Whether we are storytellers, story practitioners, journalers, writers, bloggers, memoirists, or just folks seeking personal growth and self-actualization, we can always use good story prompts for inspiration. Here are three I liked that I came across recently:
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- Tell the story of the most inspiring, influential storyteller you’ve known. This one comes from the blog, The Sunlit Desk. The blogger, “Sharon,” also offers a List of prompts & exercises.
- Imagine what your life would be like if one of the most significant events in it had not happened. This prompt springs from an article in Scientific American, What If I’d Never Met My Husband: New research reveals a better way to boost happiness than counting blessings — imagining that the good things never happened, the link to which Stephanie West Allen posted on Lifewriters Forum, and the ensuing discussion about it.
- Write your life legacy in three lines of 14 characters each. This one, in
the ilk of the six-word memoir or the Twitter story (if there really is such a thing), comes from Brickstorming, a PDF template at Creativity Portal (and introduced here). Here’s the actual prompt:
A world museum is creating an exhibit of “wisdom bricks” featuring unique quotes and bits of wisdom from 1,000 people from all over the world. You’ve been chosen as one of the people to participate in this legacy-making exhibit — you get to make your mark! What will you impart to future generations?
The brick engraving company has some parameters: Your message must be contained within 3 lines with 14 characters each (spaces and punctuation count).