Write Right Now (Flash Edition)

Whether you’re traveling, trudging, juggling, or jamming, sometimes there’s only a brief moment to squeeze in some writing (or making). These prompts were designed for those times, and can be completed in 5-10 minutes each. Catch a bit of that magic light before the sun sets, anytime—your art is worth it.

• Stop. Look around. Make a list of as many round things as you can see. Pick one and describe it in great physical detail.
• Come up with character names for the following: an elderly woman at a beginning swing-dance class; a six-year old boy wearing a too-large sweatshirt; the smallest of a litter of seven puppies.
• Give one of these characters some words of bad advice.
• Search the ground around you for a piece of trash or lost item. Imagine a backstory.
• Write a comprehensible paragraph or stanza in English without using the letter “e”.
• Write a paragraph or poem using only (or mostly) the words from an opening narration for The Twilight Zone.
• In this Commonplace podcast, Sharon Olds recommends that writers take a moment to kiss their wrist. Kiss your wrist. Speed write about the resulting sensations.
• Read the horoscope for a sign belonging to someone you love. Respond with a single detail evoked by this experience from each of your five senses. No more than one line per sense.
• Take two minutes to draw your favorite writing space on a piece of paper. Fill the page. Include the cup for pens, the plant etc. For three minutes, fill the space with words.
• Help a friend rearrange a bookshelf in an unexpected or impractical way. Provide written instructions.
• Write a six-word story, like Hemingway did.
• Think about the strongest emotion you’ve felt in the last week. Once you’ve pinpointed it, write about exactly how you felt (not about why you felt your feelings, but how you mind and body felt).
• Look at an old story you’ve written and pick a supporting character—like a grocery store checker or teacher—and make them a main character in a new piece of flash fiction.
• Write a story that’s just made up of dialogue.
• Pick an animal and an object. Write a nursery rhyme.

Did you miss earlier prompts lists? Here they are.

Like what you’ve written? Put it away for a week, then revisit, and revise, revise, revise. When it’s ready to go, submit. If you have feedback, or ideas for prompts, please get in touch.

[Art: ‘Two Evening Lakes From Above,’ by Submittable team member Ben Bloch]