Creative Writing

Journal Prompts

Words prompts
What do the following words mean to you? Write about them freely. 

Fear	Anger	Happiness	Mess	Scared	Tired	
Food	Suspicion	Tranquility	Magic 	Sport	Humour	
Family	Future	Age	Death	Animals	Grandparents	
Pets	School	Injustice	Environment	Music	Books	
Authors	Reading	Singers	Time	Youth	Hero	

Ideas prompt

1.	Explain what you like and dislike about yourself. What would you change if you could?
2.	What is your worst fear? Why?
3.	Write about your family. What do you enjoy, what would you change and why?
4.	If you were the boss of the .... school, house, family, country etc.... what would you do?
5.	My pet peeves. Why?
6.	List your worries and explain why they worry you. 
7.	If you could be like one of your heroes who would it be and why?
8.	What makes a hero?
9.	Write about the worst thing you have ever done. Why was it so bad? How did it make you feel?
10.	What makes you special or unique?
11.	What is the best .... book, movie, video? What made it so good?
12.	What book, film, video, cartoon character would you like to be and why?
13.	Who or what makes you laugh? Explain why you find it funny. 
14.	What are your favourite things? Colour, hobby, songs etc. Explain why. 
15.	If you could have super powers what would you have and why?
16.	If you were an animal what would it be? Why?
17.	Make 5 predictions about your life when you are older. [Occupation, family, hobbies, sport, car, holidays etc.]
18.	What was your best holiday and why?
19.	Where would you like to go if you could go anywhere in the world. Why?
20.	Write about your memories. Recall how you felt and tell as much detail as possible, explain why the memory is so clear, eg. 
·	First day at: school, Kindy, McDonalds, the Zoo, adventure park. 
·	Birthday parties, weddings, family outings or gatherings. 
·	Holidays, presents, games. 
·	The hardest thing you had to learn to do when you were younger such as tying shoelaces, riding a bike. Explain how you finally learnt how to do it. 
·	Pets, hobbies, games and toys. 
·	Earliest memories of your father, mother, grandparents, other family members. 
·	Your most ...embarrassing, exciting, proud, frightening.... experience. 

21.	What makes a great friend? In what ways are you a great friend? How could you be a better friend?
22.	What are 10 important qualities that make a wonderful .... friend, parent, brother, sister. Explain why. 
23.	Describe the job you hate doing the most at ....school, home, anywhere. 
24.	What do you admire most about your... grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, friend etc. Give reasons for your answer. 
25.	What makes you mad with your family?

As you think of different ideas add them to your writing ideas book. Jot the ideas down and later on you can come back and choose to write about some of your ideas. 

Themes

You could write on themes, eg. sports, pets, television, books, family, hobbies, school, the future. 

Photo prompts

You might have some photos at home of you and your family that would remind you of memories. These can be put in your writing ideas book or photocopied.
When you are looking in magazines or newspapers there might be something you would like to write about. Cut these out and put in your ideas book, eg. a picture of the bush might give you the following ideas. 

·	What would it be like to live in the bush far away from town with no TV?
·	How can we protect our bush from cats, dogs, possums etc?
·	How does being in the bush make me feel?

© Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand (First published 1998)