Prompt Arts creates and develops writing prompts, resources and events and makes accessible systems and platforms for people of all skill levels to develop and share work.

What is a writing prompt?

Think of a writing prompt as a starting or “jumping off” point that helps focus the writer and make the blank page less intimidating.

Prompts can take many different forms. Some examples are listed here:

Narrative Prompt:
Gives the beginning or part of the story and leaves the writer to continue for example:  Suzy found a piece of chicken in her vegetarian lasagne she called the waiter over and….

Visual Prompt
The writer uses an image as the starting point to create a story. They can describe the characters or narrative they see in the story or respond to a question based on the image. What is Mona Lisa thinking about?

Aural Prompt:
The writer uses music or sound as a starting point. They can write the story that the music makes them think, or respond to a question tied to the image. Why did James want this music played at his funeral?

Form Based Prompt:
Made popular by the Oulipo, these test your style and skill and can challenge the writer’s technical abilities. Some examples might be: Use sentences less than 4 words long.  Do not use the letter “t”.

Real World Prompts:
These are prompts that use the real world as the starting point. The writer is encouraged to use something from their world or life as a starting point.  Write about what you see outside your window at 8am.

Prompts are a good way for young or novice writers to start writing when they “don’t know what to write about”, as well as a good way for more experienced writers to keep in shape by writing about things they normally wouldn’t choose to write about.