Writing prompts can help get the creative juices flowing. However, if we’re open to the Holy Spirit, they can also lead to unique opportunities. Let me give some examples.
The photo accompanying this post shows a prompt that our
Quirky Quills writing group used recently.
We each had to pick something to add to a still life and then gave
ourselves 15 minutes to write about it.
It seemed like a motley collection of objects, but when we read out our
pieces, it was amazing what everyone had written. There were poems and stories about racial
tensions and prejudice in the United States, women forced into prostitution in
the Middle East, and an amusing piece about Peter Jackson revisioning Gone With the Wind to include
hobbits. I couldn’t help thinking that
the Holy Spirit had inspired those ideas.
Okay, mine was the wacky one about the hobbits, so maybe Holy Spirit
inspiration is harder to argue for that one.
Then again, maybe God knew we needed a lighter piece to balance out the
serious ones. In any case, we all went
away with something we could work on, something we wouldn’t have thought of
without the prompt and that moment of inspiration.
Some anthologies and writing competitions also focus on a
particular theme. For example, the
Australian group Poetica Christi had
the theme of “Taking Flight” for their 2011 poetry collection. I felt God prompting me to write a poem about
Joseph fleeing to Egypt with Mary and baby Jesus. It’s since been published. In 2012, the theme was “Into the
Depths”. I felt God leading me to write
about a couple who always skirt around the issues rather than sharing
intimately. It’s been accepted for this
year’s anthology. I wouldn’t have
written either of those poems without the theme as a starting point.
Recently, I decided to try my hand at a short story
competition where the first sentence had to be “Heads we get married, tails we
split up.” I didn’t find that line particularly
inspiring, so I thought I’d just write a light piece for fun. Then I felt God whisper, “put them on a train
in India”. India? Where did that come from? But I sat down, typed in the first line and
started writing about two people on a train in India. The story took on a life of its own and ended
up being a tear-jerker about an orphan girl rescued by aid workers. I asked a work colleague to check it for
cultural accuracy. Not only did she pick
up one of my cultural faux pas, but she said she really enjoyed it. That led to a chat about the current
situation in India. Another colleague also
liked it and wanted to know what happened next.
Mmm … could be a Friday lunchtime series in the making. I wouldn’t have had those two conversations
if not for the initial sentence and God’s quiet nudging.
If you’ve never used writing prompts, why not give them a
try? If you’re sensitive to the Holy
Spirit and willing to step out of your comfort zone, you may find opportunities
opening up for you – the odd publication, relationship-building conversations,
and more material that you can later develop into other projects. Do a google search for “writing prompts” and
let God and the creative juices take you for a ride. Mmm … “take you for a ride”. I think I’ve just found my next prompt!
Nola Passmore is a freelance
writer who has had more than 90 short pieces published in various magazines,
journals, and anthologies (including true stories, devotions, poetry and short
fiction). She has a passion for writing about what God has done in her life and
encouraging others to do the same. (Some call it "nagging", but she
calls it "encouragement").
