Creative Prompts

Write about what you’re thinking about in this exact moment. It doesn’t have to make any sense.

Look at this painting by Renoir (Dance at the Moulin de la Galette) and imagine yourself in this scene. Who are you? Why are you there? What can you see, smell, hear? What has just happened? What are you going to do next? Write a short story or prose poem inspired by this painting, from the perspective of the character you have imagined.

Can you write a sound? Not just using adjectives, or even alliteration–but actual transcription of sound? Try sitting somewhere you can listen to a common sound in your life, and try to write down exactly what you hear. What do you write when you try to capture the sound of water running, birds singing, engines running, someone cooking? Can you read it back to yourself and recreate the sound you heard?