Inspiration for Young Writers

I personally do not believe in writer’s block. If I hit a snag when writing, I know it’s usually my fear of messing something up. So to burst through the issue, I open a new document in my word processor.

The new blank page is my place to play, to mess up, if need be, and to “talk things out” with myself. I just begin to write. Often, before I hit the half-page mark, I’ve solved my issue and can move on. My favorite new tool for mucking about on a blank page? 750words.com (For more insight on how to break through writer’s block, check out Cec Murphey’s series of posts on the subject.)

But faced with a blank page, kids, sometimes need a nudge in the right direction. Here’s a collection of some great sources for writing prompts:

1. The Story Kitchen – Kids pick a hero, a place and a villain. They have a chance to think about how they’d put all that together before the story kitchen cooks up an opening. They have to finish the story.
2. The Story Starter, Jr. – Generates a random beginning. It can get pretty preposterous. Here’s the beginning I was given to work with: The detective was writing a poem in the park. This is the “junior” version. The version for adults gave me this as a starter: The amazed hiker dialed the cell phone in the gas station for the mystery writer. Hmmm….
3. Scholastic Story Starter – Just plain fun.
   
4. Thirty writing prompts for elementary students at SuperTeacherWorksheets.com
5. CanTeach has an abundant source of writing prompts at their site as well. Hats off to this great Canadian site. (What can I say?)
6. Not enough? How about a writing prompt for every day of the year.

And just so the kids don’t get to have all the fun, here’s a couple of sites with great writing prompts for adults:

1. Creative Writing Prompts
2. Bonnie Neubauer’s Story Spinner – Generates a setting, a starting phrase and four words that must be incorporated in the story. The challenge is to finish in 10 minutes.