#I tend to get way into my head and overthink on christmas season

[eelektroenthusiast]

"Someone's missing. It's feels verrrry different. But I'm not alone"

Made this in a day and a night so it's... rushed, this is basically an excuse for me to practice different styles (hopefully it makes sense?)

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!!

[moonshinemusings]

General König headcanons (Pt.1)

Warnings: mentions of canon typical violence, anxiety, overthinking

A/N: he's such a great character, even if 90% of his personality is fanon. Also this is a bit long sorry, he's occupying half of my thoughts

• His anxiety makes him a little awkward around people, since he tends to stumble over words and fidget with his hands. With new people/strangers it's kind of a feat for him to get the words out, but he's already way better than how he used to be. The military - surprisingly or not - helped his self-esteem

• That doesn't mean he's not capable of holding a conversation though. Once he starts rambling, it's straight up hard to get him to stop talking. Not to mention he's an amazing listener, the kind who asks questions or pipes up here and there

• Once he's comfortable enough around someone, he won't stop cracking jokes and being his cheeky self. He's actually funny I promise

• He's a sassy little shit, but only when high on adrenaline or worked up. When he doesn't have to think, just act works way better for him, even if he gets embarrassed about the things he said afterwards

• Pretty sure he has ADHD with all the restless energy and fidgeting. I also think his body reacts to caffeine the same way mine does: he just gets even more sluggish and tired

• However, don't give him sugary drinks like coke, because that makes him even more jumpy and overanxious. He can never seem to figure out what to do with the plus energy that runs in his veins

• He overthinks so much it's a problem. His brain is constantly asking itself if what he's about to do will be good enough, if what he said wasn't awkward, if something he did was inaccurate or not

• Thanks so that he zones out often, just staring into the open world. Most of the time he doesn't mean to stare at anyone, he's just thinking and lost in his own head

• Despite all of that, he's really skilled at what he does. None of his anxiety slips into the field, he always works efficiently and without failure. He either overthinks before missions or after them, but the adrenaline makes him almost a completely different person

• König adores animals (much more than people). He can often be seen with strays, feeding them between missions if he's able and petting them

• Absolutely hates public transport and he's really glad he basically never has to use it (people stare at him because of his height in public enough anyways, thank you so much)

• He loves oranges and other citrus fruits. There is no deep reason for this really

• He doesn't sleep all that much because his brain likes to keep him up at ungodly hours, but he deals with exhaustion fairly well (the years of routine)

• Sometimes when it does get to him, he has to get away and be alone, otherwise he would get a breakdown in public

• He cries more than he likes to admit, but it's a quick way to get the emotions out of his system (next to training ofc)

• His favourite season is winter. He grew up in Austria where it's generally chilly, so he's used to the cold. Not to mention how happy he gets when seeing snow (and celebrating Christmas)

• He loves getting cozy under warm blankets; the warmth and added weight makes him feel safe and comfortable. It usually only takes a few minutes for him to fall asleep this way, because his brain quiets down

• He constantly bumps into stuff and never fails to apologize or curse at them (yes, to/at inanimate objects)

• That also includes bumping his head into doorframes. No, it's not funny anymore

• Loves flowers. As a kid he used to be allergic to some of them, but he somehow grew out of it

• Loves colorful stuff, be it pillows, candy, clothes etc. He only has a few things like that with him at work, but his room at home is full of colors

• Loooves those sticky notes with silly shapes, especially when they are animals

• Really enjoys roadtrips. He loves nature and being out calms him, not to mention how good he sleeps on the backseats of cars

• He almost constantly has some kind of cold or stuffed nose, but it doesn't affect his work or mood in any way anymore

• He has very specific taste in music, food, literature etc, he just doesn't often share his opinion on things, only if someone directly asks. After years of bullying, he learned not to speak his mind. Fortunately as more time goes by, he gradually unlearns that and talks about himself more bravely

• Hates confrontation and tries to never get into any form of arguments

• When he yawns, his jaw makes a weird clicking noise

• Enjoys comic books and as a kid he used to collect a bunch of them

• He has a tattoo somewhere on his body where it's not visible in clothes. It's most likely either his favourite quote, or something that means much to him

• He's a fast learner. König is quick to pick up on stuff when it comes to fighting techniques, crafting stuff or noticing someone's mannerisms. He struggles a bit with languages, but he's trying his best

• I have no idea about the canon part, but in my head he's always going to be left handed

• He's an introvert, prefers to spend time alone or with people close to him. Likes going outdoors when it's something to do with nature (hikes, walks in the park etc.), but would rather not socialize

• Surprisingly good at handling spicy food, although he rarely eats them

[bthump]

This question isn't specifically about Berserk, but do you (or your mutuals, idk) have any favorite character dynamics in any other media (can be manga, books, movies, etc)? Like where their characterizations are so interesting (individually and together) and well-developed that you could write an entire dissertation about them and their interactions/thematic significance in one go?

Hmm depending on the angle you’re looking at it from I think you can get rly analytical with anything, but yeah imo there are definitely some canons that more easily invite and support an analytical look than other canons. Honestly despite being into meta I tend to gravitate towards cheesier, shallower media for fandom lol, so my recommendations are very limited, but here are a few gay ships I think you can spend some quality time thinking about analytically:

Will/Hannibal from Hannibal NBC is the first thing that instantly leaps to mind, and there’s a lot of fandom meta for it.

Utena/Anthy and Juri/Shiori and probably anything else from Utena

hoooonestly Fraser/Ray Vecchio from Due South because season 1 had this whole symbolic fall to earth arc thing going on that’s fun to dig into imo, and the characters are interestingly complex and fit together in a way that embodies the show’s themes. The writing kind of falls apart midway thru season 2 though, and it’s a very different show thematically in season 3.

At a stretch you’ve got Kirk/Spock, which fits lilke a glove into the basic themes of Star Trek TOS to the point that the first movie doesn’t make thematic sense if you don’t ship it and that’s p fun. The themes aren’t like, complex or anything but it’s still enjoyable to think about imo.

And along those same lines maybe Xena/Gabrielle from Xena - they do some neat things with the whole peace/war light/dark redemption/corruption etc stuff, and the combination of intention and slapdash writing is also fun to try to reconcile imo. like you can spend a lot of time just trying to map the development of their relationship in the somewhat conflicting subtext, and that’s a lot of fun (tho tbf by that standard you could probably throw any show with several seasons and a lot of homoeroticism in here, but hey, I like Xena so that’s the one I’m saying)

then there’s stuff I could recommend but like, not so much in a shippy fandom-y way? As much as I enjoy overthinking media I’m really not much of a film buff lol so again my suggestions are limited but when it comes to like, gay/homoerotic movies featuring relationships that embody themes and stuff:

Velvet Goldmine, Moonlight, The Favourite, The Lighthouse, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia (with a warning for racism ofc), mmmaybe Thelma and Louise, The Killer, Talented Mr Ripley, and Haunting of Bly Manor maybe despite being a miniseries and not a movie... yeah that’s what I got off the top of my head. But tbf those aren’t so much extremely well-rounded complex characters you could write a dissertation on as a relationship that relates to the themes of the film in an interesting way.

Aaaaand I got pretty much nothing when it comes to books, I don’t often read actual quality lit lol.

Anyway hope this was at least a somewhat helpful answer, and @ anyone reading this, please jump in and offer more suggestions! This is definitely the kind of question that should have more than one person answering.

[disastrousjest]

12.25.20

Joseph held the page of the calendar in his hand, staring at the date. The tiny letters on the page informed him of the holiday that was most well known around the world. He didn’t really need to be looking at a calendar to be reminded that the twenty-fifth meant it was Christmas Day. But there was a hastily written not there in the small space provided. The scribbled handwritten note read just a few simple words: ‘Caesar, Sixth Month.’ It was in his own hand, something he had scribbled down some time ago so that he wouldn’t forget what the day also meant. He could sometimes be a little scatterbrained and it wouldn’t have been too hard to allow the regular holiday to override any thoughts of something else that might be special. Not this time though. Joseph had made sure he wasn’t going to forget. Not just because it marked six months since he had gotten involved with Caesar, romantically but because this would be their first holiday together. The first time that they would be able to spend it together. That alone was enough to ignite some excitement within his chest. But of course, he had all kinds of things planned for Caesar. It was just his hope that everything went well or else he wasn’t sure what the other would say. The last thing he wanted to do was upset him on their special day. Really, he didn’t want to upset him at all. Though the two tended to bicker often and sometimes even got into bad fights over small things—their tempers being the culprit—it didn’t mean that he wanted something like that to happen on this day. This day had to be remembered as something incredible. And why? Because he had come to realize just how incredible Caesar was in the last six months.

He turned his back to the calendar, heading over to dig through his clothes in order to get himself ready for the day. There was a lot he needed to prepare before Caesar came around to see it and he didn’t want to waste time standing around. That was unusual for Joseph Joestar. He who was not so keen on hard work or working hard and yet it seemed for this he was prepared to put his whole heart into it. His mood was much too elated to be dampered with that thought. This was indicated by the wide, boyish smile that graced his features as he made to pull on a form-fitting shirt first. Though it didn’t remain as the only bit of clothing he planned to wear for the occasion, tossing on a knit red and white sweater for good measure. Running a hand through his messy brown locks and taking a quick glance at himself in a mirror was all he needed to confirm that he was ready for the day. So, maybe ensuring that everything he wanted to have done would be hard work for him. In the end if it went well, then it wouldn’t matter how much work he had to put into it. Besides it would just end up being a bonus for him if Caesar liked everything, he did for him. And while his outfit didn’t really take all that much effort, it was only just the first step into ensuring that the day went over smoothly. There were a couple things he would have to improvise, given the time of the year. That was something he hoped that the other wouldn’t mind too much. They did always say that it was the thought that mattered the most. And this had been something he had been thinking about for some time.

Stepping into the kitchen, Joseph paused when he reached the stove, his hands settling upon it. Teals glanced around the vacant room until he found what he was looking for. (This really isn’t my style but…) Taking a few quick steps over to the apron that had been neatly placed on the table from a few weeks prior, he unfolded it and retired the thing back around his waist. Truthfully, he felt a little ridiculous wearing it, like a real housewife or something of that nature. But he had to remind himself that he wasn’t doing this for himself. This was meant to be everything for Caesar. And recalling to all the times that Caesar had cooked for him, he felt like it was only fair that he takes on the challenge this time. He wanted to create something wonderful that the other would enjoy. Thankfully, Joseph would have the help of a cookbook to guide him into creating a meal he thought Caesar might enjoy. He was pretty lost when it came to meal preparation. That was one of the advantages to having grown up with wealth he supposed. Erina always had their meals ready for them or they would go dine at some fine restaurant or something of that nature. Cooking wasn’t something that Joseph had ever had to learn how to do and even so, he still wasn’t the type to want to do something like that. It required a lot of work and that would never be something that he liked doing. (I want to do this for Caesar.) He could only hope that the meal turned out the way it was supposed to. If he followed the recipe it shouldn’t be that hard, right?

Soon enough the room was filled with the warmth from the oven and the smells from the food he was preparing for them. According to the cookbook he was following, it was meant to come out tender and juicy, a slow cooked meal. And something he had wanted Caesar to try. It wasn’t really tradition for Christmas per say, but this was also their anniversary date, so he felt that maybe it would be appropriate to change things up a little bit. A slow cooked prime rib and all the fixings should be okay for something like this, right? He wasn’t sure what all kinds of foods Caesar had tried, but it was his hope that he would at least enjoy this one. There were a lot of different things he had wanted the Italian to try and he hadn’t wanted to make something Italian, that probably wouldn’t have seemed so thoughtful. Or would it have been? (Now you’re overthinking this!) He shook the doubts out of his head, moving away from the oven to allow everything to finish its slow cook while he went to make sure that everything else was set for the evening. There had to be decorations perfectly in place and he had the mind to have soft music playing for whenever the blond came in. His heart was starting to race with everything he had in mind. The thought of it all had him almost laughing to himself out his own nervousness. This wasn’t getting any easier for him and he needed to keep his head on straight if this was going to turn out right.

(Keep it calm, Joseph. You can do this!)

Running around to ensure the table was set and decorated with a wonderful centerpiece. A bouquet of various flowers, spotted with a poinsettia here and there, all of them carefully chosen to be the colors of the season. The table itself was set with a deep green linen cloth; a fine china set had been placed carefully at two seats across from each other. He had even gone to the trouble at making sure that there was a fine bottle of red wine waiting on the table next to a couple of empty glasses. This would be their first Christmas dinner together. And not just that, but it would also mark the six months he had been with him. Never in his life had Joseph felt more enamored by someone. Normally, he didn’t care so much about what other people thought and often did things his own way, even if they were a little reckless. Joseph had always been something of a wild card. When he put his heart into something though it really did show through and this was one of those moments. Everything he was trying to set up here. This atmosphere, the dinner… it reflected everything he felt about Caesar. The fact that he was hoping to impress him alone was enough to say something about how much he cared about what he felt and thought. Now that things were starting to come together and the time was getting closer to where he would actually see Caesar, he was getting all the more frazzled. Anxiety starting to swell in his chest.

The younger took a step back to take a look at everything he had completed. He moved a hand up to his hair, letting it linger. The other came to rest on his chest, just getting a feel for how hard his heart was beating. He felt a little dizzy. And for the life of him he couldn’t seem to stop smiling to himself. Through out his entire evening of running around, preparing dinner, getting everything set up—he found himself occasionally smiling to himself. Was this what real love felt like? Looking at all the effort he had put into this set up, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Never in his life would he had thought he would be the one running around like some helpless fool. Guess that was what he had become in the last few months and perhaps even before that. Only it had now come to develop since they had been able to really be together. He was absolutely head over heels for Caesar, no doubt about it. And while they still had their differences and would argue from time to time, it seemed that his love still only continued to grow for him with every passing day they spent together. This was what he wanted, and he was sure of that. To be able to have to run around for Caesar for the years to come. To have to worry about making up with him after they got in a fight over something small. To hear his frustration come out in Italian or on the flip side, whenever he would use his native language to say something sweet. He wanted to drive Caesar crazy with his antics and laugh whenever he would try to hide how much he enjoyed it. Now there was just one more thing he needed, and it would be perfect.

(This is what I want. Caesar.)

Before he could get that far though, it was time to prepare the table with their food. Get it all set up so that dinner was ready and waiting for him when he got there. Joseph was just finishing doing this whenever Caesar would make it there to find him. The sudden interruption, startling the brunette into a rush to hurry up and get everything else ready. He fumbled with the last few finishing touches, nearly spilling something on himself. It was probably a good thing he had put on that apron now after all, otherwise he would have likely made a serious mess of himself. With a hasty clean up and patting himself down, he managed to bring the food to the table in one piece. Though before he could even so much as take his seat he paused, realizing that he had forgotten something. He patted himself down for a moment as though he were looking for something and when it didn’t appear to be where he thought, he rushed out of the room without so much as a word to the other. (Shit! Shit! Shit! How could I forget THAT?) Of course, he came running back into the room a couple minutes later, huffing to catch his breath and in the process totally forgetting to remove the apron that still clung to his front.

“Cae…Caesar…!” He huffed before he caught his breath. He straightened himself up a moment later though, taking a deep breath. “M-Merry Christmas! And…ah Happy Anniversary.” Teals averted their target, now his nerves were taking over, his face starting to heat up, he could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears. “I… uh. I got something for you.”

Here was where his nerves were really starting to take over. Suddenly feeling the pressure of everything on his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he was starting to doubt everything he had just figured out before or not. (It’s now or never Joestar.) He took another deep breath and fumbled in his pocket for something, hesitating as he reached for it. Only just now remembering he was still wearing the damned apron. Well, that couldn’t be helped now. Not really how he wanted this presentation to go, but he guessed that it wouldn’t be something Joseph Joestar got his hands on if there wasn’t something that hadn’t turned out exactly right. After a moment of silence, he finally produced a small box to which he clutched in his left hand rather anxiously. He didn’t know why he was thinking this probably wouldn’t go over well. After everything he should be certain about this. Perhaps it was because he was actually going to go through with it now. He swallowed thickly, forcing his gaze back over towards the other. Anything he had known to say before this moment had been lost. Something he would just have to improvise off the top of his head. Doing his best to shake off his nerves, he reached for one of Caesar’s hands with his right hand, digits curling around the ends of his fingers.

“It’s been six months since this all started, and I know this will sound crazy...” He started slowly. “I love you, Caesar. And I know I’ve said before that I have for a while. I’ve come to realize I probably couldn’t love anyone else like I do you, so…” Gripping his hand he dropped to a knee, only now revealing what he had clutched in his left palm. Opening the box to display a glinting band, crested with a few iridescent gemstones. “I-I…I want to know if you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives. Caesar…will you marry me?”

Surprise short story starter @shabcn And a happy 6 months~

[sunasbabie]

btw thank you so much for doing my request!

my name is trinity and i’m an aries and ISFP. i’m pretty chill and quiet toward people i don’t know too well, but to my closest friends, i’m loud, sarcastic, kinda mean, but i would do anything for them. i guess overall, i’m the “coming-of-age-movie bad ass best friend who can both listen to your emotional problems and help you through them, but will also be there to help beat up the person who hurt you” trope. i’m really bad at comforting people in general (i literally threw a pack of tissues at my best friend when she was crying and laughed hysterically as she was sobbing about college because laughing is the only way i know how to cope with overly emotional situations). i try to be polite and i’m not overly rude to people, but sometimes sarcasm comes off as rude and my loudness comes off as angry so that’s the life. i’m also the biggest hopeless romantic because of all the movies and poetry i’ve read, but at first glance, i seem like a cynical bitch who couldn’t care less about who likes and dislikes her. LIKES: the smell of fire and the sound of crackling wood on a fireplace, rain, the silence of a museum, Christmas, the cold, hole-in-the-wall shops, being under warm blankets in a cold room, making niche spotify playlists, cooking and baking from scratch, watching the same 3 movies over and over again, the colors emerald/forest green, baby pink, burgundy red, and wolves and hippos. DISLIKES: the entire season of Spring (which is ironic because i was born in spring), lukewarm water, people who don’t have common sense, people who can’t take sarcasm, mosquito bites in hard to reach places so you can’t scratch them, when someone says “it wasn’t that funny” while i’m laughing, overly loud noises, when people touch me suddenly, the color orange, and squirrels. as for random facts, i guess 1) i’ve broken my nose twice from falling off my bed, 2) i’ve never been to disneyworld, 3) i’ve traveled to 10 countries outside of the US, 4) i can put both my legs behind my head, 5) i used to randomly do splits in the classroom whenever we had free time (mind you, this was in high school), and 6) i play the guitar, violin, and i’m teaching myself how to play piano. i guess i’ll just end this by talking a little bit about what i look like: i’m a 5 foot 3 inches (160 cm) filipino girl with black hair that goes down to my shoulder blades, glasses, and legs that are longer than my torso, meaning i’m disproportionate, yet i’m the second tallest in my family. anyway, thank you so much and i hope this isn’t too much information to take in!

i match you with akaashi keiji

both of you are chill and are able to communicate your feelings. when you’re out with new people you tend to keep to yourself but akaashi is always there to back you up. he doesn’t mind that you’re a bit mean he actually likes that about you a lot. and he likes how you would do anything for your friends cause he would do the same. since akaashi isn’t that emotional you wouldn’t really have a problem comforting him since he takes everything and just overthinks about it. he likes to read books with you since you’ve also read quite a few yourself. if you and akaashi would live together you two would get a place with a fire place since i feel like he enjoys the feeling of wood burning, it probably calms him down. when you get mosquito bites in places you can’t reach akaashi is there to scratch it for you no doubt hehe. he also likes to take you on museum dates to look at art but sometimes he gets distracted with you.

runner up: kita shinsuke

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Predictions for the Finale (Sort of)

Let’s talk predictions. I said yesterday that there’s a structural dynamic that gives me a lot of hope that we’ll see Beth in the finale. So let’s dive right in..

On Sunday, after the episode aired, I tried to get on the app to watch the trailer for next week. It wasn't there right away, but the sneak peek was. The one a lot of people are posting where Daryl asks Carol what she sees when she looks at him.

In terms of TD symbolism, what stuck out to me was Jerry talking about the coming storm. He called a “mother of a storm”. Even though this is a snowstorm rather than rainstorm, I couldn't help but think of the big storm in Them, which happened right before the music box woke up. I didn’t think too much more about it right away. But...

About half an hour later, the opening minutes for next week's episode appeared on the app. Basically, the opening minutes show the Kingdomers abandoning the Kingdom for the winter. 

It's falling apart around them and they can't stay there over the cold season, so one of the other communities will take them in for the winter. We see them all gathering their things and moving out and we hear a voice-over of Ezekiel talking about what's happened.

It’s stated in very general terms, but he's obviously talking about Henry's death. He talks about how they tried to make it work, but everything is broken now. Then we see them leave the kingdom, with Ezekiel looking sad and casting glances back at his home.

This is when it all sort of came together for me. They're basically doing a retelling of S5. Obviously, Henry's death—along with all the others—would represent a parallel to Beth's death (and Tyreese’s). Because this opening part focuses on Ezekiel and the Kingdom, I’ll frame this in terms of them, though of course it extends to all of TF. Henry's family is losing their home, Ezekiel looks sadly over his shoulder as he does so. It reminds me of the prison falling, Carl looking back, and Rick saying, "Don't look back." 

But then we have Henry's family on the road, wandering as it were, and essentially homeless. Kind of like TF was in Them, 5x10. 

And then there’s this huge storm.

And while it’s snow rather than rain, we also have all the Christmas/Santa Clause symbolism which might have showed that the storm preceding the music box waking up for real (in other words, preceding Beth’s arrival) would be in the winter. In other words, a snowstorm.

Remember in the barn in 5x10, we saw a Beth walker. In the background, there was a calendar flipped to the month of November. 

We’ve tried to interpret that November all sorts of ways over the years and we’ve always been wrong. Maybe we were overthinking it. Maybe it's just a matter of showing a storm (like the rain in 5x10) that will come in November. Therefore, it would be a snowstorm.

The point is, after the storm in 5x10, the music box woke up. So I'm wondering if after the snowstorm, Beth will arrive.

Also in the opening minutes of next week, we see Ezekiel talking into a radio that looks and sounds a LOT like the one from 5x09. You know, the last episode Beth appeared in?

All that said, I don't want anyone get your hopes up too high. I'm trying not to get mine up to high (yeah, I know, good luck with that, right? 😆)

I've said this before, but it really depends on how far we get timeline-wise in the episode. If they make it through the snowstorm and into the next morning (or whenever the storm ends) I think there's a good chance we’ll see her. On the other hand, they might do a cliffhanger-y ending in the middle of the snowstorm, in which case we really may not see her into until 10x01.

I think it's more likely that we'll see her in 9x16, or at least it makes a lot more sense from a narrative point of view. More on that in a minute.

I could really turn these Them parallels up to eleven, guys, but I won’t. I will say one more thing, though. In the barn, Rick told the story about his grandfather’s experience during the war. He talked about how in order to survive, his grandfather pretended to be dead.

I actually talked about this before the season began, because I wondered if the “war” Rick talked about with his grandfather perhaps foreshadowed All Out War. If the war in Rick’s story symbolized AOW, the maybe Beth would return after AOW ended. I still think I could be the case, honestly. Even though it hasn't happened yet, and even though they did the time jump, this is still the season right after AOW. If we see her this season, it will still be a matter of her showing up after the war.

In thinking over the stuff I mentioned above, two more things occurred to me. 

1) The war Rick mentioned may have foreshadowed the Whisperer war rather than AOW. I assumed AOW because that's the major war story line everyone talks about, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's what the writers were going for. It still COULD be, but I’m just throwing another possibility out. 

2) Rick talking about his grandfather pretending to be dead. That sounds like an analogy for the Whisperers. They walk around with the dead and pretend to be them. Especially with all the emphasis the season on people wearing masks and wolves in sheep's clothing and how deceptive they can be, it very well could be that this was a foreshadow of the Whisperers we simply never picked up before. And again, after the big storm, which TF worked together to survive, the music box woke up. Now we have TF heading into a snowstorm.

One other thing: I’ve been told that other members from the fandom (non-TDers) are also getting Them vibes from the footage from 9x16, so it’s not just us. I mean, look at these two pictures:

TTD:

1) Gimple made an extremely random Christmas reference. It makes me happy because it shows the Christmas theme is the thing that were heading into the snow season, and campus spoilers do tend to pan out further than others.

Chris Harwick was giving Gimple a hard time about never giving any spoilers and called him “No Spoiler Gimple.” Gimple laughed and repeated it but called himself, “No Spoiler Building and Loan.” I immediately recognized that reference because it comes from the classic Christmas film, It's a Wonderful Life. It’s one of my and my dad’s favorite films. I grew up watching this show at least once each Christmas season, so I’m very familiar with it.

The Building and Loan is the name of George Bailey's bank. This was significant to me because this is a story where George Bailey is given a chance to see what the world would be like without him. It's a fairly common story line, but this is a very classic instance of it. Basically, George dies in that he never lived, but he comes back to life at the end and reunites with his family.

And remember that random hints like this that have come from Gimple have panned out in a big way in the past. Need a refresher?

I’m sure most of you remember back when S6 ended and everybody spent the hiatus trying to guess who Negan’s victim was. I actually guessed wrong. I didn't think it would be Glenn and Abraham, because that seemed too obvious to me. The thing is, Gimple actually told us in a really, subtle sneaky way who it would be.

On the TTD after 6x16, Gimple talked about how he knew everybody would be examining the footage from 6x16 trying to figure out who it was. He knew they’d be looking at the angle of the trees and the lighting and everything trying to decide who it Negan killed. He encouraged fans to do that, saying that he wanted people to "Zapruder" that thing. For those who don’t know, Zapruder is a reference to the footage of Abraham Zapruder. He was a man who was taking a home video on the day JFK was shot. He caught the assassination on film because his camera happened to be pointed at the president when the shot was fired.

The reason Gimple said this is that people looked at Zapruder’s footage over and over and over again. They played it backward and forward and looked at every possible angle, trying to decide where the shot came from. It's the classic conspiracy theory about whether the shot came from the grassy knoll or not.

So, Gimple threw this reference out, and then it was Abraham who died. There's no way that's a coincidence. He purposely drops these little hints. And this was a very specific hint. Because of course Glenn died too, but it wasn't him we heard die at the end of 6x16. He didn't die until later, after Daryl punched Negan. So this was a hint at who we actually heard get killed at the end of the episode. Of course, we couldn't know that was the case until 7x01 when we saw who died.

So now, consider this Christmas movie reference from him. Why would he say “Building and Loan?” It has nothing to do with anything. It makes no sense in the context of what Chris was saying. There was absolutely no reason for him to call himself that on TTD. I think this is something Gimple said very purposefully and I think it's a big hint that there's going to be some sort of resurrection around his Christmas theme.

2. Gimple also hinted at interesting things to come on FTWD. While explaining that there’s a lot going on in the TWD universe, and that they have several projects in development, he said that in the first half of this coming season of Fear, a story will play out which the fandom is familiar with and which will affect the TWD story/universe moving forward.

Now, we saw a huge amount of this same Beth-related symbolism in Fear this past season. Many of us have theorized that she might show up first in Fear. So, my group got super excited thinking that this really might be her. 

I instantly formed the theory that maybe she would show up as a cliffhanger ending at the end of 9x16, then we would see her back story play out in FTWD over the summer. It really seemed plausible to me.

Then somebody realized that we already know (because AMC announced it) that Dwight is moving to Fear. Since we know he's going there, and the fandom is already familiar with him, more than likely he's the one Gimple means.

So, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up and have them be disappointed. However, just because he was talking about Dwight doesn't preclude the possibility of Beth being there.

In fact, many of us also theorized that Dwight may have something to do with Beth's return. Two major reasons for that.

1. Because there's a big emphasis on Daryl letting Dwight live so he could go find "her." Obviously, in Dwight’s case that means Sherry. But remember how heavily they paralleled him with Daryl, to the point of even using Daryl’s crossbow, riding his bike, and wearing his clothing. The fact that it’s Daryl who told him to go “find her” and make it right, makes it seem like, at least symbolically, this extends to Daryl in some way. 

This emphasis really can't be ignored. So we were thinking that maybe in finding Sherry, Dwight might also run into Beth. That, coupled with the fact that we've theorized that she might show up in Fear, and that we know Dwight is moving to Fear, makes this even more plausible.

2. The other reason I would like to see Dwight find Beth and either direct her or bring her to Daryl is thematic. Daryl really wanted to kill Dwight and fully planned on it. And honestly, after everything Dwight did — think Denise — Daryl had every justification for doing so. The fact that he let him live showed mercy (which was the title of the episode; not only did Rick showing mercy to Negan like Carl wanted, but also Daryl showed mercy to Dwight, which is what Beth would've wanted), but also showed an inherent faith in people, which has to be a remnant of what Beth taught him.

He had to have faith that Dwight really had changed, wouldn’t go back to his bloodthirsty ways, really felt sorry about Denise, and that he would go find his wife and make things right. So, I would absolutely love it if because Daryl showed mercy to Dwight, that's what brought Beth back to him. It would show that if he had been bloodthirsty, more like Negan and old Dwight, he never would've seen Beth again. I think that's a powerful theme and powerful message. I would really love it if they did it that way.

Of course, all this remains to be seen. All conjecture right now.

One thing we haven't talked about in terms of Emily cancelling her tour dates is whether she was, perhaps, not filming for regular TWD, but maybe for Fear. And then there was that random filming that went on at Grady Memorial Hospital some months before filming for TWD S9 began. This spoiler site didn't pick it up because it was outside their normal filming season, but several people posted about it on social media and believed it was TWD filming there. So, it’s possible she was filming, not for the main series, but for Fear instead. Just wanted to throw that possibility out there.

Ozzy and the Highwaymen:

One last thing and then I'll wrap it up for today. When we first met the highwaymen, I said I was 50/50 on whether they were good or evil. At this point, I'm officially convinced they are/were good. Two reasons.

1. Well, they're dead. If they had some sinister agenda, it would only make sense to tell us about before Ozzy died. It wouldn’t make sense structurally for the writers to suddenly go, "oh, by the way, they were super evil." I mean, not to sound harsh, but at this point, who cares? They're dead. Or, at least, two of them are, and they’re the only two the audience has any kind of connection with.

2. Siddiq’s story about them actually says a lot about their character. The highwaymen found the people in the barn and ran in to save them. If they were evil men with a negative agenda, it simply wouldn't be in their nature to risk their lives to save people they'd only just met. They would've been more likely to go find help and bring it back to the barn. Instead, they charged in like heroes to help and died for it.

So, I said we were a little mystified by why the highwaymen were introduced and then killed so quickly. There must be a reason for it. Especially given all the Beth symbolism around them. Well, my group has collectively come up with a theory.

Remember in the note Ozzy sent to Ezekiel, they asked for 40 novels, but no romance novels. That's Beth symbolism to begin with, but we also never saw Ozzy or any of his men actually reading a book. They don't really seem the type to sit around reading novels, whether romance novels or not.

So we’re thinking maybe they were getting novels for someone else. Maybe there are other people who were once part of their group out there and if someone will come looking for them. After all, who would specifically not like romance novels? Perhaps someone for whom things simply didn't work out in the romance department? Say, a blonde who lost two boyfriends and then got separated from her entire family, including a certain redneck with a heart of gold?

It's just a theory we’re throwing out there (and the creds for it goes to other theorists in my group, not me) but I can totally get behind it. After all, there must be some reason for the Highwaymen and all the weirdo symbolism around them. 

So yeah, I think that's it for today. Oh, except I said I’d talk about why it would make more sense to see her in 9x16 than 10x01. We’ve said many times that it would be a genius marketing tactic to have her show up in the finale. That way, the entire hiatus would be full of fans talking about it and getting hype going.

On the off chance that we’re right about her showing up on Fear in some way, it would also boost Fear’s ratings, which are nowhere near as good as the main show’s. So it just makes more sense that we’d see her this week rather than next season. But of course, the writers don’t always do what we want them to do 

so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Crossing my fingers that will see her this next week. What are your predictions?

[bringbackmaes14]

I found this “About Me” template here on Tumblr. I’ve reblogged it on my account if you wanna see the blank one.

1: Name - Gracie

2: Age - 19

3: 3 fears - The dark, heights, and spiders

4: 3 things I love - Ducks, math, and singing

5: 4 turn-ons - Being dependable, a good listener, funny, and artistic

6: 4 turn-offs - People who are messy, narcissistic, only care about looks/like me for my looks, and ignorant

7: My best friend - My sister, Caroline

8: Sexual Orientation - Panromantic Demisexual

9: My best first date - I saw Black Panther and got ice cream with my boyfriend

10: How tall I am - 5’8”

11: What do I miss? - South Carolina

12: What time was I born? - 7:57 a.m.

13: Favorite color? - Purple

14: Do I have a crush? - Do crushes on fictional characters count? If so, my current crush is Fatgum from My Hero Academia

15: Favorite quote? - “Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, and don’t be afraid to be the dumbest one in the room because that gives you the most potential to learn.” - Markiplier

16: Favorite place? - Lexington High School

17: Favorite food? - Ambrosia

18: Do I use sarcasm? - Frequently

19: What am I listening to right now? - My cat purring

20: First thing I notice in a new person - Probably their hairstyle

21: Shoe size? - Women’s 13

22: Eye color? - Hazel

23: Hair color?  Dark Brown

24: Favorite style of clothing? - Graphic Tees or Dresses; there is almost no in-between

25: Ever done a prank call? - Nope.

26: Meaning of my url - My URL (BringBackMaes14) is based on one of my favorite animes, Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood is better you can fight me) and one of its characters, Maes Hughes. His death was the first anime character death I experienced, and he died in 1914 which is where the 14 comes from.

27: Favorite movie? - Robots (2005)

28: Favorite song? - There’s a Platypus Controlling Me from Phineas and Ferb

29: Favorite band? Panic! At the Disco

30: How I feel right now - A little bit tired, and my back hurts, but my mood is good

31: Someone I love - My sister, Caroline

32: My current relationship status - Single

33: My relationship with my parents - My relationship with my dad has always been bad. He was pretty abusive. My relationship with him is okay right now, now that I don’t see him but once a year. I’ve always been really close with my mom, and a big part of that is I’ve been disabled my whole life and so I’ve always needed her by my side, so we’re just together all the time. Things are a little rough right now though.

34: Favorite holiday? - Thanksgiving. It has all the same big meals and family gatherings as Christmas, but I don’t have seasonal depression then or gifts staring at me from under a tree for three weeks, driving me mad with anticipation.

35: Tattoos and piercings I have - My ears are pierced

36: Tattoos and piercings I want - I want a rubber duck tattoo, probably just a small one on my shoulder

37: The reason I joined Tumblr - To look at anime memes

38: Do my last ex and I hate each other? - No, things ended on good terms. We’re still friends and we talk occasionally

39: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night” texts? - No

40: Have I ever kissed the last person I texted? - No

41: When did I last hold hands? - It’s been a few weeks

42: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? - On a regular morning? Maybe 10 minutes. On mornings that I shower? About 45 minutes

43: Have you shaved your legs in the past three days? - I haven’t shaved my legs in 19 years

44: Where am I right now? - In my living room

45: If I were drunk and couldn’t stand, who would be taking care of me? - Probably one of my sisters

46: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level? - I only turn songs way up when they have great bass

47: Do I live with my mom and/or dad? - I live with my mom, my two sisters, and my brother-in-law. It’s my older sister and brother-in-law’s house. I have a brother who still lives back in South Carolina where I’m from

48: Am I excited for anything? - I’ve got a virtual Halloween party I’m going to this week

49: Do I have someone of the opposite sex that I can tell everything to? - No

50: How often do I wear a fake smile? - Not very often. I wear my emotions pretty openly

51: When was the last time I hugged someone? - Last night I hugged my younger sister

52: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone right in front of me? That’s none of my business really. We never actually dated and I don’t talk to her a lot anymore.

53: Is there someone I trust even though I shouldn’t? - Not that I can think of

54: What is something I disliked about today? - It rained while I was in the middle of going on a walk.

55: If I could meet anyone on Earth, who would it be? I’d like to meet J. Michael Tatum. He’s a voice actor in a lot of animes that I’ve watched and I really like his voice.

56: What do I think about the most? - Probably myself

57: What’s my strangest talent? - I wouldn’t call it talent but I can make a really disturbing horse-like noise.

58: Do I have any strange phobias? - I’m afraid of swingsets and trampolines

59: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? It doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t take a lot of pictures of myself, but it doesn’t have to do with not liking having my picture taken

60: What was the last lie I told? - “I’m not in a lot of pain.”

61: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? - I actually prefer video chatting. It seems more personal.

62: Do I believe in ghosts? - Yes. I’ve seen my twin sister’s ghost several times in my life.

63: Do I believe in aliens? - Yes

64: Do I believe in magic? - No

65: Do I believe in luck? - Yes

66: What’s the weather like right now? It’s 60 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy

67: What was the last book I read? Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch Best by Serena Valentino

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline? - No

69: Do I have any nicknames? - Boo, Gracie Pie, Dot

70: What was the worst injury I ever had? - I broke my spine when I was 16

71: Do I spend money or save it? - I tend to spend it but I’m trying to save it right now

72: Can I touch my nose with my tongue? - Yes. I can also touch the bottom of my chin with my tongue

73: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of me? - Yes, there’s a pillowcase and a blanket

74: Favorite animal? - Panda Bear

75: What was I doing last night at 12 a.m.? - Sleeping

76: What do I think Satan’s last name is? - I don’t know, Smith? We’re probably all overthinking it and it’s something much more simple than Morningstar

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it? - Flashy by GameBoyJones

78: How can you win my heart? - By not judging me based on my past and my disabilities

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone? - Quacked to Death

80: What is my favorite word? - Feshnickit - the act of consuming alcohol until a point is reached where an individual is unable to function normally

81: My top 5 blogs on Tumblr - lady-raziel, just-shower-thoughts, plus-ultra-writings, drawing-prompt-s, and writing-prompt-s

82: If the whole world was listening right now, what would I say? - What that tongue do? (Idk I think it’d be really funny if the whole world just randomly heard that in their heads). If we’re talking like I’m on tv and broadcasting to the whole world and I’m not just telepathic/mind reading, then I’d probably say something about rights for women, colored people, and LGBTQ+ people

83: Do I have any relatives in jail? - Nope

84: Superpower of choice? - The power to affect probability. What’s the probability that I’ll ace this test? 100% What’s the probability that it will rain on my wedding day? 0% What’s the probability that my dad will shit his pants every time he hears the word “dragon”? 80%

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on? - Have you been handcuffed before and if yes, then why?

86: What is my current desktop picture? -

87: Had sex? - No

88: Bought condoms? - No

89: Been pregnant? - No

90: Failed a class? - Yes. I failed IT twice and Java Programming once.

91: Kissed a boy? - No

92: Kissed a girl? - Yes

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain? - No

94: Had a job? - It wasn’t an actual paid job, but I worked as a student aid in my school’s library in my senior year of high school.

95: Left the house without my wallet? - Yes

96: Bullied someone on the internet? - I’ve bullied people in real life, but not on the internet.

97: Had sex in public? - No

98: Played on a sports team? - I played basketball with a church league for 6 years

99: Smoked weed? - No

100: Done drugs? - I take prescription drugs for my disabilities, but I’ve never “done” drugs, no.

101: Smoked cigarettes? - No

102: Drank alcohol? - No

103: Am I a vegan/vegetarian? -  No

104: Been overweight? - I currently am

105: Been underweight? - No

106: Been to a wedding? - I’ve been to 4 weddings

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight? - Yes

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight? - Yes

109: Been outside my home country? - No

110: Gotten my heart broken? - Yes, but not in a “I got dumped or turned down” kind of way. Someone close to me told me something really devastating.

111: Been to a professional sports game? - I once went to a Clemson Tigers vs University of South Carolina Gamecocks game, which was a pretty big game for South Carolina

112: Broken a bone? - I broke my L5 vertebrae

113: Cut myself? - Never on purpose, but yes. I sliced open my thumb knuckle once and had to get 3 stitches.

114: Been to prom? - I threw my own prom at home my junior year of high school because my school’s actual prom was 3 days after my spinal surgery so I wouldn’t have been able to go. I went to my school’s prom the year after and the theme was Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz

115: Been on an airplane? - No

116: Flown by helicopter? - No

117: What concerts have I been to? - I once went to a concert at my church for a Christian barbershop quartet called Soul’d Out

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex? - Yes

119: Learned another language? - I took Spanish classes for 3 years and French for 6 years

120: Worn makeup? - I’ve worn makeup before for stage performances but I don’t like to wear it regularly. Every once in awhile I’ll wear some mascara.

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18? - No

122: Had oral sex? - No

123: Dyed my hair? - I’ve dyed my hair purple, and blue. I liked it better purple.

124: Voted in a presidential election? Voting day for the 2020 election is in 8 days, and it’s the 1st presidential election I’ll be old enough to vote in, but I don’t think I’m going to vote.

125: Rode in an ambulance? - Several times. I had a lot of seizures when I was a little kid. My longest one lasted at least 2 hours.

126: Had surgery? - I’ve had 2 major surgeries: I had my gallbladder removed and I had a spinal surgery to fix my broken vertebrae where they screwed 3 of my vertebrae together and used part of my hip to make a bone graft to cover it.

127: Met someone famous? - Unless the guys from Soul’d Out count, I don’t think so.

128: Stalked someone on a social network? - Definitely not (and if I had, I probably wouldn’t tell you guys)

129: Peed outside? - Do Porta Potties count?

130: Been fishing? - Yes. I went once when I was maybe 8 years old, and I was the only one of my siblings to catch a fish. I caught it by the eye socket though and its eye fell out. I’m still not sure exactly how that happened.

131: Helped with charity? - Yes. I don’t remember what the charity was called, but I worked in a warehouse once to collect shoes for homeless shelters

132: Been rejected by a crush? - Yes, but it was when I was 11 so I don’t know if that really counts

133: Broken a mirror? - No, but I’ve punched a hole in a wall before

134: What do I want for my birthday/Christmas? - The number one thing on my list is some Artemis Drawing Figurines. They have adjustable and interchangeable hands, and they come in both male and female shapes.

[eenefangirlanalysis]

Edd has configured a web, literally, of all the key communitives they have had with Eddy’s brother in the past.

Wow, This is really organized. 

I believe it was @jenny2x4 who analyzed that Edd tends to overthinks things. The best example is in O Ed Eleven where he spent a whole hour trying to figure out a map which was simple. He dove into using book research to figure it out. Edd may be a smart kid, but he has his faults. He wants to be perfect. That’s how the world views him. It puts stress on his part because Edd is also hiding under a mask. He doesn’t want anybody to find out his past so he covers it up even further with his use of vocabulary, doing extensive after school clubs, along with research.

Here, Edd does a wonderful job cracking open a person who is so ambiguous. Normally he doesn’t work well when under pressure but he was able to figure out Eddy’s brothers location as if it were no problem. Much to Eddy’s dismay. You’ll see what I mean later on.

Remember how Edd keeps profiles of everyone in the cul-de-sac in a file drawer? Putting aside that Edd is a stalker, he observes the cul-de-sac pretty well. Does he have a whole foler on Eddy’s brother or is this the first time he is putting everything for Bro?

BroEdd is shipped by quite a few fans. I don’t ship this because I don’t see them as a pair, but it’s interesting how fans would ship the nicest character with a sociopath. Edd is quite intrigued by Bro due to all the stories Eddy has juiced up to make him[self] look cool.

From’s Bro’s stink bomb recipes [Season 1, Fool on the Ed], Armenian hot sauce [Season 2, Honor Thy Ed], and Edd’s favorite, ‘malicious, misleading treasure maps’.

Really? Those are his favorite? All those misleading maps have lead them to a cruel trick. Bro made the Ed’s go around in a complete circle on Halloween making them believe there was such a place called ‘Spooky Ville’. Eddy was quite upset when he found out the map was none other then a trick. He actually believed that his brother was changing his ways.

Let’s talk about Bro’s map from O Ed Eleven for a moment. If one watches the episode very closely Edd actually makes the wrong guess in location. The supposed treasure was no where near the Kanker trailer or the trailer park. I head canon that this was Bro’s own map for himself because he was hiding a stash. Bro was a very secretive person and he may have been in trouble with the law a few times. 

Eddy and Bro have similar facial shape and physical feature. Maybe the Ed’s were never supposed to find that map. It was Bro’s private business which he stored inside a probable fake trophy. 

The map in Boo Haw Haw was a deliberate trick recently sent to Eddy. Oh yes, I forgot about this head canon. As I was saying, I believe the crate was the last thing Eddy received in the mail that was not a postcard. I change my theory. The map was the last item ever sent to Eddy through the mail. The map makes Eddy further struggle on who Bro is as a person. 

Halloween has always been Eddy’s favorite holiday. Bro knows Eddy like the back of his hand so he knows how to press his buttons.

And Christmas is Eddy’s least favorite holiday. Eddy states that he doesn’t like the season because the only presents he ever receives is clothes. What if it’s due to a whole different reason? There is a lot of tension in his household during that time of year? Although he was disowned Eddy’s mother never felt it was the right choice. She is riddled with guilt. December is also that time where the year is coming to a close. Once again another year is ending where Eddy has not seen Bro. Another year will come where he is pretending to be someone else.

The silent treatment tends to be the worst punishment of revenge. You have no idea what the person is up to or if they want to make amends. This torment hurts more during the Christmas season then any other time. People want to feel happy and at peace which is something Eddy never felt.

That little light gave him hope for the future.

See how much there is to think about when it comes to Bro? He created a huge impact from the five minutes of screen time he had. And yet you feel as if you have always known him because he has this distinct presence. He’s been looming in the shadows having a different affect on each person.

All these keys lead Edd to believe that Eddy’s Brother is quite the jokester.

Eddy can agree with that. He claims that Bro is the king of pranks.

Is that my utter your touching? 

Remember this meme? You can look for it on Tumblr.

We can all agree in estimating this to be the greatest EddEddy moment of all time.

And highly important.

It becomes the power of their friendship.

No matter what Edd thinks he is still a kid inside. He forced himself to grow up for his parents sake. In season 1-2 he acted like a kid who loved playing tricks, running through a junkyard, and even acting as if he were a dog. Edd gave away his childhood for two people who never cared. And once Edd wanted to return to being a kid it was kind of too late.

The Ed’s are teenagers now. A step closer to becoming young adults who will be attending high school in two years, being able to drive a car, and pretty soon writing applications to go to college.

Edd never had a chance to be a kid. Ed and Eddy pulled him out from his room teaching him there was more to life then having his head in a book. Edd’s parents hid him away from the world out of fear and disgust from what he did in his childhood. That affected Edd greatly because he was never given a chance to heal or get help.

Edd’s inner kid is fighting to come out. That’s why Eddy plays with him so much. He wants him to be a kid again. He misses running and joking around with the kid from season 1. And Eddy does give up on Edd believing that he’s changed for good. 

Another reason why their friendship diminishes. 

Is Ed infatuated or something? He smiles at Eddy’s prank on Edd.

And Eddy sports a perfect Bro chin. Whenever Eddy makes that face he’s only trying to copy Bro. That’s not his face because it doesn’t look right. Eddy never felt right under the Bro mask.

[williamlwolf89]

Stuck? Try These 72 Creative Writing Prompts (+ 6 Bonus Tips)

I bet you just asked Google to search for creative writing prompts.

Or was it writing ideas? Short story ideas? Or maybe writer’s block?

Boy, are you stuck!

But don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if you’re halfway through writing a book, sweating over social media posts, or journaling about your own life, all writers get stuck for creative ideas sometimes.

So, it’s great to have you here.

This is your go-to source of story starters, writing prompts, and bonus writing tips guaranteed to improve your writing skills, power up your passion, and get your creative juices flowing in 2020.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Writing Prompts Q&A

72 Writing Prompts (Broken into Categories)

6 Bonus Tips (to Sharpen Your Writing Skills)

We’ll start with a few common questions and answers…

What are Writing Prompts?

A writing prompt can be a phrase, an image, or even a physical object that kick starts your imagination and motivates you to write. It provides a spark of an idea as a starting point to stimulate a natural flow of writing.

Writing prompts are ideal for any form of writing, like fiction or nonfiction, journaling, copywriting, blogging, or poetry. They usually contain two parts: an idea or a potential topic to write about, and the instructions on what you should do next.

For example, a creative writing prompt for fiction writers might be:

Your main character has a car accident and starts to hear voices while in the hospital. Write a short story about the conflict between the character and the voices and what really happened at the time of the car accident.

While journal prompts tend to focus on topics of self-awareness, such as:

Write about a turning point in your life. How different would things be now if you had made a different decision at the time?

What is the Purpose of Writing Prompts?

Writing prompts are like a pre-match warm-up. They help to relax your creative muscles, unblock your imagination, and free up your mind to focus on the main game of writing without fear or hesitation.

Instead of wasting time by thinking of a topic to write about, writing prompts get your creative juices flowing straight away, compelling you to put pen to paper.

Writing prompts also help you see things in a new light. They force you to think outside your comfort zone and use your imagination and creativity like never before.

Without them, we can become permanently sidelined by our inner critic. Or worse still, the gripping cramp of writer’s block.

How Do You Use Writing Prompts?

Like all muscle-building exercises, writing prompts are most effective when you make them a daily habit. Over time, with repetition, you’ll find your flow of writing becomes more natural, and your ability to write for longer strengthens.

But don’t feel you have to follow a prompt to the letter. If the prompt suggests you write about romance, but it sparks an idea for a poem, write a poem. Let your imagination guide you through the writing process.

Here are some other hot tips:

Don’t overthink it. Just start writing.

Don’t edit as you go.

If it’s not working for your style of writing, move on to another prompt. Find the prompts that make you want to write.

The creative writing prompt is a starting point. The finish is up to you. You don’t have to write a complete story, a poem, or an essay. Feel free to discard your work halfway through and move on to something else.

Adopt the Ernest Hemingway approach: Accept that most of what you write is likely to be crap, and you’re going to toss it. This isn’t about producing ready-to-publish work for your latest freelance writing job. It’s about the practice of writing.

How Else Can I Improve My Creative Writing Skills?

Improving your skills takes lots of writing practice. And using creative writing prompts is one of the best ways to do just that. But it’s not the only way. Here are a few other techniques you might want to explore:

Freewriting

This is when you write about anything that pops into your head. Take a blank page, set a timer for 30 minutes, and start writing. Write whatever your brain tells you to, and don’t worry if it’s nonsensical.

This writing exercise is great for pushing through writer’s block and allowing your mind to head off in spontaneous directions.

The Adjectives Game

List 5 things you like or dislike tasting, and then list 5 adjectives for each item. For example, you might like the taste of cake. The 5 adjectives might be: sweet, gooey, yummy, nutty, and scrumptious. Now do the same for your other senses.

This builds your sensory vocabulary and ability to write with flair and color.

Perspectives

Write about a recent incident you were involved in, from the point of view of someone else who was involved. Empathy is hugely important in writing and this exercise forces you to step into the shoes of another person and understand their point of view.

Dialogue

Writing authentic dialogue is notoriously hard to master, so this writing exercise will help.

Write about 300 words of a conversation between two people without using ‘he said/she said’ tags. Show the difference and relationship between the two speakers only through the words they use. It’s more challenging than it sounds.

Observation

Think of a color. Now go for a walk or a ride on the bus and note down everything you see of that color. When you get home, write up what you remember (take notes as you go to make it easier).

How many different hues of the color did you see? What did the things you saw make you feel? Was there any connection between them?

Brevity

Think of an anecdote you like to recount. Write it up in less than 500 words. Now rewrite the same story in 100 words. Now in 50 words. And finally, in 25 words or less, if you can achieve it.

This exercise shows how filler words, background, and context can sometimes get in the way of a good story. It will help you choose your words carefully.

If you’ve got the time and energy, here are a few more exercises to really help flex those writing muscles.

Now, let’s explore those creative writing prompts we promised you.

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72 Writing Prompts to Help You Kickstart Your Imagination

Fiction Writing Prompts

Fantasy Writing Prompts

Romance Writing Prompts

Comedy Writing Prompts

Horror Writing Prompts

Persuasive Copywriting Prompts

Poetry Writing Prompts

Journal Writing Prompts

Blog Writing Prompts

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

Random Writing Prompts

Fiction Writing Prompts

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Use this famous opening line to start your own novel.

Rewrite your resume as a short story, either in the first or third person.

Open the dictionary at any page and select the first word that catches your eye. Write the opening few paragraphs of a thriller using that word at least three times.

Write a synopsis of your version of the movie, Groundhog Day. What would your day look like and why?

Write a short story using these words: Mountainous, parched, field mouse, time travel, and Black Forest Gateau.

Sit in a café and write a short story about the person or couple at the next table. Take note of their body language and clothing, what they’re eating, or doing. And if you can eavesdrop, let their conversation inspire you too.

Write about a person who is arrested for committing a crime, but they can’t remember anything about the night the crime occurred. What is the crime, why can’t they remember and what happens next?

Fantasy Writing Prompts

If you could come back to life as any person, animal or thing, what or who would you be and how would you live your second life?

The world’s oceans dry up. Who or what survives?

You open the bathroom door and find the room’s disappeared. In its place is another world. Describe what you see and hear, and what you do next?

You’re sitting at a bar talking to a giraffe. What’s the conversation about?

You live in a fantasy world where people communicate without talking. Write about an average day in this sci-fi, fairy tale world.

You are the inventor of a popular video game. One day the main character from your game knocks on your front door. What does he want?

Write about a character who has a superhuman power. The problem is, they don’t want it. Write about the conflict between the character, his or her power and the everyday life they are forced to lead.

Romance Writing Prompts

What is the most romantic season of the year and why?

 Write a story about love at first sight. It doesn’t have to be about young people, or even about people.

 “Last Christmas” was a song by George Michael that inspired a movie by the same name in 2019. Think of your favorite romantic song and write a film synopsis for it.

If you are a woman, write a short love story about the most romantic experience you could imagine, as a man. If you are a man, reverse the exercise.

The song “Summer Nights” from Grease is about the summer romance between two high school students, with their friends begging to hear more. What memory does that evoke for you about the first time you fell in love, and who did you tell?

Next time you visit a grocery store make a note of the first person you see. What are they wearing, what are they buying, are they alone? Write a description of them as the main character for your next romantic novel.

Your protagonist is about to marry the man she has been in love with for years. A week before the wedding she meets a stranger and falls madly and hopelessly in love. What does she do?

Comedy Writing Prompts

You are a bartender on a quiet night, listening to man drown his sorrows as he tells you how his wife has recently left him for a neighbor. A second man enters and sits at the other end of the bar. It’s the neighbor. Describe the comedy of errors that happens next.

What makes you laugh out loud?

What’s the funniest joke you know? Write the backstory to the main character in the joke.

What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you in real-life? Write it as a stand-up comedy anecdote with lots of observational humor thrown in.

Your shopping bag rips apart, and all the contents tumble out at the feet of the girl or guy who lives in the apartment below you, who you have fancied for some time. What does your shopping reveal about you and why are you so embarrassed?

List posts are one of the most popular forms of blogging. Write a funny list post about all the things you are not going to do in 2020.

Horror Writing Prompts?

Write the opening chapter to a story that begins: “I stared at my beautiful, evil wife and realized the horror had only just begun.

 “Terror made me cruel” is a line from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Write about a situation where terror might make you cruel.

You’re walking home alone late one night when you realize several cats are stalking you. Then the streetlights go out. What happens next?

There’s a locked door at the top of the house you’re staying in. What’s behind it?

What are you really, really scared of? Put yourself in that situation and describe how it feels.

Write a horror story set in either a bar or a graveyard (or both). Include a blue-veined hand, a serial killer, and the phrase “all that spit and sweat.”

Persuasive Copywriting Prompts

Your best friend doesn’t much care for Chinese food. Write down all the reasons why they need to reconsider their opinion and join you tonight at your favorite Chinese restaurant.

Your mother’s always nagging you to clean your room. Write an account of the last time she nagged you, but from her point of view.

Have you ever seen a ghost, or sensed a ghostly presence? Write an account of your experience knowing it will be read by a skeptic.

Talk the Christmas Grinch out of being a Grinch.

A man finds a letter in a bottle while walking on the beach. Where has the bottle come from, how old is it, and what does the letter say? What does it compel the man to do?

Think of a cliché and write an argument against it. Here are a few to start you off:

Time heals all wounds

It’s better to be safe than sorry

Money is the root of all evil

Ignorance is bliss

Poetry Writing Prompts

Open the dictionary at any page and select the first word that catches your eye. Set a timer for 5 minutes and write a list of rhyming words. Now write a poem using as many of those words as you can.

Write a poem about rhythm. It might be about music, or the flow of a river, or the clattering sound of a train. Weave the rhythm you hear in your head into the tempo of your poem.

Write a poem about a feast. Describe how it looks, smells and tastes. Include the different sensations of spices and flavors, the texture and feel of the dishes and how each one made you feel as you ate more and more.

 Write a poem about the “Thrilla in Manila.”

Journal Writing Prompts

Write about your plans for tomorrow and how you hope they’ll turn out.

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done.” This is a famous quote about self-sacrifice from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Write an honest journal entry about how far you would be prepared to go to sacrifice your wealth, happiness, health, or safety for a person or principle.

Write about a single day — either the first or last of your life.

Think about the last time you woke up at 4am, in a cold sweat. What was on your mind and how did you resolve it? Did you feel differently about it in the daylight?

Write a letter in your journal to each of your family members, telling them what your love (and/or hate) about them.

What is your personal manifesto? What are the core principles and values that guide everything you do in life?

Make a list of all the things you’d like to say no to, and then write down the reasons why you don’t — or can’t — say no. Is there a pattern? Is there something you can change?

Blog Writing Prompts

Write about the biggest challenge you have faced and how you overcame it.

Write an open letter to a person or group of people you strongly disagree with and explain why. Use reason not emotion.

Write about the best writing or weight loss tips you can share.

Interview your favorite fictional character.

Describe social media to someone who has never heard of it before. Include advice on which platform might be best for them.

Think of the 3 most unhealthy habits you indulge in and write about how you might be able to break those habits.

What are the top 10 style trends you would like to see make a comeback in 2020?

Further Reading: 255 Blog Post Ideas That’ll Tantalize Your Readers in 2020 by Annaliese Henwood

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

Write about your views on climate change. Are you a believer or a skeptic? Is the world doing enough? What facts do you know?

Write about a time you had to swallow your pride and do something that made you uncomfortable, either morally or physically.

There is no such thing as a truly unselfish deed. Defend this statement.

If you were to write an autobiography, how would it start?

Random Writing Prompts

Write a fantasy story based on the last dream you had.

Write about your favorite place and how it makes you feel. Use all the sensory language you can muster to describe the place.

If you were a dog, what type would you be and who would own you?

If you had the opportunity to turn back time what would you change about the course of your life and why?

What is your favorite thing to eat and what memories does it evoke?

Write a list of your three most prized possessions (inanimate objects, not people or animals). Imagine you are forced to discard one. Which one would it be and explain the reasons for your choice?

Write your own eulogy as a diary entry. What would you like people to know and say about you?

Write 500 words on what financial freedom looks like to you?

Select a book from your bookshelf and open it to any page. Write out the last sentence of the last complete paragraph on that page and continue writing.

Think of your favorite book or film. Now rewrite the ending to something completely different.

If you were to buy a plane ticket today — no expense spared — where would you go and why?

There they are. A compact list of 72 writing prompts. And when you’ve worked your way through these, you might want to move on to the motherlode of creative writing prompts over at Reddit.

Reddit is part social media platform, part community, part media curator, with 520 million monthly visitors subscribing to message boards across 1.2 million sub-categories. Phew!

One of these subcategories is Writing Prompts, with over 14 million subscribers who have posted years’ worth of prompts, so you’ll never run out of inspiration again.

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6 Bonus Writing Tips to Power Up Your Passion and Sharpen Your Skills

Before we let you go…

If you’re looking for creative writing prompts or story ideas, there’s an excellent chance you’re looking for other ways to hone your skills and improve your craft.

Here are 6 bonus writing tips to help you on your journey:

1. Make Time to Write

If you’re not setting aside time to write, you may as well ignore every other piece of advice in this post. Make your writing time sacred and block it off in your calendar. Turn off your phone. Disconnect the internet, close your door, and write.

This is the single best thing you can do if you want to be a writer.

2. Set Writing Goals

We set goals for everything in our life: losing weight, saving for a dream holiday, growing our business, and so on. So, do the same for your writing. Measure your progress.

Start with, say, a 300 or 500 word count in a daily session. Once you consistently reach this goal with ease, up the ante and shoot for more challenging targets. 1,000 words a session; 25,000 words a month, and so on. But make sure your goals are not overwhelming.

Writing goals will help you write faster and with more confidence. Over time you will recognize when you are most productive and can use this to your advantage.

3. Pack Your Writing with a Powerful Punch

Fill your writing with passion from an arsenal of power words. Or supercharge your reader’s imagination with a well-aimed metaphor.

Use these two writing devices to turbocharge your prose and watch the words burst off the page with intention.

4. Harness the Power of Grammar

Grammar reduces confusion and brings clarity and confidence to your writing. It’s a good thing and you need to learn the rules.

But grammar can sometimes get in the way of creativity and turn fluid prose into a turgid swamp of clunky awkwardness.

If starting a sentence with a conjunction feels right, go for it. If you want to brazenly split an infinitive to avoid mangling a sentence, split away.

So, learn the grammar rules, but then learn how to break them. Effectively.

5. Copy Your Writing Heroes — Literally

Pick a writer you’ve always admired, even envied. Now, put pen to paper and rewrite exactly what they wrote by hand. Don’t think too hard about it. Just go with it.

As you write out their words, you’ll absorb their writing style, their pace and rhythm, their grammar, their word choice, and their sentence structure.

This is one of the most effective ways to sharpen your writing skills and inspire your own writing voice.

6. Read Your Way to Writing Stardom

Every great writer is a great reader. There are no exceptions.

Read daily.

Read fiction and biographies, or read books, blogs and articles. But read in an active way. Stay alert to what grabs your attention and how the writer has crafted his words. Then consciously apply the best techniques to your own writing process.

A Final Word on Writing Prompts

The purpose of a writing prompt is to kickstart your creativity and spur you into writing something… anything.

Initially, the process may seem a little intimidating. But that’s OK. Most writers draw a blank when they first start with writing prompts.

Keep pushing through, because something thrilling will start to happen.

The more you practice using the prompts in this post, the more your creative juices will flow, and the more words and ideas will start pouring out of you.

So, let yourself go. Abandon yourself to the power of writing prompts and let the magic happen.

Happy writing!

The post Stuck? Try These 72 Creative Writing Prompts (+ 6 Bonus Tips) appeared first on Smart Blogger.

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Stuck? Try These 72 Creative Writing Prompts (+ 6 Bonus Tips)

I bet you just asked Google to search for creative writing prompts.

Or was it writing ideas? Story ideas? Or maybe writer’s block?

Boy, are you stuck!

But don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if you’re halfway through writing a book, sweating over social media posts, or journaling about your own life, all writers get stuck for creative ideas sometimes.

So, it’s great to have you here.

This is your go-to source of story starters, writing prompts, and bonus writing tips guaranteed to improve your writing skills, power up your passion, and get your creative juices flowing in 2020.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Writing Prompts Q&A

72 Writing Prompts (Broken into Categories)

6 Bonus Tips (to Sharpen Your Writing Skills)

We’ll start with a few common questions and answers.

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What are Writing Prompts?

A writing prompt can be a phrase, an image, or even a physical object that kick starts your imagination and motivates you to write. It provides a spark of an idea as a starting point to stimulate a natural flow of writing.

Writing prompts are ideal for any form of writing, like fiction or nonfiction, journaling, copywriting, blogging, or poetry. They usually contain two parts: an idea or a potential topic to write about, and the instructions on what you should do next.

For example, a creative writing prompt for fiction writers might be:

Your main character has a car accident and starts to hear voices while in the hospital. Write a short story about the conflict between the character and the voices and what really happened at the time of the car accident.

While journal prompts tend to focus on topics of self-awareness, such as:

Write about a turning point in your life. How different would things be now if you had made a different decision at the time?

What is the Purpose of Writing Prompts?

Writing prompts are like a pre-match warm-up. They help to relax your creative muscles, unblock your imagination, and free up your mind to focus on the main game of writing without fear or hesitation.

Instead of wasting time by thinking of a topic to write about, writing prompts get your creative juices flowing straight away, compelling you to put pen to paper.

Writing prompts also help you see things in a new light. They force you to think outside your comfort zone and use your imagination and creativity like never before.

Without them, we can become permanently sidelined by our inner critic. Or worse still, the gripping cramp of writer’s block.

How Do You Use Writing Prompts?

Like all muscle-building exercises, writing prompts are most effective when you make them a daily habit. Over time, with repetition, you’ll find your flow of writing becomes more natural, and your ability to write for longer strengthens.

But don’t feel you have to follow a prompt to the letter. If the prompt suggests you write about romance, but it sparks an idea for a poem, write a poem. Let your imagination guide you through the writing process.

Here are some other hot tips:

Don’t overthink it. Just start writing.

Don’t edit as you go.

If it’s not working for your style of writing, move on to another prompt. Find the prompts that make you want to write.

The creative writing prompt is a starting point. The finish is up to you. You don’t have to write a complete story, a poem, or an essay. Feel free to discard your work halfway through and move on to something else.

Adopt the Ernest Hemingway approach: Accept that most of what you write is likely to be crap, and you’re going to toss it. This isn’t about producing ready-to-publish work for your latest freelance writing job. It’s about the practice of writing.

How Else Can I Improve My Creative Writing Skills?

Improving your skills takes lots of writing practice. And using creative writing prompts is one of the best ways to do just that. But it’s not the only way. Here are a few other techniques you might want to explore:

Freewriting

This is when you write about anything that pops into your head. Take a blank sheet of paper, set a timer for 30 minutes, and start writing. Write whatever your brain tells you to, and don’t worry if it’s nonsensical.

This exercise is great for pushing through writer’s block and allowing your mind to head off in spontaneous directions.

The Adjectives Game

List 5 things you like or dislike tasting, and then list 5 adjectives for each item. For example, you might like the taste of cake. The 5 adjectives might be: sweet, gooey, yummy, nutty, and scrumptious. Now do the same for your other senses.

This builds your sensory vocabulary and ability to write with flair and color.

Perspectives

Write about a recent incident you were involved in, from the point of view of someone else who was involved. Empathy is hugely important in writing and this exercise forces you to step into the shoes of another person and understand their point of view.

Dialogue

Writing authentic dialogue is notoriously hard to master, so this exercise will help.

Write about 300 words of a conversation between two people without using ‘he said/she said’ tags. Show the difference and relationship between the two speakers only through the words they use. It’s more challenging than it sounds.

Observation

Think of a color. Now go for a walk or a ride on the bus and note down everything you see of that color. When you get home, write up what you remember (take notes as you go to make it easier).

How many different hues of the color did you see? What did the things you saw make you feel? Was there any connection between them?

Brevity

Think of an anecdote you like to recount. Write it up in less than 500 words. Now rewrite the same story in 100 words. Now in 50 words. And finally, in 25 words or less, if you can achieve it.

This exercise shows how filler words, background, and context can sometimes get in the way of a good story. It will help you choose your words carefully.

If you’ve got the time and energy, here are a few more exercises to really help flex those writing muscles.

Now, let’s explore those creative writing prompts we promised you.

Back to Top

72 Writing Prompts to Help You Kickstart Your Imagination

Fantasy Writing Prompts

Romance Writing Prompts

Comedy Writing Prompts

Horror Writing Prompts

Persuasive Copywriting Prompts

Poetry Writing Prompts

Journal Writing Prompts

Blog Writing Prompts

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

Random Writing Prompts

Fiction Writing Prompts

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Use this famous opening line to start your own novel.

Rewrite your resume as a short story, either in the first or third person.

Open the dictionary at any page and select the first word that catches your eye. Write the opening few paragraphs of a thriller using that word at least three times.

Write a synopsis of your version of the movie, Groundhog Day. What would your day look like and why?

Write a short story using these words: Mountainous, parched, field mouse, and Black Forest Gateau.

Sit in a café and write a short story about the person or couple at the next table. Take note of their body language and clothing, what they’re eating, or doing. And if you can eavesdrop, let their conversation inspire you too.

Write about a person who is arrested for committing a crime, but they can’t remember anything about the night the crime occurred. What is the crime, why can’t they remember and what happens next?

Fantasy Writing Prompts

If you could come back to life as any person, animal or thing, what or who would you be and how would you live your second life?

The world’s oceans dry up. Who or what survives?

You open the bathroom door and find the room’s disappeared. In its place is another world. Describe what you see and hear, and what you do next?

You’re sitting at a bar talking to a giraffe. What’s the conversation about?

You live in a fantasy world where people communicate without talking. Write about an average day in this sci-fi world.

You are the inventor of a popular video game. One day the main character from your game knocks on your front door. What does he want?

Write about a character who has a superhuman power. The problem is, they don’t want it. Write about the conflict between the character, his or her power and the life they are forced to lead.

Romance Writing Prompts

What is the most romantic season of the year and why?

 Write a story about love at first sight. It doesn’t have to be about young people, or even about people.

 “Last Christmas” was a song by George Michael that inspired a movie by the same name in 2019. Think of your favorite romantic song and write a film synopsis for it.

If you are a woman, write a short love story about the most romantic experience you could imagine, as a man. If you are a man, reverse the exercise.

The song “Summer Nights” from Grease is about the summer romance between two high school students, with their friends begging to hear more. What memory does that evoke for you about the first time you fell in love, and who did you tell?

Next time you visit a grocery store make a note of the first person you see. What are they wearing, what are they buying, are they alone? Write a description of them as the main character for your next romantic novel.

Your protagonist is about to marry the man she has been in love with for years. A week before the wedding she meets a stranger and falls madly and hopelessly in love. What does she do?

Comedy Writing Prompts

You are a bartender on a quiet night, listening to man drown his sorrows as he tells you how his wife has recently left him for a neighbor. A second man enters and sits at the other end of the bar. It’s the neighbor. Describe the comedy of errors that happens next.

What makes you laugh out loud?

What’s the funniest joke you know? Write the backstory to the main character in the joke.

What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you in real-life? Write it as a stand-up comedy anecdote with lots of observational humor thrown in.

Your shopping bag rips apart, and all the contents tumble out at the feet of the girl or guy who lives in the apartment below you, who you have fancied for some time. What does your shopping reveal about you and why are you so embarrassed?

List posts are one of the most popular forms of blogging. Write a funny list post about all the things you are not going to do in 2020.

Horror Writing Prompts?

Write the opening chapter to a story that begins: “I stared at my beautiful, evil wife and realized the horror had only just begun.

 “Terror made me cruel” is a line from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Write about a situation where terror might make you cruel.

You’re walking home alone late one night when you realize several cats are stalking you. Then the streetlights go out. What happens next?

There’s a locked door at the top of the house you’re staying in. What’s behind it?

What are you really, really scared of? Put yourself in that situation and describe how it feels.

Write a horror story set in either a bar or a graveyard (or both). Include a blue-veined hand and the phrase “all that spit and sweat.”

Persuasive Copywriting Prompts

Your best friend doesn’t much care for Chinese food. Write down all the reasons why they need to reconsider their opinion and join you tonight at your favorite Chinese restaurant.

Your mother’s always nagging you to clean your room. Write an account of the last time she nagged you, but from her point of view.

Have you ever seen a ghost, or sensed a ghostly presence? Write an account of your experience knowing it will be read by a sceptic.

Talk the Christmas Grinch out of being a Grinch.

A man finds a letter in a bottle while walking on the beach. Where has the bottle come from, how old is it, and what does the letter say? What does it compel the man to do?

Think of a cliché and write an argument against it. Here are a few to start you off:

Time heals all wounds

It’s better to be safe than sorry

Money is the root of all evil

Ignorance is bliss

Poetry Writing Prompts

Open the dictionary at any page and select the first word that catches your eye. Set a timer for 5 minutes and write a list of rhyming words. Now write a poem using as many of those words as you can.

Write a poem about rhythm. It might be about music, or the flow of a river, or the clattering sound of a train. Weave the rhythm you hear in your head into the tempo of your poem.

Write a poem about a feast. Describe how it looks, smells and tastes. Include the different sensations of spices and flavors, the texture and feel of the dishes and how each one made you feel as you ate more and more.

 Write a poem about the “Thrilla in Manila.”

Journal Writing Prompts

Write about your plans for tomorrow and how you hope they’ll turn out.

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done.” This is a famous quote about self-sacrifice from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Write an honest journal entry about how far you would be prepared to go to sacrifice your wealth, happiness, health, or safety for a person or principle.

Write about a single day — either the first or last of your life.

Think about the last time you woke up at 4am, in a cold sweat. What was on your mind and how did you resolve it? Did you feel differently about it in the daylight?

Write a letter in your journal to each of your family members, telling them what your love (and/or hate) about them.

What is your personal manifesto? What are the core principles and values that guide everything you do in life?

Make a list of all the things you’d like to say no to, and then write down the reasons why you don’t — or can’t — say no. Is there a pattern? Is there something you can change?

Blog Writing Prompts

Write about the biggest challenge you have faced and how you overcame it.

Write an open letter to a person or group of people you strongly disagree with and explain why. Use reason not emotion.

Write about the best health or weight loss tips you can share.

Interview your favorite fictional character.

Describe social media to someone who has never heard of it before. Include advice on which platform might be best for them.

Think of the 3 most unhealthy habits you indulge in and write about how you might be able to break those habits.

What are the top 10 style trends you would like to see make a comeback in 2020?

Further Reading: 255 Blog Post Ideas That’ll Tantalize Your Readers in 2020 by Annaliese Henwood

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

Write about your views on climate change. Are you a believer or a sceptic? Is the world doing enough? What facts do you know?

Write about a time you had to swallow your pride and do something that made you uncomfortable, either morally or physically.

There is no such thing as a truly unselfish deed. Defend this statement.

If you were to write an autobiography, how would it start?

Random Writing Prompts

Write a fantasy story based on the last dream you had.

Write about your favorite place and how it makes you feel. Use all the sensory language you can muster to describe the place.

If you were a dog, what type would you be and who would own you?

If you had the opportunity to turn back time what would you change about the course of your life and why?

What is your favorite thing to eat and what memories does it evoke?

Write a list of your three most prized possessions (inanimate objects, not people or animals). Imagine you are forced to discard one. Which one would it be and explain the reasons for your choice?

Write your own eulogy. What would you like people to know and say about you?

Write 500 words on what financial freedom looks like to you?

Select a book from your bookshelf and open it to any page. Write out the last sentence of the last complete paragraph on that page and continue writing.

Think of your favorite film or book. Now rewrite the ending to something completely different.

If you were to buy a plane ticket today — no expense spared — where would you go and why?

There they are. A compact list of 72 writing prompts. And when you’ve worked your way through these, you might want to move on to the motherlode of creative writing prompts over at Reddit.

Reddit is part social media platform, part community, part media curator, with 520 million monthly visitors subscribing to message boards across 1.2 million sub-categories. Phew!

One of these subcategories is Writing Prompts, with over 13.3 million subscribers who have posted years’ worth of prompts, so you’ll never run out of inspiration again.

Back to Top

6 Bonus Writing Tips to Power Up Your Passion and Sharpen Your Skills

Before we let you go…

If you’re looking for creative writing prompts or story ideas, there’s an excellent chance you’re looking for other ways to hone your skills and improve your craft.

Here are 6 bonus writing tips to help you on your journey:

1. Make Time to Write

If you’re not setting aside time to write, you may as well ignore every other piece of advice in this post. Make your writing time sacred and block it off in your calendar. Turn off your phone. Disconnect the internet, close your door, and write.

This is the single best thing you can do if you want to be a writer.

2. Set Writing Goals

We set goals for everything in our life: losing weight, saving for a dream holiday, growing our business, and so on. So, do the same for your writing. Measure your progress.

Start with, say, 300 or 500 words in a daily session. Once you consistently reach this goal with ease, up the ante and shoot for more challenging targets. 1,000 words a session; 25,000 words a month, and so on. But make sure your goals are not overwhelming.

Goals will help you write faster, with more confidence. Over time you will recognize when you are most productive and can use this to your advantage.

3. Pack Your Writing with a Powerful Punch

Fill your writing with passion from an arsenal of power words. Or supercharge your reader’s imagination with a well-aimed metaphor.

Use these two writing devices to turbocharge your prose and watch the words burst off the page with intention.

4. Harness the Power of Grammar

Grammar reduces confusion and brings clarity and confidence to your writing. It’s a good thing and you need to learn the rules.

But grammar can sometimes get in the way of creativity and turn fluid prose into a turgid swamp of clunky awkwardness.

If starting a sentence with a conjunction feels right, go for it. If you want to brazenly split an infinitive to avoid mangling a sentence, split away.

So, learn the grammar rules, but then learn how to break them. Effectively.

5. Copy Your Writing Heroes — Literally

Pick a writer you’ve always admired, even envied. Now, put pen to paper and rewrite exactly what they wrote by hand. Don’t think too hard about it. Just go with it.

As you write out their words, you’ll absorb their writing style, their pace and rhythm, their grammar, their word choice, and their sentence structure.

This is one of the most effective ways to sharpen your writing skills and inspire your own writing voice.

6. Read Your Way to Writing Stardom

Every great writer is a great reader. There are no exceptions.

Read daily.

Read fiction and biographies, or read books, blogs and articles. But read in an active way. Stay alert to what grabs your attention and how the writer has crafted his words. Then consciously apply the best techniques to your own writing process.

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A Final Word on Writing Prompts

The purpose of a writing prompt is to kickstart your creativity and spur you into writing something… anything.

Initially, the process may seem a little intimidating. But that’s OK. Most writers draw a blank when they first start with writing prompts.

Keep pushing through, because something thrilling will start to happen.

The more you practice using the prompts in this post, the more your creative juices will flow, and the more words and ideas will start pouring out of you.

So, let yourself go. Abandon yourself to the power of writing prompts and let the magic happen.

Happy writing!

About the Author: Mel Wicks is a seasoned copywriter and newly minted digital nomad. She helps clients bring the ‘OMG! Where do I sign up?’ oomph to their online marketing; and blogs about the highs and lows of being a nomadic freelance writer.

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