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- April 13, 2025 Writing Prompts for the Week
April 13, 2025 Writing Prompts for the Week
Happy Sunday! This week, I’m seeking silence—and here’s why I think you should, too. I hear (ironic, I know) a podcast earlier this week in which someone said that we don’t allow ourselves much silent time in the day. And the problem with that is that the silence is when both the rest and the inspiration come.
I don’t know about you, but I could use more of both of those. So, instead of compulsively listening to audiobooks, podcasts, music, or tv, I’m carving out at least 15 minutes of silence every day starting right now. I invite you to join me.
And, after your silent time is done, how about a little writing?
This Week’s Prompts*
Churchbells, sirens, and, then, raucous burps met Cheryl's ear as she crossed the hospital parking lot.
His head lurched back in shock: Was that the man he'd slept three feet from for four full years?
The sweat dripped onto the dumbbell as she struggled to do one last curl.
"What, is this too animal-like?" he asked, flicking at the last soup droplets in the bowl with his tongue.
Describe a letter received by someone who was meant to receive it 40 years earlier.
"Lean a little closer," he whispered. "I don't want anyone to hear what I'm about to share with you."
Colonel Prothero's body lay beneath the stack of papers, arms splayed at a most unnatural angle.
*How to Use These Prompts: The italicized prompts let you create your writing entirely from scratch; the non-italicized prompts are intended as your first line and jumping off point. But, at the same time, there are no rules. Write on!
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Book(s) We’re Reading This Week
Playworld by Adam Ross
I shared the first sentence of this one a few weeks ago and was intrigued enough to read it. This coming-of-age novel takes place in late 70s/early 80s Manhattan and is full of adults behaving much more childishly than the children. It’s a longer one, but the writing style is very engaging and the character insight pulls you along.
Grab it on Bookshop.org (and support local bookstores!)
Grab it on Amazon
Every writer I know has trouble writing.
Links We Like (And Think You Will, Too)
🎮 Sure, you knew TED had talks, but did you know it had games? It’s true. Break up your day with bit of fun right here.
🌊 Need a creativity boost? Learn why being by water is so good for the human brain and how best to use it to enhance your creative process.
👶👟 Sometimes great writing can be short writing—very short writing. Check out these six-word stories and see if you’re inspired to write a few of your own.
Top (Published) First Line of the Week
We came to the woods carrying both types of secrets: Some self-protective and potentially destructive, others magnificent and transformative.
From What Wild Women Do by Karma Brown
Grab it on Bookshop.org (and support local bookstores!)
Grab it on Amazon
What's your favorite method of self care? |
P.S.
Hey, speaking of Joseph Heller (see the quote above), did you know he was a copywriter before he was a novelist? Yup—along with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Salman Rushdie, Kurt Vonnegut and a whole slew of other luminaries. It might just be that marketing and advertising writing is a pretty darn good day job for nurturing your creative writing skills. Interested, check out this training about copywriting to see if it rings your bells, too.
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