Our Weekly Creativity prompts challenge you to make a piece of writing (a poem, a journal entry, a story outline, a review) or art, or music, or a spoken word recording, or other piece of creative work. All the prompts we have written are brought together on this page – see below. The first prompt of the month is also a Flash Contest!
You can find more writing and art activities on our Activities pages.
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Creativity Prompts
Write about your most embarrassing moment. You can embellish as much as you want. (This might be a stretch–but it won't be so embarrassing once you've put it into words!) ...
Still life paintings are full of hidden meaning. Look carefully at “Vanitas” by Pieter Claesz (1597-1661). Make a list of at least 6 items that you can identify in it, and think about what they convey. What would some equivalent objects be in today’s world? Now, find those objects in ...
Some of the earliest novels were written in the form of letters between characters. Try writing a story as a series of text messages, group chats, emails, letters or postcards exchanged between at least two characters ...
Now that people are staying indoors because of strict quarantining, animals all around the world are beginning to wander out of their homes and into the world of humans, from dolphins in the Venice canals, coyotes in San Francisco, and herds of goats roaming the streets of Wales. Write a ...
Look to your immediate left or right and draw what you see using an art technique you’ve never used before. Could be stippling, cross-hatching, sgraffito, cross counter, etc. Get creative! ...
What is your favorite superpower? Now imagine everyone in the world has that one power. What would happen? Would we work together to regulate the usage of the superpower, or would the world descend into chaos as everyone fights for power? If everyone had the same power, would it still ...
Put some objects in front of a sunny window and draw the shadows they make (if it’s not a sunny day, put your objects in front of a wall and use a bright light instead). Next, try envisioning new animals, people, or whatever you can think of to fit the ...
What would the world be like without color? What if there were a few select people who could see colors? Write about the effects of not being able to see color, or of there being no color, and how that affects people and society in a good or bad way ...
If you could live in any kind of habitation, with everything exactly the way you wanted it, what would it be like? Where would it be? Maybe it’s a cave, or a space station, or just where you already are. Draw, paint, collage, or build a model of your ideal ...
Write a detailed character profile of a new main character for a story. Ask yourself as many questions as you can about your character, and really get to know them. Who are they? What do they look like? Where do they come from? Do they have any special skills? Can ...
