30 days of Writing Prompts

We are in the final days of November and as the Holidays approach, I begin to wonder how much time there will be for hobbies and creative pursuits. In the months of October and November, I took on two different challenges. In October, I committed to completing an inked illustration every day and in November I decided to write a one-shot fanfiction every day. Writer’s block is real, but thanks to this handy-dandy prompt-list, I managed to stay on track and pump out short stories, even on days I didn’t feel motivated.

These prompts are easily adapted for just about any fandom, but many of them do tend to skew to the romantic side, so if that’s not your jam, you may want to adjust to suit your preferences.

1. “You think you’re not capable, but you are.”

2. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

3. “We’re in public, knock it off”

4. “You still have this?”

5. “You make me want things I can’t have.”

6. “I’ve never been in a relationship, so I don’t know how to do the whole kissing thing.”

7. “Why does that look so good on you?”

8. “You really don’t know how to blend in, do you?”

9. “Do you regret it?”

10. “You’re a good person. Other people will recognize it soon.”

11. “I wish you needed me as much as I need you.”

12. “I really think it’s easier for people when I’m not around.”

13. “I’m really proud of you, kid.”

14. “I don’t care if we’re not related; you’re my family!”

15. “It’s really good!” *spits food into napkin

16. “Hey! Stop! You’ll hurt yourself like that!”

17. “Maybe I’m meant to be alone?”

18. “I care about you. I’ve always cared about you.”

19. “You’re trembling.”

20. “We both know we have to do this… even if it hurts.”

21. “You have a little bit…” *brushes food from the corner of lip*

22. “You’re enough, just by being you.”

23. “I want to be all of your firsts.”

24. “I wish I had a tiny version of you to keep in my pocket.”

25. “I tried to move on, but there’s only one you.”

26. “It’s always been you.”

27. “You look beautiful in this light.”

28. “This isn’t right.” … “I don’t care.”

29. “Just give up and admit you like me already!”

30. “This reminded me of you!” …. “That looks nothing like me!”

These prompts were just springboards and most of the time the quotations did not even appear in my final fic. They inspired character conversations and situations by asking the question, “why would this character say this?”

I really wanted to make sure each fic was at least 500 words long and I hoped to average 1000 words per day, so all in all, a much more casual challenge than Nanowrimo. As a matter of fact, I did achieve both of those goals (at least so far, considering that I technically still have two days to go). So far, I have averaged 1,400 words per day this month, already totaling over 30,000 words. I’m really happy with the progress! Thanks to this month’s writing, I have written over 200,000 words this year. On my Archive of Our Own account, I have accumulated over 500 comment threads, 1,000 bookmarks, and 7,700 kudos. I really hope to continue writing through the month of December so that I can hit 8,000 kudos by the end of the year. Word Count is my favorite statistic though, as it is the one thing that I’m totally in control of, and I can’t wait to watch that number rise next year as well!