Write about something you’ve lost.

Today’s writing prompt is courtesy of Leo Tolstoy.  Finish the story: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Write about a promise.

Today’s prompt comes from the first line of Ford Madox Ford’s novel The Good Soldier:

This is the saddest story I have ever heard.

Use it to start your own poem or short story.

Use a random line of dialogue — either from a television show or overheard in conversation — as inspiration for a short story or poem.

This week’s prompt is PUNISHMENT.

Today, write about nervous habits, your own or someone else’s.

Today’s writing prompt is one I learned from an undergraduate creative writing class.  Use a classified ad in your local newspaper (or from craigslist) as the basis for a short story.  Try to imagine who wrote the ad, as well as what motivated them to write it.

Write about your room.  How has it changed over the years?  How do the changes in your room reflect the changes in yourself (if at all)?  If your room has not changed at all, why?

This week’s prompt is inspired by The Dew Breaker, a short story collection by Edwidge Danticat.

“The wound on the fat man’s face wasn’t what he had hoped; he hadn’t blinded him or removed some of his teeth, but at least he’d left a mark on him, a brand that he would carry for the rest of his life.   Every time he looked in the mirror, he would have to confront this mark and remember him.  Whenever people asked what had happened to his face, he would have to tell a lie, a lie that would remind him of the truth.”

Write about a scar, real or fictional, your own or someone else’s.