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I like writing prompts. They’re good as creative exercises, to get the juices flowing. Writing prompts are one of the best ways to awaken the muse within all of us.
I have two writing prompt journals, both from Picadilly. One is “300 Writing Prompts,” which, simply enough, presents the prompts and the lined spaces for the writer to fill in with the answers. The other is called “Write Your Story” in which you’re given a topic and a list of words, and you have to “write your story” using the words from that list.
I have written some pretty clever responses (if I do say so myself, pardon the bragging!😉) and not so great answers too. But hey, prompts serve as warm-ups to writing sessions, so there’s no need to worry about whether the replies are bad or good. I know some of these answers might serve as jumping boards for a future short story/poem/novel!
Here are a few of the writing prompts and my answers, all from “300 Writing Prompts.”
“You are the wind’s interpreter. What is it saying?”
Answer: “It’s saying … ‘You suck!’ No, just kidding. The wind is saying, ‘Why are you expecting me to say anything? I’m just the wind! Winds aren’t supposed to be talking, let alone elaborate on topics in general or give sound advice. Only, the one advice I’ll give is to not venture outside during a really horrible hurricane. Because then you’ll totally get destroyed. Then again, what do I know? I’m just the wind.’”
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“What did you get into trouble for the most when you were a kid?”
Answer: “I got into the most trouble for being ‘slow on the uptake,’ so to speak. For not being fast enough to understand what I was supposed to understand in the classroom, of classmates, of even relatives (and strangers too!). I got into the most trouble for being ‘different,’ for not being ‘pretty enough,’ ‘interesting enough,’ ‘good enough,’ not being ‘loud enough.’ I got into trouble for being me.”
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“When was the last time you got lost?”
Answer: “That’s a pretty unclear question. Do you mean physically or in my head? Because the last time I got lost physically was … gosh, I can’t remember the last time because I was so lost in my head I failed to pay attention to where I was. As for getting lost in my head … I’m always lost in my head. I rarely return. It’s a miracle I’m able to recall just enough of my memory to write anything in this space at all.”
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Here are my answers to the latest prompts, also from “300 Writing Prompts.”
“List a few phobias you have. When and how did you discover he had these fears?”
Answer: ”I have a fear of polyester. Yes, polyester. I can’t wear anything made of polyester. I must wear something made out of cotton, or any other natural material. If I wear something out of polyester, the garment reaches upward and strangles me. Yes, polyester clothes will strangle me. I know how it is because it’s happened. I lived it. A phobia is supposed to be an irrational fear. So how is it irrational to be afraid of polyester (clothes) when it’s happened to me?”
***
“If you had been able to choose, would you rather have been an only child or part of a very large family?”
Answer: “Is it possible for me to exist outside of a family? Meaning, can I just watch my family interact with each other and I’m not part of the action whatsoever? So I have to interact with them? Care about their interests? Share space with them? Is it necessary for me to be a number in a family, whether it’s one it 10, or solo or a member of (a family with) many (siblings)? I may have all these questions cluttering my mind, but one answer I’m certain to what’s asked as the prompt: If I had siblings, I know I won’t be my parents’ favorite. Heck, I grew up as an only child and I wasn’t my parents’ favorite LOL JK”
Teresa Edmond-Sargeant is an award-winning journalist and author. She released her first collection of short stories “Inner Demons” in October 2020. She is the author of the short story ebooks “Eve the First,” “For My Sister,” and “Sammy’s Butterflies.” She will release her debut novel “ Warding Off Reality” in August 2021. In her spare time she enjoys reading, shopping, traveling, working out, volunteering, and filling her mind with useless factoids worthy of pop culture trivia games.