32 | The Writer • January 2020

3

OPEN THE DOOR TO

TRUTH-TELLING.

Where did that come from?

Prepare for this question to

flash across your mind fre-

quently after you start using

prompts as a warm-up exer-

cise. Whether you’re a heart-

on-your-sleeve sage or a

stuff-it-down denier, an unhin-

dered mind caught up in a

seemingly unrelated topic can

drum up images, memories,

and beliefs that speak your

truth. Spoiler alert: You’ll

uncover a few secrets that

just might be the basis for

your book-length memoir.



A friend approaches and

says, “I can’t believe I found

this! It will change everything

for you.” He motions for you

to open the box in his hands.

What’s inside, and how does

it inspire you?

4

ENLARGE YOUR

CAPACITY FOR

EMPATHY.

Prompts can provide clarity-sparking scenarios to

help you develop your empathy muscles.

Strengthening your emotional intelligence will

later allow you to add dimension, soul, and

believable idiosyncrasies to your least-likeable

characters, whether in memoir, fiction, or nonfic-

tion. It will also make you a better human.



You awaken to discover that you have turned into

your nemesis and are heading to the hospital to visit

their elderly parent. Write a scene from the day.

ENGAGE A NEW VOCABULARY.

When you say yes to a cre-

ative invitation to write as an

anthropologist, rodeo clown,

or surfer, you’ll shake up your

default dictionary. Your brain

synapses get a pass to forge

new trails and leap over tired

language. If I inform you that

you’re a child wearing your

father’s galoshes and you are

plodding through puddles in

the rain, you don’t need

Rosetta Stone training in kid-

speak. Your mind will start

spouting words, real or

invented. Slosh, squish,

ooey, shlop shlop, gulp.

Writing through a new

lens inspires an expanded

lexicon.



You are a botanist. A plant

peep. Today you encounter a

specimen that nobody has

ever noted in journals.

Describe in what ways this is

the most amazing creation

you’ve ever seen. Draw it.

Label it. Give it a name.

2

1

BYPASS BLANK-

PAGE PRESSURE.
Don’t overthink which words get to
grace your screen or the fresh page of a
notebook. Prompts give you a nudge, a
direction, and the freedom to let ideas
flow from the get-go. Your mantra: I am
not scribing a treatise on the historical
impact of the plague. I am accepting
the invitation to let the words lead me.
Have fun.



You thought you entered a drawing to
win a Saturn car, but it turns out you
won the chance to be the first earthling
to communicate with beings discovered
on one of Saturn’s moons! Draft your
message.