28 Creative Writing Activities
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Here are some exciting creative writing activities to try.
1) Write a modern version of a fairy tale or myth. Give it a new twist.
2) Write a haiku, a short unrhymed poem with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third line. You can learn more about haiku poetry and read examples here.
3) Challenge yourself to write a complete story in exactly 100 words. You can find tips on ultra-short stories here.
4) The sense of smell is closely tied to memory. Choose a smell to use as inspiration for a memoir or a poem. What memories does that smell bring back?
5) Use a painting or another piece of art to inspire a poem or a story.
6) Listen to a piece of music that you find moving. What images does it bring to mind? Write a poem that tries to capture the mood and feeling of the music. Or, if the song has lyrics, imagine the story behind those lyrics, and write that story.
7) Think of a time when you were afraid. Use that memory to inspire a poem or a story. Feel free to change details of the situation to make it more frightening or surprising than it actually was.
8) Imagine you found a secret door somewhere in your house. What might be behind that door? Use this as the starting point of a story or a poem.
9) Browse the website of an online bookstore like Amazon, searching for a book cover that really intrigues you (for this exercise, choose the cover of a book that you HAVEN'T read). Imagine what might be inside that book. Then try to write it!
10) Write a story or poem from a non-human perspective -- for example, from the point of view of a house, an animal, or a color.
11) Write a story or poem based on something you dreamed at night.
12) Write a story or poem that is completely dialogue.
13) Write about an argument you had -- but write about it from the other person's perspective. Try to imagine your way into that person's mind.
14) Write a story or poem in the form of letters, emails, text messages, or diary entries.
15) Find an old photograph of yourself. Remember or imagine the moment when it was taken, and use that as the starting point of a poem or memoir.
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Creative writing prompts
1) Write a story or poem that includes all three of these elements: an eavesdropper, a secret kiss, and a fire in the kitchen.
2) Write a story or poem that includes this line: "Don't move," he whispered.
3) Every night, your character has been dreaming about the same house, a house they can't remember ever having seen before...
4) Write a story or poem that includes all three of these elements: a sinister Uber driver, a fake engagement ring, and a legend.
5) Write a story or poem that includes this line: The first time was the hardest.
6) What is one of your greatest strengths? Write a story or poem about someone who ends up in trouble because they don't have this quality.
7) Write a story or poem that includes this line: She was a wonderful liar...
8) Write a story or poem that includes all three of these elements: a dating app, a foreign language, and a nosy neighbor.
9) Think of someone very different from yourself in ways you're curious about. Write a story or a poem from this person's perspective.
10) Your character discovers a hidden door in their basement. Opening it reveals something surprising...
11) Write a story or poem that includes this phrase: Unfortunately, the tombstone...
12) Write a story that takes place entirely in the dark.
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