Writing Prompts

So, I know I promised something good this week. And I've put a lot of effort into finding a good idea, really, I have.

I got nuthin.

Yesterday I decided to google "writing prompts" and see if I could find some inspiration. I found lots of writing prompts for amateur fiction writers (of which I am one, when I'm in the mood). But nothing that seemed to drum up a memory which I could base a blog post around. So I googled "nonfiction writing prompts."

And I found this list: 101 Nonfiction Writing Prompts.

I'll give you the first ten with my first reactions:

• 1What's the fastest way to complete a (task) with (name of software)? The fastest way to complete the dishes is to guilt your husband into doing them.
• 2What are the advantages of using (tech product 1) over (tech product 2)?The advantages of using disposable diapers over cloth diapers are numerous, and begin with less poopy laundry.
• 3How do you find blogs that you can guest post on?Why would you want to guest blog? Get your own dang blog.
• 4What kinds of things stress children out?What kinds of things stress my child out? When I don't feed her fast enough, when her father sneezes, when she is too tired to sleep, and when I put the remotes and cell phones just out of her reach. Poor thing.
• 5How can you other people to submit articles to your blog?How is this question proper English?
• 6As a beginning blogger, what's the best way to ensure long term success?Don't erase your blog. Post on it. Done and done.
• 7How can you make your blog stand out in a crowded niche?I  would suggest NOT buying into the cooking blog, sewing blog, crafty blog, I'm-the-best-Mormon-Mommy-Ever blog. Basically, if you are trying to get on pinterest, you're in too crowded of a niche. Get out of it. Don't try to compete. Chances are you are trying to prove something to an audience that just wants to know a cheaper way to run a house and probably has already called their mom and their mom had no answers so now they've turned to google, and when google had no answers, they turned to pinterest.
• 8What does it take to become a top blog in your niche?Going off my above answer, obviously, to become a top blog, you need to create your own niche.
• 9How do you introduce the vegan lifestyle to a child?You say, "if you don't learn how to eat meat and things with milk, eggs, and cheese, your taste buds will die and you will have to eat like chronically ill people or vegans. It doesn't taste very good, but these are very brave people to do it, and we respect them, and we eat their meat and dessert."
• 10What are some good bedtime habits for parent and child to adopt?Bahahahahahahaha. Yeah right.

And I came to one conclusion: if any bloggers actually used any of these prompts, we would all be so bored out of our minds that we'd stop reading before we began.

So here are a few writing prompts I came up with today:

1. Say your friend Taylor Swift, who doesn't have any real relationship experience of her own, came to you to ask about your relationships for a song idea. What might she write about? Which stations would play it? And who would cry? Pre-teens, teens, grandmas? (Note: I asked Scott this question and he wrote me a beautiful song that started with "he was short and shy" and ended with "love letters.").

2. What side effects do you experience from anesthesia? What side effects do you wish you had? (Note: got my ingrown toe nail fixed today and was a little weirded out by my numb toe...TMI, sorry)

3. What if you could put your face on any cartoon character's body? Who would you choose to be and why? (Note: I got to do this today at the North Logan Pumpkin Walk!)

4. What if your child actually went to bed at the same time each night? What would you do with all that extra time? What if she actually STAYED asleep? (Note: ahhh, the possibilities.)

5. What if people stopped lying about their babies being so-called "perfect-sleepers"? (Note: Mommas everywhere would feel a lot less overwhelmed!)

6. What if you could pick professions for your siblings? Your children? Your best friends?

7. What if you had nightmares about pinterest? Like, as in, you were surrounded by crafts and projects you felt compelled to start but could never finish--sometimes never even get started? (Note: if you have an answer to this, please let me know. I've been having pinterest nightmares for two weeks, yet I can't seem to stay away...and somewhere in the dreams about cute things I have to make for my daughter, I hear her crying and then start reading sleep-training articles and can't differentiate between her actually crying and dreaming. Awful.)

8. What would you lose if your hopes and dreams were instantly granted? For example, no couple ever had to wait for a baby or a career or a house or a job? (Note: Because sometimes the best lessons we learn in life come from the waiting. I hate this, but I know it is true!)


Okay, I think that is enough to think about before bed tonight. I will continue to post writing prompts as I think about them.

I suggest you don't buy the book mentioned at the link above. Instead, spend 15 minutes with a child. You'll come up with more than 101 (or 1,699, as the book promises) things to write about!

Seriously, though...pinterest nightmares are the worst.

Also, I don't care that this blog has only 150ish page views. I'm not trying to get on pinterest, or earn money from sponsors, or end up on Studio 5 on KSL. I'm trying to be me.