Do you ever use writing prompts to get yourself inspired? As someone who creates writing prompts, I can tell you just how handy they can be. Wanna know a secret? I use writing prompts almost as often as I create them. And yes, I prefer the prompts of other authors. I need a dose of fresh inspiration every now and then.
As I’ve said before, I find a lot of my ideas on Twitter. And I’ve found some very cool writing prompt producers. You never know what’s going to strike you until it hits you like a ton of bricks. Anyway, that’s the way it happens for me. Let’s look at a few of the writing prompt providers I’ve found on Twitter.
FastPrompt
Every Saturday night at 11 pm Eastern (8 pm Pacific), hosts Jessica E. Laymon and KTinDC post both a written and a visual prompt every few minutes. I participated in my first FastPrompt last week and had a ball. Though responses to these prompts are usually posted within moments on Twitter, I keep them where I can get to them as a couple of them sparked some awesome ideas. Jessica is also the host of the #vssparanormal prompt site. Every Friday, she adds a different paranormal-themed prompt. I just found this one, so I might have to go backward and see what I can find.
How Bout You Write
I only recently found this space, but there are some really interesting ideas. I say interesting, but the truth is that a lot of the prompts here are just off the wall. And I like it that way. Though some of them are “normal” (whatever the hell that means), most of them really make you go…, “Um, what?” Those are usually the best ones to start with.
The Madd Formatter
I’ve seen a lot of the prompts from this site on Pinterest as well. These are some of my favorite prompts. I don’t know if it’s the way they’re put together or just because this was one of the very first prompt spaces I found on Twitter. I save a lot of these prompts for my own use. Some are just little chunks of dialogue, some give you ideas about plot, and others are just random bits to inspire a story within a story. I highly recommend this place.
Writing Prompt Bot
An automated writing prompt system run by Dandelion Enthusiast. I’ve used this one for quite some time as well, though these aren’t quite as “out there” as some of the others. These are pretty simple and straight to the point. What I really like about these prompts is that they go all over the board. Some have to do with plot lines, some are just groupings of various items (my favorite type of prompt), and some are just inspirational quotes. There’s a little something for everyone here.
There are several other writing prompts all over Twitter. These are just my go-to spaces. I’ll keep my eyes out for more. I mean, who doesn’t love finding a new place to get inspired? If you have a favorite place on Twitter, or anywhere else out there in the Webiverse, let me know at crgraves@gravespublications.com.
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Image by Roanne Copin from Pixabay
