Five Reasons to Use Writing Prompts

Fiction writers often say that the most important thing to do, in order to create quality, publishable stories, is "BIC," or "butt in chair." This is the practice of sitting down every day and writing something - anything! One of the greatest things to do, in order to satisfy the need for daily writing, is to use writing prompts.

A simple search for "writing prompts" will give you thousands to choose from online. Using them is an easy and beneficial way to help you keep your writing commitments and schedules. They can also help you improve your creativity and skills.

1. Break Writer's Block

Using writing prompts is a great way to break writer's block. All fiction writers experience this dreaded affliction at one time or another. When you sit at your keyboard desperately trying to come up with any idea that you can write about, writing prompts will save the day.

The most important thing to do when getting ready to pick a writing prompt in order to help you break writer's block is to declare that you will, indeed, write about that prompt. If you force yourself to write even five minutes on the subject that is given to you, you may come up with a fabulous idea.

2. Inspire Creativity

A great thing about using writing prompts is that they can make you think about old things in a new way, or think about completely new things all together. When faces with an unusual writing prompt, your creativity centers must begin to fire. Exercising these capabilities will make it easier to use them when it actually comes down to writing your masterpiece.

3. Get in the Habit

Going back to the importance of "butt in chair," you should note that using writing prompts is an excellent way to do this. Experts say that it takes twenty-one days of performing a new task in order to create a habit. If you pick out three weeks worth of writing prompts and vow to write just five or ten minutes on one every day, you will have formed the important habit of writing daily.

4. Learn Something New