So, you have a quick five minutes to spare and through the miracle of Google (or Bing – but who uses that anyway) you have found your way here. Woo!
Now let’s get to work spending those free five minutes with one of our short and sweet (or possibly not so sweet) situational writing prompts.
These prompts below will briefly set a scene for your to continue and take in any avenue that you feel works. They are designed to get the ball rolling and to get your creative juices flowing within five minutes. That isn’t a guarantee but I hope it to be true for you! These kinds of situational prompts are wonderful for etching you into a style, type, or genre of writing that you may not normally consider. But that’s the point!
You can learn a lot about yourself, your writing skills, and the craft of writing in general by doing this. So, time to dig out that notepad and get creative!
Prompt #1
You wake up in your bed and it feels like a normal morning so far. You can’t remember your dream, despite having faint recollections of fading images and concepts flooding your conscious mind from the depths of your subconscious. So you sit upright to start your morning but immediately…
Prompt #2
It is the depths of winter and you have decided to take some leave from work to go on a well-deserved holiday. But you decided to take a different kind of holiday this year. You are twenty-six, in the prime of life, and have had a decent job for the past few years. This means you have savings and so you decide to take the plunge. You buy a ticket for Mongolia and decide that the first place you want to visit is its gorgeous mountain ranges. Little did you know that once you got there…
Prompt #3
You just closed the back cover of a cosmic horror anthology, finishing with The Mountains of Madness by H.G. Lovecraft. The prose chilled you to the bone and so you decide to take to the internet to do some research about the pnakotic manuscripts that are mentioned throughout the book. You are aware they are fictional and made up for the Lovecraftian universe but upon looking more into it, you discover that you have been a victim of the Mandela effect. Many people thought they weren’t true, but somehow, it turns out they are very real. Immediately you…
Prompt #4
You are making food for your dinner, and have left the stove on in the kitchen. You came back to the computer to work on your latest piece of writing, and set a timer to remind you to check your boiling pasta. The timer goes off when it is meant to and you go back towards the kitchen to check on your pasta. You open the door to the kitchen, step in, and you are magically transported to…
Prompt #5
You are out and about getting your food shopping for the week. You are leaving one store to walk to the next store to get the rest of what you need. You are walking down the street when the sky turns dark, and clouds obscure the sun in a strange, almost alien way. You are standing observing this strange phenomenon when…
There you have it folks! Five quick situational writing prompts for you to roll around inside that head of yours. What one takes your fancy? You can always let me know over on Lore’s Twitter. Finished a prompt and want Lore to take a look? Tweet to us and we’d love to see what you come up with.
I hope you enjoy using this short list as much as I have thinking up these situations.
FAQs About Situational Writing Prompts
What is a situational writing prompt?
A situational writing prompt is a pre-written prompt you’ve to continue. They will give you a situation, describe the scene, and any characters, with the sole purpose of you continuing the story however you see fit. They are great for writers that want to try something new or try their hand at a new genre.
Why should I use situational writing prompts?
Situation prompts are a brilliant way for you to hone your craft as a writer. Unlike other kinds of writing prompts, situation prompts throw you into a pre-defined story and ask you to finish it. This means you’ll likely need to maintain a similar writing style and keep the narrative consistent with genre conventions. This can be quite challenging for writers that don’t often step outside their favourite genres when writing.
Do situation prompts work?
These types of prompts are either a bit hit or a big miss. As a writer they’ll force you outside your comfort zone with writing which – for some – is a great experience. Some writers even try their hand at new genres after trying out situation prompts. On the other hand, these kinds of prompts can highlight what you dislike about certain genres. They are a good tool to use in gauging what you want to write and what you are naturally good at writing.
More From Lore
We have plenty more where that came from to help you maintain your creative flow! Why not check out: