Writing Prompts and Rituals to Celebrate Lughnasadh and Craft a Magical August

Lughnasadh, celebrated on August 1st, is the first harvest of the year, halfway between summer solstice and autumn equinox. Also known as Lammas, it is a celebration of creativity, craftsmanship, and harvesting what you sowed. This can be a powerful time for writers to connect with their productivity, hone their craft, and practice gratitude for what has been accomplished. This post includes a discussion of the difference between Lammas and Lughnasadh, the themes and meaning behind Lammas, Lughnasadh rituals for writers, Lammas correspondences, and ideas for how to celebrate Lughnasadh. It also features thirty creative writing prompts inspired by the holiday which can also be used as Lughnasadh journal prompts.

The Wheel of the Year is turning again. You can really feel the change up here. You definitely notice when it starts getting darker—not dark, still—but darker. Last week, for the first time in months, I turned the light in my bedroom on. I try not to look at the way the fireweed blooms are racing up its stalks. Or the fact that the irises and the dandelions are past their prime. Or that I know deep down we missed our chance to to pick spruce tips, which are one of my favorite foraged foods.

Instead, I am focusing my attention on the fact that, like every week in the Alaskan summer, the land has given us new wonders, both in our garden and in the woods. It’s a chance to resolve that even if I missed the spruce tips this year, I can make sure I make the most of currants and the kale. Plus, my first dahlia is threatening to bloom.

What is Lughnasadh?

It’s the first harvest! Lammas, also known as August’s Eve and Lughnasadh, is a time to celebrate the fullness of summer and to begin preparations for the winter. It’s time to enjoy the abundance of fruits, flowers, and vegetables that the land is offering up, while also preparing some of that abundance for the leaner times. The holiday revolves especially around grains like wheat and barley, and the crafting of those grains into foods, like bread and beer.

It’s the day that the Wheel of the Year starts to turn toward fall. Though the earth is still bursting with abundance, you can hear the first whispers of winter.

In the northern hemisphere, Lammas is usually celebrated around August 1st, about halfway between summer solstice and autumn equinox. In the southern hemisphere, Lammas falls around February 1. Lughnasadh is across from Imbolc on the Wheel of the Year. 

Like Imbolc, Lughnasadh is often overlooked, which is maybe not surprising. It’s a holiday about wheat and when we’re all out here lost in the throes of summer, we might not think a holiday about wheat is super-sexy. And maybe there’s a part of us that doesn’t want to recognize that the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting real.

But it’s a beautiful time to pause and really appreciate the abundance that is around us this time of year: Berries are coming ripe, the shyer flowers are bursting forth, and there’s still so much sunshine. It’s easy to get so caught up in the joy of summer that you fail to savor it, to be grateful for it. The lovely thing about Lammas is that it gives us the chance to slow time, to take it all in, take stock, and renew our summer energy.

Writing Prompts and Rituals to Celebrate Lughnasadh and Craft a Magical August

Lammas vs Lughnasadh

You might be wondering, what’s the difference between Lammas and Lughnasdh. For the purposes of this post, I am using these holidays interchangeably, but they are definitely not the same. Lughnasadh traditions and histories differ from those of Lammas, but there are also some important similarities.

Lughnasadh was originally a Gaelic festival (shout out to my foremothers!) named after the god Lugh, a master craftsman and artist who created a funeral celebration for his mother after she died from overwork trying to get the crops to grow. Another story associated with Lughnasadh imagines Lugh as the one who sacrifices his life so that the community can eat. As John Barleycorn, Lugh inhabits the spirit of wheat and barley, allowing himself to be cut down so that others will not starve.

The name Lammas is derived from “loaf mass,” a nod to the importance of bread in this Anglo-Saxon Christian holiday. Like Lughnasadh, Lammas celebrates the first harvest around August 1st and pays special homage to the grains that are coming ripe. It was a time to harvest the first grains, bake the first bread, bless the fields and houses, and give thanks.

Many people use the terms Lughnasadh and Lammas interchangeably these days, and I can see why. To me, these holidays are different flavors of a similar celebration. Including these holidays together allows me to consider as many options for celebrating this time of year as possible.  

Lughnasadh Correspondences and Symbolism

Colors of Lughnasadh 

The colors that evoke the feeling of Lammas are those of wheat, the sun, and plants. Think fiery. Orange, yellow, green, brown, and red can all be used to remind us to be grateful for the harvest we currently enjoy and to start preparing for the close of the year.

There are so many ways to celebrate a holiday using just color. Wear red, write with an orange pen, add some more green to your writing space, or bring in a vase of yellow flowers. All these little signals can help you feel the energy of the season and be a little more mindful and intentional.

Foods for Lammas

Barley! Bread! Wheat! Beer! Lughnasadh is a very glutinous festival. You can imagine that baking plays a prominent role in traditional understandings of “Loaf Mass,” so anything baked is welcome at a Lughnasadh feast. But there are other foods to celebrate at this time as well. Just look around you at what is coming ripe. Here at our house we have strawberries and currants, salad greens, and the very first of our tomatoes and cucumbers. The zucchini have just started to emerge. Honey and mead can also be a great representation of the fullness of the sun and the abundance of the earth at this time of year. 

Crystals for Lughnasadh 

Again, the crystal correspondences for Lughnasadh are those that evoke fire and the sun, as well as those that evoke growth. You can choose a crystal based on what you want to highlight. Yellows and oranges, like citrine, carnelian, and tiger’s-eye can help you shine. Green abundance crystals like aventurine and moss agate can help you channel the growth and peace of nature. 

The Meaning of Lammas

Though Lughnasadh is one turn of the Wheel of the Year that is often overlooked, the themes celebrated and evoked at this time are especially profound. Why do we celebrate Lammas? Some of the themes of this time of year have to do with rebirth, gratitude, abundance, harvest, and craftsmanship. Many of these can be very powerful for creatives.

First, there is the abundance to celebrate. It’s a time of creativity, of things coming to fruition. The earth is highly productive right now, and you can be, too. Use this period when the sun still shines bright to create and celebrate that creation.

It’s not just that the world is alive with the creative abundance of summer. Lammas celebrates that we worked for the harvest, that the intentions and seeds we planted earlier in the year have come to fruition. It is not only gratitude for the fertility of the earth, but also to our former selves for planting seeds, putting in the effort, and knowing how to make things grow. 

It’s a good time to reflect on the work you’ve put in thus far and on how much your work has helped guide you toward your goals. Pat yourself on the back for the new skills you’ve gained, the work you’ve done so far, and the harvest that you are now reaping. 

Not only that, it’s time to harvest what we’ve grown and turn it into something. This is the importance of bread for Lammas. It’s not just that everything is flourishing, it’s time for us to take action and turn the gifts we are given into something meaningful, something important, something that will feed us. And that’s exactly what we need to do with our words and our art at this time of year. Take the raw material and the skills and turn them into something that will nourish the soul.

Lammas is also a great time to think about the direction you are heading, and to change course if need be. There’s still a lot of time for growth before the winter. It’s even the time of Lammas growth, a phenomenon in trees where they put on a second flush of leaves. You too still have time for tremendous growth in the coming months. What do you want to accomplish in your writing life? How can you use the energy of Lughnasadh to support that? Let this pause before we fall into autumn rejuvenate your creativity. Take advantage of it! 

How to Celebrate Lammas

There are quite a few writing-oriented ways that you can use the energy of August to further your writing practice, and especially to hone your craft as an artist. It’s a great time to practice gratitude, reflect on the year so far, work on honing your craft, savor the sensual feast that is summer, and set yourself up for the rest of the year. Here are some ideas for Lammas rituals that can also support your writing and creativity.

  1. Give thanks. Look at what you have to be thankful for in your writing practice. Do you have a great community? Have you written a lot of words this year? Created one piece you are especially proud of? Create a list of all the things around your writing practice that you are grateful for. Keep this list near your writing space, in your planner, on your desktop, or in a drawer, as a reminder when the days start getting darker.
  2. Take stock. Lammas is a perfect time for reflection. What have you harvested? Have you reached the goals you had hoped to by this point in the year? What has been accomplished? What has fallen by the wayside? What unexpected growth or challenges have you encountered? Challenge yourself to make a list of 25 accomplishments and wins so far this year. You might be really surprised at how much you have done, even if it wasn’t the writing goals you expected.
  3. Create a scent that represents what you want to harvest with your writing. This is a great time to gather your fragrant flowers, your favorite herbs—everything that the land is bursting with—while the growth of the plants are hitting their peak. Make a scent that reminds you of this moment, this harvest, the bounty that is provided. Use this scent in your writing sessions to remind you of the fullness and abundance that is available when we nurture what we want to grow.
  4. Level up your craftsmanship. When was the last time you focused on the craft of writing? This is a great time to get in touch with those skills, grow your craft, and really focus on the practice of writing. Find a craft book, a course for writers, or craft videos on youtube and develop your skills. Maybe a few new ideas will help you go further or get unstuck.
  5. Burn your negativities. What do you think is holding you back right now? What’s keeping you from reaching your writing goals? What do you need to let go of to make the most of the rest of this year? Write down all your negative attitudes and bad habits and burn them. Let them go. 
  6. Bless your writing space. This is a time of year when blessings are all around us. We can use this energy to give new life to our writing space. How can you make your space a little more sacred? A little more conducive to creative production and harvest? Create a small ritual to recognize, give thanks, and bless the space where you write, even if it’s the kitchen table.
  7. Recalibrate. You can see now what has been going well so far this year, and what has not. Lammas is this unique moment in time when we can see the direction we’ve been heading, and we still have time to change course and experience growth and creativity before the slow times of winter. What has been working and what has not? How can you move forward in a direction that will help you realign and get on the right track?
  8. Set yourself up for the great harvest. It’s a good time to be finalizing the projects you are working on. It’s time to start shaping them into their final forms and getting them out into the world, whatever that means to you. What is the end goal of your writing? Being published in literary magazines? Developing your blog? Finding a publisher? Start moving in that direction. Polish off those pieces and get them out the door. It is time for harvest!

Lughnasadh Writing Prompts

Here are 30 Lammas writing prompts to help get your ideas baking. I have created these prompts to be interpreted in many ways, so don’t worry about “what it means.” Just let yourself write and see where your creativity takes you.

Many of these are intended as inspiration for creative projects like poetry, short stories, or memoir. However, I’ve tried to leave them open-ended enough that they can also function as Lughnasadh journal prompts. How can you explore yourself through these lenses?

  1. Write about your first taste of the harvest.
  2. Write about a corn doll that comes to life.
  3. Write about a great sacrifice.
  4. Research one of the crystals of Lammas (Here is a partial list: aventurine, citrine, golden topaz, obsidian, moss agate, rhodochrosite, clear quartz, carnelian, peridot, sardonyx, tiger’s-eye.) How is it made? What are its properties? What does it represent? Create a character with the same attributes as the gemstone you researched.
  5. Write about someone who doesn’t know they are in decline.
  6. Write about a plant inhabited by the spirit of the divine. 
  7. Create a narrative in which a wicker man takes on all the negativity of the people around him.
  8. Write about the dimming of the sun.
  9. Create a recipe for bread that makes dreams come true.
  10. Write about a king who sacrifices himself for the people. 
  11. Finish a piece of writing you have already started. Craft it into something fulfilling.
  12. Write about a skill you know well as if it were the favorite sport of the gods.
  13. “This is just the beginning of the fall…”
  14. Write a poem, story, or hermit crab essay in the form of a contract.
  15. Make something greater than its parts. Free write about summer. Cut out the best lines and make them into a poem.
  16. Write about an athletic competition that takes place at a funeral. 
  17. Write about collecting seed from something as it dies.
  18. Research a local fruit. What is its lifecycle from fruit to seed to fruit? Tell its story.
  19. Write about a prophetic dream that is spawned by an ash leaf under the pillow.
  20. Write about what happens when you eat the body of the sun god.
  21. What is a smell that you associate with baking? Write about that smell and the memories around it.
  22. Write about a habit that goes up in smoke.
  23. Write about someone sharing their first fruits. 
  24. Spend time outside. Document every detail you can. Soak it all up. Use this as the basis for a story, essay, or poem.
  25. Write about the first whispers of darkness.
  26. Use your memory. Think of one moment you wish you could capture. Write about that moment in as much detail as possible. 
  27. This photo by Cerqueira on Unsplash.

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  1. This picture from Ivan Rohovchenko on Unsplash.
  1. This picture from Étienne Beauregard-Riverin on Unsplash. 
  1. This picture from Ashley Light on Unsplash.

I hope you enjoy these Lughnasadh rituals and writing prompts. It’s the time of year to celebrate everything we’ve accomplished so far, everything that has grown, and everything we have created. Feast on the berries and breads. We are an extension of the creativity of the land, and it is our turn to take what is on offer and turn it into something fulfilling, something beautiful.

So give thanks for the strawberries and savor that first dahlia. Bake some fireweed scones and let the things holding you back go up in smoke. These summer joys are fleeting. But they are oh so beautiful. And that’s something to write about.

I hope this helps you find some way to connect with the season and with your writing. Are you doing anything special for Lammas/Lughnasadh? Have any of these writing prompts inspired you? I would love to hear about it! 

If you are looking for more prompts and rituals based on the Wheel of the Year, you can find them here. For more creative writing prompts, look here. For more ideas about how to deepen your writing practice with rituals, check out this post.

28 Creative Writing Prompts to Celebrate Imbolc and Inspire Your February

creative writing prompts for imbolc

Can you feel it in the air? It’s the depths of winter, but there’s something stirring. Even as the snow is still coming down, the end of winter is in sight. Even here in Alaska, the birds have started singing. 

It’s Imbolc! Imbolc is the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and it’s a great time to start new projects. In celebration of the day, I’ve created 28 creative writing prompts based on the sabbat. 

Imbolc is the first day of February, and in the year this post is written, it is also a new moon and the lunar new year. So, the number 28 is no accident. Try one writing prompt for each day of February, if you feel inspired. Or, you could think of it as one prompt for each day of this Snow/Storm Moon. A moon’s worth of writing prompts. Write your way out of winter, and start your lunar new year off right!

What is Imbolc?

Imbolc is a traditional Celtic holiday that falls halfway between Yule (winter solstice) and Ostara (spring equinox). It’s the day the tide changes in favor of spring. The world is waking up from the slumber of winter’s darkness. The sunlight is coming back in a way that’s actually noticeable and though the world is still covered in snow (at least here!), the earth is beginning to awaken with the light.  We are now closer to the balance of the equinox than we are to the drastic darkness of the solstice. It’s a time for hope and preparation.

It’s also celebrated as Candlemas, St. Brigid’s Day, or February’s Eve. Imbolc honors the goddess Brigid, especially in her roles as the goddess of the hearth, of fertility, and of creativity. It’s traditionally a fire festival, a time when baby lambs are on the way, and when there is the promise of spring and new life. 

Imbolc is, to me, one of the most underappreciated pagan holidays. One of the things I love about Imbolc is that it is really a time for a fresh new start. Imbolc is a recognition that you need a period of rest and readjustment after the busyness of the winter holidays. It’s hard to start fresh the day after New Year’s Eve, especially if you’ve been out celebrating. If you are already falling down on your New Year’s resolutions, never fear! Imbolc has your back. It’s time to start anew.

How to Celebrate Imbolc as a Writer

Imbolc is an especially powerful holiday for writers. Why? It’s Brigid’s day, and Brigid, in addition to being the goddess of hearth and home, is also the goddess of poetry. This means that anything we do to boost our words and our creativity will be supported. 

There are lots of ways to use the Imbolc energy to move your writing forward. It’s a great time to start a new project, to daydream and to plan. It’s the original spring cleaning. Here are some ways that writers can observe Imbolc to support their writing practice:

  1. Spring Clean your Writing Space. Out with the old, in with the new inspirational space. Imbolc is a great time to declutter, rearrange, and create a space that will inspire a new year of writing.
  2. Start a new habit. It’s a great time to start something small and daily that could have a big effect in the long term. Read a poem a day, start a new writing habit, start a new hobby, pick something new to learn about, journal, or pull a tarot card each evening. Find something small and manageable that will help support your writing. 
  3. Set some new writing goals, or spend time daydreaming about your vision. It’s time to focus on the new year and this fresh start. Now that the hustle and bustle of the depths of winter is over and we can finally see the light again, it’s a useful time to make a new vision board, or create goals for the new year.
  4. Create a new writing ritual. Especially if you (like me) are the kind of person who has trouble getting in the mood for writing, a little ritual to start you off could be just the thing to connect you with your muse. Put on some music, light a candle or some incense, do a meditation, wear your sassiest lipstick or cozy up in the sweater that makes you feel like your best self. This is the time to think about how the small actions you take can be seeds that grow into a new way of being. 
  5. Spend some time writing outside. It’s not always easy to get outside this time of year, but Imbolc is a great reminder that it still does the soul good to be out in the trees and under the sky. 
  6. Try something new. Imbolc is a time of new beginnings, and sometimes the most refreshing thing you can do for your writing is just to try something new and get out of the same-old-same-old rut. You could do this with your writing (take a playful stab at a new genre, or a new voice), but I also think trying any kind of new thing can revitalize our writing. Go ice skating, go to a new park, or try a new activity. Anything that can give you a fresh perspective also helps make you a better writer.
  7. Start a new project. See below for prompts to help with this one! 

Creative Writing Prompts for Imbolc

  1. Celebrate Brigid with some poetry. Use the Poetry Foundation to find one line of poetry that really speaks to you, and start there. You could create a poem, a story, or even nonfiction. Use the line of poetry that spoke to you as the starting point for your own writing.
  2. Write about something waiting to be born. 
  3. Write about someone who meets the goddess Brigid.
  4. Go outside and see it with new eyes, and ears, and… Use synthesia to describe what you see. What do the colors taste like? How does the sky smell? Bring us there by mixing all your senses and letting your metaphors run wild. 
  5. Write a story about a character who finds something magical while cleaning out their home. 
  6. Use this Image, from Tiffany Laura Danyelle on Unsplash.
  1. “The world has been still. But something has started to stir underground…”
  2. Write about what happens when the snow starts to melt. 
  3. Check out the Ace of Wands tarot card. This is the card of new growth and emerging to a new state of being. Use this card as the jumping off point for your writing. 
  4. What happens when St. Brigid and the Goddess Brigid meet?
  5. The nuns of Kildare, the monastery founded by St. Brigid, were tasked with keeping an eternal flame. Write about keeping a flame alive. 
  6. It was rumored that if a man crossed the hedge of the Church of Kildare, he would be cursed or be driven insane. Write a story about a man who crosses the hedge and goes insane.
  7. Clean it out! Do an erasure poem of the wikipedia page of Imbolc. (Or another related page of your choosing).
  8. Use this image from Foundry Co on Pixabay.
  1. Write about making a bed that never gets slept in. 
  2. Write about a girl made of reeds who comes to life.
  3. Do a meditation. (You can find Imbolc-specific meditations here.) Jot down the images that come up and create your work from there.
  4. “It’s time to burn it all down. She lit the match…”
  5. Write a story that begins with an initiation. 
  6. Find three things that need to be cleared out of your house. Use those three things to describe growth, without using the word growth.
  7. “When I looked into the water of the well, it was not myself looking back at me…” 
  8. Write about something that has died within you, thank it and lay it to rest.
  9. Winter is ending, and this means new beginnings are on the horizon. Write a story that begins with an ending. 
  10. Write about something unexpected “in the belly.”
  11. “The serpent awakens…”
  12. Write a story that takes place at the exact moment between seasons.
  13. Write about starting a small new habit that changes the character’s life (or yours!).
  14. Use this image, from Annie Spratt on Unsplash.

As always, if any of these prompts inspire you, I would love to read what you create. Drop a link below or send me a message. Truly, nothing makes my heart happier than helping people create, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this special time of year than to write new possibilities into being. 

Enjoy!

For more writing prompts, click here.

Dangerous Plants: A Writing Prompt for Character Development

Find out how to create a dangerous character on the Lightning Droplets blog. Learn how to create a character-driven plot. This post includes the three most important questions to ask your character and how to turn those answers into a full plot. 

You can use this writing prompt about deadly and dangerous plants to learn how to craft a character that will drive a meaningful plot for your story and help your fiction resonate with readers. 

#fiction #writingtips #character #amwriting #writingprompt

There’s something about the lure of dangerous plants. The call of the Angel’s trumpet. The come-hither tendrils of poison ivy. The flashy blooms of oleander. Deadly plants have rich stories and lurid histories, and this makes them ripe for character development. This prompt walks you through creating a character based on a poisonous plant, and offers questions to ask your character that will get your plot racing.

Step 1: Start with a little bit of research. 

Choose a dangerous plant. You can pick one of the most deadly, or one of the most poisonous, or the most dangerous. The descriptions in the links here might be enough to get the inspiration flowing, or you might want to use Wikipedia to do more research on a particular plant that speaks to you. Take notes about what strikes your interest. You might even let yourself go down the rabbit hole of research a little bit. Look into legends, history, and the biology of the plant. Often, poisonous plants have very interesting ways of interacting with humans, and of reproducing. 

Step 2: Anthropomorphize! 

Create a character based on the plant. Perhaps it is something about the way the plant kills. A lot of these plants have interesting historical tales surrounding them. Abraham Lincoln’s mother died from drinking milk tinged with white snakeroot. A Bulgarian dissident was killed with the chemical from castor seeds. What would this story look like from the plant’s point of view? Did Socrates deserve what the hemlock did to him? 

What would this plant look like as a person? Would she be pale and unassuming, but deadly when you get close? Or would she be flamboyant and loud, luring everyone to her side? Is he spindly or robust? You could approach this question two ways: how would the physical characteristics of this plant translate into the look of a person? For example, does the character have eyes the color of wolfsbane? Or a rosary of rosary peas around their neck? Or you could think more about the personality of the plant. Are they sneaky? How would that look in a person? (But make sure to stay away from stereotypes!)

Once you are starting to  envision your plant as a character, you’re ready to interrogate them!

Step 3: The 3 Most Important Questions to Ask Your Character

Think of this plant as a character. All characters have desires, needs, and a drive to be happy. But the trick is tying the desires and needs of the character directly to the plot. The way to do this is to ask the right questions. You don’t necessarily need to know all of the character’s favorite foods, bands and holiday spots, but you do need to know what makes them tick, how they are going to act, and, ultimately, how they are going to change.

These are the three most important questions to ask any character you create because these are the questions that are going to drive your character’s actions, and therefore also drive your plot. So let’s get digging!

  1. What lie does your character believe? 

The best stories have dynamic characters, which means your character needs to change. Maybe this is a small change, like realizing that they actually do like oranges, or maybe it’s a big change, like realizing maybe they don’t feel very fulfilled by poisoning people. Either way, we need to see some transformation, which means they need to change their mind about something. So, what are they going to change their mind about? What lie do they believe?

Another way to think about this is to think about it as a character flaw. What’s wrong with this character that needs to change? How are they acting/thinking/living in a way that does not actually make them happy? How does that relate to the lie they believe?

This is really the root of the matter.

  1. What do they think will make them happy?

Give your plant-character a goal, a terribly misguided goal. This is especially powerful if their goal is based on the lie they believe. What are they pursuing because of this misbelief? What’s wrong with their life as it is, and what do they think they need to get/do/say/love/change in order to be happy? 

Something to note about this question: it’s important that this is what they want which is wholly separate from what they need. This goal should be driven by the misguided belief that they hold. This is a goal that should change by the end of the story (even if it is the very last sentence!).

Then focus on what they are going to do to try to pursue this goal: What are they willing to do? What actual steps can they take to try to get there? But don’t forget, you, dear dangerous writer, are not going to let them achieve this goal.

  1. What is going to change their mind?

Finally, what does your character come up against that makes them see the error of their ways? What is the tipping point, the pivotal moment that makes your character rethink their motives and their goals? What’s the event that makes them see the truth? 

Of course, these are questions you can ask any character you make, whether they are based on a plant or not. These questions about your character’s personality are questions that specifically drive the plot of your story. You’ve got rich soil to work with. 

Step 4: Plants into Plots

Now the plot thickens. (And yes, gardening puns totally intended.)

The real twist in this plot is that this dangerous plant is your protagonist. We know their flaws. We know what they are willing to do because of the lies they believe. So how does it all pan out? This is where the real world action meets the emotions within your herbaceous character. What steps are they taking in their life to try to pursue the lie that they think will make them happy? How does this plan fail? What stands in their way? And what eventually shows them (and your reader) the error of their ways?

Don’t forget, even as this plant is dangerous and believes this terrible lie, we still need to feel something for the character. Why are we rooting for this plant? We don’t have to like the plant, but we need to be interested. How does this dangerous, poisonous plant become a character that we can relate to and whose story we want to read?

Why this works

It might feel ridiculous to start a character with a plant. I mean, for a lot of people they are basically inanimate objects. But beginning the story by trying to find parallels between a human and a plant can help you see human stories from a different perspective. It frees you to think about different motivations and desires.

In terms of the questions to ask your characters, the power is in connecting the changes in your character and the events of the plot. If you allow your plot to be driven by the false belief of the character, the change that they undergo because of the incidents that happen in the story will have much more meaning. The character’s inner journey and outer journey will resonate, which means your story will resonate with readers also.

Finally, I want to give a very big shout out to Abbie Emmons on Youtube. The character questions here are loosely based on her very useful worksheets and videos about character-driven plotting. Definitely check out her channel for more in-depth info on these questions and more ways to think about characters and what drives them. She has short, punchy, informative videos on how to make your writing meaningful and I highly recommend checking them out! They are very good fodder for when you get stuck!

Have you tried this prompt? I would love to see how it comes out! Post a link or paste your results below.

Are you interested in trying more prompts? You might like this prompt using plot generators, this prompt setting myths in new places, or 30 days of writing prompts designed to get you through quarantine.

Enjoy!

Find out how to create a dangerous character on the Lightning Droplets blog. Learn how to create a character-driven plot. This post includes the three most important questions to ask your character and how to turn those answers into a full plot. 

You can use this writing prompt about deadly and dangerous plants to learn how to craft a character that will drive a meaningful plot for your story and help your fiction resonate with readers. 

#fiction #writingtips #character #amwriting #writingprompt
Find out how to create a dangerous character on the Lightning Droplets blog. Learn how to create a character-driven plot. This post includes the three most important questions to ask your character and how to turn those answers into a full plot. 

You can use this writing prompt about deadly and dangerous plants to learn how to craft a character that will drive a meaningful plot for your story and help your fiction resonate with readers. 

#fiction #writingtips #character #amwriting #writingprompt

Shelter and Write Prompt 30: New Connections

Write about a new connection being made because of COVID-19. This might be an essay or poem about your real life experience, or you can create a story of a fictional connection.

What new connections have been made because of COVID-19? This could be connections with others, connections with yourself, connections with a place, etc. Write the story of this connection. How did it come to be? Why is it important? What are the possibilities of where this connection will go?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 29: Ekphrasis

Find a work of visual art about COVID-19 that moves you. You could consider these works of street art. It could be a photograph from the news. It could even be a meme, a cartoon, or anything visual that you might tie to the pandemic. 

Write a piece in which this work of art comes to life. Describe the art for us in detail. What is the context of the visual moment that you see? Who are the people depicted? Who is behind the art? Why did you choose this piece, and why is it evocative to you? What does this image not show?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 28: Thinking of Others

Write about someone who is affected by COVID-19 in a very different way than you are. You could imagine someone fictional or write about someone you know. You could even imagine what it is like to be someone whose story you have heard but you do not know personally.

Who is this person? What was life like for them before? How has the epidemic changed their life? What happens to them? What conflict and crisis comes up for them because of the pandemic? How do they respond to it? What is the resolution? How does the experience change them as a person?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 27: Good News

Find a headline or story that is good news. It might be the way that neighbors are helping each other. It might be the hope that our society comes out of the pandemic better in some ways. Maybe it’s a positive scientific discovery, or a very small silver lining in otherwise difficult times. 

Write a story, essay, or poem that is based on this good news. Maybe you dive deep into the possible implications, or imagine that all neighbors were helping. What happens when this headline explodes into goodness, and changes the course of everything?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 26: Difficult Dialogue

Being in the midst of a global pandemic makes us think different about the ways we communicate. Some people are feeling that life is fleeting, so they feel the need to get things off their chest before it is too late. Others are working on keeping people better informed, while still others are trying to maintain relationships at a distance.

Think about something that needs to be said. Write out this difficult conversation. This could be a conversation you’ve actually had, or one that you have been wanting to have. It could also be a fictional conversation between characters. 

What needs to be said? How does the other person respond? Does this conversation resolve anything? Or exacerbate anything? What’s the context and the subtext of this conversation? What are the things that cannot be said? 

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 25: Found Phrases

Over the next few days, collect the words and phrases that stand out to you. There are a lot of phrases that have come into the recent zeitgeist: “new normal,” “flatten the curve,” and “social distance,” to name a few. You might also consider using quotes from news articles, survivors, politicians, or friends. What are people around you saying? What do you hear on the TV? What are the headlines, or the things you are reading on your feed? 

Take some time to make note of the ones that really strike a chord with you. Create a piece based on these phrases. For fiction, you could start with one of those as your first line. Or your last. You could try to use them all in a poem, or reflect on the underlying meaning of each one in an essay. One great example is Jessica Salfia’s The First Line of Emails I’ve Received While Quarantining. 

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 24: Forbidden Places

Think of a place you cannot be right now. Maybe it is with someone you love, or a vacation you were planning, or even just your local hang out. Or perhaps it’s a place you don’t want to be right now. Describe that place in as much detail as possible so that we can experience it along with you. 

What would it be like if you were currently there? Is it good or bad that you cannot be there? What does this place mean to you and what are the repercussions of not being able to be there? What would the repercussions be if you were there?

PS: Like always, you can fictionalize this prompt and use it to get started on a short story. 

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.