Writing Prompts

“Most of us don’t know how much we’re living undigested lives.” —Jenepher Stowell, Commonweal retreat manager What’s still undigested in your life? What would it take to digest it?

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” — Randy Pausch Write a thank you letter to someone you never thanked before–or never thanked fully.

“Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology.” —John Tudor What would you do if you were to stop using the Internet for a year? How would your life change? Would you miss the Internet? Could you live without it?

“Lovers, farmers and artists have one thing in common, at least—a fear of ‘dry spells,’ dormant periods in which we do no blooming, internal droughts only the waters of imagination and psychic release can civilize.” —Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces Tell me about a time you went through a dry spell—and how it

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world . . . would do this, it would change the earth.” —William Faulkner Tell me about a time you stood up against injustice—or when you wish you had but couldn’t

“All sorrows can be coped with if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.” —Isak Dinesen Tell me about a time a story saved you or helped you bear your load.

“If I have an object and you have an object and we exchange them we both have an object. If I have an idea and you have an idea and we exchange them, we both have two.” —Chinese proverb Tell me about a time a new idea changed your life.

“A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong.” —Unknown Tell me about a time this was true in your life or in the life of someone close to you. When the challenges in your life—the journey—made

“I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. It begins in

“When a moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it.” —Boris Pasternak Tell me about a call, a moment, an opportunity that knocked on the door of your life.

“How can a writer express what is most vital in her experience while anxiously watching her tongue lest she slip the wrong word?” —Jan Clausen Tell me what is in your heart today. Every time the inner critic snipes at you tell him, “I will talk to you later,” and continue to write. Write the

“You can either practice being right or practice being kind.” —Anne Lamott Tell me about a time you chose being right. Tell me about another time when you chose kindness.

“What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” –Colette, French novelist and memoirist What did you realize about your life only when it was too late?

“In the past, memoir was the country of old people, looking back, a reminiscence. But now people are disclosing their lives in their twenties, writing their first memoir in their thirties, and their second in their forties. This revolution in personal narrative that has unrolled across the American landscape in the last two and a

“All great literature is one of two stories; a man [or woman] goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” ― Leo Tolstoy Free write for ten minutes about each of these scenarios. Then turn one―or both―into a more developed piece.