I tried to come up with a set of “training exercises” that (1) anyone can write about (2) without doing any research (3) and provide value (4) even if lots of others do the same thing.
There is a gimmicky-but-useful set of discussion prompts called TableTopics. They come in card form and in a clear box so you can pick one at random as conversation starters. They have a variety of different angles -- sets of cards for adolescents, grandparents & grandkids, etc. Some of them would make good writing prompts, I think. Here are a few examples from the original set:
Which moment of your life would you choose to relive if you could?
What quality do you think is most important in marriage?
If you owned a boat, what name would you choose for it?
How will our culture change in the next 100 years?
Do you live more in the past, present, or future?
What makes a house a home?
If you decided to go on a spiritual journey, where would you go and what would you do?
If you could give all human beings one virtue which would you choose?
If you lived to be 100 would it be more important to have a sharp mind or a fit body?
What's your favorite quotation?
Would you choose to be the worst player on a winning team or the best player on a losing team?
Which long lost childhood object would you most like to find?
Obviously some are better than others, but that's not surprising. I think the original box had 135 topics.
There is a gimmicky-but-useful set of discussion prompts called TableTopics. They come in card form and in a clear box so you can pick one at random as conversation starters. They have a variety of different angles -- sets of cards for adolescents, grandparents & grandkids, etc. Some of them would make good writing prompts, I think. Here are a few examples from the original set:
Which moment of your life would you choose to relive if you could?
What quality do you think is most important in marriage?
If you owned a boat, what name would you choose for it?
How will our culture change in the next 100 years?
Do you live more in the past, present, or future?
What makes a house a home?
If you decided to go on a spiritual journey, where would you go and what would you do?
If you could give all human beings one virtue which would you choose?
If you lived to be 100 would it be more important to have a sharp mind or a fit body?
What's your favorite quotation?
Would you choose to be the worst player on a winning team or the best player on a losing team?
Which long lost childhood object would you most like to find?
Obviously some are better than others, but that's not surprising. I think the original box had 135 topics.
This is fantastic thank you