Journal Prompt

Do you believe in ghosts and spirits? Why or why not?

Story Starter

Write a ghost story.

Journal Prompt

What scares you?

Story Starter

Out of the corner of your eye, you see something scurry under your bed. Was that a spider? You don’t know, but it wasn’t big enough for you to stress out about it. You go to bed comfortable that whatever it was can be easily killed later, if it comes from beneath the bed. You wake up covered in a sticky web. Across the room from you is a spider the size of a football. Write the story.

Journal Prompt

Write a journal prompt in which you describe what you see in the picture. Be detailed and descriptive. This is an exercise in painting a word picture.

Story Starter

You and your friends plan a vacation at what, online at least, is a plush mini-mansion. However, the GPS leads you to this. You want to leave, but your car won’t start, and there’s no cell phone service. Write the story.

Journal Prompt

Who are you? Really, deep on the inside, the secret you that no one but you knows? Who is that person? Write a journal that describes the you that you don’t show the rest of the world.

Story Starter

Mirrors are weird. Everything in it is reversed and distorted from real life. One day, you look in your mirror, and the face looking back at you is you…but not you. And the not you in the mirror wants you to come to the other side for a visit. Write the story.

Journal Prompt

Describe an experience you’ve had with a clown.

Story Starter

The man next door is a clown. Sometimes, at night, crazy laughter can be heard from inside his house. Today, he left in a hurry, and after he pulled off, the door opened. You couldn’t resist going over to see what the inside of a clown’s house looks like, but once there, you were in for the surprise of your life…

Write the story.

Journal Prompt

If you were stranded on an island, what five things would you need to feel as though you could last until rescue came? Describe the items and why they are important to you.

Story Starter

Write a story in which your main characters have been stranded on a deserted island for five years…only to find out that their island has never been deserted.

Journal Prompt

These days, there are hundreds of movies “based on a true story.” Most of the time, though, the stories aren’t that spectacular or different from the real life heroes we know whose stories never make it to the big screen. In fact, there’s usually at least one event in our lifetimes that, if told right would sound like it was made for the movies. Tell YOUR made for TV movie.

Story Starter

Reality TV is full of over the top characters and unrealistic situations. Write a story in which your main character is a reality TV star aching for some actual reality.

Journal Prompt – Write the soundtrack to your life.

Story Starter – The year is 2274. Music has been outlawed because it has been determined that the wrong kind of music creates psychopaths. Write the story of what happens when music is suddenly played inside a small high school.

Journal Prompt – What do you do to relax? How do you relieve stress?

Story Starter – You jog through the woods everyday. There’s never anything along your path, and phone service in nonexistent. Today, however, as you jog, you see a park bench in front of a pathway that hadn’t been there before. You can’t resist going over for a closer look. Write the story.

Journal Prompt – Write a guide for surviving the zombie apocalypse.

Story Starter – The zombie apocalypse started ten years ago. Surprisingly, you’ve made it this whole time. Write the story of what happens when the apocalypse is coming to an end.