Summer 2015 Writing Prompt #6

In mystery stories, detectives have a lot of tools to help them solve crimes. But a mirror? See the writing prompt below! 

You (the detective) have been hired to solve a murder. 

You solve it using only your mirror. Write a 1st-person ("I") mystery story explaining how. 

Summer 2015 Writing Prompt #5

I love books in which characters have to survive in the wilderness. 

This week, we'll make the wild world the setting for our prompt. (See the prompt below!) 

Write about two children lost in a forest. 

Summer 2015 Writing Prompt #4

Warning! A bunny is about to invade!

I discovered the "Minnehaha Bunny," a bronze sculpture created by Jeffrey Barber, in a park in Minneapolis. Wouldn't she make a great writing prompt? 

A giant bunny invades your yard! What will you do? 

Summer 2015 Writing Prompt #3

Have you ever dreamed of living in a tower? 

If we can't really live in a tower, we can do the next best thing. For our writing prompt this week, let your imagination roam among the bricks and turrets of this magical place. 

Set a story in this tower. Don't forget to include a hero and a villain. 

A dragon would be a nice touch, too! 

Summer 2015 Writing Prompt #2

If you've ever gone to the post office in another country, you know it can be an adventure.  

Here's a mailbox in Warsaw, Poland. ("Poczta" means "mail.") 

For our writing prompt, we'll take ourselves to another land. 

Write about sending a letter in another country. You're homesick. You lost your phone. And you don't speak the language. You walk into the post office and….

Summer 2015 Writing Prompt #1

During the summer, Yellow Pencils likes to keep things simple.

Each week, I'll post a Summer Writing Prompt with a photo. Take your notebook and pencil to a comfy spot--under a tree, on your front steps, or to the beach. 

The photo and the prompt below it are to inspire. What is your story or poem? 

Write about three mice in a fountain.

Have fun! 

Summer Vacation!

School's almost out for the summer! 

Maybe, if you're lucky, you're already free to sleep in, head for the beach, and….write!

We can't all go to the ocean, but we can celebrate summer in our own way. And we can make writing part of that. 

What would you like to work on this summer? Finish that story? Write poems? Explore ideas in your journal? Or write from a prompt each week?

Starting next week, Yellow Pencils will post a writing prompt each week to keep our pencils moving. 

For today, I offer a tribute to the wonders of summer. What are yours? 

Remember to use all five senses. What are the sights, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes of YOUR summer? 

Summer Brings Its Joys

Sun slants through the porch

Books fill the hours 

Shade cools my skin 

Grass tickles my legs

Crows cackle in the trees

Strawberry ice cream lingers on my tongue

Low tide releases its smells

Sunglasses slide down my nose

Summer brings its joys.