Writing Prompts

Writing

Prompts

Group/Family Writing Exercises



Favorite Words

Everyone in the group brainstorms some favorite interesting words (“slither,”

“octopus,” “fizzy,” etc.) and contributes one to a group list that everyone can see.

Everyone then writes a story including as many of the words as possible. If the group is

small, have each person contribute two or three words (at least 15 total).



Pass the Story

One person writes a sentence to start a story and passes the paper to the person to his or

her right. The second person reads the sentence and writes a sentence to continue the

story. The second person then folds down the top of the paper so the first sentence is

hidden and passes the paper to a third person. The process continues until you want to

stop and read the stories aloud. (Each person should start a story at the same time so

that everyone is writing throughout the process—and you have more stories!) This one

works best with at least 4 people.



Silly Genre Story

Pick a genre/topic such as Fairy Tales, or Science Fiction. On index cards, write words

associated with that topic (one word per card). Words for Fairy Tales, for instance,

might include castle, princess, horse, wicked, stepmother, frog, pea, glass slipper,

dragon, etc. Shuffle the cards and place them in a stack, facedown. Going in a circle, tell

a story. Each person takes a card and adds a sentence, using the word that he/she’s

chosen in that sentence. (Another fun option is to cut a long piece of yarn and weave it

around on the floor. Place the cards upside down on the string, allowing room for a

person to sit with each card. The story follows the order of cards on the string. OR, you

can place the words in a hat.) Other topics might include Cowboy/Western, the Sea, or

even Soccer. If you write the story down, extend the activity by going back and having

each person add an adjective to their sentence. This is an activity you could even use on

your own to write a story—if you write and mix up the cards, you don’t know in what

order you’ll get the words!



Interactive Journaling

Two or more people write back and forth in a journal. They can pick a topic that they

both add to, or they can ask and answer questions. Choose a special place in your house

that the journal winds up when it’s time for the next person to write a response in it. It’s

a great way to model writing and keep in touch with your children during busy times

or during the school year.

Vacation Journal

Keep a family journal available throughout your vacation for anyone to add to. Include

drawings!



Long Distance Journal

Mail a journal back and forth with a friend or relative. Write stories, poems, or letters,

and you can include illustrations and photographs.



Different Points of View

As a group create characters and a plot. Each person writes the story from a different

character’s point of view (you can even write from the dog’s point of view, or the

tree’s!). This is one you can also do on your own!



Illôt-mollo

This group exercise is a little more advanced. Everyone is quick-writing (not taking a lot

of time to think… just writing without stopping). Going around in a circle, every 15

seconds, one writer calls out a word he/she just used, and everyone else then needs to

incorporate it into his/her writing. (It’s easiest if one person is a timekeeper and calls out

names of people when it’s their turn.)







Group Storytelling



“Yes, and…”

In this activity, one person starts telling a story. Going around in a circle, each person

adds to the story (usually one sentence, but you can decide to be more flexible and

allow more). Each person must begin his or her addition with “yes, and…” It’s

important to continue from where the last person left off and to not contradict that

person’s addition. (No “yes, but…”)



One word at a time

Tell a story, going around in a circle, each person adding one word at their turn.







Other Writing Exercises



Quick-write Prompts

Put words into a hat (they could be related to a theme, like “summer” or “fossils”); pull

out a word and write about it without stopping for five minutes.

Expanding Sentences

Start with a simple sentence and keep adding to it, including when, where, how, and

descriptions.



For example:

Starter sentence: The fish swam.

Where? The fish swam in the pond.

When? The fish swam in the pond at sunset.

How? The fish swam slowly in the pond at sunset.

Describe. The iridescent fish swam in the cool pond at sunset.



Found poem

Choose a piece of writing from a book (it’s best if it has rich language). Photocopy the

passage. Highlight or underline words or phrases that you particularly like. On a

separate piece of paper, write all the highlighted words in order. Read through the

words and cross out any that don’t seem to fit. You can add a word or two in a couple

of places to smooth it out, but try not to add much. Write the words once more,

thinking about where to break lines to make a poem. At the bottom of the poem write

where the words came from. (For example, “From The Miraculous Journey of Edward

Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo.”)



Writing about setting

Think about a place you’ve been and brainstorm: What does that place look like? What

are its sounds? What are its tastes? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? (It’s

also fine to imagine a place you haven’t been, like Antarctica or the jungle!)



For example: Grandma’s house feels like soft, cushy chairs and lots of wrinkly

hugs, dust in the attic and dampness in the basement. It sounds like dishes being

cleaned and the TV quietly talking in the background. It tastes like flaky pie crust

and homemade spaghetti sauce with chunky tomatoes. It smells like something’s

always baking in the oven. It looks like a tall red-brick house with a giant beech

tree towering from the side, and a Japanese maple tree and a bush-full of pink

roses near the steps.



Comics

Writing comics can be great practice for writing dialogue! The third graders have been

using Comic Life at school. An individual license for the software is $20 if you’d like to

purchase it at home. (Pencil and paper comics work well too of course!)

Selected Writing Prompts from http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/prompts.html



 What is something you do well?

 What is your favorite room in your home and why?

 What is a good neighbor?

 What is your favorite time of day?

 What is something that makes you feel sad?

 What is your favorite book and why?

 What is something that really bugs you?

 What is something that really makes you angry?

 What is the best advice you ever received?



 What would happen if you could fly whenever you wanted? When would you use this ability?

 What would happen if there were no television? Why would this be good? bad?

 What would happen if everyone lived in space? What type of houses would they live in? What

type of clothing would they wear? What type of food would they eat? How would they travel?

 What if cows gave root beer instead of milk?

 What if all the streets were rivers? What would be different?

 What would happen if it really did rain cats and dogs?

 What would happen if animals could talk? What are some of the questions you would like to

ask animals?

 What would happen if you could become invisible whenever you wanted to? What are some of

the things you could do that you cannot do now?

 What would happen if everyone wore the same clothes?

 What would happen if you threw a piece of trash on the ground? What if everyone did?

 What if you could walk up walls and across ceilings?

 What would happen if children ruled the world?

 What if everyone lived under water? Where would people live? What games would children

play? What would school be like?

 What would you do if your friend had a broken leg? How would you cheer him up?

 What would you do if you got a present you didn't like?

 If you could have been someone in history, who would you have been?

 If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

 If you were five years older you would...

 If you could participate in an Olympic event, which one would you choose and why?

 If you could break the Guiness Book of Records it would be for?

 If you had to describe yourself as a color, which would you choose?



 What do you think someone your age can do to help reduce the amount of pollution in our

environment?

 What do you think the world needs now?

 What do you think about people polluting the environment?

 What do you think the world will be like when you are a grown up?

 What do you think about when you can't fall asleep?

 What do you think courage means?

 What things do you think are beautiful?



 What do you like to do in your free time?

 What kind of trophy would you like to win?

 What TV or movie star would you like to invite to your birthday party?

 What advice would you give to someone who stole something but now feels guilty?

 What is the most ludicrous outfit you can think of?



 How do you feel when it's your birthday? Why?

 How do you feel when you do something wrong?

 How do you feel when you do something that is very good?

 How do you feel on a warm sunny day?

 How do you feel during a thunderstorm?

 How do you feel on the first day of school?

 How would you change the world to make it better?

 How would you describe your house to someone who has never visited there before?



 I wish I could be like.... This person is special because....

 I wish to be a ________ when I grow up. Then I will....

 I wish I could forget the time I ..... because....

 I wish I could see...... because.....

 I wish I could learn..... because.....

 I wish I didn't have to eat...... I don't like this food because.....

 I wish everyone would learn to ..... Then everyone would.....

 I wish there was an electric......

 I wish I could touch......

 I wish animals could...... If they could, then.....



 Which is least important to you—money, power, fame—and why?

 Which is your favorite Star Wars character (or other movie/book/t.v. show, etc.)? Why?



 Why is it important to be honest?

 Why is exercise important to someone your age?

 Think of the best teacher you ever had. Why were they a good teacher?



 Would you like to be famous? Why or why not? What would you like to be famous for?

 Where would you prefer to be right now—mountains, desert, beach—and why?

 Should you have to do chores around the house? Why or why not?

 Should you be required to wear a bike helmet? Why or why not?

 Can television (or videogames) influence your behavior? How?

 Should junk food be banned from schools?

 Should students be required to learn a second language?