Benefits of Writing Prompts

Writing Prompts and Freewriting

Writing prompts can be used alone or in conjunction with freewriting. They are useful not only for creative writing but also for other kinds of writing (e.g., academic writing, professional writing). As a teacher, I started each writing class with a freewriting exercise, providing my students with a specific prompt to get them started. The beauty of freewriting is that you let your pen lead you–instead of you leading your pen. The places your pen goes can be amazing! (They can also be just mediocre sometimes, but I’d rather focus on the amazing aspects of freewriting!)

The basic tenets of freewriting (as I’ve used it) are as follows:

• Set a timer for five minutes, and write for the entire five minutes. Five minutes is a pretty arbitrary amount of time, but it’s a good starting point. By all means, though, write longer if it’s going well!
• Keep your pen moving for the entire time. In most research I’ve read on the topic, this is important. Essentially, you want to write without thinking about it too much. If you’re not sure what to write, simply write, “I don’t know what to write.” If you lose focus or if you know what you want to write but aren’t sure how to word it, try writing, “What I really want to say is . . .” and go from there. You can even write the same thing over and over again until something else comes to you.
• Don’t censor yourself. This goes along with keeping your pen moving the whole time. In doing so, avoid crossing out words or reading/rereading what you’ve already written. Write without thinking. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or organization. Don’t even worry about writing in complete sentences. Your writing does not have to be cohesive–it’s fine to jump from thought to thought.
• If your writing strays from the original prompt, that’s fine, too! Just keep writing wherever your thoughts lead you.

For me, freewriting is an early step in the writing process. It’s the amaryllis before the buds even peek out. Sometimes beauty pops out of the freewriting; other times, nothing. Freewriting is not always usable. But freewriting (with the use of prompts) has a number of benefits.

The Benefits of Using Writing Prompts

As noted above, writing prompts aren’t just beneficial for creative writing. In fact, I recently created an “activity” (for lack of a better word) for my mom called the “Family History Freewriting Project.” My mom probably wouldn’t consider herself a writer, per se. Unlike me, her passion isn’t found in creating stories; she’d prefer to be creating quilts. With that in mind, I created an activity to encourage her to write down some of her life stories and memories. In this way, I’m hoping to have a written record (of sorts) of personal family history. The project guide includes freewriting instructions and approximately forty writing prompts, most of which can be used multiple times. Some were prompts I created myself; others were adapted from genealogy websites.

This leads to the first benefit of writing prompts:

Writing prompts can encourage “non-writers” to write.

I believe that most anyone can be a writer. To call oneself a “writer” can sound pretentious and create images of elites sitting around in salons in Vienna. But if you write, you’re a writer. It doesn’t mean you’re a good writer, but in many contexts, that doesn’t matter. What’s important is getting thoughts on paper, sharing them with others. Writing (and sharing that writing) is a way of learning. For this reason, I like to encourage everyone to write, whether they consider themselves a “writer” or not.

Writing prompts help you find (or create) your “voice.”

Most people have distinctive ways of speaking–certain phrases they use, certain intonation, even certain gestures or body movements. When people (students especially) start writing (e.g., in a freshman composition class), they don’t usually sound like themselves . . . yet. In a composition or rhetoric class, students may be trying to emulate academic essays they’ve read or books they’ve read. (I often encourage emulation, in fact, as it can help students explore different ways of writing and is another strategy for finding one’s own voice.) Because of the low stakes involved in freewriting with writing prompts (specifically in an academic setting), students can experiment with vocabulary and sentence structure–finding different ways to express their thoughts and ideas. It’s important to sound like yourself, whether you’re writing a blog post, an academic essay, an email, a social media post, or a story or personal essay. But sounding like yourself in writing, believe it or not, can actually require a lot of practice.

Freewriting (which often involves the use of writing prompts) increases writing fluency.

Many of the writing students I’ve taught and tutored have been nonnative speakers of English, and they have cited vocabulary and grammar as reasons they don’t like to write. Native English speakers, though, tend to have the same issues (albeit to different extents). Thus, freewriting with the use of writing prompts can help build fluency if done regularly. Students will notice that the amount they write in five minutes will change over the course of several weeks. They will find that it becomes easier for them to express ideas in writing. Because they don’t have to worry about grammar or spelling, it’s a good chance for students to experiment with new words or ways of writing. In the classroom, I’ve usually used a mix of creative prompts and more “personal” types of prompts (e.g., Write about the most unusual thing that has happened to you so far this semester). All types of prompts help with written fluency, and this is true for everybody, even for people who consider themselves “seasoned” writers. That’s due (in part, at least) to this next benefit:

Writing begets more writing.

I wrote in a previous post about keeping a writing habit. In my experience, I’ve found that the more I write, the more I want to write–and the less I procrastinate. This, of course, may not be true for everyone. If you don’t like writing, writing more might not help you. But if you are a writer (or want to be), giving yourself a daily writing prompt can help you write more consistently, making you less likely to make excuses for not doing it. A quick Google search will reveal a number of websites that offer writing prompts. There are also a lot of good writing books with exercises and various prompts, too.

Writing prompts promote creative thinking.

Creative thinking is not just for creative writing. Creative thinking is essential in all aspects of life. In this way, writing prompts can benefit academic and professional writers, too. There’s a lot more creativity in academic writing than one might think. Where do academics get their research ideas, for instance? How do they come up with new theories or decide what questions to ask? The answer: through creative and innovative thinking. Writing prompts can also help people consider other perspectives. Through freewriting, people might question ideas they never thought to question before. This is why it’s important not to censor yourself or think too much when freewriting. I’ve often surprised myself with the ideas I’ve put on paper during a freewriting exercise.

Writing prompts can help with writer’s block.

This is a big one. Perhaps it’s similar to “creative thinking,” but I don’t see it as being the same. The great thing about writing prompts is that they help you decide what to write about. Let’s look at an example prompt. Start a story that begins with this line: “Margaret stole a book from the person sitting next to her.” There are so many places that this story could go. Are they sitting in a coffee shop? On a bus? In a train station? Those are decisions that the writer has to make, but there’s already a sense of mystery, a notion of plot to help the writer along. For a creative writer who is “stuck,” having that first sentence can be immensely helpful.

A prompt may not lead anywhere–it may not turn into a publishable story, for example–but it’s an exercise in commitment to writing, whether it be creative writing, academic writing, or some other kind of writing. And unless you’re entering a writing contest in which you have to follow a specific prompt, prompts are just that–a mechanism to “prompt” you along, give you a little nudge. If you get an idea from the prompt that’s unrelated to the prompt, keep writing! The problem of writer’s block has been solved (until the next time, at least)!

Prompts as a Relaxation Technique?

Finally, if you regularly do a lot of academic or professional writing, your focus is very different than if you’re a creative writer. Many of you may already do several different kinds of writing and be well aware of these differences. But if you’re regularly doing writing that isn’t explicitly creative writing, I encourage you to try a creative writing prompt, to write in a different way, to use different kinds of vocabulary and exercise different parts of your brain.

Your Turn!

What other benefits do writing prompts offer? Do you have any favorite writing prompts? I’d love to hear from you! Post a comment below!