creative writing prompts key stage 2

• Primary Hub
• Art & Design
• Design & Technology
• Health & Wellbeing
• Secondary Hub
• Citizenship
• Primary CPD
• Secondary CPD
• Book Awards
• All Products
• Primary Products
• Secondary Products
• School Trips
• Trip Directory
• Trips by Subject
• Trips by Type
• Trips by Region
• Submit a Trip Venue

Trending stories

Top results

• Teaching Resources
• Creative Writing Prompts Worksheets Ks1 Ks2

Creative writing prompts – 5 worksheets plus word mats for KS1 and KS2 pupils

5 PDF creative writing prompts worksheets for KS1-KS2, plus 7 PDF word mats

Want to fit more creative writing into your school timetable but not sure where to start? These fun writing prompts take just ten minutes and are perfect for slotting in to small gaps in your day.

They’ll get children’s creative juices flowing and hopefully improve their writing skills too. 

This download contains five creative writing prompts , suitable for KS1 and KS2 pupils, including:

Write your own Harry Potter paragraph

In this challenge, pupils will create a new character for Harry Potter to meet while aboard the Hogwarts Express train. They’ll need to think about who the character is, what they look like (including any distinguishing feature), and why they’re on the train.

Children can then use these ideas to write the next paragraph of the story starter on the worksheet.

Browse more ideas for  teaching with Harry Potter .

Character capers

You’ll need a 1-6 dice for this activity. Pupils roll a dice three times to find out who their character is, what their personality is like and what job they do. For example, they might be a grumpy dinosaur who works in a museum, or an excitable superhero who works in a school.

Children can then use this information to draw their character, think about questions they’d like to ask them, or come up with story ideas featuring their character.

Setting soup

This worksheet features four intriguing setting photos. Children can select their favourite then fill in a mind map about it, imagining what they see, hear, feel and smell. 

Next they need to create an ingredients list for their setting, such as:

• A dollop of calmness
• A drizzle of a beautiful sunset
• A generous helping of a still ocean 

Browse more resources for setting description .

Writing consequences template

This classic classroom game will help children come up with the basic outline for a complete story. Working in pairs or groups, they’ll need to fill in character names, locations, actions and dialogue to create an amusing outcome.

Roll and write a story

Use a dice alongside this worksheet to generate two characters and a setting – such as a mythical creature and a time machine traveller in a busy city. 

Pupils can use their generated ideas to write a story outline or create a book cover and blurb. For younger children, do the activity as a class and draw a picture or write about the outcome.

Bonus download: creative writing word mats

Assist students with their independent creative writing by printing out these useful vocabulary mats. Pupils can browse a range of exciting phrases and select ones to use in their own work. Included in the download:

• Create a spooky atmosphere
• Write an adventure story
• Describe a character’s appearance
• Describe a character’s personality
• Describe how a character moves
• Describe how a character speaks
• Describe a mythical beast

Browse more  story writing  resources and creative writing ideas for  National Writing Day .

Similar resources

• Writing genres KS2 – Comedy
• Myths and legends KS2 – The Odyssey three-week plan
• Narrative story writing KS2 – Storytelling from other perspectives
• Colour mixing KS1 – Ways to use picturebook Colour and Me
• Paddington activities KS1 – Cross-curricular classroom ideas

Sign up to our newsletter

You'll also receive regular updates from Teachwire with free lesson plans, great new teaching ideas, offers and more. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Which sectors are you interested in?

Early Years

Thank you for signing up to our emails!

Explore teaching packs

Why join Teachwire?

Get what you need to become a better teacher with unlimited access to exclusive free classroom resources and expert CPD downloads.

Exclusive classroom resource downloads

Free worksheets and lesson plans

CPD downloads, written by experts

Resource packs to supercharge your planning

Special web-only magazine editions

Educational podcasts & resources

Access to free literacy webinars

Newsletters and offers

Create free account

By signing up you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy .

Already have an account? Log in here

Thanks, you're almost there

To help us show you teaching resources, downloads and more you’ll love, complete your profile below.

Welcome to Teachwire!

Set up your account.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Commodi nulla quos inventore beatae tenetur.

I would like to receive regular updates from Teachwire with free lesson plans, great new teaching ideas, offers and more. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Log in to Teachwire

Not registered with Teachwire? Sign up for free

Reset Password

Remembered your password? Login here

Visit Puffin.co.uk

• Search Field
• Picture Books Packs
• Colouring Sheets
• KS1 English
• Bumper Book Packs
• Explore Empathy

Jacqueline Wilson

• Book Club Questions
• Lit in Colour
• Activity Ideas
• Writing Prompts
• Story Makers Shows
• Virtual Visits
• Inspiration

Home > Resources > KS2 RESOURCE PACK: Creative Writing with Jacqueline Wilson

KS2 RESOURCE PACK: Creative Writing with Jacqueline Wilson

Key stage and subjects, what’s the story.

Jacqueline Wilson has written over 100 books – so now it is over to you! This pack includes creative writing advice from Jacqueline Wilson, broken into five sections so you can create your story over a series of lessons.

This resource pack includes:

Lesson 1: Big ideas

• Individual warm-up
• Setting the scene

Lesson 2: creating characters

• Small group warm-up: freeze frame 3d characters
• Character wheels

Lesson 3: the beginning – starting a story

• Warm-up: classroom adventure
• Analysing the opening of ‘my mum tracy beaker’

Lesson 4: The middle – making something happen

• Discussion warm-up: fairy tale problems
• Solving problems
• Storyboarding

Lesson 5: The end – finishing the story

• Small group warm-up: film trailers
• Completing a plot graph The final touches

Work sheets

• Story hat ideas
• Storyboard template Plot graphs

Get the KS2 RESOURCE PACK: Creative Writing with Jacqueline Wilson

Related books, four children and it, my mum tracy beaker.

Jacqueline Wilson, Nick Sharratt

The Get Creative Journal

Jacqueline Wilson, Nick Sharratt (Illustrator)

Who makes Puffin Schools?

Tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> puffin schools has been created by the children’s publisher puffin to help bring together all the inspiring content we create for schools into one place. fa-angle-down--> what ages are the books on puffin schools for, tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> the books on this website will range from those for eyfs through to primary and up to lower secondary school. you can discover our full range of books at puffin.co.uk fa-angle-down--> what is puffin, tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> puffin is an imprint of penguin random house, the world’s number-one publisher representing a vibrant community of publishing houses marked by unparalleled success. through our world of stories, puffin aims to open up the world to every child. our mission is to inspire children to feel they can be and do anything, and to create readers for life. puffin started out as a non-fiction publisher, with its first title appearing in 1940. as the most iconic and well-known children’s book brand in the uk today, we are always on the lookout for innovative ways to tell the world’s favourite stories and for brilliant new debut talent and brands that connect with today’s young readers, from newborn up to twelve years old. we publish a diverse and wide range of fiction, non-fiction, picture books and children’s classics. our list includes some of the world’s favourite authors, illustrators and licensed brands, such as eric carle, helen oxenbury, nadia shireen, the snowman, doctor who, roald dahl, tom fletcher, jeff kinney, rick riordan, robin stevens, and jacqueline wilson to name but a few. fa-angle-down--> what’s the connection between ladybird, puffin and penguin, tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> ladybird, puffin and penguin are imprints of penguin random house uk. across their extensive list, we believe there is a story for every child, everywhere. you can find information about books for all ages at penguin.co.uk fa-angle-down--> where can i buy puffin books from, tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> all the books featured on this website can be purchased in the usual way: as well as being available on the high street and online, you can find lots of brilliant offers via school-specific suppliers and wholesale retailers. fa-angle-down--> how do i get in contact with a member of the puffin schools team, tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> whether you’ve got a brilliant idea for a lesson, a photograph of something incredible you’ve done at your school or just have a question, please email  [email protected] and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible . fa-angle-down--> what’s happened to puffin virtually live, tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> the story-makers show  was known as puffin virtually live  up until march 2019. the content and ambition of the show remains the same: to give every pupil the opportunity to engage with authors and illustrators in their own classroom using the power of the internet. we’ve re-named puffin virtually live  so that it’s easier for new teachers to discover it as part of puffin schools and to acknowledge that the show now premieres on show day, rather than being streamed live. fa-angle-down--> what’s happened to my puffin virtually live account, tag on the top needs the closed class if you start as expanded, leave data-collapsed="false" attribute, its used in the css --> your account for puffin virtually live has been deactivated as it is no longer a feature of the puffin schools website. if you were registered for the newsletter, you will now receive the puffin schools newsletter, which is filled with all the latest information about accompanying resources and upcoming shows. if you do not wish to receive it any longer then please unsubscribe. fa-angle-down--> which video platform is the story-makers show hosted on.

We’ve put together some good story starters for KS2 to help your pupils with writer’s block. We’ve also got KS1 story starters covered too, if you have some younger pupils.

Read past the story starters and you’ll also find a guide to free writing that you can use alongside the story starters. Jump start your story writing lessons in KS2 today!

What are story starters?

A word or words that begins a story. Intentionally opened ended, they point children towards a particular theme or situation and can remove the tricky initial phase of story writing.

Ideal story starters for KS2

• The three of them peered into the dark cave.
• Suddenly, it turned around and faced her.
• Time stopped. People stopped. Cars stopped. Everything around me paused, frozen in time.
• The creature screamed and ran towards them.
• Her stomach dropped.
• I had never seen an alien. But I guess there’s a first time for everything.
• Am I in hell?
• As he walked along the cold, dark night, a rustling began from the trees…
• Then, a flash.
• Ben is 8, but in his world, that means something very different.
• This time she woke up early to try and catch it out. The clock struck 7. It was time…
• A hot, tingling sensation worked it’s way up my spine. It couldn’t be, could it?
• It was exactly as I feared.
• “We’ve been waiting a long time” Mum said. “Where on earth has he got to?”
• I sat on the grass and watched as it flailed in the wind.
• It was the smell that hit her first. She knew, long before she could see it, exactly what was next.
• He dashed down the stairs, as fast as his legs could carry him. The post had arrived, but was it what he’d hoped for?
• “Help!” A frightened shriek came from inside. I crept towards the door…
• “Can you see that?” He asked. I could barely believe it, but…
• It was a cold and miserable morning. The clouds were low and chill and setting in. But still, we couldn’t stop due to the weather.
• “Welcome.” We all looked round in awe. “This is the future.”
• That familiar feeling returned, as if I was being watched. What was out there?
• The rumours were true. The warnings were real and the time has come. Were we ready for what was about to happen?
• The three friends set out on their journey, with nothing but each other to help them for what lied ahead.
• The car lurched down the road when suddenly a thud came from below.
• The tap on my shoulder woke me. “Shhh” she said with a finger pressed to her lips. “Follow me”.
• Outside, the sun was shining, with children and adults alike basking in its warm glow. For Caroline, she could only watch on with her nose pressed against the window.
• Sally looked around the spaceship, eyes widening with each step. She had never seen anything like it.
• “Will you keep it down!” Grandpa thudded from downstairs with his walking stick. But of course, it wasn’t me making all the noise.
• It was the first time I’d been on holiday. I stood for a moment and took it all in. The first thing I noticed was…
• Outside, the leaves were falling and the grass was turning into a murky brown. Out went summer barbecues and in came Autumn dew.
• I felt an odd sensation in my shoe.

All children need is a tiny prod in the right direction and they will come back with the most amazing tales for you to laugh, cringe, wince or cry at! Feel free to expand upon and adapt our examples; we are only prodding you to get the creative juices flowing.

Free writing to help with story writing

If after you have given children story starters, they are still struggling, it could be a confidence issue. Free writing is a fantastic way of freeing children of their own worries over their own writing.

Principles of free writing

Free writing is pretty much what it says on the tin. But there are some principles to stand by to ensure free writing has the desired effect of kick-starting creative juices. Children are given a writing implement (whatever they feel most comfortable with) and something to write on and told to write. Just write. Here’s a few pointers to make clear to children before they begin.

• Don’t stop writing during the allotted time.
• You’re going to time the free write and encourage those who stop to think to keep going.
• If that means writing the same word or letters over and over until a new thought comes into the writer’s head, then so be it.
• The work won’t be marked, or even looked at if the writer doesn’t want it to.
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar doesn’t matter.

Last tip: if your class are adhering to the rules okay, have a go yourself! It’s really good practice to have a go at the activity you expect your pupils to have a go at, plus it’s really enjoyable!

It’s good to start off with short one-minute bursts of free writing in the beginning. Demonstrate you mean what you say with marking, SPaG and reading out: it’s an unusual experience for pupils for their work not to be scrutinised. This activity will help pupils empty their head of worries, ruminating thoughts and distractions from their writing. It might also provide them with inspiration for story writing. Have a go at free writing before beginning any creative writing session, or even use it to begin a story. Provide them with the story starter and then get them to continue the story writing during the free write. It’s only a minute or two and could make all the difference to their writing.

Pin It on Pinterest

You'll need JavaScript enabled to experience the full functionality of this site. Please enable JavaScript by following the instructions at enable-javascript.com .

Sorry, the browser you're currently using is not supported by this site. Please upgrade your browser by following the instructions at browser-update.org .

Creative Writing Prompt — Spy (Years 5-6)

Write a review

Choose your format:

Save to Your Lessons

Save to Homework

Share resource

Your download limit has been reached!

Check out our FAQs for more info. 

A worksheet designed to help children develop their fiction writing skills. This worksheet will guide children to write an action spy story using a given image as inspiration. The worksheet includes helpful reminders to guide them in their storytelling and they are challenged to use a list of 10 given words in their story.

• Key Stage: Key Stage 2
• Subject: English
• Topic: Drafting and Writing
• Topic Group: Writing
• Year(s): Years 5-6
• Media Type: PDF
• Resource Type: Worksheet
• Last Updated: 01/02/2024
• Resource Code: E2WAT16179
• Curriculum Point(s): Draft and write by selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary and understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning. Draft and write by in narratives, describing settings, characters and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action. Draft and write by, in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot.

Related Topics:

Other Teachers Downloaded...

Creative Writing Prompt — Lost Dog (Years 5-6)

• Drafting and Writing
• Key Stage 2 English

Creative Writing Prompt — Ghost (Years 5-6)

Creative Writing Prompt — Spaceship (Years 5-6)

Creative Writing Prompt — Royalty (Years 5-6)

Creative Writing Prompt — Ancient Egypt (Years 5-6)

Creative Writing Prompt — WW1 (Years 5-6)

No reviews (yet!)

Related Resources

Creative Writing Prompt — Detectives (Years 3-4)

Creative Writing Prompt — Superhero Team (Years 3-4)

Creative Writing Prompt — Superhero (Years 5-6)

Creative Writing Prompt — Police (Years 3-4)

Creative Writing Prompt — Secret Agent (Years 3-4)

Creative Writing Prompt — Private Detective (Years 5-6)

Creative Writing Prompt — Tudors (Years 3-4)

Creative Writing Prompt — Aliens (Years 3-4)

Creative Writing Prompt — Fairies (Years 3-4)

Cookies are disabled on your browser. This means some features of the site won't be fully available to you.

CGP uses cookies to give you a smooth shopping experience and to help us understand how well our site is working. To agree to us using all cookies, click 'Accept', or to reject optional cookies click 'Customise'.

Accept cookies Customise cookies

Teach Starter, part of Tes Teach Starter, part of Tes

Search  everything  in all resources

Writing Prompts Teaching Resources for Key Stage 2 - Upper

• Teaching Resource 59
• Writing  60
• English  60
• Styles/Genres  52
• Narrative Writing  23
• Story Starters  23
• Informative Writing  17
• Informative Prompts  17
• Persuasive Prompts  13
• Persuasive Writing  13
• Biological Sciences  4
• Health/P.E.  1
• Ancient History  1
• Seasons & Weather  1
• Countries  1
• Ancient Egypt  1
• Earth and Space Sciences  1
• Physical Education  1
• Literacy  1
• Social Studies  1
• Paragraphing  1
• Geography  1
• Community & Culture  1
• Foundation Stage 4
• Key Stage 1 28
• Lower Key Stage 2 48
• Upper Key Stage 2 36
• Key Stage 3 5

resource types

• Worksheets 21
• Templates 6
• Task Cards 3
• Teaching Presentations 1

availability

File formats.

• Printable PDF 56
• Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) 4
• Microsoft Word (.docx) 2
• Adobe Reader (.pdf) 1
• Google Slides 1
• Teach Starter Publishing 62

Daily Writing Prompts Calendars – Upper Primary

Inspire your students and encourage them to write regularly with a set of printable Daily Writing Prompts in calendar format.

Persuasive Texts Writing Task - All Families Should Own a Pet

A writing activity to help students construct a detailed and reasoned persuasive text.

5 Narrative Writing Stimulus Sheets

Writing stimulus sheets with a narrative focus.

Persuasive Text Writing Prompts - Complete Set

A set of 5 persuasive writing prompts, covering a variety of topics.

Simple Language in Persuasive Writing Poster

A poster to introduce students to the use of simple language in persuasive writing.

Roll-a-Scary Story Starter – Halloween Writing Prompt for Key Stage 2

Inspire some spooktacular Halloween writing with a roll-to-create Halloween Writing Prompt creator.

Informative Texts Writing Task - Gemstones

A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.

Informative Texts Writing Task - Fire Fighters

Informative Texts Writing Task - Doctors

Informative Texts Writing Task - Eagles

Informative Texts Writing Task - Elephants

Informative Texts Writing Tasks - Fact Files and Scaffolding Sheet

A set of 5 fact files and a scaffolding sheet which can be used to write an informative text.

Informative Paragraph Starters - Topic Sentence Cards

20 topic sentences to be used at the beginning of an informative paragraph.

Informative Texts Writing Task - Weather

A fact file about weather and scaffolding sheet which can be used to write an informative text.

Informative Texts Writing Task - Giza Pyramids

A fact file about The Giza Pyramids and scaffolding sheet which can be used to write an informative text.

Informative Texts Writing Task - Cupcakes

A fact file about cupcakes and scaffolding sheet which can be used to write an informative text.

Informative Texts Writing Task - Lions

A fact file about lions and scaffolding sheet which can be used to write an informative text.

5 Informative Writing Stimulus Sheets

Writing stimulus sheets with an informative text focus.

Topic Sentence Starter Cards

A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive and report writing sentence starter cards.

Narrative Sentence Starter Cards

Thirty sentence starter cards for narratives.

Story Ideas Sentence Starter Pack

Use this story ideas kit to help your students choose a topic to write about.

Sport Themed Writing Prompts

Ten sport themed writing prompts for the middle and upper years.

Rio Writing Prompts

10 Rio-themed writing prompts for the middle and upper primary.

Seven Sensational Story Starters PowerPoint

A 10 slide editable PowerPoint template of story starters to use in narrative writing.

• Writing Prompts for Key Stage 1
• Writing Prompts for Key Stage 2 - Lower

25 Creative Writing Prompts For KS1 And KS2

While they may not be in the classroom currently, teaching children the benefits of learning to write creatively is a fantastic way to boost their confidence, and help them develop reading and problem-solving skills.

These resources and prompts are aimed to help children come up with new and exciting ideas for stories and to consider all the different elements of storytelling.

So, kids can head over to heir home study space, wherever it may be, and experiment to their heart's content with these fun writing prompts.

Top Tip: Why not check out this post written by a real children's author, with many more tips on how children can write their very own storybooks?

Writing Ideas For Key Stage One Children (Ages 5-7)

With KS1 children, it's a great idea to use their interests and surroundings as inspiration for their creative writing. Coming up with a whole new story can be a big challenge, so the ideas and activities are aimed to help KS1 children to consider one or two things they are really interested in writing, before they create their stories:

• Imagine your favourite toy came to life! What would a day in their life look like? Where would they go and what would they get up to? What would their favourite meals be, and what would their voice sound like?
• Describe the place you live as if you were talking to an alien from another planet. How can you recognise where it is? What is inside? What are all the different things used for and what are some funny human habits that aliens would find interesting?
• Write about the best day out ever. It can be real or just a fantasy day out that you would love to do in the future.
• Imagine a monster came over for dinner. What would they look like? What is their name? What would they eat and how would they eat it?
• Write a letter to your favourite character. Whether it's from a movie, TV show, book or play, imagine what you would write if they were your pen pal.
• Design your own animal, and write a short description about it. Maybe it has lots of fangs, or pink fur. Perhaps it's a mixture of lots of other animals. Draw out a picture of your animal, and then write a short paragraph to describe what it's called, where it lives, what it eats and what it does for fun!
• Think about your favourite book character. Write a short story about what they got up to after the end of the book.

Develop these ideas further by:

-Incorporating the creatures you've invented into a new story.

-Making illustrations to accompany your description of your day out.

-Storyboarding your ideas, to make a cartoon-like sequence of events with images and text.

Writing Ideas For Key Stage 2 Children (Ages 7-11)

Even if English isn't their favourite subject, there are lots of ways to help KS2 aged children get interested in storytelling and creative writing. By allowing kids to select their own books to read away from the classroom, they can figure out which genres and writing styles they enjoy the most.

Exposing children to new ideas and techniques through encouraging reading books, will also, in turn, help their writing abilities to blossom.

A good way to prepare children for these activities is to search online for books they enjoy, and let them pick one or two to read.

This will allow them to get familiar with the type of writing they enjoy. The following ideas are suggestions intended to aid creative thinking and spark inspiration for whatever direction children want to take their stories in:

• What would a day on Earth be like if mythical creatures existed? What would day-to-day be life if dragons, unicorns, mermaids and fairies wandered the streets? Write a short story about a day in your life, if mythical creatures were around.
• Imagine you were small as a bug. Describe the world from your new perspective. Do you have interactions with people? Insects or animals? Where do you go? Do you discover you have any insect-like abilities?
• Imagine you woke up one day with a superpower. What is it? Are you able to turn invisible, read minds, or fly? What is the first thing you would do with your new power and what would a day in your life look like?
• Write a diary entry as if you had travelled to another period of time. Is it Victorian England, Ancient Egypt or perhaps the Middle Ages? How do you blend in, and what new things do you learn?
• A rocket launches you to an unknown planet. You find a civilisation of aliens have already made it their own and they welcome you. Describe your experience, what you see, and what happens next. Write a short story about your adventures.

The following prompts are suggestions of an opening line that kids can use at the beginning of their story, and continue on from:

• 'The dark figure began to emerge from the mist. She could see the outline of a human-like figure as it started to get closer...'
• 'Simon did his homework, liked skateboarding and his favourite food was pizza. He thought he was an ordinary boy, until...'
• 'Deep beneath the North Sea, hidden away from human eyes, lies a great secret...'
• 'The door was painted white, with cracked paint and a small golden handle. I couldn't help but wonder what was inside...'
• 'The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the street outside was hot and quiet. But everything was about to change...  

Develop these ideas by:

-Creating illustrations to go alongside your story. Show what your characters and landscapes would look like, and make them correspond with the story.

-Thinking about other books you've been reading. How would the character you've written interact with a character from one of your favourite books?

-Making a character profile of the characters in your stories. What are their interests and hobbies? What do they like to wear? What books and films do they like? Create a drawing of your character in the middle of the page, and label different things about them in a profile down the side.

-Doing a character swap. Imagine your character found themselves in the world of another book, or vice versa. What would happen next?

-Design a front and back cover for your book. Consider the title, blurb and cover illustrations. Perhaps even make an author profile too!

For five quick and easy creative writing tasks, download your prompt sheet below!

We Want Your Photos!

More for you, 13 super easy activities for kids at home with no equipment, fresh family ideas for spring activities, 17 fun family hobbies to keep everyone entertained at home.

Diploma of Education, Fine Arts, Bachelor of Arts specializing in Illustration and Visual media

Sarah Hallam Diploma of Education, Fine Arts, Bachelor of Arts specializing in Illustration and Visual media

With a Diploma in Education specializing in Fine Arts (Painting) and a Bachelor of Arts specializing in Illustration and Visual media from the University of Arts London, Sarah previously was a London-based teacher who brought her passion for art and culture to the classroom. Her creative endeavors include painting classes and experimenting with new recipes. She draws inspiration from the world around her and enjoys sharing her knowledge with others while sipping a cup of tea.

1) Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the Buy Now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published but we cannot guarantee that on the time of reading. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.

2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.

3) Because we are an educational resource, we have quotes and facts about a range of historical and modern figures. We do not endorse the actions of or rhetoric of all the people included in these collections, but we think they are important for growing minds to learn about under the guidance of parents or guardians.

google form TBD

Mighty Writer Blog

Using creative writing prompts to combat writer's block for key stage one children.

We understand the challenges that children face when it comes to writing creatively, and how it can be especially difficult for younger children who are just learning how to write, especially when writers block comes around. The good news is that there are many creative writing prompts that can be used to inspire and motivate children to write. By using these prompts, KS1 children can overcome writer’s block and discover a passion for writing that will stay with them for years to come. 

How to Use Creative Writing Prompts 

The beauty of creative writing prompts is that they can be used in a variety of ways to inspire children to write. Here are a few ideas on how to use creative writing prompts: 

1. Write a Story 

Start by giving them a prompt, such as “Write a story about a magic tree,” and encourage them to use their imagination to create a story around that prompt. Encourage them to use descriptive language and to include interesting characters and plot twists to make the story even more engaging. 

2. Write a Poem 

Another great way to use creative writing prompts is to ask children to write a poem.

Give them a prompt, such as “Write a poem about a rainbow,” and have them use their imagination to create a poem around that prompt. Encourage them to use vivid and descriptive language to create a picture in the reader’s mind. 

3. Write a Letter 

Give children a prompt, such as “Write a letter to your future self,” and have them write or structure a letter to themselves. Encourage them to include their hopes and dreams for the future, as well as any challenges they may face. This can be a great way to help children reflect on their goals and aspirations. 

Let’s look at an example of how to use a creative writing prompt to inspire children to write a story. 

Prompt: “Write a story about a magic tree.” 

"Once upon a time, there was a magic tree that stood in the middle of a magical forest. This tree was unlike any other tree, for it had the ability to grant wishes. Anyone who touched the tree and made a wish would find that their wish had come true..." 

Encourage children to use their imagination and creativity to continue the story. Could a character be introduced? What would their wish be? 

Conclusion 

Creative writing prompts are a great way to inspire and motivate Key Stage One children to write. By using prompts like these, children can develop their creativity and imagination, and learn to express themselves through writing. By using creative writing prompts, you can help children to discover a love of writing that will stay with them for a lifetime. 

How Can Mighty Writer Help?

If you want to take your pupils' writing skills to the next level, consider using Mighty Writer. This innovative resource is designed to make writing fun and engaging for young learners, while also developing their core literacy skills. With Mighty Writer, your pupils will love writing and you'll love the results! 

Want to learn more about the Mighty Writer resource? Download our free Teachers Guide by clicking the link below!

Mighty Writer uses cookies to improve your experience. This includes necessary cookies to interact with the website, anonymous analytical data, and some third party cookies. For a complete list and further options please see our Cookie Policy .

• Create new account
• Reset your password

Register and get FREE resources and activities

Ready to unlock all our resources?

KS2 Creative Writing Pack

Does your child long to write stories? Our KS2 creative writing toolkit is packed with writing prompts to inspire them and gorgeously-illustrated pages to write on.

How is creative writing taught in the primary-school classroom? How can you, as a parent, inspire your child to share their ideas and write thrilling, exciting stories?

With a complete guide to the writing expectations outlined in the national curriculum, the KS2 creative writing toolkit offers ideas, suggestions and challenges to budding writers. Can they craft an intriguing detective story? A chilling, Gothic, ghostly tale? An exciting rainforest adventure? A suspenseful space odyssey? Time for the authors of tomorrow to unleash their imaginations!

Are you a TheSchoolRun subscriber? You can  download the KS2 creative writing toolkit for free as part of your subscription . Interested in finding out what you could download as part of a TheSchoolRun subscription? Read our  subscription benefits  page.

Jump to navigation Skip to content

Search form

• P&W on Facebook
• P&W on Twitter
• P&W on Instagram

Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Find a home for your poems, stories, essays, and reviews by researching the publications vetted by our editorial staff. In the Literary Magazines database you’ll find editorial policies, submission guidelines, contact information—everything you need to know before submitting your work to the publications that share your vision for your work.

Whether you’re pursuing the publication of your first book or your fifth, use the Small Presses database to research potential publishers, including submission guidelines, tips from the editors, contact information, and more.

Research more than one hundred agents who represent poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers, plus details about the kinds of books they’re interested in representing, their clients, and the best way to contact them.

Every week a new publishing professional shares advice, anecdotes, insights, and new ways of thinking about writing and the business of books.

Find publishers ready to read your work now with our Open Reading Periods page, a continually updated resource listing all the literary magazines and small presses currently open for submissions.

Since our founding in 1970, Poets & Writers has served as an information clearinghouse of all matters related to writing. While the range of inquiries has been broad, common themes have emerged over time. Our Top Topics for Writers addresses the most popular and pressing issues, including literary agents, copyright, MFA programs, and self-publishing.

Our series of subject-based handbooks (PDF format; $4.99 each) provide information and advice from authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers. Now available: The Poets & Writers Guide to Publicity and Promotion, The Poets & Writers Guide to the Book Deal, The Poets & Writers Guide to Literary Agents, The Poets & Writers Guide to MFA Programs, and The Poets & Writers Guide to Writing Contests.

Find a home for your work by consulting our searchable databases of writing contests, literary magazines, small presses, literary agents, and more.

Poets & Writers lists readings, workshops, and other literary events held in cities across the country. Whether you are an author on book tour or the curator of a reading series, the Literary Events Calendar can help you find your audience.

Get the Word Out is a new publicity incubator for debut fiction writers and poets.

Research newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications that consistently publish book reviews using the Review Outlets database, which includes information about publishing schedules, submission guidelines, fees, and more.

Well over ten thousand poets and writers maintain listings in this essential resource for writers interested in connecting with their peers, as well as editors, agents, and reading series coordinators looking for authors. Apply today to join the growing community of writers who stay in touch and informed using the Poets & Writers Directory.

Let the world know about your work by posting your events on our literary events calendar, apply to be included in our directory of writers, and more.

Find a writers group to join or create your own with Poets & Writers Groups. Everything you need to connect, communicate, and collaborate with other poets and writers—all in one place.

Find information about more than two hundred full- and low-residency programs in creative writing in our MFA Programs database, which includes details about deadlines, funding, class size, core faculty, and more. Also included is information about more than fifty MA and PhD programs.

Whether you are looking to meet up with fellow writers, agents, and editors, or trying to find the perfect environment to fuel your writing practice, the Conferences & Residencies is the essential resource for information about well over three hundred writing conferences, writers residencies, and literary festivals around the world.

Discover historical sites, independent bookstores, literary archives, writing centers, and writers spaces in cities across the country using the Literary Places database—the best starting point for any literary journey, whether it’s for research or inspiration.

Search for jobs in education, publishing, the arts, and more within our free, frequently updated job listings for writers and poets.

Establish new connections and enjoy the company of your peers using our searchable databases of MFA programs and writers retreats, apply to be included in our directory of writers, and more.

• Register for Classes

Each year the Readings & Workshops program provides support to hundreds of writers participating in literary readings and conducting writing workshops. Learn more about this program, our special events, projects, and supporters, and how to contact us.

The Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community, providing them with a network for professional advancement.

Find information about how Poets & Writers provides support to hundreds of writers participating in literary readings and conducting writing workshops.

Bring the literary world to your door—at half the newsstand price. Available in print and digital editions, Poets & Writers Magazine is a must-have for writers who are serious about their craft.

View the contents and read select essays, articles, interviews, and profiles from the current issue of the award-winning Poets & Writers Magazine .

Read essays, articles, interviews, profiles, and other select content from Poets & Writers Magazine as well as Online Exclusives.

View the covers and contents of every issue of Poets & Writers Magazine , from the current edition all the way back to the first black-and-white issue in 1987.

Every day the editors of Poets & Writers Magazine scan the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know.

In our weekly series of craft essays, some of the best and brightest minds in contemporary literature explore their craft in compact form, articulating their thoughts about creative obsessions and curiosities in a working notebook of lessons about the art of writing.

The Time Is Now offers weekly writing prompts in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. Sign up to get The Time Is Now, as well as a weekly book recommendation for guidance and inspiration, delivered to your inbox.

Every week a new author shares books, art, music, writing prompts, films—anything and everything—that has inspired and shaped the creative process.

Listen to original audio recordings of authors featured in Poets & Writers Magazine . Browse the archive of more than 400 author readings.

Ads in Poets & Writers Magazine and on pw.org are the best ways to reach a readership of serious poets and literary prose writers. Our audience trusts our editorial content and looks to it, and to relevant advertising, for information and guidance.

Start, renew, or give a subscription to Poets & Writers Magazine ; change your address; check your account; pay your bill; report a missed issue; contact us.

Peruse paid listings of writing contests, conferences, workshops, editing services, calls for submissions, and more.

Poets & Writers is pleased to provide free subscriptions to Poets & Writers Magazine to award-winning young writers and to high school creative writing teachers for use in their classrooms.

Read select articles from the award-winning magazine and consult the most comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines, and prizewinners available in print.

• Subscribe Now

Writing Prompts & Exercises

The time is now.

The Time Is Now offers three new and original writing prompts each week to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. We also curate a list of essential books on writing —both the newly published and the classics—that we recommend for guidance and inspiration. Whether you’re struggling with writer’s block, looking for a fresh topic, or just starting to write, our archive of writing prompts has what you need. Need a starter pack? Check out our Writing Prompts for Beginners.

Tuesdays: Poetry prompts Wednesdays: Fiction prompts Thursdays: Creative nonfiction prompts

Get immediate access to more than 2,000 writing prompts with the tool below:

• Printable Version
• Log in to Send
• Log in to Save

A Question of Belonging: Crónicas (Archipelago Books, 2024) by the Argentine writer Hebe Uhart, who died in 2018, translated from the Spanish by Anna Vilner, contains over two dozen crónicas—a form of narrative journalism popularized in Latin America that is characterized by short, informal musings about everyday topics and observations. In her introduction to the book, Mariana Enríquez notes Uhart’s lack of pretension in her chosen subjects, from what she observed around her to the locals with whom she conversed. “Her fascination with language is not limited to the spoken: She roams around cities and towns taking note of shop names, ads, and graffiti.…” Jot down intriguing or amusing fragments of language you see and hear as you go about your day, perhaps during your commute or while watching your favorite TV show. Write a series of short musings based on your observations, noting any humor or insights gleaned from contemporary language and what it reveals about our current times.

Head This Way

Ayşegül Savaş’s third novel, The Anthropologists , forthcoming in July from Bloomsbury, is narrated by Asya, one half of a young couple setting out to build a new life together in a foreign city. While they solidify friendships, search for an apartment, and accommodate visiting relatives, Asya begins a documentary project. Each of the novel’s vignette titles reference anthropological concepts: Notions of Loyalty, Child-Rearing, Native Tongue, Courtship, Gift Exchange, Division of Labor, Principles of Kinship, and Forms of Enchantment. As Asya reflects on anthropological distance and lenses, these headings raise questions about the conventions, expectations, and routines that constitute a life. What makes a life legible—and to whom? Write a short story with subheadings providing insight or an alternative perspective on scenes. How might they produce additional layers of complexity and ambiguity?

Coming Down Hard

“The sun had just gone out / and I was walking three miles to get home. / I wanted to die. / I couldn’t think of words and I had no future / and I was coming down hard on everything.” In Linda Gregg’s poem “New York Address,” which appears in her retrospective collection, All of It Singing: New and Selected Poems (Graywolf Press, 2008), the speaker recounts bleak existential angst. Despite the pain and darkness, there are glimmers of light. In the second half of the poem, questions are stubbornly answered with snappy, tidy pacing: “Yes I hate dark. No I love light. Yes I won’t speak. / No I will write.” Write a poem that goes all in on angst, channeling a time that felt overwhelmingly uncertain and full of trepidation. How can you experiment with sound and diction to gently steer the dramatic toward the life-affirming?

Attentiveness

Nearly fifty years ago, the writer George Perec spent three days sitting behind a café window in Place Saint-Sulpice in Paris recording everything he saw. In his short book, An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris , his observations of mundane occurrences and objects often considered unnoteworthy—passersby, cars, buses, pigeons, signs, and slogans—are documented. This week situate yourself in one spot, perhaps in your home or workplace, or in a public space like a park, busy crossroad, commercial area, library, or café. Then, jot down the objects and behavior you see, and the snippets of conversation you hear. Write a lyric essay composed of these notes, trying to avoid interpretations or analysis. Taken together, how do your observations create a portrayal of a specific time or place? Pay particular attention to how one observation might lead to another, and to potential rhythms and repetitions.

Power Couple

The 2023 thriller film Fair Play , written and directed by Chloe Domont, follows the lives of a young, newly engaged couple, Luke and Emily, who are colleagues working as analysts in the cutthroat world of high finance in New York. The film focuses on the progression of their relationship, which has been kept hidden from their hedge fund office, and the bitter disintegration of their happiness after a promotion that was initially rumored to go to Luke is unexpectedly bestowed upon Emily, which situates him as a subordinate to his wife within a misogynistic workplace. Write a short story that revolves around an occurrence that catalyzes a shift in the power dynamic between two main characters who have a close relationship. What are the initial responses, and does the transformation happen suddenly or gradually? Are there gender, generational, or other cultural issues that play a role?

Organic Insinuations

“All too often, on a ‘poetry scene,’ people prioritise ‘subject matter,’” says John Burnside in a 2023 interview about his writing process by Jesse Nathan published on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. “I am sure that, as I am working, environmental concerns insinuate their way into the content of a poem organically, as other concerns will—but I would never start from there.” Inspired by the late Scottish poet, who died at the age of sixty-nine on May 29, write a poem that springs not from a predetermined topic or subject matter, but instead allows you to “trust in the sounds, the rhythms that come out of the day-to-day, the sheer immediacy and truth of the quotidian…and the images that lead, sometimes via fairly roundabout paths, to metaphor.” Later, as you reread and revise, what do you discover is the subject of your poem? What might have organically insinuated itself into your poem?

The maintenance or restoration of native plant and animal species has long been at the heart of many ecological and conservation projects, and has historically been a focus of land and environmental stewardship principles held by native and first peoples all over the world. But what if a beloved plant or animal is considered invasive, like the palm trees of Los Angeles or the cattle of Texas? What are the effects or consequences of centuries of existence with this invasive species in a particular locale? This week reflect on the notion of belonging—what are various places and times when you have felt a strong sense of belonging, and situations when you did not feel you belonged? Consider your own perspectives and responses when you encounter someone or something else that seems invasive or does not belong.

In Stephen King’s 1983 novel, Pet Sematary , a doctor moves into a remote house in Maine with his wife, two young children, and their pet cat, and learns from a neighbor about an ancient burial ground nearby cursed by a malevolent spirit which gave it power to reanimate those buried there. This is put to the test first by the family cat, and then by members of the family who die throughout the course of King’s horror story. While each formerly dead being is returned to the land of the living, they don’t come back quite the same. Write a story in which a creature or person returns from the dead, either in actuality or under circumstances in which their reappearance feels as if they are “back from the dead.” What familiar traits remain the same and what is disconcertingly different? Is their return ultimately for the better or the worse?

“I told a friend about a spill at the grocery store, which—the words ‘conveyor belt’ vanishing midsentence—took place on a ‘supermarket treadmill,’” writes Madeleine Schwartz in a recent essay published by New York Times Magazine about her experience of negotiating with and toggling between the French and English languages after moving from New York to Paris. In the piece, Schwartz notes that as she became more comfortable with living and thinking in French, she noticed a blurring of her linguistic capabilities, including a muddling of her articulative abilities in English. Think about a time or situation when words have failed you, or you’ve drawn a blank as to the mot juste. Write a poem that traces or enacts a loss of language, perhaps using invented words, phrases, and spellings or experimenting with font sizes, line breaks, and spacing.

Edible Memories

Many foods, flavors, and dishes hold a wellspring of emotional associations because they remind us of loved ones, habits and traditions, specific locales, and a different time of our lives when we were different people. Write a series of flash nonfiction pieces this week with each segment focusing on an edible item that evokes particularly resonant memories for you. You might begin by jotting down lists of foods you ate regularly growing up—breakfasts, school lunches, vending machine go-tos, favorite fast-food joints, diners, late night spots, home-cooked specialties—as well as a few momentous meals. Who are the people you associate with each one? Aside from taste and smell, consider the surrounding environment, atmospheric sounds, time of year, and who you were at that point in your life.

Wheels and Nails

While the American proverb “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” may be one you’ve heard time and again, often in reference to the idea that whoever raises or vocalizes a criticism the loudest will be appeased, there is a Japanese saying that translates to “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” which points to the positives of conformity in order to maintain a productive and humble society. It can also refer to putting someone who has become too successful back down in their place. Write a story in which your main character diverges from a group of people, and sticks their neck out, so to speak. Perhaps they vocalize a contrary perspective, protest something they feel is unjust, or simply present themselves in an unconventional manner. What are the consequences? Does your story lean toward one proverbial lesson or the other, or does the conclusion demonstrate more ambiguity?

Night at the Museum

If you could spend a night at any museum, which would you choose, and why? The French publisher Editions Stock has a series of books that begins with this premise—each author selects a museum, arrangements are made for an overnight stay, and a book is written about the experience. In Jakuta Alikavazovic’s Like a Sky Inside , translated from the French by Daniel Levin Becker, she spends a night at the Louvre in Paris, where childhood memories of visits with her father are vividly recalled. “From March 7 to 8, 2020, I spent the night in the Louvre, alone. Alone and at the same time anything but,” writes Alikavazovic. Write a poem that imagines a night at a museum of your choosing, anywhere in the world. What memories will you excavate from this imagined, solitary experience?

Chosen Family

Although the origin of the term is unknown and can be defined in many ways, a chosen family is made up of a group of people who choose to embrace, nurture, and support each other despite conventional understandings of biological or marital relationships. Oftentimes a chosen family is formed to take the place of a biological family, however, in some cases, these relationships are formed to expand a family. Write a personal essay about a relationship you have with a chosen family member. How did you first meet? Was there a particular incident that catalyzed what would become an inextricable bond? Has your commitment to each other been tested in ways big or small? Reflect on past memories and experiences you have had with this special person and how your relationship has evolved over the years.

Kingdom of the Planet

In the 1968 science fiction film Planet of the Apes , which is based on French author Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel and has spawned several sequels and a recent reboot, a crew of astronauts crash-lands on a planet ruled by apes who have developed an advanced and hierarchical civilization, complete with systems of governance, labor, scientific research, and a military force. In this far-off place, humans have been reduced to mute primitive beings who are subjugated and kept captive as workers for the primates. Write a speculative story that takes place in another universe with a premise revolving around a role reversal. What are the rules and governing structures of the society that you invent? You might decide to approach your narrative with a tone of horror, satire, or comedy to emphasize your perspective on stereotypical assumptions and social expectations.

Another Country

“I love these raw moist dawns with / a thousand birds you hear but can’t / quite see in the mist. / My old alien body is a foreigner / struggling to get into another country. / The loon call makes me shiver. / Back at the cabin I see a book / and am not quite sure what that is.” In these eight lines that comprise Jim Harrison’s poem “Another Country,” which appears in his final collection, Dead Man’s Float (Copper Canyon Press, 2016), the late poet moves between observations about a natural outdoor setting and the speaker’s own bodily presence, arriving in the final two lines at a sentiment that expresses a feeling of defamiliarization at the seemingly mundane sight of a book. This week write a poem that explores the concept of being so absorbed in one environment or circumstance that to behold a different scene is like traveling to a strange and unknown realm.

Self-Healing

A recent study in Scientific Reports journal revealed that, for possibly the first time, a nonhuman wild animal was seen using plant medicine to heal an active wound. In a rainforest in Indonesia, a Sumatran orangutan was observed ripping off leaves from a climbing vine plant, chewing them, and applying the plant sap to treat a wound on his face, which then healed after a few days. Write a personal essay on the theme of self-healing. Think about experiences when you’ve witnessed another person perform this task, or particularly resonant memories that pertain to your own past behavior. What are the primary emotions present throughout this process? What instances of self-treatment or self-medication in film, art, or literature created an impression on you?

Campus Story

Take inspiration from the concept of a campus novel—which takes place in and around the campus of a university and often involves the intertwined dynamics of students, professors, and conventions about learning and power—and write a story that engages with a school setting, whether prominently situated in the context of the plot or used for a particular scene. Some recent additions to the campus novel canon include Elif Batuman’s The Idiot (Penguin Press, 2017), Xochitl Gonzalez’s Anita de Monte Laughs Last (Flatiron Books, 2024), Kiley Reid’s Come and Get It (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024), and Brandon Taylor’s Real Life (Riverhead Books, 2020). Will you include a character who is a student, teacher, administrative staff member, custodial worker or caretaker, or possibly an alumni revisiting the past? Consider the multitude of ways the incorporation of an educational environment might permeate the atmosphere of the narrative.

The Last Friend

“The day the last friend / dies / we sit alone. / A visitor / from outer space / tries hard / to summon us. / Someone says / EAT DEATH. / I fish around for answers / but the questions / still won’t come,” writes Jerome Rothenberg, who passed away in April, in his poem “The Last Friend.” Included in his collection of one hundred poems, A Book of Witness: Spells & Gris-Gris (New Directions, 2022), the poem presents a list of statements and observations, many of which refer to death or dying in some personal way, though the connections are enigmatic and the logical progression is oblique. Try your hand at writing a poem that mentions its subject directly, but which also deliberately obfuscates or remains ambiguous in its intentions. How might using the “I” as a witness include the reader into your point of view?

Mind Your Manners

The New York City culture and news website Gothamist recently asked New Yorkers about their thoughts on sidewalk etiquette in the crowded, bustling streets of their beloved city. What are the rules, who has the right-of-way, and who should yield? Respondents focused on always walking to the right of the sidewalk and to “move quickly and never stop.” One thoughtful respondent considered the cultural differences of sidewalks used for recreational strolls versus commuting. But the overall consensus was that among nine-to-fivers, tourists, parents with kids, dogwalkers, bicyclists, and groups, seniors deserve the right-of-way. Write an essay about the unwritten rules or etiquette you have observed in your daily surroundings. How have these common practices adapted to fit the needs of different people? Do they evolve over time as social norms change? Consider some of your own experiences with how public etiquette has helped or hindered harmonious community life.

The term sub rosa means “under the rose” in Latin and refers to something said or done in private. The rose has been associated with secrecy since ancient times, a decorative symbol often carved and painted in places like meeting rooms, banquet halls, and confessionals as reminders of confidentiality. This week write a short story that revolves around a conversation or discussion that occurs sub rosa in an enclosed space. Does a certain detail get leaked out or overheard? How might the secretive nature place a burden on your characters? Consider the ways in which the atmosphere and tone of your story feel distinctive in the time and space of your sub-rosa conversation versus the scenes that take place before or after the talk.

Wisdom in Translation

In the anthology Another Room to Live In: 15 Contemporary Arab Poets (Litmus Press, 2024) edited by Omar Berrada and Sarah Riggs, multinational and multilingual poet-translators challenge foundational narratives and rework mythologies through poetic expression. Yasmine Seale’s poem “Conventional Wisdom (Arabic Saying Translated Twenty Ways)” is composed of translations of an ancient aphorism expressing the inextricable place of poetry within Arab cultural heritage. Each line presents a variation on the truism: “Poetry is the record of the Arabs / The art of poetry is Arabs, collected / Good poetry is a list of Arabs / To speak in verse is to remain in Arab memory / To surpass another poet is the Arab odyssey.” Write a poem inspired by this idea of translating a proverb or maxim—either from another language or from English into English. How might you creatively interpolate different “translations” of the saying by incorporating connotations and riffing on free associations and personal experiences?

In Response

In a recent interview with Aria Aber for the Yale Review , when asked his thoughts on the responsibility of the poet, Jackson Prize–winning poet Fady Joudah says, “I often think that the responsibility of the poet is to strive to become the memory that people may possess in the future about what it means to be human: an ever-changing constant. In poetry, the range of metaphors and topics is limited, predictable, but the styles are innumerable. Think how we read poetry from centuries ago and are no longer bothered by its outdated diction. All that remains of old poetry is the music of what it means to be human.” Write a creative nonfiction piece that presents your personal theory of the responsibility of a writer or an artist. To construct an expansive approach, you might use observations about how different creative disciplines overlap in their goals, or consider what has remained resonant as the arts make their mark throughout various eras.

Earth to You

In honor of Earth Week, write a scene that revolves around a character who experiences an unexpected moment in a natural environment that produces a sensation of wonder, perhaps an unusual encounter with wild flora or fauna. You might contrast the elements of this scene with others in your story in which the character is interacting solely with humans or only attuned to the sounds, rhythms, and sights of city life and densely packed civilization. Is the occurrence mind-bogglingly quick and then reflected upon in hindsight, or does time slow down in the scene? How do you manage or manipulate the pacing and rhythm of your prose to draw attention to the emotional and psychological response of the character?

From Dirt Level

In Sharon Olds’s poem “May 1968,” the speaker recounts the memory of spending the night with other protesting students, who lay down their bodies on a New York City street at a university’s campus gates in order to obstruct the mounted police force that had been called in. While “spine-down on the cobbles,” she observes the city and surrounding scenery—the soaring buildings and the police and horses’ bodies—as she gazes upward, thinking about the state of her pregnant body. Write a poem this week from the vantage point of lying face-up, “from dirt level.” What circumstances bring you into this position? How does this upward point of view transform what you see, and how you feel about your own body?

More, please? Or, no more, please? In The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without (Avid Reader Press, 2024), John Oakes recounts his personal experience conducting a weeklong fast and examines the practice’s history and place within a wide range of religions and philosophies. The book also explores the act of self-deprivation and the potential transformative benefits of subtracting rather than adding to one’s life. “The act of fasting…won’t stop routine, but impedes it for a bit, signifying a shift and a determined unwillingness to follow standard operating procedure,” writes Oakes. Use this idea to consider your personal relationship with consumption—of food, conversation, media, clothes, space—and write a personal essay that reflects on what you might otherwise take for granted.

About Our Writing Prompts

What is a writing prompt and how do you use one? Whether you find yourself in front of a blank page or stuck in a work-in-progress, writing prompts can offer a spark that ignites your creative thinking and can lead to new writing. Prompts offer guidance, fresh ideas, and direction for writers of all levels of experience. First, choose a prompt for the genre in which you’d like to write, then carefully read it and consider what it is asking you to think about. It could be a specific setting, a writing technique, or an element of an imagined character; a specific poem, story, essay, song, book, or film from which you might take inspiration; or a current event or a topical theme. A writing prompt is filled with endless possibilities—and there is no wrong way to use one to generate new writing!

What makes our writing prompts unique? We have an archive of over 2,000 prompts, all original and offered here and in our weekly newsletter . You’ll find a variety of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction prompts—some inspired by recent and classic literature and other forms of art, current events, and writing practices, and others that offer guidance for a particular form, including sonnets, erasure poetry, flash fiction, lyric essays, and more. For more than fifty years, Poets & Writers has supported creative writers with trustworthy information and inspiration, and our weekly prompts provide a regular dose of encouragement and motivation.

What are the benefits of using writing prompts? Writing prompts can help you get unstuck if you’re in a rut and the ideas aren’t flowing. But even if you’re not experiencing writer’s block, writing prompts can offer a fresh take or a new approach to a work-in-progress. Writing prompts can also provide the motivation to experiment with a new form, try out a new genre, or learn about other writing techniques. And writing prompts are an invaluable tool for teachers who want to encourage and inspire their writing students.

What is this list of Best Books? Best Books for Writers is a list of essential books for creative writers that we curate to support your writing practice. Every week, we add a book (whether new or a classic) with a synopsis and highlights. Included are books on the writing life, anthologies of craft essays, collections of lectures, practical guides with writing exercises, and more.

Poetry writing prompts Every Tuesday we post a new poetry prompt to guide you in your practice. Get to know the work of contemporary and classic poets, as well as a variety of poetic forms.

Fiction writing prompts Every Wednesday we post a new fiction prompt to spark your imagination. Take inspiration from recently published short stories and novels, and of course, the classics.

Creative nonfiction writing prompts Every Thursday we post a new creative nonfiction prompt to help your exploration of this ever-changing genre. These prompts include information and inspiration for a variety of essays as well as memoirs. Discover new writers and their craft, and fresh ways to generate writing inspired by your life.

Need a starter pack? Check out our Writing Prompts for Beginners .

Filter by Keywords

50 Writing Prompts to Transform Your Creative Process at Work

Sudarshan Somanathan

Head of Content

June 15, 2024

Ever feel like your brain’s gone on vacation, leaving you staring at a blank page (or screen) in pure panic? We’ve all been there—alone in a room with a blank screen, the cursor blinking like a judgmental eye. 

Today, we’re cracking open a treasure chest of inspiration: 50 thought-provoking prompts designed to increase your workplace creativity and transform your work process from ‘meh’ to ‘magnificent!’ 

Whether you’re crafting formal emails, brainstorming out-of-the-box marketing campaigns, or wrestling with a stubborn report, these prompts will get your creative juices flowing quickly. 

We’re talking fresh ideas, unexpected angles, and a whole lot of ‘aha!’ moments. 

Let’s also explore the diverse benefits of writing prompts in various professional contexts. And learn how to master the art of crafting your own prompts with some clever, cutting-edge tools. 

Igniting your creativity at work

Building a routine of excellence, structuring successful narratives, tracking progress and staying accountable, reflecting, growing, and excelling, self-assessment and development writing prompt examples, industry and company knowledge writing prompt examples, communication and teamwork writing prompt examples, overall performance and impact writing prompt examples, decision-making and problem-solving writing prompt examples, be clear and concise, encourage critical thinking .

• Relate to the audience’s interests 

Use open-ended questions

Leverage technology , lending more impact to your words with writing prompts.

The Benefits of Using Writing Prompts

Writing prompts do more than fill a page—they spark innovation, build solid writing habits, organize jumbled ideas into coherent sentences, uphold goals, and inspire deeper thinking. 

Here’s how they make a meaningful positive impact:

Good writing prompts help break through the dreaded writer’s block or offer a new perspective on routine tasks. 

For instance, a prompt like ‘Describe how an everyday object in your office could be improved’ can encourage team members to think innovatively and identify opportunities for enhancement that might otherwise be overlooked.

With regular use, prompts encourage cultivating a writing habit that can significantly improve communication skills and analytical thinking.

In a classroom setting, a teacher might use daily prompts such as ‘What is the most important thing you learned yesterday in school?’ or ‘Describe your favorite childhood memory or a funny story from your childhood’ to encourage students to start writing regularly, reinforcing valuable lessons, and ensuring continual improvement.

Journal writing prompts can serve as a framework for writers to build complete narratives, starting with a few words. 

This is particularly beneficial in professional environments where structured thinking aids clarity and productivity. 

For instance, prompts like ‘compare, explain, and contrast two characters from the novel you are reading’ help writers and students organize their thoughts systematically, leading to clearer and more detailed essays.

For individuals and teams, prompts can be a part of scheduled writing tasks that help keep participants accountable for their learning or professional goals. 

They can be used as tools in performance evaluations or as part of professional development exercises. 

A prompt like ‘draft a weekly progress update on your main project’ requires employees to regularly document and reflect on their achievements and challenges, maintaining responsibility and visibility within the team.

Reflection prompts encourage deeper thinking about personal experiences and work processes. 

This can enhance self-awareness and professional growth, leading to better decision-making and more effective workplace interactions. 

Prompts such as ‘reflect on a recent decision that did not go as planned and how you handled it’ can provide insights into personal and organizational resilience and adaptability, which are crucial for professional development.

50 Writing Prompts to Spark Creativity at Work

Here’s a list of diverse writing prompt examples to help you get started. You can use them as is, customize them, or take inspiration from them to build or expand your own prompts.

• Describe a project you’re working on and how you could improve it
• Write about a professional challenge you overcame recently
• What new skill would you like to learn at work and why?
• Reflect on the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career
• Imagine your ideal work day. What would it look like?
• How do you motivate yourself on challenging days?
• Write about how you handle feedback and criticism at work
• Reflect on a time when you learned from a mistake
• How do you prioritize tasks when everything seems urgent?
• Describe how you approach learning new skills or information
• Describe a hobby that improves your work performance
• What are your long-term career goals?
• Write about a time you had to adapt to a significant change at work
• How do you manage stress in high-pressure situations?
• What lessons have you learned from working in diverse teams?
• Describe your process for setting professional boundaries
• How has your industry changed in the past five years?
• Write about a leader you admire and why
• What are the emerging trends in your field?
• What are the biggest challenges facing your field today?
• How do you stay informed about industry developments?
• Reflect on a team project that didn’t go as planned
• What makes a good mentor or leader?
• What are the essential skills someone should have in your industry?
• Describe the culture of your workplace
• If you could change one thing about your work environment, what would it be?
• Imagine a new product or service that could revolutionize your industry
• What role does innovation play in your job?
• Write about a policy you would implement at work and why
• What are the ethical considerations in your profession?
• Write about a time you contributed to a major decision at work
• How do you ensure your work aligns with your values?
• Describe how you would mentor a new colleague
• Write about how you approach conflict resolution
• What are the key elements of an effective team?
• How do you balance work and personal life?
• What strategies do you use for effective communication?
• Reflect on a time when you went above and beyond in your role
• How do you foster creativity and innovation in your team?
• What does success look like in your role?
• Describe a successful project and the steps you took to achieve success
• Evaluate success in your projects
• Describe how technology impacts your daily work
• Write about a moment you felt proud at work
• How do you approach making difficult decisions? 
• Reflect on how your role contributes to the overall goals of your organization
• What impact do you hope to have in your career?
• Write about a book or article that has influenced your professional life
• Describe a time when you had to think on your feet

By reflecting on these prompts and crafting thoughtful responses, you can gain valuable insights into your strengths, weaknesses, and career and life aspirations. Overall, these prompts are a great resource for anyone who wants to live, learn, and work more intentionally.

Tips for Crafting Effective Writing Prompts

Crafting creative writing prompts isn’t just about generating questions but sparking a conversation and inspiring self-reflection. 

Here’s how to make sure your prompts not only engage but also transform your audience’s thinking:

Your prompts should cut through the noise. Clarity wins over complexity every time. 

Craft your prompts to be straightforward, eliminating any ambiguity that might cloud the purpose or confuse your audience.

Go beyond the basics. Design prompts that provoke thought, invite debate and inspire deep analysis. 

Instead of simple yes or no answers, your prompts should encourage a detailed exploration of ideas and perspectives. 

Relate to the audience’s interests  

Connect with your audience on a personal level. Make your prompts resonate by aligning them with your audience’s interests, daily realities, and current life. 

Whether they’re CEOs or interns, tailor your questions to reflect the challenges and aspirations specific to each person and their professional world.

Open-ended questions encourage diverse responses, allowing respondents to take their answers in unexpected and creatively rich directions. They also prevent bias or preconceived ideas from the prompter from seeping into the questions or prompts . 

Use smart tools like ClickUp to elevate your prompt game. ClickUp is a comprehensive platform tailored to writers aiming to refine their workflows and enhance their creativity.

With ClickUp Docs and ClickUp Brain , you can gain access to advanced features that can help optimize your writing tasks. 

These features enable you to:

1. Draft, edit, and organize your work

ClickUp Docs is a writing tool and document management platform that lets you create a wide variety of written material, ranging from lecture notes and research summaries to full-fledged articles, blog posts, social media posts and captions, business memos, policies and SOPs, detailed wikis, and more. 

Using Docs’ rich formatting options, you can capture ideas in bulleted or numbered lists, generate paragraphs , change fonts and font sizes, demarcate headings from body copy, apply templates with callouts and highlighted sections, and so much more.

This space serves as an all-in-one workspace for drafting, editing, and organizing documents and is ideal for writers who structure their creative writing around specific prompts.

For more refined project management, ClickUp Docs double as a collaborative writing tool that supports features like comment reactions, subtasks, multiple assignees, simultaneous editing with your colleagues, and prioritization. These are all designed to improve the efficiency and tracking of your content-related projects and workflows.

2. Generate and structure new ideas

ClickUp Brain is a supportive AI-powered writing aide that offers you innovative ways to break through writer’s block. 

It can craft outlines, summaries, and writing prompts, propelling the writing process forward for any project.

It has two features that can help with writing prompts and generating content:

• AI Knowledge Manager: It can analyze the context of your workspace to provide insights that can enrich your writing prompts. It also offers quick access to information that you can use to support or expand upon a writing prompt
• AI Writer for Work: This tool assists in creating content and replying quickly with an assistant tailored for work. It can suggest ideas or themes based on the context of your workspace or previous documents you’ve worked on. Use it to brainstorm ideas, generate first drafts, check (and fix) your writing for obvious spelling and grammar errors, and polish your rough ideas into fleshed-out narratives.

These features help you structure your ideas, develop a coherent flow for your documents, and quickly generate content such as essays , blog posts, short stories, and more. 

3. Save time with knowledge management features

Discover how easy it is to organize your data with ClickUp’s Knowledge Graph Generator with ClickUp Brain. This tool uses artificial intelligence to connect and organize your information quickly. Just enter your data, such as facts, relationships, and entities, and watch the AI sort and link it all into a clear, visual network.

This tool is great for spotting hidden patterns, brainstorming ideas , and pulling out key insights, helping you make sense of complex data. It’s convenient for writers and researchers who create a lot of content. Give it a try and see how it simplifies your data management.

4. Reduce time from the first draft to publish-ready pieces with ready-made templates

ClickUp’s Content Writing Template simplifies the process of note-taking and creation of various types of content, from blog posts and press releases to technical documentation. 

This template provides a structured starting point for your projects, ensuring consistency and quality. It allows you to create tasks with custom statuses to accurately monitor progress across different writing tasks. 

Additionally, custom fields let you categorize and add specific attributes to each content piece, making it easier to visualize progress. 

ClickUp’s Content Plan Template is another tool to help you master self-discipline and manage your writing workload efficiently.

The template is perfect for organizing your workdays and visualizing schedules effectively. 

• Use multiple views to visualize your workload
• Begin with the Content Plan List View to create tasks for each writing prompt , specifying details like priority, status, purpose, content type, audience, keywords, and assigned writers
• Customize the fields to track progress and other relevant data that aligns with your objectives
• Adjust tasks by their due dates in the Content Calendar View. Adjust the view to show daily or weekly, depending on your schedule’s intensity

Using these templates will help you eliminate the blank-page problem for good. With ClickUp templates and these powerful prompts, your writing process never needs to start from scratch.

Writing prompts are versatile tools that stimulate creativity and bring the gifts of structure, consistency, and reflection to your professional writing process. 

By following these tips for crafting effective prompts and using tools like ClickUp, you’ll be able to optimize your writing workflows, cultivate creativity, and keep your writing goals in sight. 

This combination of features solidifies the role of technology tools like ClickUp to meet the diverse needs of writers, educators, or individuals interested in using various writing prompts for self-reflection, creativity, and personal growth. 

It’s a free tool, so why wait to have your writing make a greater impact? Sign up for ClickUp today ! 

Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.

Receive the latest WriteClick Newsletter updates.

Thanks for subscribing to our blog!

Please enter a valid email

• Free training & 24-hour support
• Serious about security & privacy
• 99.99% uptime the last 12 months

• International
• Education Jobs
• Schools directory
• Resources Education Jobs Schools directory News Search

Key Stage Two Writing Prompts

Subject: English

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

22 February 2018

• Share through email
• Share through twitter
• Share through linkedin
• Share through facebook
• Share through pinterest

Creative Commons "Sharealike"

Your rating is required to reflect your happiness.

It's good to leave some feedback.

Something went wrong, please try again later.

This resource hasn't been reviewed yet

To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have downloaded this resource can review it

Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.

Not quite what you were looking for? Search by keyword to find the right resource: