Do you know what writing prompts are? They are anything that can help a writer get an idea for a scene or a story. What are picture writing prompts? Literally, pictures.
Take a picture, like the one above. It can be something as simple as a picture of the highway. A blacktop road. A yellow line down the middle to divide the lanes. Trees line the edges of the road. There is a curve. Pretty basic picture. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Don’t let the plainness of the picture fool you. There is much to help a writer here. Consider these questions.
- Who is driving down this road?
- Who would walk down this road?
- Has anyone had a wreck here?
- What is just around the bend?
- What is on the other side of the trees?
- What is behind you?
- What would happen if a car broke down with coworkers in it? A fighting couple? Two teenagers who are late getting home?
- What would you do if you saw someone needing a ride? What if they were dressed odd?
Do you see how this works? You look at any picture. You ask questions. What are people saying? Put them in situations and think of how they would react. Above, I gave you the picture of a road. What if…they broke down? What if there was tension? Add drama. Add comedy. Add romance. Add something creepy. Pick a genre and run with i.
For Students
Let’s say you have to write a short story for a class assignment. Sometimes, the instructions for the assignment don’t specify genre or what the story has to be about. Then use a picture to prompt you in your writing. Ask yourself questions. Ask others what they see in the picture. Get creative. Have fun.
For Authors
Sometimes writers need help with a story idea or for just a single scene. A prompt can help them get over any writer’s block they could be experiencing. Prompts can even help authors get out of a rut if they find themselves writing the same scenerio from story to story.
Writing prompts can be a load of fun. Challenge yourself. Make a game of it with friends. Enjoy yourself.
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