Active Medium Publications
Writing Prompts 2020
Dear Writers, get inspired. This is a list of writing prompts offered by Medium publications. I hope you will find something to cause you to take pen to page in a mad rush of excitement. Come back often. New prompts are offered regularly. In particular, The Bad Influence, Chalkboard, I Challenge You, Haiku Hub and The Weekly Knob are updated a few times a week.
Most publications do not make it easy to find their current writing prompt. When you click on a prompt menu tab you will have to sort through a mixed list of prompts and prompt responses. To help you find the current writing prompt, I have provided editor names for each publication. Simply use Control +F to search for the editor’s name on the page.
Active Prompts
Edited by Xavier Van Holde, this publication offers new prompts almost daily. You can follow his publication for a newsletter, but the newsletters come out less frequently than the prompts do.
To find the prompts click on #Create. There are two different prompt series running.
- Never End! Xavier sets up a fictional story opener and then invites writers to contribute to further the story.
- Write Free Write Free is the second stage of evolution of writing on Medium that starts with “Just the Text” and blossoms into a full-blown story with images and such.
- IdeaStream: A set of several prompts. One regular feature is “Poetry Salvage.” Take ten random words and write a poem using them. There are also Haiku and short story prompts.
Click on Cultural Prompts and search for editor, Francine Fallara. From the editor: “we challenge your cultural prompts contributions to be motivational one-line poetry (maximum 30 words) for 2020.”
Click on One Line Poems and find the Wednesday prompt at the top of the page. Edited by Kathy Jacobs, this publication invites writers to submit their prompts.
Click on Thursday Poetry Prompt and search for editor, Shruti Sinha.
Our Thursday Poetry prompt is “Wait”. Tag your piece “Thursday Poetry Prompt” and “The Cotton Thread” and the other three tags can be of your choice.
Click on Latest Prompts and search for David S.
Join editor, Christiana Ward, on her Facebook group, Poets on Medium, to find the current prompt. Or, sign up for her regular newsletter to receive the prompts in your inbox.
On the home-page, search for “POMprompt” to find the current prompt. Click on #POMPROMPTS to read the current prompt responses.
Visit the home page of From the Library to view the latest prompts by editor, Laura Manipura at the top of the page. Click on the Prompt tab to view all prompts and their responses. Prompts are on-going and have no deadline.
“ Poetry is beyond rules especially not just restricted to pain. Poetry is all about emotions, experiences, compassion, and realizations. Come, let’s together make a difference. Through words and verse.”
I’m opening a month-long prompt — “Soul Lust” until 1st March 2020. Send in your poems, experiences and more on this topic and I will look into it and publish as soon as possible. Make sure you use #FTPHPrompt as one of your tags, the other four tags can be your own.
Click on Bi-weekly prompt and search for “Christensen” to find prompts by editors, Deborah Christensen & Brett Christensen. Prompts are published twice a week. (Saturdays & Wednesdays?)
Click on Haiku This!, and find the current prompt pinned to the top of the page. Prompts seem to be monthly.
Edited by Kathy Jacobs, this publication offers bi-weekly writing prompts, announced on Tuesdays & Thursdays. The latest prompts are easily found on the home page.
Click on LITT Prompt to see the latest prompts by editor, Abraham Gordon.
Click on Poliprompts and search for “poliprompt” by editor, Christina Ward.
This publication, by editor Natalie Frank, bills itself as “the home of prompt-based fiction, poetry, and other creative writing. Regular challenges and contests will be issued. Writers will have the chance to suggest prompts of their own.”
Click on Prompts and search for editor, Natalie Frank.
Click on Saturday Poetry Prompts to see the prompts listed in order. This publication is edited by Shaan Sood.
Weekly prompts published on Sunday nights by editor Samantha Lazar. On the homepage, search for “Quote Prompt.”
Edited by Larry G. Maguire, Anna Rozwadowska, & Michael Stang. Click on Prompts.
Edited by Sandy Knight, this publication offers a new prompt each Saturday with a Thursday deadline. The power prompt offers a cash prize, but with one stipulation, *Writers who wish to submit members-only stories will still need to be a patron member of TWK whether participating in a regular prompt or a power prompt. The cost of patronage is $2 or more per month.
Visit the home page for the publication and click on Weekly Knob Creative Writing Challenge.
Edited by Dennett.
The writing prompt is located on the last top menu tab. It’s hard to find because the words are cut off. When you click, you find a list of prompts & responses in a single-stream.
Edited by Justin Cox, Sand Farnia, and Jessica Jungton.
The latest challenge lasts 7 weeks and is a book club reading of “Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity” by Felicia Day. The deadline to sign up is 1/13/2020. There is a prize drawing for a one-year subscription to ProWritingAid. The deadline to enter has past and there are no current prompts at this time.
Tagging publication editors: Shruti Sinha, Xavier Van Holde, Francine Fallara, Kathy Jacobs, David S., Christina Ward ❄, Laura Manipura, Sherry Kappel, Abraham Gordon, DiAmaya Dawn, Natalie Frank, Ph.D., Salathia Richburg, Shaan Sood, Samantha Lazar, Vaishali Paliwal, Sandy Knight, Dennett, Justin Cox 🍩, Sand Farnia, Brett Christensen, Deborah Christensen, and Jessica Jungton, Larry G. Maguire, Anna Rozwadowska, Harper Thorpe, Michael Stang, Tamyka Bell, Indira Reddy, Dewi, Ashwini Dodani
If you found this story helpful, you might also read this one by Marilyn Flower.
