Welcome to my weekly writing tips. This mini workshop is intended to provide emerging writers with ways to get inspired and improve their writing. In the past, I've covered everything from point-of-view issues to motivation. As a historic note, way back when I first joined Steemit, I wrote an entire series of writing workshop posts. More recently, I was including a mini workshop in each weekly 50-word short story prompt post. And now it's a stand-alone series. I'll collect them for you below, in case you want to review the past workshop posts.
In this post we are going to talk about prompts, and how they can fuel the imagination.
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But a prompt can be anything of your choosing. An aroma, for example.
Think about the smell of gas. There's a reason for it: to warn occupants of a home or building that there's a leak, and they should evacuate, as any little spark could set off an explosion. Maybe that helps you write an opening line.
Rodney smelled gas. It was time to get out.Or the smell of popcorn. Almost no matter who you are, you will find this to be a powerful aroma that instantly takes your mind somewhere. For example:
Once you have that, you have something to work with.
There are lots of opportunities to write from prompts on Steemit. For example, each week I supply a one-word prompt for a 50-word short story. Just follow the #fiftywords tag to find them. Last week, for example, the prompt was "child." For me, because it's the holidays, this prompt made me think of a small boy struggling with whether to believe in Santa Claus, and I wrote, "Through child's eyes." Some amazing stories came out of that prompt, and I'm so impressed with the writers who participate in the 50-word short story contest!
Several writing groups on Steemit launch contests and challenges from prompts. Follow 
But the fact is, you don't need someone else to supply a prompt. You can come up with your own. Here's one method. Write down any three words, preferably at least some of which are sensory in some way. (Something you can feel, taste or smell.) Example:
cookie, dust, foreverNow, start writing. Add a character and a situation. Maybe a child is sitting on the corner of a dusty street eating a cookie. Now think a bit like a reporter. Why is he there? How did he get the cookie? What kind of conflict may be going on in his life? Has he lost someone? Was he recently adopted into a home with two other children who haven't accepted him? Is his grandmother's health failing, and she has always made the most delicious cookies in the world? How might you explore and resolve the conflict in the story?
Once you get writing, you may find that the story lets you know what it needs to be about. It's very exciting when that happens. Listen to it, and let the writing flow.
That's it for this week's workshop! What follows are past workshop posts in case you want more.
