NaPo and Screnzy Daily Prompts 1-14

I just noticed today that the journal title was NaPoWriMo prompts even though we've been making an effort to make sure every prompt is both poetry and script friendly. Facepalm!

Everyday, we're posting new prompts in the chatroom. To find out what the new prompt is for the day, you have to go into the chatroom to see, but we'll be posting the past prompts here for your inspiration. Of course, "past" and "present" are relative terms, depending on what time zone you live in.

_{Once a week, we will re-post these prompts in a new journal to keep them current.}


DAY 1 INSPIRATION: Look around the room you're in and choose one item (a hairbrush, a book), and write a poem or a scene that incorporates this item in a significant way. Make sure you indicate the item's importance without being too obvious and directly telling the reader what it means.

DAY 2 INSPIRATION: Go outside and find a view you like, or find a picture of a landscape ad use it for inspiration. FOR POETS: No matter how ordinary the scene looks, use strong words to make it sound epic and magnificent. FOR SCRIPT WRITERS: Use outdoor elements (rain, wind, sunlight, etc.) to make the character interact with the scene and make the setting a character of its own.

DAY 3 INSPIRATION: Look at your desktop background and use it as inspiration. Is it a picture of loved ones? Is it an inspirational quote or image? It is a graphic or geometric design? Is it monochromatic? Think about the feeling or the energy the background evokes and work that into a poem or scene.

DAY 4 INSPIRATION: Write a poem or a scene in which someone is being somehow incoherent or babbling for any reason you like.

DAY 5 INSPIRATION: Use a song as inspiration for your writing today. For an extra challenge, put your library's shuffle mode on and go with the fifth song that plays.

DAY 6 INSPIRATION: In your poem or script, explain why someone has a particular prejudice against another person or idea. Try to make it so that the reader feels sympathy for that character, no matter how bad they seem.

DAY 7 INSPIRATION: Write about a physical conflict or an altercation that almost comes to blows.

DAY 8 INSPIRATION: Use a dream you've had as inspiration. If you have trouble remembering your dreams, or if you don't dream at all, use that sense of uncertainty as your inspiration instead.

DAY 9 INSPIRATION: Write a poem or scene in which one or more characters are crying, but steer away from typical reasons such as someone is dead or dying, or their heart has just been broken. Make the emotions real.

DAY 10 INSPIRATION: Choose a random word from the dictionary and use it as your inspiration.

DAY 11 INSPIRATION: Somehow incorporate the following phrase into your poem or scene: "The cup tipped over, and as the liquid spilled out, I realized..." You may change a few of the words to make it work for your particular story, but you must maintain the tone, intention, and basic imagery.

DAY 12 INSPIRATION: Make use of sound. What is the most beautiful noise in the world? The cutest, the loudest, the most abrasive? Why?

DAY 13 INSPIRATION: In honour of Friday the 13th, write about a situation to which someone has a bizarre or even creepy reaction to a situation that should otherwise be quite ordinary.

DAY 14 INSPIRATION: Use either the imagery of black and white or the theme of good versus evil, without delving into cliche territory and using both. Suggested (in part) by AspiredWriter