NUDGE YOUR CREATIVITY WITH PARTIAL SENTENCE PROMPTS

Sometimes the prompt of a partial sentence can get your imagination soaring and your fingers flying. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing fiction, nonfiction, a memoir, or even sci-fi. The nudge of a prompt to form a scene or the story’s opening may be all the inspiration you need. 

One warm spring day, I suggested we hold class outdoors. The birds welcomed us with their soprano notes, the squirrels played tag across the lawn, and the air rejuvenated our senses.  

Rarely do I ask students to write in class. Mainly because I don’t create well under timed pressure. I can virtually hear the seconds ticking away. My thoughts echo — Any words that land on this page will be my worst first draft ever! But on this day, everyone had a suggestion for a partial sentence. The group agreed on one. 

Here is mine. 

Suddenly, there was an explosion…and we were in the midst of hell. The side of the building burst into the alleyway, blocking all exits for any survivors to escape. Slivers of ripped metal and broken concrete sections fell to the ground in heaps while shards of glass rained on dazed bystanders. A dust-covered dog limped from the debris, his paws crusty and bloody.

‘Not bad,’ I thought. 

I listened to the others’ words with delight. Even though we each used the same prompt, our writing ranged from Suddenly, there was an explosion of spit from his pursed lips, and of truth she could not withhold, and another of colorful masses of Van Gogh-lavender irises wishing to be seen. Thoughtful, provocative, and visual. 

I still rarely do a timed writing assignment in class, but if you are stumped, I encourage you to give one of these partial sentences a try. I’d love to hear how it went for you, so send me an email and let me know.

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