Writing Prompts: 5 Reasons You Should Be Using Them

Do you use writing prompts as a regular part of your writing routine, or do you see them as a waste of time?

If your answer was the latter, you are right where I used to be. The fact that other writers not only used writing prompts but bought books full of them completely baffled me. I thought they were just a time wasting strategy elementary teachers used to teach basic writing skills. Not something serious writers needed to mess with.

Are Writing Prompts Really Worth It?

However, after doing some serious research, and talking to other authors, my views have completely changed.

I’m blogging over at the Christian Women Writer’s Club today about five reasons writing prompts are important for authors.

And I’m giving away a free report full of Summer Story Starters when you sign up for the CWW author newsletter.

Click here to read my post on
5 Reasons You Should Be Using Writing Prompts

Here’s one thing I didn’t include in my post over on the Christian Women Writer’s Club that you need to know:

I have been helping other authors for over a decade, and I’ve used writing prompts on and off myself. To be completely honest, writing prompts are only beneficial if they are used in the right way.

If you are using a writing prompt just for the sake of saying you did it, you might as well have watched a movie.

I have seen countless instances where bloggers or writers wrote something in response to a writing prompt that was sloppy or thoughtless. If you are just writing to write, that’s great, but don’t publish it.

Remember Why You Write

If you are going to publish the words you write in response to a writing prompt, you have to make sure they are worthy of your audience. Why do your readers want to read them? What value do they hold? Why do they inspire you as an author?

If you are using a summer story starter to exercise your creativity, maybe the only people who will ever see it are other authors on Facebook. And that’s okay. Or maybe you’ll save it in a file and use it in a book later on. If so, that’s awesome.

There is no pressure to publish when it comes to writing prompts.

There is no pressure to publish when it comes to writing prompts. Click To Tweet

If you are part of a blog hop or writing community that does weekly writing prompts, I am not putting you down. I used to be part of them myself. I know how fun they can be. And, as I said, when done the right way, they can be extremely beneficial. Just make sure you aren’t throwing words out there to say you got it done. Be committed enough to remember why you write and who you’re writing for.