Responding to a writer's prompt

Several different website have writers' prompts. These are single words that the writer responds to by writing whatever comes to mind for five or ten minutes. It is a good idea to have some type of timer to sit so that you can write without looking at the clock.

The writer can write anything in response to the prompt. I prefer to write in a Word document, but a pen and pencil journal works just as well. When responding to the prompt do not worry about spelling or grammar that is what rewriting is for, the prompt is to get the creative juices flowing and generate story or poem ideas.

Prompts are great ways to come up with flash fiction stories. They are also good for finding story ideas and slices of life pieces. After responding to the prompt let the writing sit for an hour or more before going back to rewrite.