1. Mistakes
Tallulah Bankhead said, "If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner." What are some mistakes you made that had a positive impact on your life? What did you learn from them and how did they help you grow as a person?
2. Changing
Nelson Mandela said "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." Write a story about a person returning home after 15 years of being away and out of contact with old friends and family. Focus on the location and scenery and the emotions it evokes in the character.
3. Perspective
Matthew Stover said, "What distinguishes a flower from a weed is only the choice of the gardener." Write about a time that you felt strongly about something until you looked at it from a different perspective.
4. Heaven or Hell
Aldous Huxley said, "Maybe this world is another planet's hell." Write about what kind of planet would be better than this one. What kind of people would populate it? What kind of behaviors and laws would be prevalent? What would make it "better"?
5. Apocalypse
Albert Einstein said, "I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones." Write a short story centering a small number of people who have survived the apocalyptic third World War.
6. Education
Mark Twain said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Write about an important lesson you learned outside of school, and how it impacted your life, emotionally, academically or physically.
Download this page of writing prompts — free!
The DOC version is formatted and ready to use with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any other word processor that can open the .DOC file format. The PDF version can be viewed and printed on any computer with a PDF reader.
Index of Writing Prompts
