Every year my Playwriting classes are filled with new students just burning to write the next Pulitzer Prize winning play. They have pens and notebooks poised, just waiting for the word to write. But if I say, “Ok, write a two person scene,” they look puzzled and say “But what do I write about?”
It is often extremely hard to write from nothing. Suddenly every great idea that was just begging to be written down has gone on vacation, flown the coop, or otherwise left town. Enter the writer’s best friend—the writing prompt. The first one I give my students is “Write a scene in which the color ______ is used prominently.” I fill in a different color every year. And presto changeo, they have a direction. They have an idea to think about, a springboard for creativity to launch from. And I get happy students and some often funny, sometimes bizarre, always interesting scenes to read in class.
These prompts are not for every writer. Some feel too restricted by them, some are more comfortable coming up with ideas on their own. Sometimes the pressure of having to write on one specific topic is stifling to the writer. But if you ever get stuck for an idea, then a prompt may seem like a lifeline to a drowning man.
Below I have another prompt I use in many of my classes. These little snippets are usually used in acting classes and pairs of students make the six or so generic lines into a little scene. Writers can do this too. You might want to experiment—go on, take a chance. Choose one of these little A/B Dialogue Prompts and see if you can create a prose scene around it. Think of what these lines of dialogue might mean. Then add setting, create characters to speak them, add more action, more dialogue and VOILA—you have the beginnings of your next book. Go ahead. Indulge.
A/B PROMPT
#1 #3
A. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? A. LOOK AT THAT.
B. IT’S THE BEST THING. B. MY EYES MUST BE PLAYING
A. YOU CAN’T MEAN IT. TRICKS ON ME.
B. YES, I’M SERIOUS. A. I HAVE TO FIND OUT WHAT
A. PLEASE. B. LET’S GET OUT OF HERE.
B. WHAT? A. ARE YOU KIDDING?
A. NOTHING. B. NO, I WANT TO GO NOW.
B. LISTEN. A. I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE IT.
A. NO B. I DO.
#2 #4
A. EXCUSE ME. A. YOU ARE AMAZING.
B. YES. B. PRECISELY. NOW LISTEN TO ME.
A. WALK THIS WAY. A. LISTEN? THAT’S ALL I’VE BEEN
B. IS IT IMPORTANT? DOING.
A. COME. B. YOU COULD HAVE FOOLED ME.
B. POSSIBLY. A. WHAT AN ATTITUDE YOU HAVE.
A. SHOULD I? B. DON’T TALK TO ME.
B. WHERE ARE THE OTHERS? A. I HAVE EVERY RIGHT IN THE
A. I’M WAITING. WORLD.
B. SO AM I.
I had never really used writing prompts outside the classroom—until New Dawning Bookfair said “Take a traditional fairy tale and twist it, make it modern, make it sexy, make it different.” My daughter suggested The Three Little Pigs and Hog Wild was born. And it was the most fun I’ve had writing in a long time. Try a prompt. Other writers did!
Have writing prompts worked for you in the past? If so, what was the prompt and what was the result? I’d love to hear what helped you jump-start your writing.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 