10 Writing Prompts To Move Beyond Writer's Block

Well, okay, except for when you’re sleeping, reading, eating, in session with clients, binge-watching Gray’s Anatomy…

But when you’re not doing any of that you are writing: emails, sales pages, articles, social media posts, video scripts…

And sometimes, well, the well runs dry and you’re thirsty for new ideas, fresh perspectives and different ways to talk about what’s important to you and your ideal clients.

So what do you do to give your creativity a nudge?

Use the writing prompts below to stop spinning your wheels and get momentum with your writing.

What are writing prompts?

Writing prompts serve as keys to unlock the brilliance beyond writer’s block. They are simple yet powerful tools that spark your creativity and inspire new perspectives and possibilities.

How do you use a writing prompt?

1. Pick a prompt from the list below.
2. Write in a stream-of-consciousness style for 5-15 minutes with one prompt.
3. Do not edit or revise as you write. As Nathalie Goldberg says (author of Writing Down The Bones), “Put your pen to the paper and go.” No stopping.
4. Your writing doesn’t need to remain directly connected to the original prompt. Free-form expression is what you’re going for here.

Top 10 List Of Writing Prompts

1. I could tell you a story about…

2. I’d like to hear a story about…

3. What you may not know about me is…

4. My favorite thing in the world is…

5. My favorite place in the world is…

6. What really inspires me is…

7. What really drives me crazy is…

8. What I don’t want you to know about me…

9. My one regret is…

10. I have a dream that…

So pick one of these prompts and use the guidelines above to unleash some of your brilliance! And here’s the real gift in this: as you dive into a prompt or two or three of them, you’re not thinking about what to say in your article (for example) or how to make it interesting to your ideal clients.

You are BRAIN-STORMING. You are HEART-STORMING. You are in creative writing mode.

You are NOT trying to be smart, clever, wise or funny. All attempts at “trying” to be anything stop you from being yourself and that drains all the genuine juice from your writing.

So what do you do next, once your creativity is flowing?

How do you take what you’ve written and turn it into, let’s say, an article?

Take the idea or story that came from the prompt and consider how it applies to your ideal clients. How might the lesson you learned in your “one regret” (for example) help them with what they are going through? How might sharing with them, “What you may not know about me…” inspire connection and increase the know, like & trust factor?

It is essential that you build the bridge between your original brainstorming and your ideal clients. Make it relevant to them. You might share a story of one of your favorite things or places in the world and yet you must make a connection to your readers so you answer the question they’re wondering, which is, “What’s in this for me?”

Use these writing prompts to fill your well with new ideas, inspiration and possibilities. Add prompts to your writer’s toolbox so the next time you sit down to write an article (or an email or a sales page…) you have more confidence, clarity and creativity. How does it get any better than that?

Write on!