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Abstract

ng after!).</li><li><b>If you previously wrote for PW but haven’t in a while, you may need to go to the <a href="https://readmedium.com/new-pw-submission-guidelines-445d69add05e">Submission Guidelines</a> and ask to be a writer again. </b>We went on hiatus a few months ago and stopped accepting submissions; if you were a writer with us before that time, you will need to sign up again.</li><li>Have fun!</li></ol><p id="627c"><b>Are you ready? Great! Let’s get prompting!</b></p><h2 id="a085">Fair Monday</h2><p id="671c">Physical attractiveness is important to many cultures, but what it means to be ‘beautiful’ also differs between time periods, cultures, and even small communities, like within certain professions.</p><p id="fcad">Write a character study or short story about an individual whose outward beauty conceals hidden depths. Explore how their appearance influences their interactions with others and how they navigate a world that often underestimates them.</p><h2 id="774e">Tuesday’s Grace</h2><p id="3a70">The attribute ‘grace’ has many meanings, but one of the most common interpretations is that of physical poise and graceful movement. Write a story centered around a character who finds inspiration in ballet or another style of dance, using the art form as a metaphor for navigating life’s ups and downs. Consider:</p><ul><li>Does gracefulness come naturally, or can it be learned?</li><li>Has your character always been graceful, or were they previously awkward or clumsy?</li><li>Are you a good dancer? Do you have to be a ‘good’ dancer to find something graceful in dance?</li></ul><p id="21c2">You can also use this prompt to write a nonfiction essay or poem about dancing, gracefulness, movement, or growing aware of the physicality of one’s body more generally.</p><h2 id="e3c6">Wednesday‘s Woe</h2><p id="dfe7">“Woe” is a feeling often thought of as very lonely or individualized. Write a story, a series of poems, or song lyrics that express the depths of woe felt by different characters in a shared world.</p><ul><li>Are all the characters affected by the same woe, or different ones?</li><li>How does each character experience and cope with their sorrows?</li><li>Can a community share the burden of woe, or is it always individual suffering?</li></ul><h2 id="a706">Traveling Thursday</h2><p id="fbb1">Write a travelogue, poem, short story, or personal essay about traveling to a new place. What unexpected challenges does your character run into on their journey? Explore how these obstacles become a source of growth, turning moments of travail into opportunities for self-discovery.</p><p id="570c">Also consider:</p><ul><li>Where is your character going? How are they traveling — walking, driving, sailing, flying? Do they get there in the end?</li><li>Why are they going on this journey? What do they hope to find at their destination?</li><li>Is the point of the journey the destination, or what they learn along the way?</li><li>If your character reaches their destination, describe what it is like, and how it differs from where they came from: What’s the culture like? How do things taste, smell, and sound? What is the landscape or architecture like?</li></ul><h2 id="d170">Friday Love</h2><

Options

p id="c9eb">Write a story about a lost love letter that has a profound impact on the life of the person who discovers it.</p><ul><li>How does the letter connect individuals across different time periods or walks of life?</li><li>Does the letter ever reach its intended recipient, or is it too late?</li><li>In what ways does reading this letter change the reader?</li><li>Do you write the love letter as part of the story, or does the character read and react to something we, the audience, do not have access to?</li></ul><h2 id="dbe5">Working Saturday</h2><p id="0492">Write a story, poem, or nonfiction essay about an individual working tirelessly to construct something important to them, such as a business, a home, a garden, a piece of artwork, or a community project. Explore the determination and resilience required to see their vision come to fruition.</p><ul><li>What challenges do they face? How do they overcome them?</li><li>What motivates this individual to persist in their pursuit of completion?</li><li>Do years of hard work, practice, and perseverance lead to expertise, or is it all for naught?</li></ul><h2 id="d324">Random Words Sunday</h2><p id="6bc5">I couldn’t help but bring back my favourite prompt format, given that the Sunday prediction of “Monday’s Child” is so full of attributes — and odd ones, at that! Choose 5 or more of these 10 Mother-Goose-inspired words (you may use any form, including plurals, any tense, or changing to a noun/verb/adjective):</p><ol><li>Bonny</li><li>Blithe</li><li>Kettle</li><li>Gander</li><li>Leaping</li><li>Stitch</li><li>Crown</li><li>Grocer</li><li>Fiddle</li><li>Cupboard</li></ol><p id="4655"><b>Bonus Prompt</b> — Write a ‘fortune telling’ or ‘prophetic’ poem, flash fiction (<500 words), or essay.</p><p id="c9dc">There you have it! 2024’s first week’s worth of prompts to tempt your muses. I look forward to reading your submissions!</p><p id="19f0">Don’t forget, there are <b>Writing Sparks</b> available in the Monthly Theme from <a href="undefined">ADEOLA SHEEHY-ADEKALE</a>, and all our previous <a href="https://medium.com/promptly-written/tagged/pwprompt">prompts</a> are still very much adoptable if you’re in need of inspiration.</p><p id="dd3b"><i>Enjoying my content? Check out my first novel, <a href="https://www.jms-books.com/casey-lawrence-c-224_573/out-of-order-p-4683.html"></a></i><a href="https://www.jms-books.com/casey-lawrence-c-224_573/out-of-order-p-4683.html">Out of Order<i></i></a><i>, available in eBook and paperback from JMS Books. Not looking to buy a book right now? Consider showing your support by <a href="http://buymeacoff.ee/caseylawrence"></a></i><a href="http://buymeacoff.ee/caseylawrence">buying me a coffee<i></i></a><i>, and make sure to <a href="https://clawrenc.medium.com/subscribe"></a></i><a href="https://clawrenc.medium.com/subscribe">subscribe<i></i></a><i> to my stories on Medium!</i></p><figure id="d00e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*NFedRPpasks4cjSV.png"><figcaption>Praise for <a href="https://www.jms-books.com/casey-lawrence-c-224_573/out-of-order-print-p-4802.html">Out of Order by Casey Lawrence</a>. Image created using Canva</figcaption></figure></article></body>

WRITING PROMPTS | PROMPTLY WRITTEN

Prompt Yourself: Weekly Prompts January 1–7

Prompts to tempt your muses

Welcome to the first week of Promptly Written writing prompts in 2024! Happily, the first day of the prompt-week falls on the very first day of the year this trip around the sun (and also on my wedding day, so I’ve scheduled this post ahead of time!).

To switch things up as our calendar begins anew, I’ve decided to change the format of the prompts. This week, I’m taking a classic “Mother Goose” children’s poem as inspiration for each day’s prompts:

Monday’s Child

Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace, Wednesday’s child is full of woe, Thursday’s child has far to go, Friday’s child is loving and giving, Saturday’s child works hard for a living, And the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

Each of the prompts this week will be themed on the fortune-telling properties of this birth-chart poem! But before we get started, here are a couple of quick reminders:

How This Works

Use these prompts to write poetry, fiction, an essay, creative non-fiction, or an article. They are totally open to interpretation! Include a link to the prompt at the bottom of your post.
If you use one of these prompts, you can submit the result here at PW, to any publication that accepts prompts from other publications, or self-publish. If you submit somewhere besides PW, make sure to include a link to the prompt and tag PW editors so that we do not miss reading your story!
You don’t have to use PW’s prompts to submit work here. We are an open publication for established and new writers to submit their writing — usually based on writing prompts from here or elsewhere, but unprompted stories are also welcome!
Please be sure to use the correct Reader Interest Tags when you submit your work to PW so it lands in the right place on the homepage. Please use ONE (not multiple) of the following tags: Poetry, Fiction, Essay, or Articles. Your other four tags can be whatever you wish them to be.
Please ONLY submit drafts. To do this, once you have finished writing, instead of hitting the Publish button, click on the three dots (…), choose Add to Publication, click on Promptly Written, and then submit. This will put it into our queue, and we will publish it on our end.
Each week, you will find prompts for Monday-Sunday. However, you do not have to use them in the order they are written. Browse them all and use only the ones that resonate with you. Submit your work any time during the week (or long after!).
If you previously wrote for PW but haven’t in a while, you may need to go to the Submission Guidelines and ask to be a writer again. We went on hiatus a few months ago and stopped accepting submissions; if you were a writer with us before that time, you will need to sign up again.
Have fun!

Are you ready? Great! Let’s get prompting!

Fair Monday

Physical attractiveness is important to many cultures, but what it means to be ‘beautiful’ also differs between time periods, cultures, and even small communities, like within certain professions.

Write a character study or short story about an individual whose outward beauty conceals hidden depths. Explore how their appearance influences their interactions with others and how they navigate a world that often underestimates them.

Tuesday’s Grace

The attribute ‘grace’ has many meanings, but one of the most common interpretations is that of physical poise and graceful movement. Write a story centered around a character who finds inspiration in ballet or another style of dance, using the art form as a metaphor for navigating life’s ups and downs. Consider:

Does gracefulness come naturally, or can it be learned?
Has your character always been graceful, or were they previously awkward or clumsy?
Are you a good dancer? Do you have to be a ‘good’ dancer to find something graceful in dance?

You can also use this prompt to write a nonfiction essay or poem about dancing, gracefulness, movement, or growing aware of the physicality of one’s body more generally.

Wednesday‘s Woe

“Woe” is a feeling often thought of as very lonely or individualized. Write a story, a series of poems, or song lyrics that express the depths of woe felt by different characters in a shared world.

Are all the characters affected by the same woe, or different ones?
How does each character experience and cope with their sorrows?
Can a community share the burden of woe, or is it always individual suffering?

Traveling Thursday

Write a travelogue, poem, short story, or personal essay about traveling to a new place. What unexpected challenges does your character run into on their journey? Explore how these obstacles become a source of growth, turning moments of travail into opportunities for self-discovery.

Also consider:

Where is your character going? How are they traveling — walking, driving, sailing, flying? Do they get there in the end?
Why are they going on this journey? What do they hope to find at their destination?
Is the point of the journey the destination, or what they learn along the way?
If your character reaches their destination, describe what it is like, and how it differs from where they came from: What’s the culture like? How do things taste, smell, and sound? What is the landscape or architecture like?

Friday Love

Write a story about a lost love letter that has a profound impact on the life of the person who discovers it.

How does the letter connect individuals across different time periods or walks of life?
Does the letter ever reach its intended recipient, or is it too late?
In what ways does reading this letter change the reader?
Do you write the love letter as part of the story, or does the character read and react to something we, the audience, do not have access to?

Working Saturday

Write a story, poem, or nonfiction essay about an individual working tirelessly to construct something important to them, such as a business, a home, a garden, a piece of artwork, or a community project. Explore the determination and resilience required to see their vision come to fruition.

What challenges do they face? How do they overcome them?
What motivates this individual to persist in their pursuit of completion?
Do years of hard work, practice, and perseverance lead to expertise, or is it all for naught?

Random Words Sunday

I couldn’t help but bring back my favourite prompt format, given that the Sunday prediction of “Monday’s Child” is so full of attributes — and odd ones, at that! Choose 5 or more of these 10 Mother-Goose-inspired words (you may use any form, including plurals, any tense, or changing to a noun/verb/adjective):

Bonny
Blithe
Kettle
Gander
Leaping
Stitch
Crown
Grocer
Fiddle
Cupboard

Bonus Prompt — Write a ‘fortune telling’ or ‘prophetic’ poem, flash fiction (<500 words), or essay.

There you have it! 2024’s first week’s worth of prompts to tempt your muses. I look forward to reading your submissions!

Don’t forget, there are Writing Sparks available in the Monthly Theme from ADEOLA SHEEHY-ADEKALE, and all our previous prompts are still very much adoptable if you’re in need of inspiration.

Enjoying my content? Check out my first novel, Out of Order, available in eBook and paperback from JMS Books. Not looking to buy a book right now? Consider showing your support by buying me a coffee, and make sure to subscribe to my stories on Medium!

Praise for Out of Order by Casey Lawrence. Image created using Canva