Find your fiction writing soil.

Let’s make your writing practice more pleasurable, more sustainable, more playful, more practical, and more weird.

There is no right or wrong way to come to the page—so let’s get started.

Quick Writing Prompts

Click above for some quick writing prompts!

Trick Yourself Into Writing

I’m a big believer in tricking myself to get to the page. Some of my favorite tricks for myself and those I mentor include:

Roll for Initiative

Create a numbered list of ~30 writing prompts to be completed over the course of a month. These should range from the very easy (ie: journal for 10 minutes) to the more challenging or intimidating (ie: submit something; apply for a residency). Make sure the last prompt of your list is a treat—for example, if I roll a ‘30’ my list says, “Play videogames instead.” Then use a random number generator or a DnD die to decide which prompt you will complete. Here’s an example list I created that you can use and adapt to your liking.

Fiction writing Bingo

Fill a 5 x 5 grid with writing prompts of varying degrees of challenge. Your free spot can be something like “Play videogames instead” or “Tweet about writing” or “Nap” or whatever brings you pleasure. Decide on a small prize or incentive for yourself for completing a ‘BINGO’ of 5 prompts in a row, and a much bigger prize or incentive for completing a full ‘blackout’ bingo. You could complete these prompts over the course of a month or a year, and customize according to your personal difficult level. Here’s a template (including a blank page you can modify).

Enrichment

We learn from writing, from reading, and from reading about writing.

So I created a free, curated collection of contemporary stories and craft essays. It’s a living list—when I read something on Twitter or go hunting for a new resource, this is the place I will add it. (I have one for poetry too.)