1
Observation
Choose one small thing you can see, hear or sense that another person might not immediately notice. Write about that detail as if it matters, even if you do not yet know why.
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Five ways to find something to write about.
You do not need a brilliant idea before you begin. You need a way in. Try five short approaches to generate material, notice what has energy, and choose what to keep writing.
The five approaches
Generate material before you judge it.
Try each one quickly. Do not edit while you write. If a prompt takes you somewhere unexpected, follow it.
2
Memory
Think of an ordinary place you knew well. Write one small moment there using where you were, one thing you saw, one sound and one thing somebody did.
3
Object
Choose an ordinary object and give it to somebody. Instead of describing it, write what the person does with it and what that behaviour starts to reveal.
4
Questions
Write three questions that make you curious. Choose one, but do not answer it directly. Write the moment somebody first realises that the question exists.
5
What if?
Take something ordinary and change one fact. Keep the rest normal. Write the first moment when the change begins to matter.
Free workbook
Use the full exercise as you write.
The workbook contains all five approaches, rescue prompts for when you get stuck, the ‘find the live wire’ exercise, development questions and a clear way to leave yourself a next step.
Find the live wire
Do not ask which piece is best.
Ask where you became interested. The useful question is not whether the writing is polished yet, but whether there is something here you want to follow.
One sentence
Mark one sentence you want to keep.
One thing you want to know
Mark one person, place, object or question you want to know more about.
One change
Find one moment where something changed or became uncertain.
One surprise
Notice one line that surprised you when you wrote it.
Then choose one piece and give it ten more minutes.
If you need a way forward, ask: What happens next? What does somebody here want? What is not being said? What could make this slightly harder? What does the reader now want to know?
What next?
Choose the help that fits the problem in front of you.
You do not need to do everything. Pick the route that would genuinely make it easier to keep writing.
Keep going for free
You do not have to buy anything to keep writing.
Use the Daily Writing Prompt for a fresh starting point, browse the free resource library or try one of the writing tools whenever you need another way back onto the page.