I used some visual and verbal writing prompts at a writing workshop last year, and the first full story to form from a visual prompt is due to be published this month in Cabinet of Heed.
It led me to contemplate the use of prompts for inspiration. Historically, stories have always formed in my mind naturally, so I resisted this method at first. It felt clinical and a little prescriptive. The fact that I have written a story that I rather like, which has also been accepted for publication, made me rethink and question.
Have you used writing prompts for your short stories, or a longer piece of writing, a novel or novella? What are you thoughts on prompts? Here are some visual prompts, which i find more freeing.
Some people find verbal prompts easier. You can use the first line of a story and change the wording or the topic, or you can use online prompts, like the ones below.
What inspires you as you begin to write? Do you use prompts and are they visual or verbal? Do you use life experiences, or people or scenes you pass in the street through your day?
F.C. MALBY 