing worse than having a brilliant idea for a novel or story, thinking about it for days then finally making time to sit write and… Crickets. Though I am a very dedicated plotter, I still feel my mind bogged down and blocked from time to time. Life just simply gets in the way. My mind rustles and fills with my to do lists, dinner ideas, and the occasional stream of YouTube cat videos.
So what’s the best way to get rid of a writing block and get those creative juices flowing again? For me, it’s to write. Seems counterintuitive, right? It’s not really. Following writing prompts helps me get my mind in the right space and once I’m putting words down, I just can’t seem to stop!
Here are my top five go to prompts that I use whenever my brain is a muddled mess of thoughts.
Background story. Pick a character from one of your favorite movies and write a background for them. How did they become the people that they are in the film? What led them to their main catalyst? What’s their favorite color? Write anything you can think of to develop the character. This works particularly well with villains!
Twenty four hours ago. Write a story that starts one full day after a main event and count down the events. I tend to go straight for apocalyptic events when I do this (probably because my brain is a hot mess) but this prompt also works quite well for romance and mystery stories.
No dialogue story. Write a fully developed story that has not one word of dialogue. This also includes any thoughts! I love this prompt for working on my sense of description.
Alternatively, write a story that is all dialogue. It might sound like an easy task but I find this to be a pretty difficult prompt. Especially when the time comes to describe a characters appearance or how they’re feeling.
Dictionary story. Pick a few words at random and write a story based on those words. I love this prompt! It can be a really fun project to work on and great for working on humor in your novels.
I hope some of these can help you the next time you’re suffering from a block!
Stay magical,
Alexis.
