Help Young Minds

In this blog post, I hope to inspire you towards the magical world of creative writing. Creative writing is not only done for the sake of writing stories, though that is a fun and imaginative skill to practice (that I will teach a bit more on in the future). But it can also be used in personal ways, such as exploring reflective and creative prompts through journaling. There is always value to putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards) to express your own ideas and creative vision.

Morning Pages

The Artist's Way, a 1992 book by Julia Cameron offers various teachings and habit recommendations to reach higher creativity. One of the most influential being the recommendation of “morning pages”. She recommends the reader to write freely, a page or more, every single morning. It could be a free flow of your upcoming daily tasks, broader concepts or ideas, what you dreamt about last night- literally anything at all. There are no rules, restrictions or guidelines to follow for these morning pages, other than the fact that you simply do them. Perhaps while having breakfast or even a bit later in the day when you remember and find the time. I know it’s called morning pages, but sometimes it does not cross my mind until afternoon. (That is okay too!) Whichever way you approach the concept, Cameron writes of the ability to unlock one’s creativity through this habit. It may seem odd, how can I unlock creativity through writing anything, like a grocery list and my schedule, or expressing something I'm worried about? She insists that this habit helps clear the mind of worries or to-dos, unlocking the flow state of more creative pursuits. I encourage you to give it a try! Any time you happen to remember, even if it’s every few days at first. Building this habit can make you enjoy the act of writing itself more, and help you tune in to your creativity.

Journal Prompts

A fun way to get involved in creative writing is by journaling. You may think of a diary that goes over the day’s main events, but there are many kinds of journaling. To get started, you can explore many lists of prompts across the internet- but I will also leave some down below to get started.

Using a prompt, you can work on finding your voice in writing. With your internal monologue spilling out onto the pages, you will begin to see your voice and personal touch in everything you write. Everyone’s writing sounds vaguely different, because everyone has their own unique voice! Take pride in this voice and don’t aim to sound exactly like another writer. Depending on the themes of the prompts themselves, you may wish to explore aspects of your emotions or internal life. This can be therapeutic and beneficial for your own emotional resilience, healing, and growth. Alternatively, you may wish to dive into the world of storytelling and world-building. This is a very useful tool if you are interested in writing fiction. You may wish to handwrite in a journal, or keep it on your computer. Whatever motivates you to want to do it more often is what you should prioritize.

Here are some examples of Creative Journaling Prompts, both personal and storytelling. Remember to begin them however you would like, let the ideas flow, and most importantly - have fun with it!

Prompts - Personal

1. List 10 things you are grateful for and explain why.
   • There is value in reminding yourself of what you have to be grateful for. It can help you to practice a more positive outlook, and appreciate what you have.
2. Describe a favourite childhood memory.
   • Maybe a birthday party, a holiday morning, a favourite vacation, or something completely random and unique! Reflect on this memory, why does it stand out to you? What emotions does it evoke? Who was there? What was the setting? Try to create the mood or tone of the story and practice visual imagery.
3. How did you bond with one of the best friends you’ve ever had?
   • What qualities of theirs stood out to you? Where did you meet?
4. What is a passion that you lose track of time doing? How can you incorporate it more into your life?
   • Perhaps it’s an art form, instrument, sport, or other. How does it make you feel? Tune into this passion and value it.
5. Write a letter to your childhood self.
   • What would you want to tell them? Perhaps you want to tell them how you have changed or what you are doing now. What advice would you give them?
6. Write a letter to your future self - 5, 10, 20 years into the future.
   • What questions would you ask your future self? What do you hope they are doing? Perhaps describe your current hopes and dreams, and your intentions for your future self.
7. What is a positive habit you would like to practice more often? What steps can you take towards doing so?
   • How will this habit help you? How can you approach incorporating it into your life and schedule? Why is this habit important to you?
8. What are your favourite qualities about yourself?
   • Practice some self-love here! What are the qualities within yourself that you admire?
9. How have you changed in the last few years? What have you learned and how have you grown?
   • Be proud of how far you’ve come! What goals have you achieved, milestones have you reached? What friends have you met and how have they influenced your outlook? What major lessons have you learned and how have they helped shape your worldview?

Prompts - Creative: Storytelling

1. Imagine you have arrived at a closed door. Where does it lead, what is behind it?
   • Why is the door closed?
2. Build on a recent dream you’ve had.
   • ​​ Where does it lead? What happens next?
3. Imagine you can travel through time. What year would you go to? What would you do?
   • ​​​​ Would you prefer to travel to the past or future? Why? Establish the setting. What people do you meet?
4. You can step into a famous painting. What painting do you choose and what is the world like within it?
   • What is your favourite painting or who is your favourite artist? What sort of atmosphere do they create with this painting? Where does the journey take you?
5. You find a paintbrush that brings everything you paint to life. What do you paint first?
   • You can build your own world with such a magical paintbrush! What sort of world is this?
6. You find a letter from your future self. It contains advice and glimpses of the future. What does it say and how does this affect you?
   • What do you wish to be doing in the future? What is this future version of yourself like and how are you different?
7. Write a story from the perspective of an animal, or your pet.
   • This is a fun one! What does your pet do when you are not home? Or what does an animal in the wild do throughout the day? Or you may wish to write of a creature entirely fictional.