A good storyteller can make anything into a story. If you’ve ever taken a creative writing class you’ve probably had to respond to a writing prompt. Writing prompts take you out of your comfort zone and expose you to other ways of thinking. When you know other people are using the same prompt, it can challenge you to be more creative in order to be different.
When I was in elementary school, my teachers routinely had us write a paragraph about a specific topic. I didn’t realize at the time, but these topics were essentially writing prompts, and they helped me develop my writing skills.
Last year, our writing prompt was “She wore the green sweater.” I wrote five different short stories starting with that prompt. Because March is Women’s History Month, I decided to make the stories about five different women in different stages of their lives.
The woman in the green sweater could have easily been a minor character… someone the main character sees but does not know, or they could be part of a memory. The possibilities were endless.
This year in honor of the coming of spring and in keeping with our St. Patrick’s Day theme, we selected a quote from the Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, “A flower blossoms for its own joy.”
This year, I wrote two stories. Both featured a woman as the main character. Lilly Kauffman, Louise Goodhauer, and Orlando Bartro each contributed a story inspired by the quote.
All our stories are different, and we did not discuss how we would approach the prompt.
We hope you enjoy them and are inspired to write your own story. You can share your thoughts and your stories on our Facebook page, but please keep it G or PG.