Prompt: How many times have you had to “start over”? Talk about one of those times.
Starter: “Coffee, tea, or soda?” “Water, please.”
Quote: “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
― L.M. Montgomery
Tags: author, ideas, inspiration, journal, L.M. Montgomery, life, prompts, quotes, starters, starting over, Story Starter, writing
Prompt: What do you need to forgive yourself for?
Starter: “I can take you more seriously as a shooter wearing the beanie.”
Quote: “One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.” -Bernard Baruch
Tags: family, forgive, forgiveness, friendship, journal, life, love, relationships, self, starter, Story Starter, write, writing
Prompt: If you could choose your death, what would it be? Why? Are you afraid to die?
Starter: He has too much hair.
Quote: “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
― Woody Allen
Tags: beliefs, choice, death, dying, inspiration, journal, life, starter, Story Starter, truth, Woody Allen, writing
Prompt: How do you feel about yourself at this very moment? Allow yourself to be honest, raw, and uninhibited.
Starter: “I’m not mad. Really. I’m not mad.”
Quote: “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.”
― Saul Bellow
Tags: author, emotions, feelings, honest, inspiration, journal, life, prompts, quotes, Saul Bellow, Story Starter, truth, writing, yourself
Prompt: Write the first word that comes to mind with each of the following:
distance solitude beer limelight tomorrow flip-flops candle soda
Now write a story using at least three of the pairings.
Starter: How could this have happened? He was never going to believe it wasn’t her fault.
Quote: “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” -Jorge Luis Borges
Tags: books, inspiration, Jorge Luis Borges, library, paradise, prompt, Story Starter, words, writing
Prompt: Convince your parents you deserve a new car.
Starter: “Was that supposed to hurt?”
Quote: “Beware: It is a quick transition from nourishing sense of gratitude to a poisonous sense of entitlement.” -Steve Maraboli
Tags: create, creative, creativity, deserve, entitlement, gratitude, inspiration, inspire, journal, journaling, kids, life, parents, prompt, prompts, quote, quotes, starter, starters, Steve Maraboli, Story Starter, story starters, write, writer, writing
Prompt: Write about a time when you had to change your plans at the last minute, no matter how big or small.
Story Starter: My designated driver is drunk.
Quote: “You can plan events, but if they go according to your plan they are not events.” -John Berger
Tags: change, drink, drunk, event, inspiration, John Berger, journal, journaling, life, plans, prompt, quote, Story Starter, write, writing
Prompt: Write about your first memory.
Starter: Trouble has a way of finding me.
Quote: “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” -Cesare Pavese
Tags: author, create, creative, creativity, first, inspiration, inspire, journal, journaling, memory, prompt, quote, remember, Story Starter, trouble, write, writer, writing
Prompt: Describe a time in your life when you hit rock bottom.
Starter: “Go ahead. Defend yourself.”
Quote: “And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I built my life.” -JK Rowling
Tags: author, create, creative, creativity, foundation, Harry Potter, inspiration, inspire, JK Rowling, journal, journaling, personal, prompt, quote, rock, rock bottom, solid, Story Starter
Prompt: Sunset
Starter: She was a million miles away.
Quote: “I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.” -Tom Clancy
Tags: author, create, inspiration, inspire, prompt, quote, sky, Story Starter, sun, sunset, Tom Clancy, write, writer, writing
Prompt: An abandoned wheelchair.
Starter: “You’re welcome!” I shouted.
Quote: “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” -Ernest Hemingway
Tags: author, Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway, inspiration, inspire, prompt, quote, Story Starter, write, writer, writing
Prompt: The first time I…
Starter: I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to.
Quote: “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” -Stephen King
Tags: author, create, creative, creativity, inspiration, inspire, journal, journaling, personal, prompt, quote, Stephen King, Story Starter, write, writer, writing
Prompt: Would you rather be too hot or too cold? Why? Explain then tell of a time when you were one of each.
Starter: “Tell me again why you think you deserve a raise.”
Quote: “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have not unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.” -William Strunk, Jr.
Tags: cold, create, creative, hot, inspiration, inspire, journal, journaling, personal, prompt, quote, Story Starter, William Strunk, write, writer, writing
Prompt: Describe your antagonist’s worst fear.
Starter: She should have known this was not meant for her.
Quote: “Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul.” -Meg Rosoff
Tags: afraid, antagonist, create, creative, fear, inspiration, inspire, Meg Rosoff, prompt, quote, Story Starter, write, writer, writing
Prompt: Describe your protagonist’s worst fear.
Starter: I will not be afraid, I will not be afraid, I will not be afraid…
Quote: “The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.” -Lee Iacocca
Tags: afraid, create, creative, fear, inspiration, inspire, Lee Iacocca, prompt, quote, Story Starter, write, writer, writing
Finding the Write Idea 