Writing journal prompts for fiction writers
Here are daily writing journal prompts to inspire you for a month. Turn your life into characters and stories!
DAY 1: Think of someplace you've been that would make an atmospheric setting for either a romantic story or a creepy one. Describe the place.
DAY 2: What if, somewhere in your home, you discovered a secret passageway?
DAY 3: Describe your home from a small child's perspective.
DAY 4: Think of something you're afraid of. Now imagine that it happens to a character. But this character has a special strength that will help with the situation...
DAY 5: Your character decides to run away and start a new life.
DAY 6: Invent a character based on your first boyfriend or girlfriend.
DAY 7: What's a special ability that you would like to have? Imagine a character who has this ability. But the character also has a terrible weakness.
DAY 8: Two characters share a meal. By the end of the meal, their relationship has completely changed.
DAY 9: Think of an important decision you made in your life. Imagine that you had chosen differently. What might have happened?
DAY 10: Write a scene that takes place in darkness.
DAY 11: Describe yourself from the perspective of someone who doesn't know you well.
DAY 12: Think of someone you dislike. What do you dislike about this person? Invent a character who has the same quality. But try to also give this character a sympathetic side.
DAY 13: Describe a school that you attended -- the sights, smells, sounds, feelings.
DAY 14: Think of an argument you had with someone, then write about it from the other person's point of view.
DAY 15: Think of a dream or nightmare you had. Write about the dream as if it really happened to you. Feel free to change or add details.
DAY 16: Imagine a world that is just like ours... except for one important difference.
DAY 17: Your character has a secret place. Describe the place. When does your character go there?
DAY 18: What's something you would like to change about yourself? Invent a character who is trying to change in a similar way... but circumstances make the change very difficult.
DAY 19: Invent a character who acts like a good person but really has bad motives for his or her actions.
DAY 20: Write about what happened to you yesterday, but change details to make the account more interesting.
DAY 21: Describe the place where you grew up. What are some secrets about it that almost no one knows?
DAY 22: What if you met someone who claimed to be able to tell the future?
DAY 23: Describe the sky in five different ways.
DAY 24: Imagine that you got the chance to recover someone or something from your past.
DAY 25: Write a scene inspired by a fairy tale or myth, but set in the modern world.
DAY 26: What is one of your greatest strengths? Invent a character who doesn't have this strength. Create a situation in which having this strength is very important for your character. What does your character do? Write the story.
DAY 27: Describe the rain in five different ways.
DAY 26: Your character wakes up in a strange place and can't remember how he or she got there.
DAY 29: Write about a food or meal that you associate with a particular time in your past.
DAY 30: Write about something you imagined when you were a child.
Turn your ideas into stories or novels with our online course on story structure!
Photo credit: Lili Popper @ Unsplash