The idea generation game: Part one

This particular article marks my 100th piece for Writing Magazine – and I have to say a massive thanks to everyone at the publication and all the readers for the incredible support in reaching this landmark. So in this special two-parter, I’m going to be serving up 100 short and sweet writing prompts, in no particular order, just lots of creative jumpstarts.

1 Made up words

Drop by writ.rs/fakewordgenerator and pick out a word – then see if you can define it, give it some meaning, and generate a story from it.

2 Word combos

Another great approach can be to take two real but disparate words and throw them together, and see what possibilities spin out of it! Give it a go a https://randomwordgenerator.com/

3 What’s in a nme (one)

Look up the meaning of your name, or the names of your family/friends at https://meaning-of-names.com/ Can you write a story about a character who captures the meaning of their moniker?

4 What’s in a name (two)

It’s often said that a great name can help a great story – Jay Gatsby, Atticus Finch, Patrick Bateman… Stop by the Random Name Generator at www.behindthename.com/random/ and create a moniker. Then think about who that person is and what their story might be.

5 The power of titles

Choose a book, short story, etc, that you love and write down its title. Can you write a story based upon that