Creative Writing Challenges & Prompts

By Rachel Andersen

I would imagine that, as Washington Reading Corps members, we enjoy reading, and that perhaps, given our love of reading, we have also tried our hands at our writing. I've found that I've had a lot of opportunities to do some writing in the classroom with my job. From creative writing prompts to MadLibs, I've enjoyed the creative challenge of writing for our before and after school programs. So, for those of you who enjoy creative writing challenges and prompts, here are the last few we've sponsored at our school.

1. Harry walked down the dark hallway, looking around himself nervously. The squeaking of his sneakers against the tile was the only sound he heard as he took each step toward his destination - a door at the end of the hallway that seemed to be glowing with a strange, orange light. With each step, Harry's heart pounded loudly in his ears.

2. Imagine that your class is going on a field trip to Antarctica. How would you get there? Why would you go? What would happen when you get there? Tell the story either in a letter to someone or as a story you're telling your family when you get home.

Ex. Letter:

Dear Mom,

We went to Antarctica today, and it was cold...

Ex. Story:

We were at school, just minding our own business when it started to get really hot. Roger, the maintenance man, said our air conditioning had broken."I wish I was in Antarctica,” Katie complained. A sudden gust of wind blew open the door. It was so cold that it was refreshing. Then, we saw white flakes flurry around us...

3. Think about a well-known story (such as Cinderella). How can you change one of the elements of the story to tell your own version of the story?

4. Choose a setting and describe it so that even if I had never seen that place before, I would know what you saw in your head when you wrote about it. (Examples: Your house, the woods, a castle, a spaceship, a school, etc.) Write about a character who might be in that setting. What would his/her name be? What would he/she be doing? Who would they meet? Would they be friends with the people they meet or would they be enemies? Why or why not?