essay writing warm up

7 Writing Warm Ups for More Productive Writing

Wonder how to stimulate and encourage your brain to simply dive into the writing process?

A few warm-up activities will help to get your words and ideas flowing.

Why is it important to warm up? The answer is quite predictable: to avoid the writer’s block and start writing right away. You would be surprised at how much writing will come from you once you’re warmed up. You’ll easily banish all distractions and get down to putting the words on paper.

Here are a few proven ways to make you think and force your brains into action.

1. Describe What’s Going On Outside Your Window

It is the easiest writing warm up ever! You just to have look out your window and write down your observations. Try not just to focus on people, buildings and weather, think what else is there. Do you see something unusual? Consider the people’s emotions and imagine what they may be talking about. Try to be specific to make sure that your description takes no more than 5 sentences. It’s just a short warm up that shouldn’t last more than 15 minutes.

2. Write Imaginary Definitions of Unknown Words

Take a dictionary and open it on a random page. Find a word you are not sure how to define. Then create an imaginary definition for it. Play with words and you’ll discover new ways of saying old things. Be inspired and your imagination will help you produce the most vivid descriptions. Repeat this exercise for several times until you feel that your brain is warmed up enough to proceed with your main task.

3. Describe Your First Experience

Describe your first. Your first day of school, first kitten, first job, first car, first yoga class, first date, it doesn’t matter – all will make excellent stories. The first time of doing something is always an exciting experience, so you’ll easily find the right words to describe it and avoid that situation of staring at a blank sheet of paper. Concentrate on your emotions and start developing them in full – get the creative juices flowing!

4. Pretend You’re a Travel Writer

Find a world map and blindly put your finger somewhere. Then pretend you are a travel writer and tell about the weird experience in that particular country. What happened? How did you behave in that unusual situation? How did you solve the problem? You may include anyone and anything you want into your story – locals, taxi drivers, bartenders, random people. You’ll get a killer piece of content, just take some inspiration and put your pen to paper.

5. Create a Half-Page Monologue

Creating monologues is a great way to warm up, so get in the habit of writing them. Take a newspaper or go to google news, find an interesting headline, then decide on a character who comes from that headline and write a short monologue for that character. Be specific, it is just a warm up and you don’t have to create a long piece of writing. A half-page monologue will be more than enough to get your brain into the writing mode.

6. Write a Letter to Your Future Self

Writing a letter can be a really wonderful experience. There are no restrictions on how old you should be – one year, five years or 10 years from now. What would you say? What kind of person would you be? What goals would you want to have achieved? Think about your place in life, your achievements or fails. First of all, identify the period of time to write about and start writing. Don’t pay much attention to the letter format as it’s just a quick warm up.

7. Consider a Free Writing Session

Give yourself a time limit and go. Don’t stop, just get the words on a page. Write about everything that comes to your mind. Don’t give your brain a moment to stop or evaluate your ideas, set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and write without interruption. Free writing is not the time for editing or judging, you need to keep your pen moving. You will see that a free writing session is beneficial for more productive writing.

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Ways to Warm Up for Writing (At All Ages and Stages)

Athletes warm up before practice, musicians warm up before a rehearsal–so why wouldn’t writers warm up before writing?

Warming up for writing means getting your mind ready to write. For some writers, that means recalling your most recent word solving or spelling strategies so that they are fresh on your mind when you need them. For other writers, that might mean doing something to generate ideas for content, and for others it might mean doing something to refresh your memory on where you left off.

Here are a few quick and easy warm up routines that some of your students might find helpful.

Reading the Word Wall or a Ring of High Frequency Words

In many K-2 classrooms, teachers introduce a handful of high frequency words each week, adding them a few at a time to a “word wall” displayed in the classroom for easy reference. Other variations include adding to a smaller personalized word wall or ring of index cards. If this a tool that exists in your classroom, kids can warm up for writing by reviewing the word wall words – then those words will be fresh on their mind as they write. They might simply read the words to themselves, or they might write them on a dry-erase board in different sizes, or they might do a word hunt, searching through their previous writing for word wall words. Anything that gets them reading and/or writing the words they’ve been studying will give them extra practice with the words and set them up for success with spelling those words when they encounter them in their work.

A Spelling or Conventions Checklist Warm Up

For some kids, there are a few particular conventions that they seem to have trouble with day in and day out. With things like writing in lower case (instead of a mix of upper and lower case), common spelling errors, or fogetting punctuation, daily reminders and routines can be very helpful. After all, most conventions are habits, and habits really aren’t developed in one single sitting, or in just one minilesson. Instead, repetition is what forms a habit.

A short checklist highlighting just a few priorities for the indivdual student can help them self-monitor their own habits. Reviewing the checklist as a warm up to writing will put those conventions at the front of the writer’s mind as they begin to write, helping them incorporate the items on the checklist into their writing during writing, instead of always waiting until after writing to go back and check for mistakes.

Doodling or Drawing

For some writers, doodling or drawing helps them get ideas for what to write. It can also serve as a nice transition from an unrelated activity (recess, a math game, a science project…) into writing workshop. Ambient music or white noise often goes along nicely with doodling, and can have a calming effect, in addition to helping kids get ready to do their best work.

Talking or Rehearsing Aloud

Another way that writers often warm up for writing is by talking… talking A LOT. This might take the form of talking into a device to record all their great thinking, or talking to another person to brainstorm ideas, or rehearse a story idea to see how it sounds out loud. Talking might involve a lot of drama and expression, perhaps even role-playing different parts, or taking on different voices–or it might be done quietly and individually, whispering to oneself and sketching out a few ideas for what to write.

Re-reading What You’ve Already Written

Adults might do this without even thinking twice about it, but to novice writers it may not occur to them to reread what they’ve already written before they get started on new work. You can reread with many different lenses – reading your own work out loud helps you hear how it sounds and may help you discover parts to add on to, or shorten up. Rereading for spelling or punctuation from previous days work is helpful because you have fresh eyes for finding your own mistakes when you’ve taken a break from it. And rereading old finished work can help you generate new ideas for your next piece of writing.

Taking a Look at Some Mentor Texts

As a student, I would often get so carried away with a project or a piece of writing that I would lose sight of what the actual assignment was supposed to be. Now, I’ve developed a routine of looking at examples nearly every time I write. Sometimes I look to published, professional authors, but often I look to student writing, or writing created by friends or colleauges. This not only helps me stay focused on what I’m “supposed ” to be doing, I find it helps me generate new ideas, and gets my mind ready to write. Sometimes I look at a mentor text and I think, “Oh! I could use the same strategy in my work!” Other times I think, “Oooh. I would not do it that way. I think I’ll do it this way instead.” Either way, revisiting an example (or mentor text) is a helpful for routine for a lot of writers — especially those of us who benefit from clear expectations and focus on the task at hand.

Putting Warm Up Routines into Practice

In the classroom, each of your students may benefit from warming up for writing in a different way. In your next unit of study, near the beginning of the unit, perhaps you’ll introduce a few of your own favorite warm up routines that students can choose from, and invite them to invent their own routine. Then, each day at at the start of independent writing time, you can remind all your students to warm up, each in their individualized way. You may want to have a set ending time for warming up, signaling to students to stop warming up and start writing — or you may find that students transition into their work on their own and don’t need the signal.

For the writers in your classroom that need a little time to get settled in, a warm up routine might be just the thing that was missing.

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Published by BethMooreSchool

Literacy Coach, Consultant, Author, Graduate Course Instructor, and Mom. Passionate about fostering a love of reading and writing in learners of all ages. View all posts by BethMooreSchool

3 thoughts on “ Ways to Warm Up for Writing (At All Ages and Stages) ”

Such great ideas! Thanks for this awesome post Beth!

I appreciate the way you likened warming up for writing to warming up for a workout. I’d never just jump right into exercise without getting ready. Same should be said/done for writing too!

Love this list! I could see this at all ages for sure!

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10 Writing Warm-Ups to Engage Your Students in the Middle School ELA or High School English Classroom

In the public education setting, timed-writes are a required part of many standardized tests. Rather than try to cloak that reality, embrace it! One great way to do this is with fun and engaging writing warm-ups! Show your students that timed writing can be a fun challenge, and develop their expository and analytical prowess by beginning every class with a writing warm-up. These warm-ups should take only five to ten minutes, and you can easily implement them into your daily bell-ringer routine.

Here are 10 writing warm-ups  to build your students’ writing confidence:

1 minute story.

Get your students in the habit of writing from the word “go.” Set the time for 60 seconds and task them with writing a complete short story with a beginning, middle, and end in that time. The first time, many of them will probably find themselves caught up in the pressure or struggle over what to write. That’s okay! The more they practice, the better they will become at thinking quickly and excluding any unnecessary information. By the end of the school year, an essay in forty-five minutes will seem like a piece of cake! It’s best not to score these short stories. Instead, work on progress. If a student has trouble with this, encourage them to keep adding to their story with the one-minute you give them in class.

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Put an image up on the board, and have your students write a short paragraph about it. You can have them pen a short story, a long-form poem, or an explanation of what a student perceives the situation depicted to be. This exercise will encourage creative and critical thinking skills, both of which are essential in rhetorical analysis.

Note: the image should have as much or as little visual information as is appropriate for the type of response you are seeking. For example, for a poem, a picture of an apple would suffice; whereas, a stock photo of a couple might better suit a short story or analysis.

Teaching Resource: Descriptive Writing .

Musical Manuscripts

Using instrumental music is a great way to activate your students’ creativity and ability to write intuitively. Play the piece once in its entirety, and allow your students to make notes along the way. Then have them determine the mood of the song in a single word, and write a paragraph about why the song is “sad”, “happy”, “romantic”, etc. Because most of your students probably won’t yet have written a master’s thesis in music theory, this activity will force them to think analytically to get their point across. Plus they’ll get to listen to music in class!

Everyone’s A Critic

Have your students write a short review of a book, television show, or movie they recently read or watched! Reviews have a clear, if highly subjective, prompt: Was it good or bad? This warm-up is a wonderful practice for plot analysis, critical thinking, and supporting claims with evidence from the source. Plus, you may be able to avoid a bad film or two yourself. Kids are notoriously harsh critics, after all.

Alphabetical Order

This activity will make your students groan, but it will undoubtedly get them focused. This exercise will require your students to write a 26 line account of their day so far, each line beginning with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. For example: “ A bird flew by my window this morning. B irds are nice. “ C aw,” the bird said…” Students may experience frustration, but the structure will help them become used to producing fantastic work while working with strict guidelines. Furthermore, this activity will get them thinking about the process of writing.

Reverse! Reverse!

If you enjoy nonsensical fun, look no further! In this exercise, you will select any word out of the English language and present it to your students. Then reverse all the letters, creating an entirely new word. Each of your students will decide the meaning of this new word, and provide a dictionary entry for it, complete with a definition and an example sentence. This is a fun little exercise that gets the creative juices flowing and lets students feel more in control of language.

Tip: To make the activity more challenging, place specific guidelines on how the word fits into the English language, i.e., “this word is a verb,” etc.

Dear New Me,

Letters are a great, low-stress activity that still helps your students practice communicating their thoughts effectively in writing. In this exercise, students will write a short message to their future selves, detailing personal goals or worries about the near future. I recommend doing this at the beginning of a new unit or even before an extended assignment/project so that students can go into the next learning experience with a more focused mindset. Self check-ins are necessary and important!

Dear Old Me,

Here’s a fun mirror of the above warm-up, in which your students will write to their past selves! This can work in a broader sense, such as writing a letter full of things they’d wish they had known when they were six. They can also use this as a reflection upon the ending of a unit or project. It can even pair with the “Dear New Me” project, resulting in a constant stream of conversation that marks each student’s progress. It’s a great way to remind students that we are all learning and growing every day.

Dear Alter Ego,

Yet another twist on letter writing: This activity is one students can engage with every day and one that allows them a snippet of fantasy to liven up the classroom. Ask your students to create an alter ego for themselves. Then set aside a few minutes at the beginning of each class for your students to write to their alter egos. Not only is this an exercise in writing, but it’s also an exercise in self-esteem. Often alter egos are who we imagine ourselves as, but fear we are too plain or weak to be. The more acquainted your students become with their alter egos, the more they will realize that they are exalting themselves and their own potential.

Everything comes out better when love is added to the mix. When you ask someone about a subject they love, it seems as if they could talk for hours. Ask your students to write down a list of things they are passionate about: This can be anything from food to a sport to a stuffed animal they always keep on their bed. Have them choose one, set the timer, and let them write! They’ll surprise themselves with how much they have to say. Some more specific questions you can use to prompt them are: Why is ___ special to you personally? When did you first become interested in ___? What are 3 facts you know about ___?

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Writing warm-ups.

“Don’t wait for inspiration. Work inspires inspiration. Keep working. If you succeed, keep working. If you fail, keep working. If you’re interested, keep working. If you’re bored, keep working.”

— Michael Crichton

15 Ways to Jump-start Your Day

In a candlelit garret, William Shakespeare spins in a circle, rubs a quill between his hands, then spits over his shoulder before sitting down to put plume to parchment.

That scene from 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love” is played for laughs, but in today’s world of deadlines and day jobs, warm-up rituals are no joke. A warm-up routine can help you banish distractions, loosen “cold” creative muscles, and get down to the serious business of putting words on pages.

I recently asked the most prolific writers I know—the members of Romance Writers of America—to reveal how they jump-start their writing each day. Here, they share 15 fresh ways to get beyond the “blank page” stage as quickly as possible.

• Create a routine . Become a creature of habit. “I arise at 6 a.m., read the newspaper and take a short swim,” says Virginia Henley (The Border Hostage, Dell). “Once I’ve begun step one of the ritual, I can’t turn back, and therefore I turn on that computer and start work at the same time every day.” Take note: All of the New York Times bestselling authors who responded to the survey stressed this point.
• Don’t use e-mail or the Internet as a warm-up . Going online is the fastest way to make your writing time vanish without a trace. “I smack my hand when it tries to push the Outlook Express button first thing,” says Kathleen Eagle (Once Upon a Wedding, William Morrow). Reward yourself with Net surfing at the end of your writing session, after you’ve met your daily goal.
• Set a limit on warm-up time . A warm-up ritual is meant to improve your productivity, not give you another excuse to procrastinate. As you read this list, circle two or three ideas that appeal to you, then weave them into a daily routine that lasts about 10 to 20 minutes. If you find yourself overdoing it, set a timer.
• Relocate. Take your show on the road: Pack up your laptop and head for the nearest dining room, coffee shop, park or beach. One New York Times bestselling author starts every day far from her office: After waking up and making a quick pit stop, “I hop right back under the covers with my laptop,” says Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Breathing Room, William Morrow). “I like to write this way for about an hour before I go downstairs and tend to everything else. Two hours later, when I finally get resettled in front of the computer, I already have something to show for my day.”
• List. If you’re nagged by thoughts of errands to run and groceries to buy, banish your distractions by jotting a quick to-do list. Put a star next to anything that needs to be done today (just as soon as you’re finished writing). Now set the list aside and focus on your book.
• Dictate . If you find the “blank page” stage too daunting, turn off your computer and dictate the rough draft of your scene into a digital recorder. Use a portable model and jump-start your writing in the car, at your daughter’s soccer game or anywhere that’s convenient.
• Type . Put your fingers on the keyboard and type whatever pops into your head: random phrases, a description of the weather, the room where the scene takes place—anything that will move you into the story. “I know I can delete these ramblings, and I often do,” says Victoria Hinshaw (The Fountainebleu Fan, Zebra Regency). “I’m sometimes surprised, however, to find a new insight or even a worthwhile sentence or two.”
• Plot . Take a moment to think about what you want this scene to accomplish: Who are the focal characters? What are their motivations? What conflicts will they encounter? What action might take place? What’s the emotional tone? How will this scene move the story forward? Brainstorm 10 or 20 quick ideas and dive in.
• Skim . “If I’m stalled, I often go back and speed-read through the entire manuscript,” says Robin Lee Hatcher (Firstborn, Tyndale House). “Major procrastination usually indicates that I’m missing motivation for one of my characters. This helps me find the answer.”
• Journey . If you’re a historical author, take a time-traveling journey into the era you’re writing about: Look at letters, diaries, prints or other material from the period. While writing The Exiles (Zebra), Nita Abrams started her day by tracing her characters’ movements on a map of 1813 Vienna.
• Spark . Decorate your writing space with pictures that instantly spark your creativity. In her “Poof, It’s a Book!” workshop, Susan Wiggs (Passing Through Paradise, Warner) suggests making a collage with clippings from magazines. The collage for my current novel-in-progress features photos of Alaskan scenery, a helicopter, Mel Gibson, a blonde in a slinky red dress and phrases like “Strong & Beautiful.”
• Believe . Create a folder filled with self-esteem boosters: inspiring quotes, praise from contest judges or critique partners, award certificates—anything that helps you believe in yourself and your talent. Spend a moment looking through it before you start your day.
• Relax . A few minutes of guided relaxation can quiet your mind and awaken your creative spirit. Step-by-step instruction is available on DVD or audio CD. Try “Yoga Journal’s Yoga Practice for Relaxation” (DVD) or “The Theta Meditation System” by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson (CD), both available at Amazon.com, or “Ten Minutes to Relax” by The Relaxation Company (CD, available at www.therelaxationcompany.com).
• Ask a question. Before leaving the keyboard, ask yourself a question about tomorrow’s scene: What’s the heroine feeling at this point? Or, How are they going to get out of this alive? Write it down and sleep on it. Your subconscious might provide a surprising answer.
• Blaze a trail . Type a few quick sentences to be continued. “I try to always end my workday by beginning a new strand of action or adventure—just enough to draw me into the next day’s work with a bit more ease,” says Ruth Ryan Langan, author of more than 70 novels (His Father’s Son, Silhouette).

Experiment a bit until you find the warm-up that meets your needs. If any part of your routine causes you trouble, change it. “What will motivate one writer may not work for another,” says Tina St. John (White Lion’s Lady, Ballantine). “It’s important to look for the things that inspire you, then use them shamelessly.”

USA Today bestselling author Shelly Thacker has earned lavish praise from Publishers Weekly, Locus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Detroit Free Press and booksellers who have called her “a virtuoso beyond compare.” A two-time RWA RITA Finalist, she has won numerous other honors for her fiction, including a National Readers’ Choice Award and many Romantic Times Certificates of Excellence. There are more than one million copies of her novels in print.

Published in Writer’s Digest’s Writer’s Forum magazine, Winter 2005 © Shelly Thacker. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for individual writers to print one copy of this article for personal use. Any other reproduction by any means, print or electronic, is strictly prohibited without written permission of the author.

• Writing Activities

105 Creative Writing Exercises To Get You Writing Again

You know that feeling when you just don’t feel like writing? Sometimes you can’t even get a word down on paper. It’s the most frustrating thing ever to a writer, especially when you’re working towards a deadline. The good news is that we have a list of 105 creative writing exercises to help you get motivated and start writing again!

What are creative writing exercises?

Creative writing exercises are short writing activities (normally around 10 minutes) designed to get you writing. The goal of these exercises is to give you the motivation to put words onto a blank paper. These words don’t need to be logical or meaningful, neither do they need to be grammatically correct or spelt correctly. The whole idea is to just get you writing something, anything. The end result of these quick creative writing exercises is normally a series of notes, bullet points or ramblings that you can, later on, use as inspiration for a bigger piece of writing such as a story or a poem. 

Good creative writing exercises are short, quick and easy to complete. You shouldn’t need to think too much about your style of writing or how imaginative your notes are. Just write anything that comes to mind, and you’ll be on the road to improving your creative writing skills and beating writer’s block . 

Use the generator below to get a random creative writing exercise idea:

List of 105+ Creative Writing Exercises

Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again:

• Set a timer for 60 seconds. Now write down as many words or phrases that come to mind at that moment.
• Pick any colour you like. Now start your sentence with this colour. For example, Orange, the colour of my favourite top. 
• Open a book or dictionary on a random page. Pick a random word. You can close your eyes and slowly move your finger across the page. Now, write a paragraph with this random word in it. You can even use an online dictionary to get random words:

• Create your own alphabet picture book or list. It can be A to Z of animals, food, monsters or anything else you like!
• Using only the sense of smell, describe where you are right now.
• Take a snack break. While eating your snack write down the exact taste of that food. The goal of this creative writing exercise is to make your readers savour this food as well.
• Pick a random object in your room and write a short paragraph from its point of view. For example, how does your pencil feel? What if your lamp had feelings?
• Describe your dream house. Where would you live one day? Is it huge or tiny? 
• Pick two different TV shows, movies or books that you like. Now swap the main character. What if Supergirl was in Twilight? What if SpongeBob SquarePants was in The Flash? Write a short scene using this character swap as inspiration.
• What’s your favourite video game? Write at least 10 tips for playing this game.
• Pick your favourite hobby or sport. Now pretend an alien has just landed on Earth and you need to teach it this hobby or sport. Write at least ten tips on how you would teach this alien.
• Use a random image generator and write a paragraph about the first picture you see.

• Write a letter to your favourite celebrity or character. What inspires you most about them? Can you think of a memorable moment where this person’s life affected yours? We have this helpful guide on writing a letter to your best friend for extra inspiration.
• Write down at least 10 benefits of writing. This can help motivate you and beat writer’s block.
• Complete this sentence in 10 different ways: Patrick waited for the school bus and…
• Pick up a random book from your bookshelf and go to page 9. Find the ninth sentence on that page. Use this sentence as a story starter.
• Create a character profile based on all the traits that you hate. It might help to list down all the traits first and then work on describing the character.
• What is the scariest or most dangerous situation you have ever been in? Why was this situation scary? How did you cope at that moment?
• Pretend that you’re a chat show host and you’re interviewing your favourite celebrity. Write down the script for this conversation.
• Using extreme detail, write down what you have been doing for the past one hour today. Think about your thoughts, feelings and actions during this time.
• Make a list of potential character names for your next story. You can use a fantasy name generator to help you.
• Describe a futuristic setting. What do you think the world would look like in 100 years time?
• Think about a recent argument you had with someone. Would you change anything about it? How would you resolve an argument in the future?
• Describe a fantasy world. What kind of creatures live in this world? What is the climate like? What everyday challenges would a typical citizen of this world face? You can use this fantasy world name generator for inspiration.
• At the flip of a switch, you turn into a dragon. What kind of dragon would you be? Describe your appearance, special abilities, likes and dislikes. You can use a dragon name generator to give yourself a cool dragon name.
• Pick your favourite book or a famous story. Now change the point of view. For example, you could rewrite the fairytale , Cinderella. This time around, Prince Charming could be the main character. What do you think Prince Charming was doing, while Cinderella was cleaning the floors and getting ready for the ball?
• Pick a random writing prompt and use it to write a short story. Check out this collection of over 300 writing prompts for kids to inspire you. 
• Write a shopping list for a famous character in history. Imagine if you were Albert Einstein’s assistant, what kind of things would he shop for on a weekly basis?
• Create a fake advertisement poster for a random object that is near you right now. Your goal is to convince the reader to buy this object from you.
• What is the worst (or most annoying) sound that you can imagine? Describe this sound in great detail, so your reader can understand the pain you feel when hearing this sound.
• What is your favourite song at the moment? Pick one line from this song and describe a moment in your life that relates to this line.
•  You’re hosting an imaginary dinner party at your house. Create a list of people you would invite, and some party invites. Think about the theme of the dinner party, the food you will serve and entertainment for the evening. 
• You are waiting to see your dentist in the waiting room. Write down every thought you are having at this moment in time. 
• Make a list of your greatest fears. Try to think of at least three fears. Now write a short story about a character who is forced to confront one of these fears. 
• Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for a famous villain of your choice. Think about the crimes they have committed, and the reward you will give for having them caught. 
• Imagine you are a journalist for the ‘Imagine Forest Times’ newspaper. Your task is to get an exclusive interview with the most famous villain of all time. Pick a villain of your choice and interview them for your newspaper article. What questions would you ask them, and what would their responses be?
•  In a school playground, you see the school bully hurting a new kid. Write three short stories, one from each perspective in this scenario (The bully, the witness and the kid getting bullied).
• You just won $10 million dollars. What would you spend this money on?
• Pick a random animal, and research at least five interesting facts about this animal. Write a short story centred around one of these interesting facts. 
• Pick a global issue that you are passionate about. This could be climate change, black lives matters, women’s rights etc. Now create a campaign poster for this global issue. 
• Write an acrostic poem about an object near you right now (or even your own name). You could use a poetry idea generator to inspire you.
• Imagine you are the head chef of a 5-star restaurant. Recently the business has slowed down. Your task is to come up with a brand-new menu to excite customers. Watch this video prompt on YouTube to inspire you.
• What is your favourite food of all time? Imagine if this piece of food was alive, what would it say to you?
• If life was one big musical, what would you be singing about right now? Write the lyrics of your song. 
• Create and describe the most ultimate villain of all time. What would their traits be? What would their past look like? Will they have any positive traits?
• Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: Every time I look out of the window, I…
• You have just made it into the local newspaper, but what for? Write down at least five potential newspaper headlines . Here’s an example, Local Boy Survives a Deadly Illness.
• If you were a witch or a wizard, what would your specialist area be and why? You might want to use a Harry Potter name generator or a witch name generator for inspiration.
• What is your favourite thing to do on a Saturday night? Write a short story centred around this activity. 
• Your main character has just received the following items: A highlighter, a red cap, a teddy bear and a fork. What would your character do with these items? Can you write a story using these items? 
• Create a timeline of your own life, from birth to this current moment. Think about the key events in your life, such as birthdays, graduations, weddings and so on. After you have done this, you can pick one key event from your life to write a story about. 
• Think of a famous book or movie you like. Rewrite a scene from this book or movie, where the main character is an outsider. They watch the key events play out, but have no role in the story. What would their actions be? How would they react?
• Three very different characters have just won the lottery. Write a script for each character, as they reveal the big news to their best friend.  
• Write a day in the life story of three different characters. How does each character start their day? What do they do throughout the day? And how does their day end?
•  Write about the worst experience in your life so far. Think about a time when you were most upset or angry and describe it. 
• Imagine you’ve found a time machine in your house. What year would you travel to and why?
• Describe your own superhero. Think about their appearance, special abilities and their superhero name. Will they have a secret identity? Who is their number one enemy?
• What is your favourite country in the world? Research five fun facts about this country and use one to write a short story. 
• Set yourself at least three writing goals. This could be a good way to motivate yourself to write every day. For example, one goal might be to write at least 150 words a day. 
• Create a character description based on the one fact, three fiction rule. Think about one fact or truth about yourself. And then add in three fictional or fantasy elements. For example, your character could be the same age as you in real life, this is your one fact. And the three fictional elements could be they have the ability to fly, talk in over 100 different languages and have green skin. 
• Describe the perfect person. What traits would they have? Think about their appearance, their interests and their dislikes. 
• Keep a daily journal or diary. This is a great way to keep writing every day. There are lots of things you can write about in your journal, such as you can write about the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of your day. Think about anything that inspired you or anything that upset you, or just write anything that comes to mind at the moment. 
• Write a book review or a movie review. If you’re lost for inspiration, just watch a random movie or read any book that you can find. Then write a critical review on it. Think about the best parts of the book/movie and the worst parts. How would you improve the book or movie?
• Write down a conversation between yourself. You can imagine talking to your younger self or future self (i.e. in 10 years’ time). What would you tell them? Are there any lessons you learned or warnings you need to give? Maybe you could talk about what your life is like now and compare it to their life?
• Try writing some quick flash fiction stories . Flash fiction is normally around 500 words long, so try to stay within this limit.
• Write a six-word story about something that happened to you today or yesterday. A six-word story is basically an entire story told in just six words. Take for example: “Another football game ruined by me.” or “A dog’s painting sold for millions.” – Six-word stories are similar to writing newspaper headlines. The goal is to summarise your story in just six words. 
• The most common monsters or creatures used in stories include vampires, werewolves , dragons, the bigfoot, sirens and the loch-ness monster. In a battle of intelligence, who do you think will win and why?
• Think about an important event in your life that has happened so far, such as a birthday or the birth of a new sibling. Now using the 5 W’s and 1 H technique describe this event in great detail. The 5 W’s include: What, Who, Where, Why, When and the 1 H is: How. Ask yourself questions about the event, such as what exactly happened on that day? Who was there? Why was this event important? When and where did it happen? And finally, how did it make you feel?
• Pretend to be someone else. Think about someone important in your life. Now put yourself into their shoes, and write a day in the life story about being them. What do you think they do on a daily basis? What situations would they encounter? How would they feel?
• Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: I remember…
• Write about your dream holiday. Where would you go? Who would you go with? And what kind of activities would you do?
• Which one item in your house do you use the most? Is it the television, computer, mobile phone, the sofa or the microwave? Now write a story of how this item was invented. You might want to do some research online and use these ideas to build up your story. 
• In exactly 100 words, describe your bedroom. Try not to go over or under this word limit.
• Make a top ten list of your favourite animals. Based on this list create your own animal fact file, where you provide fun facts about each animal in your list.
• What is your favourite scene from a book or a movie? Write down this scene. Now rewrite the scene in a different genre, such as horror, comedy, drama etc.
•  Change the main character of a story you recently read into a villain. For example, you could take a popular fairytale such as Jack and the Beanstalk, but this time re-write the story to make Jack the villain of the tale.
• Complete the following sentence in at least 10 different ways: Do you ever wonder…
• What does your name mean? Research the meaning of your own name, or a name that interests you. Then use this as inspiration for your next story. For example, the name ‘Marty’ means “Servant Of Mars, God Of War”. This could make a good concept for a sci-fi story.
• Make a list of three different types of heroes (or main characters) for potential future stories.
• If someone gave you $10 dollars, what would you spend it on and why?
• Describe the world’s most boring character in at least 100 words. 
• What is the biggest problem in the world today, and how can you help fix this issue?
• Create your own travel brochure for your hometown. Think about why tourists might want to visit your hometown. What is your town’s history? What kind of activities can you do? You could even research some interesting facts. 
• Make a list of all your favourite moments or memories in your life. Now pick one to write a short story about.
• Describe the scariest and ugliest monster you can imagine. You could even draw a picture of this monster with your description.
• Write seven haikus, one for each colour of the rainbow. That’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. 
• Imagine you are at the supermarket. Write down at least three funny scenarios that could happen to you at the supermarket. Use one for your next short story. 
• Imagine your main character is at home staring at a photograph. Write the saddest scene possible. Your goal is to make your reader cry when reading this scene. 
• What is happiness? In at least 150 words describe the feeling of happiness. You could use examples from your own life of when you felt happy.
• Think of a recent nightmare you had and write down everything you can remember. Use this nightmare as inspiration for your next story.
• Keep a dream journal. Every time you wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning you can quickly jot down things that you remember from your dreams. These notes can then be used as inspiration for a short story. 
• Your main character is having a really bad day. Describe this bad day and the series of events they experience. What’s the worst thing that could happen to your character?
• You find a box on your doorstep. You open this box and see the most amazing thing ever. Describe this amazing thing to your readers.
• Make a list of at least five possible settings or locations for future stories. Remember to describe each setting in detail.
• Think of something new you recently learned. Write this down. Now write a short story where your main character also learns the same thing.
• Describe the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your whole life. Your goal is to amaze your readers with its beauty. 
• Make a list of things that make you happy or cheer you up. Try to think of at least five ideas. Now imagine living in a world where all these things were banned or against the law. Use this as inspiration for your next story.
• Would you rather be rich and alone or poor and very popular? Write a story based on the lives of these two characters. 
• Imagine your main character is a Librarian. Write down at least three dark secrets they might have. Remember, the best secrets are always unexpected.
• There’s a history behind everything. Describe the history of your house. How and when was your house built? Think about the land it was built on and the people that may have lived here long before you.
• Imagine that you are the king or queen of a beautiful kingdom. Describe your kingdom in great detail. What kind of rules would you have? Would you be a kind ruler or an evil ruler of the kingdom?
• Make a wish list of at least three objects you wish you owned right now. Now use these three items in your next story. At least one of them must be the main prop in the story.
• Using nothing but the sense of taste, describe a nice Sunday afternoon at your house. Remember you can’t use your other senses (i.e see, hear, smell or touch) in this description. 
• What’s the worst pain you felt in your life? Describe this pain in great detail, so your readers can also feel it.
• If you were lost on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, what three must-have things would you pack and why?
• Particpate in online writing challenges or contests. Here at Imagine Forest, we offer daily writing challenges with a new prompt added every day to inspire you. Check out our challenges section in the menu.

Do you have any more fun creative writing exercises to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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50 Writing Prompts for All Grade Levels

Sometimes students need a little push to activate their imaginations.

The collection of prompts below asks young writers to think through real or imagined events, their emotions, and a few wacky scenarios. Try out the ones you think will resonate most with your students. 

As with all prompts, inform students that their answers should be rated G and that disclosing dangerous or illegal things they’re involved in will obligate you to file a report with the administration or school counselors. Finally, give students the option of writing “PERSONAL” above some entries that they don’t want anyone to read. We all need to let scraggly emotions run free in our prose sometimes.

If your class uses daybooks (an approach recommended in Thinking Out Loud: The Student Daybook as a Tool to Foster Learning ), wait for composition notebooks to go on sale at Target, the Dollar Store, or Walmart for $0.50 a piece. To organize the daybook, direct young writers to leave the first three pages blank and number and date each entry—adding these entries to a table of contents that they create as they work so they can return to specific entries later. 

High School Prompts

• Should cameras on drones watch all public spaces to prevent crime, or is that a violation of privacy? 
• Do Americans have it too easy? Why do you think that?
• What causes racism?
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hires you as a consultant to determine how best to use $20 billion to save the world. What’s your plan?
• What’s the worst thing about the internet? 
• Would you rather be very beautiful or very smart? Explain.
• You can save one object before your house burns down. What is it? What makes that object important to you?
• How much control over your life do you have? What makes you say that? 
• Describe your ideal life 15 years from now. What is something you can do every day to reach that goal?
• What would your friends say is your most lovable quality? Describe that quality. 
• What is something scary that you would like to try? What makes it scary for you? How might you overcome that fear?
• What things do you conscientiously do to feed your brain?
• What are three of your most profound learning experiences? Where and when did they occur?
• By age 18, the average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. What is it about television violence that is so compelling to people?
• Would you rather be loved or respected? Because?
• Does social media represent individuals authentically? Explain with examples. 
• Imagine that it’s the last day of high school and you’ve been asked by a teacher to say a few words that summarize the events that have occurred over the last four years that are most meaningful to you. What do you say? 

Middle School Prompts

• Which classmate would be the best to lead us through a zombie apocalypse? Why? 
• What real-life situations would work out better for you if you were a different gender? Why?
• How can you tell when someone your age is feeling insecure? Are most people more insecure or anxious than they let on?
• If the internet were to crash forever, what would the benefits be for you? The drawbacks?
• Write a scene that features a) a classmate, b) $100 million, and c) magical shoes. 
• What three features should your future house have? Why?
• If you starred in a television show about your life, what would the show be called? What genre would it be? (Examples: comedy, drama, thriller, romance, action-adventure, fantasy, superhero, soap opera, reality, game show, space adventure, Western, tragedy, etc.) Summarize the plot of an episode. 
• In the future, what extreme sports will people be talking about?
• Is your ethnicity an important part of your identity? How so? 
• You get to take one book, one food item, and one famous person (living or dead) to a deserted island. What and who do you take? Why?
• Write a powerfully supportive email to yourself 10 years from now. Send that email to yourself using FutureMe.org . 
• You have been selected to be king or queen of your school. What are five rules that every kid should follow at your school? What should the punishment be for rule breakers?
• What do the five friends you hang out with most have in common? How are you most like them? How are you different from them?
• What contributes to someone becoming a bully? What can help stop someone from bullying?
• Do you make friends slowly or quickly? Describe how one of your important friendships evolved.
• Should we fear failure? Explain.
• If a wizard could tell you anything about your future, what would you most like to know?
• Do you believe in luck? Are you superstitious? How so? If not, why do you think some people are?

Elementary School Prompts

• I wish my teachers knew that . . .
• What’s the most beautiful person, place, or thing you’ve ever seen? Share what makes that person, place, or thing so special. 
• Which is better, giant muscles or incredible speed? Why?
• What is your most difficult subject in school? Why is it difficult? What can you do to get better at that subject?
• Rewrite “Hansel and Gretel” from the witch’s perspective.
• Describe a scary situation that you’ve experienced.
• What is your first memory? Describe it.
• You wake up tomorrow with a silly superpower that makes you famous. What is that silly power? How does it lead to your becoming an international superstar? 
• Are you a good loser? Explain. 
• What are examples of things you want versus things you need? 
• Last Friday, you were given one wish by a magical panda. You tried so hard to make the wish positive, but after the whacked-out events that unfolded over the weekend, you regret ever meeting that tricky panda. What did you ask for, and what happened?
• I wish my friends . . . 
• Describe a routine that you often or always do (in the morning, when you get home, Friday nights, before a game, etc.).
• What things do all kids know that adults do not?
• What TV or movie characters do you wish were real? Why? 

After they’ve finished an entry, ask students to read their work aloud or exchange daybooks for a read-around. If you give the entries written feedback, show that their work is respected by using a sticky note or scratch paper. 

You might also incorporate background writing music one day a week—say on “Music Monday.” For some examples of music you might use in class, Pitchfork has an article called “ The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time .” My favorite album for composing is the Birdy soundtrack by Peter Gabriel—a good one for older kids. Other Edutopia staff and bloggers like writing to Coffitivity , Noisli , Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Alcest’s Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde .

Don’t forget to write along with your students. Why should they have all the fun?

What are your students’ favorite writing prompts?

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Copyblogger

7 Fun and Easy Warm Ups to Start Your Writing Day

The fastest way to become a proficient content creator is to make writing part of your daily routine.

When you write habitually , you open up a channel that allows the ideas in your head to more easily become a physical expression of those ideas. You go from thoughts to words on a page faster. Your writing improves.

And because you’re better at writing, you enjoy it more.

And because you enjoy it more, you write more often.

It’s a happy circular pattern of, “Doing more, which leads to doing better, which leads to doing more.”

But none of the above helps you when you’ve fired up your computer only to find yourself in a stare down contest with that frightening little vertical bar that inspires dread in the best of us.

The cursed cursor.

From here on out, you may find yourself looking forward to being taunted by that blinking bar. Because you’re about to learn how to dive in and warm up your “writer’s brain” with fun techniques that will get your fingers moving and your ideas flowing.

What’s the purpose of a writer’s warm up?

A writer’s warm up is a fun exercise that prepares you for the work ahead. It’s designed to help you leap past any writer’s block you may feel and get you started writing quickly and easily.

• To get your fingers on your keyboard and typing.
• To begin getting your writer’s brain in gear.
• To write — with no judgment and no expectation of an outcome.

The point of a writer’s warm up is not to create publishable material . It’s to spend a short time getting yourself ready to create publishable work.

You don’t need to spend a lot of time on these warm ups: 10–15 minutes should do it.

Remember: no judgment and no expectation of results. Let your fingers do the thinking, not your mind.

1. Write a letter to the six-year-old you

There you were, all shiny-eyed and fresh-faced, heading off to the big world of school, friends, and life outside your home. Everything was new and different.

If only you knew then what you know now. All those hard-earned lessons life taught you along the way.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to pass all of them along to six-year-old you. You don’t want to scare yourself!

But if you could lean down and look six-year-old you in the eyes and speak a few words of wisdom, what would you say?

Write that.

2. Answer a question friends or family have asked about your business

Remember the first time you told someone about your new website and they clearly didn’t understand your business?

You were diplomatic about it then. You explained what you do in simple terms you knew they’d comprehend.

But what if you could do it over?

What if you were given a soapbox to stand on where you could go on and on about what motivates you to work so hard, why you’re passionate about the work you do, and how you plan to change the world with your work?

3. Put your blog categories in front of you and brainstorm ideas

Remember back when you set up your blog categories?

You thought you had a good idea of the topics you planned to cover. Over time, though, you may have found your content drifting into other areas of interest. You may have forgotten what your original intentions were.

In this exercise, you’re not going to write a piece of content to fit one of your categories. You’re going to dig out your categories, put the list in front of you, and simply brainstorm content topics that will fit into the categories you haven’t touched in a long time.

Don’t write content … write content ideas.

What content ideas can you come up with for categories you’ve ignored for a while?

4. Troll your comments and write to one reader

If there’s one thing a lively comments section is good for, it’s the reliable intelligence you can gain from simply paying attention to the comments your readers write.

They’ll let you know if:

• They understand your point.
• Your content created more questions than answers.
• They want to know more about your content topic.
• Their situation is different and they don’t understand how to apply your information.

For this exercise, look for a particularly passionate comment. Write back to the person.

Remember, this won’t be published. If you could say anything back to the commenter, what would you say?

5. Write a “Dear John” letter to the person who doesn’t fit your market

One of the first and most difficult decisions we must make when we’re marketing a business is to decide who we want to target with our products and services — and who we don’t want to target.

Intentionally choosing a group to appeal to and a group who you don’t want as customers is crucial. Why waste time attracting prospects you don’t want as customers?

Make no mistake — this step is tough. It’s not easy to walk away from potential sales.

That’s where this warm up can help.

Write a “Dear John” break-up letter to the people you don’t want to serve.

Remember, no one will see this. This warm up will help you reinforce your concept of who you serve and who you don’t want to serve.

What will you say to the person you really don’t want to sell to?

6. Write in present tense describing what your life is like after achieving a big goal

Do you have a big dream you’re working to achieve?

In this warm up, you’re going to imagine you’re already there. You’re going to write about what life is like now that your dream is a reality.

Spend 10–15 minutes describing what your life is like in the present tense now that you’ve achieved your big goal. Write in first person, too, so you feel the experience first-hand.

Put yourself in the shoes of the future you. What is life like now that you’ve finally achieved your big dream?

7. Let go and free write

If the above ideas don’t work for you, or if you’ve done them all and want to try something else, consider a free writing session .

Free writing is a technique where you put your fingers to your keyboard and type whatever comes to mind. It’s truly “thinking with your fingertips.” It’s a way to get past any blocks or resistance you may feel about writing on a particular day.

To have a productive free writing session, follow these guidelines:

• Set a timer.
• Type whatever comes to mind, even if you start with “I really don’t feel like writing today.”
• Do not look back at what you’ve written and don’t edit anything you write.
• Aim for speed and don’t expect anything usable to come from it.

Remember, no one will see the gobbledygook this warm up produces. The end result is not the point: it’s the act of writing that will make a difference.

What will come out of your fingertips when you place them on your keyboard?

What do you do to warm up your writer’s brain?

Build your writing momentum by getting your fingers moving and your brain in gear using the seven warm ups above.

Do you have a favorite technique for warming up your writer’s brain? Share it with me in the comments!

Pamela Wilson

Pamela Wilson coaches people in mid-career to build profitable online businesses. Apply for her Offer Accelerator program here . Have you read her Master Content books ?

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Reader Interactions

Reader comments (32).

April 6, 2016 at 7:34 am

I personally am never stuck and don’t need this, but for most other people I know, these ideas are pure gold. I have taught them in my corporate training seminars on technical writing with good results reported by the students.

April 6, 2016 at 9:20 am

Thank you, Bob.

I tend to go straight into free writing mode if I’m feeling stuck. (Just need to remember to delete that “I really don’t feel like writing today” first line).

April 6, 2016 at 8:05 am

Pamela–

Great ideas. I call sitting in front of the computer not knowing what to write, “Blank Screen Syndrome”.

Like vitamins, developing your writing habit and collecting ideas help avoid it.

I also love your “Dear John” letter approach. The Sales Lion, Marcus Sheridan calls it “Who don’t you want as a customer?” (BTW, it’s one of the strongest converting posts on his site!)

Happy marketing, Heidi Cohen

April 6, 2016 at 9:23 am

Very cool, Heidi. I haven’t seen that post yet and will have to go look for it on Marcus’s site.

That “who don’t I want to serve” question is tough for people to answer, so I stuck it in here as a no-pressure prompt to help people think about it.

April 6, 2016 at 8:58 am

This list is brilliant! I find a lot of writing prompts to be rather ‘blah’ but I appreciate the relevance to blogger. The ‘Dear John’ letter has to be my favorite here. There is no doubt that I will use this. Thank you.

April 6, 2016 at 9:24 am

Glad you enjoyed it, Jim!

April 6, 2016 at 9:26 am

Great tips, Pamela. Seems likely that doing these exercises over time will increasingly lead to clicking “publish” – as posts, sales copy, or even book chapters, eh?

April 6, 2016 at 9:29 am

You’ve got that right, Tom!

The more you write … er … the more you write!

April 6, 2016 at 9:46 am

I knew there must have been such a thing as a cursed cursor! That explains a lot.

Love the idea of writing to your 6 year old self. However, I think I would literally frighten the poor (but cute and loveable) lad to death.

Would love to read some other peoples letters to their little six year old versions.

April 6, 2016 at 9:55 am

It’s such a pivotal moment in our lives, right? Six years old and all the world’s a stage.

April 6, 2016 at 9:50 am

Great post!

Personally, I found that writing answers about writing on Quora worked wonders for me. Teaching others what I know and sharing insights on writing rekindle my spark and usually open that blockage after answering only one or two questions.

Try it if you’re ever feeling really, really stuck – it may just help you too!

April 6, 2016 at 9:58 am

Interesting, Selena. I haven’t done anything at all on Quora but it sounds like a fascinating way to get your writing brain in gear. Thanks for sharing the idea.

April 6, 2016 at 11:00 am

Such great ideas! As any writer, freelance or otherwise will tell you, getting in front of the computer is the toughest part of writing. It’s only when we get in front of the screen and just let the fingers fly that we can see great results. Thank you for sharing!

April 6, 2016 at 12:33 pm

Dear Pamela: Wonderful topic and suggestions. I especially like your allusion to what I call a “Judgment Free Zone” where you can write what you want to without worrying about likes, shares, and metrics.

For 3 years, my Judgment Free Zone has been a friend’s weekly newsletter where I’m introducing the basics of content marketing to a shrinking niche where few have adopted it. (Yes, it *is* a niche!) The benefits are I enjoy the ritual and the freedom to choose and express the topics. But, more important, I’m increasingly using these posts as the first drafts of longer posts I submit elsewhere!

Hint: I number the posts as a series, and now have over 144 ready to be adapted, reformatted, and reused!

A final idea that often works for me and my clients: I just pick up the phone and call a friend and say: “This is what I’m trying to do, but I can’t find the words. Can I take 10 minutes of your time to try to describe my project?” At the end of that time, the yoke of frustration has been broken–whether or not I recorded the call.

Again, thank you for a great topic!

April 6, 2016 at 12:44 pm

Love that “phone a friend” idea, Roger.

Once in a while I say to my ever-patient husband, “Would you mind if I just talk about something for a few minutes?” It’s strange how simply verbalizing a problem helps unlock ideas (and words to describe them) in a way that plain thinking doesn’t.

April 6, 2016 at 12:37 pm

This was just what I wanted to warm up my writing gear. The last time I updated my blog was 7 days ago. I’ve really been BUSY doing……NOTHING.

I really need to get writing now.

thanks Pamela, for the helpful tips…

April 6, 2016 at 12:45 pm

Great ideas! I used to write very fast and precise in my native language (Spanish) but now that I started writing in English I became slow and now I spend hours in front of the screen thinking what to write.

Definitely, I will use some of this ideas.

Thanks, Bianca

April 6, 2016 at 1:11 pm

Wow…this is amazing. Warm up’s for writing. The elaborate explanation makes the deal for me. True…when our fingers jump to typing, ideas flow more freely and then we end up writing without stopping at the blinking cursor.

Writing a letter to six year old self is similar to giving advice to younger self trend.

This could be even an entire blog post altogether.

Apart from the warm up one would also get to evaluate self with writing to self. It would open up the inner human, decrease doubt and we will understand ourselves much better.

Explaining about the business in writing will do much more than warm up for writing. It will make ourselves clearer in our mind about our business. What we think our business model is, are we working towards it and are we making change happen.

Yes…the categories of our blog do help in brainstorming content ideas. We can look up to our competitor’s blog too for different categories and blog post ideas.

I loved how you emphasized on writing content ideas. It would help us to expand on it later. For now, we can jot down weeks or maybe months of blog post.

Ha..ha..ha…comments.

Comments are the source of warm ups like you explained. It is also the source of content which would go viral. Analyzing comments, we can find ideas and contents which readers want more of it.

Then we can go ahead and answer their queries, delivering value and connecting too.

The best warm up and breaking the writer’s block is to write something totally out of your niche. Since we haven’t exhausted on the niche, we can easily write up on anything ranging from fashion to relationships to story telling.

Sometimes we can incorporate trends in our niche.

I read in “The Secret Book”, feeling success by imagining it helps our mind to accelerate our hard work. And as a side kick, it is fun and reality check too writing about success which we are chasing.

The best free writing is to race against the timer. Whenever I tried free writing without any timer, I failed to write even 100 words.

When I set up timer, (20 minutes anyone), I found I was able to write more and it was fun. Sometimes I churn out epic contents like that.

Yes…yes..I have my warm ups technique.

I comment on other blog’s. When ever I feel like I unable to get past few words, I hop to other amazing blogs and comment.

When I do that and come back, I end up creating articles meaningful and thought provoking.

Beautiful post. Stay awesome!!!

April 6, 2016 at 2:16 pm

I’m an odd one I think because I have a million ideas and write a lot of starter phrases and outlines and a couple of paragraphs for “brilliant” content, but then I never get around to completing them with a full out writing exploration. Maybe I’m lost in research too much because I’m often working on more than one article or project at a time and, of course, with everything absorbed–read, webinars, etc. that I attend, and all the information (overload)–just gives me more and more ideas. It’s almost like I need to lock myself away and devote myself to doing a writing project (and only that) for as long as it takes to complete. For me, a good piece of work takes many forms, edits, and time to do well, but ideas flow like a fountain. What is wrong with me? I’m opposite from the norm it seems! Thanks for more useful Pamela insights. Sue-Ann

April 6, 2016 at 2:19 pm

Nothing “wrong” at all, Sue-Ann!

It sounds to me like you know exactly what you need to do … buried in your comment is your solution. Maybe once you get used to that awesome feeling you get when you complete something, you’ll want to repeat it. 🙂

Great ideas here, Pamela. I especially like the letter to 6 year old me. And Dear John to a crappy client. ?

These prompts should help me avoid some of the pain of an empty brain mocked by a blinking cursor.

April 6, 2016 at 5:02 pm

I’ve found the ‘old school’ pen to paper helps get the creative juices flowing. Just the kinesthetics of fluid motion prior to fully formed ideas jump starts the creative process for me. And I’m always pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Great advice, Pamela! I like number 1 especially.

April 6, 2016 at 5:14 pm

Thanks for sharing, Kevin. Glad to know you found some good ideas for your next pen-to-paper session. 🙂

April 6, 2016 at 6:09 pm

Very good tips, Pamela. I have used #2 quite a bit with good effect. For me, it is one of the easiest ways to find inspiration on days when nothing is coming to mind.

April 6, 2016 at 10:26 pm

Great ideas!

April 6, 2016 at 11:08 pm

Hi Pamela, Great, practical advice. Thanks for this post. A technique I like to use is to consider an activity or an object that initially seems completely unrelated to my blog and try to find something about that activity or that object which I can use as an analogy in a post or group of post.

For instance, you think about how you could fit an object, like a box of facial tissues, into an article on content marketing or content creation.

April 7, 2016 at 7:27 am

Achoo! Could you pass me a facial tissue please, Mike? 😉 (Great idea, BTW: very creative!)

April 7, 2016 at 12:05 am

Thanks for sharing this awesome tips. Already I try to follow some of the tips in my routine life, but sometime how hard you try you can’t help it cause its all about creativeness and passion that you need for your writing.

April 7, 2016 at 2:36 am

Very great tips i have jotted down the main points. i always fumbling for tips and ideas which can cultivate my mind for next great Post . Thank you Pamela, i really enjoyed it.

April 10, 2016 at 9:47 am

I love your writing prompts. Any suggestions where I can look online for additional prompts that are similar to the ones you included in the blog? Something short that can be written in 10 minutes?

April 10, 2016 at 9:25 pm

Marcela, if you’re on a Mac or an Apple device, there’s an app called Day One which provides daily prompts.

April 11, 2016 at 8:03 am

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Learning in Room 213

Lessons, Strategies & Digital Courses

Persuasive Writing: a pre-writing activity

October 27, 2019 by Room 213 10 Comments

Often when we announce that we are assigning an essay we get some groans and eye rolls. I try to circumvent that with some persuasive writing activities that get my students excited (or at least somewhat interested) in the art of persuasion.  Before we begin any activity, I like to prime the pump with an activity that gets students interested in what comes next.  So because we were about to begin persuasive essays, I printed off a pile of cards that instructed students to persuade a partner of something.

I grouped my students and gave each group a stack of persuasion cards. Then, every student in the group chose one and had a minute to brainstorm the points to use to attempt convince their partner to do the thing on their chosen card.

This was one of those activities that I thought of in the shower. You know the ones. You have a completely different plan and then some aqua-inspired idea descends on you, and you completely switch it up. They are usually some of the best ideas, and this was one of them. M y students were very engaged in the activity, and at the end of the class, I heard “that was fun” several times.

Warmed my teacher heart. Not only was the activity deemed fun, but it also got my students ready to start thinking about a topic for their persuasive essay. We spent some time brainstorming and free-writing to get them exploring ideas, and because of the activity that preceded this, they were much more engaged in coming up with topics than they ever were before. 👉🏻If you’d like to grab this persuasive pre-writing activity, you can do so here . And, if you’d like a full persuasive unit, click here . For inspiration and more engaging writing activities, read this .

Reader Interactions

October 29, 2019 at 1:47 am

These are great! So creative! (I wish I'd had them last week when I created a "preparing for public speaking" stations activity with my AVID class!) I think they'd also make a clever icebreaker or brain break activity.

November 15, 2019 at 5:31 pm

Cool, thanks a lot for sharing!

November 24, 2019 at 2:14 pm

Thank you! Do you have this game for expository?

November 24, 2019 at 7:29 pm

No, sorry, I don't

November 24, 2019 at 7:30 pm

You are very welcome!

January 10, 2020 at 5:06 pm

Thank you so much! This is great. I will be using next week! 🙂

March 28, 2021 at 10:05 am

These are great for middle school and high school. The questions allow for thoughtful constructive feedback as well as provide a formative way to assess understanding and build critical thinking skills.

March 31, 2021 at 6:51 am

Thanks, Regina!

February 23, 2023 at 10:36 pm

Thank you for sharing these materials. They really are very helpful!

February 24, 2023 at 11:12 am

You are so welcome!

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Warm-Up for Cause-Effect Essays

Everything that is going on around you right now has one or more causes that came before. And everything that will happen in the future is the effect of something that is happening now, sometimes resulting from choices you make! To understand what's going on, you can think about causes and effects.

What Is Cause-Effect Thinking?

Cause-effect thinking means considering how one thing leads to another. To discover causes, you will think about why something happens, for example, the sources of air pollution. To discover effects, you will think about the results of something that happens, for example, how air pollution impacts the environment.

In this unit you will write an essay that explores the cause-effect connections of a special event, action, or occurrence.

Thinking About Causes and Effects

Thinking about causes and effects will help you understand why things happen. Causes are the reasons something happens. Effects are the results of something happening. You can also think of effects as consequences.

The following cause-effect webs will help you better understand the relationship between causes and effects.

Cause-Effect Web

Think about causes and effects.

Use your imagination to fill in each missing space with a realistic cause or effect. The first row is done for you. Make a copy of this Google doc or download a Word template .

© 2024 Thoughtful Learning. Copying is permitted.

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NPR suspends veteran editor as it grapples with his public criticism

David Folkenflik

NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public's trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument. Uri Berliner hide caption

NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public's trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument.

NPR has formally punished Uri Berliner, the senior editor who publicly argued a week ago that the network had "lost America's trust" by approaching news stories with a rigidly progressive mindset.

Berliner's five-day suspension without pay, which began last Friday, has not been previously reported.

Yet the public radio network is grappling in other ways with the fallout from Berliner's essay for the online news site The Free Press . It angered many of his colleagues, led NPR leaders to announce monthly internal reviews of the network's coverage, and gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, including former President Donald Trump.

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo is among those now targeting NPR's new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the network. Among others, those posts include a 2020 tweet that called Trump racist and another that appeared to minimize rioting during social justice protests that year. Maher took the job at NPR last month — her first at a news organization .

In a statement Monday about the messages she had posted, Maher praised the integrity of NPR's journalists and underscored the independence of their reporting.

"In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen," she said. "What matters is NPR's work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests."

The network noted that "the CEO is not involved in editorial decisions."

In an interview with me later on Monday, Berliner said the social media posts demonstrated Maher was all but incapable of being the person best poised to direct the organization.

"We're looking for a leader right now who's going to be unifying and bring more people into the tent and have a broader perspective on, sort of, what America is all about," Berliner said. "And this seems to be the opposite of that."

Conservative critics of NPR are now targeting its new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the public radio network last month. Stephen Voss/Stephen Voss hide caption

Conservative critics of NPR are now targeting its new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the public radio network last month.

He said that he tried repeatedly to make his concerns over NPR's coverage known to news leaders and to Maher's predecessor as chief executive before publishing his essay.

Berliner has singled out coverage of several issues dominating the 2020s for criticism, including trans rights, the Israel-Hamas war and COVID. Berliner says he sees the same problems at other news organizations, but argues NPR, as a mission-driven institution, has a greater obligation to fairness.

"I love NPR and feel it's a national trust," Berliner says. "We have great journalists here. If they shed their opinions and did the great journalism they're capable of, this would be a much more interesting and fulfilling organization for our listeners."

A "final warning"

The circumstances surrounding the interview were singular.

Berliner provided me with a copy of the formal rebuke to review. NPR did not confirm or comment upon his suspension for this article.

In presenting Berliner's suspension Thursday afternoon, the organization told the editor he had failed to secure its approval for outside work for other news outlets, as is required of NPR journalists. It called the letter a "final warning," saying Berliner would be fired if he violated NPR's policy again. Berliner is a dues-paying member of NPR's newsroom union but says he is not appealing the punishment.

The Free Press is a site that has become a haven for journalists who believe that mainstream media outlets have become too liberal. In addition to his essay, Berliner appeared in an episode of its podcast Honestly with Bari Weiss.

A few hours after the essay appeared online, NPR chief business editor Pallavi Gogoi reminded Berliner of the requirement that he secure approval before appearing in outside press, according to a copy of the note provided by Berliner.

In its formal rebuke, NPR did not cite Berliner's appearance on Chris Cuomo's NewsNation program last Tuesday night, for which NPR gave him the green light. (NPR's chief communications officer told Berliner to focus on his own experience and not share proprietary information.) The NPR letter also did not cite his remarks to The New York Times , which ran its article mid-afternoon Thursday, shortly before the reprimand was sent. Berliner says he did not seek approval before talking with the Times .

NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

Berliner says he did not get permission from NPR to speak with me for this story but that he was not worried about the consequences: "Talking to an NPR journalist and being fired for that would be extraordinary, I think."

Berliner is a member of NPR's business desk, as am I, and he has helped to edit many of my stories. He had no involvement in the preparation of this article and did not see it before it was posted publicly.

In rebuking Berliner, NPR said he had also publicly released proprietary information about audience demographics, which it considers confidential. He said those figures "were essentially marketing material. If they had been really good, they probably would have distributed them and sent them out to the world."

Feelings of anger and betrayal inside the newsroom

His essay and subsequent public remarks stirred deep anger and dismay within NPR. Colleagues contend Berliner cherry-picked examples to fit his arguments and challenge the accuracy of his accounts. They also note he did not seek comment from the journalists involved in the work he cited.

Morning Edition host Michel Martin told me some colleagues at the network share Berliner's concerns that coverage is frequently presented through an ideological or idealistic prism that can alienate listeners.

"The way to address that is through training and mentorship," says Martin, herself a veteran of nearly two decades at the network who has also reported for The Wall Street Journal and ABC News. "It's not by blowing the place up, by trashing your colleagues, in full view of people who don't really care about it anyway."

Several NPR journalists told me they are no longer willing to work with Berliner as they no longer have confidence that he will keep private their internal musings about stories as they work through coverage.

"Newsrooms run on trust," NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben tweeted last week, without mentioning Berliner by name. "If you violate everyone's trust by going to another outlet and sh--ing on your colleagues (while doing a bad job journalistically, for that matter), I don't know how you do your job now."

Berliner rejected that critique, saying nothing in his essay or subsequent remarks betrayed private observations or arguments about coverage.

Other newsrooms are also grappling with questions over news judgment and confidentiality. On Monday, New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn announced to his staff that the newspaper's inquiry into who leaked internal dissent over a planned episode of its podcast The Daily to another news outlet proved inconclusive. The episode was to focus on a December report on the use of sexual assault as part of the Hamas attack on Israel in October. Audio staffers aired doubts over how well the reporting stood up to scrutiny.

"We work together with trust and collegiality everyday on everything we produce, and I have every expectation that this incident will prove to be a singular exception to an important rule," Kahn wrote to Times staffers.

At NPR, some of Berliner's colleagues have weighed in online against his claim that the network has focused on diversifying its workforce without a concomitant commitment to diversity of viewpoint. Recently retired Chief Executive John Lansing has referred to this pursuit of diversity within NPR's workforce as its " North Star ," a moral imperative and chief business strategy.

In his essay, Berliner tagged the strategy as a failure, citing the drop in NPR's broadcast audiences and its struggle to attract more Black and Latino listeners in particular.

"During most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding," Berliner writes. "In recent years, however, that has changed."

Berliner writes, "For NPR, which purports to consider all things, it's devastating both for its journalism and its business model."

NPR investigative reporter Chiara Eisner wrote in a comment for this story: "Minorities do not all think the same and do not report the same. Good reporters and editors should know that by now. It's embarrassing to me as a reporter at NPR that a senior editor here missed that point in 2024."

Some colleagues drafted a letter to Maher and NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, seeking greater clarity on NPR's standards for its coverage and the behavior of its journalists — clearly pointed at Berliner.

A plan for "healthy discussion"

On Friday, CEO Maher stood up for the network's mission and the journalism, taking issue with Berliner's critique, though never mentioning him by name. Among her chief issues, she said Berliner's essay offered "a criticism of our people on the basis of who we are."

Berliner took great exception to that, saying she had denigrated him. He said that he supported diversifying NPR's workforce to look more like the U.S. population at large. She did not address that in a subsequent private exchange he shared with me for this story. (An NPR spokesperson declined further comment.)

Late Monday afternoon, Chapin announced to the newsroom that Executive Editor Eva Rodriguez would lead monthly meetings to review coverage.

"Among the questions we'll ask of ourselves each month: Did we capture the diversity of this country — racial, ethnic, religious, economic, political geographic, etc — in all of its complexity and in a way that helped listeners and readers recognize themselves and their communities?" Chapin wrote in the memo. "Did we offer coverage that helped them understand — even if just a bit better — those neighbors with whom they share little in common?"

Berliner said he welcomed the announcement but would withhold judgment until those meetings played out.

In a text for this story, Chapin said such sessions had been discussed since Lansing unified the news and programming divisions under her acting leadership last year.

"Now seemed [the] time to deliver if we were going to do it," Chapin said. "Healthy discussion is something we need more of."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

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