Why I Write Prompts
Written by MVWG Member Heidi Blanke
When it’s time for prompt writing in my critique group, I groan, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. It seems like so much effort, all that putting pen to paper stuff. Yet never, ever have I regretted the prompt once I started. Prompts, for me, are a love-hate relationship.
Believe it or not, I sometimes write prompts without any, well, prompting. I have a few books with prompt suggestions and I use them weekly, occasionally more. I always feel at least a little bit accomplished afterwards.
My main hesitation for prompts is that so many of them are what I think of as corny, or even stupid, so I think that I am wasting my time with them. For example, “there’s a note on the table and lots of blood” or “there’s a voicemail that will change your life for the better/worse.” You get the idea. However, once I start writing, I find they’re not as corny or stupid as I thought. They are not time wasters, but are imagination instigators and word encouragers. That bloody note? It’s anything from a grocery list that happened to be near me when I cut myself to a ransom note for my award-winning Chihuahua, who is now minus part of her tail. The voicemail is an agent calling about a movie deal for my book or a call that my doctor needs to see me back today.
Writing a prompt isn’t a long, involved process. Most of mine are handwritten, limited to one page. Some of what I’ve written is pathetic or mediocre, but some of those ten-minute jottings are springboards for ideas and inspiration for plopping myself at my keyboard. A quick, rough draft poem about shoes was polished and published. A few prompts have become scenes in stories.
Most completed prompts languish in my notebooks, forgotten, but not gone. A few months ago, I paged through one of those notebooks, surprised at all the prompts buried so deep in my memory, I couldn’t recall them even when the writing was in front of me. I guess that’s good. I can write those prompts again.
If you avoid prompts, or groan when your critique group leader suggests one, I hope you’ll rethink their importance and tackle them gladly without any (ahem)………….prompting.
Try this one:
Picture a room, or part of a room in your house and empty it of everything. This will be your writing space. What does it look like now? Mine has loads of windows that let in daylight and breezes, a desk and chair sized for a short person, favorite artwork, family photos, fresh flowers, aromatherapy, a built in coffee maker with coffee that always smells fresh, a crystal lamp on the desk, and a very well behaved Golden Retriever (a rescue, of course) who waits to leave the room to shed.
If you’ve felt inspired (or strongly prompted!) to write a little something based off this prompt, we’d love to read it! Email us your response at mvwguild@gmail.com.
Heidi Blanke is the author of several books and the treasurer of the Mississippi Valley Writers Guild. When she is not writing, she is volunteering her time with several local organizations who strive to make this world a better place.