Using Writing Prompts — and Susanna Hill’s Valentiny Writing Contest

Do you ever get stuck while working on a writing project? I suspect the answer is yes, if you’re like anyone else who writes. How do you get your writing flowing again?

There are many things you can do.

Try taking a scene from your project and writing it a different way. How would it sound if it were in first person instead of third? What would happen if it were written from the perspective of a different character? Write the scene as if it were happening to you, right this minute. What would you be thinking? feeling? doing?

You can get up and go for a walk or take a shower — it’s amazing how your thought processes can clear while you’re in the shower. Check out this article on Mental Floss about the efficacy of showering for getting the brain relaxed and thinking creatively.

Jeff Goins has other suggestions, including reading, brainstorming, just letting loose and playing (he suggests creative, constructive play such as building something with Legos).

Another way to get your brain going again is to use writing prompts. There are books filled with them, or you can do an internet search and find a plethora of possibilities. Here are some from Writer’s Digest, for example.

OR you can find a writing prompt, a challenge, a community and a chance to win prizes all wrapped up in one. Author Susanna Leonard Hill is having another of her wonderful writing contests. While they’re chiefly intended for picture book writers, to hone their skills at writing concisely for kids, they’re a great exercise for any writer.

This one, the Valentiny contest, challenges entrants to write a story — a complete story with beginning, middle, and end — with Valentine’s day in mind, about someone who is grumpy. And the kicker is, you have 214 words in which to do this (Hence the “tiny” part of Valentiny).

You still have time to work on your entry and post it during the second week of February which is when the contest will run. Give it a try! Even if you’re not planning to enter the contest, do take a look at the entries and vote on your favorite when the time comes. You’ll be amazed at the variety that grows out of a simple writing prompt.

To get all the information about Susanna Leonard Hill’s First Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Contest, check it out here on her NEW website! Then get your pencils sharpened and get writing!

Have fun!