Summer. It’s hard to stay indoors and write, during summer, but summer is also a great source of writing inspiration and writing prompts. So go ahead, go outside! Looking for Writing Prompts Summer? All you need to do is go outside and invoke one of the greatest writing rules: Observe everything. Not sure where to start or what to do? Take this list and a pen and paper (or voice recorder or laptop) outside and start writing. Or go out and make observations through these questions (and any others that come into your head) then write about (and beyond) your experience later.
Six Writing Prompts Summer
Writing Prompts Summer – Write about a sunrise over the lake.
How does the air feel just before the sun rises? What is the color of dark? How does the sky change? When does dark turn to light? How can you tell the sun is coming? What are the colors of the sky? How does the water change as the sun rises? What is going on beneath the lake? What is living in the lake? Does it sleep? How does it wake?
Close your eyes. What do you hear? How do the sounds change from dark to light? How does dark smell? How does the light smell?
Writing Prompts Summer – Write about a marsh.
What do you see? What sort of plants are there? Are there insects? Snakes? Turtles? Where do you see them? Frogs? Do you hear them? What do you hear? Is the water still? Does it move, and if so, do you see what moves it? Does something live beneath the surface? What? Does it see you? What happens next?
Writing Prompts Summer- Write about a bicycle ride.
Where do you ride? Why? What do you see? Are you on a trail, in the city? What are the sights and sounds? What types of creatures (turtles, or are they city buses and pedestrians) surround you? Where are you trying to go? How does the wind feel on your skin? Can you hear your heart? What takes your attention? Do you like to bicycle here or would you rather be somewhere else? Why?
Writing Prompts Summer – Write about a thunderstorm.
What does it smell like when it’s coming? What does it sound like? How does the air feel? How does it make you feel? What does your body do in response as it draws near? What happens when you see a flash of lighting? How does it change the color of the landscape? What happens around you, to the sky, the trees, the birds?
Can you make a connection between the way you feel in the storm to the moments in your life? Go beyond the obvious and relate the thunderstorm to something good that just happened. A graduation, a family reunion, a picnic, a race, kids playing on a playground, a parade coming, a promotion on the horizon…draw a connection that isn’t obvious and see where it takes you.
Writing Prompts Summer – Write about a walk in the woods.
Look to the sky. What do you see? Examine the ground. Get down and look from the ground-up point of view. What do you see? Now listen. What do you hear? Are you far from modern sounds or do they encroach? What sort of plants do you see? What do you smell? What was this spot like 100 years ago? 1,000 years ago? Who lived here? What did they do to survive? What sorts of animals are here? Is there something here beyond what you can see? Is there a secret in the woods? Is there an ancient feeling here?
Do children play here? What sort of games do they play? Did you play any games in the woods? How do the trees feel when humans come? How does this enclave feel in the modern world? What do the trees think about the changes in the last decade? Is there a tree waiting for something? What? Who? What will happen to the tree when that something arrives?
Writing Prompts Summer- Write about stargazing.
What is the color of the night? The color of the stars? Are there stars you barely see? Can you reach out and touch them? How do you feel when you stargaze? How does watching the stars change your emotions? Your thoughts? Are we alone in the universe or are their others out there? How far away are they? What might they be like? Are the stars watching us? Do you see a shooting star? What does it look like? What does it mean to you? Do you make a wish? What wish? Why? Is this a lone star, or is there a meteor shower? Do any of the meteors hit the ground? Where? Near you? What happens when they do? What do you do?
Close your eyes. How does the dark change? What do you hear? What do you smell? How does the night feel on your skin?
Writing Prompts Summer – Write about being lost in the mountains.
(I suggest you use your imagination for this one!) Where are you? What mountain range? How did you get lost? What do you have with you? How long does it take before you know you are lost? What do you do? What do you hear? Do you try and listen for a hint as to which way to go? What do you see? Do you know which direction you are going in, or do you struggle to figure that out? Do you panic? How does that feel? How does that taste? What do you do to stop the panic? Or do you allow yourself to give into it?
Don’t stop there; the possibilities are endless. Just go outside and start observing. The best thing about this sort of writing: fresh air, exercise, and you fill your creative well and soul. What could be better?
Summer not inspiring enough. What about looking for writing prompts from memories?
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Award-winning novelist Kathy Steffen teaches fiction writing and speaks at writing programs across the country. Additionally, Kathy is also published in short fiction and pens a monthly writing column, Between the Lines. Her books, FIRST THERE IS A RIVER
