I’m sure at some point in your school career, you got the assignment, “Write what you did for summer vacation.” What a writing prompt… “What I did for my summer vacation was…” Just typing it now makes me snooze off. But summer vacation is fun! We love summer. We love vacation. We should love writing about it. Let’s shake off those old memories and look at “Writing Prompts Summer Vacation” that will inspire your writing.
The idea for my second book, Jasper Mountain
Writing Prompts Summer Vacation
First, if you go on vacation, open yourself to new ideas around you. If you can’t… well that may be even better creatively. You can invent your dream trip! (I’ve listed some summer vacation writing prompt ideas to get you going below.)
Begin with the place, but don’t forget to pack protagonist goals and conflict! (For writing fiction, slip on your character so “you” becomes your character.)
Writing Prompts Summer Vacation – Write about a big city
Do you know where you are going? Do you have everything planned out? Why are you there? What drew you to this city? What did you want to experience? Are you intimidated? Who do you go with, or are you alone? Do you get lost? What happens? Who do you meet? Are they nice or do they want to take advantage of you? Where do you go? What do you see you never thought you’d see? What are they? What happens next?
Writing Prompts Summer Vacation – Write about a road trip
Do you have a planned route? What is it? Why are you going on this trip? Are you going toward something or running away from something? Who goes on this trip with you? Why? What type of car takes you? Is it comfortable? Not? Why? Does everyone on the trip get along? Where do you stop? Why? Is something interesting, a place you’ve always wanted to visit, or do you just need a place to bed down for the night? Who is there? Where do you stay? Who do you meet? What happens next? How long do you stay? What type of place is it? Does everything seem right, or is anything strange going on? Anything you wonder about? Why?
Writing Prompts Summer Vacation- List of types of trips
Okay, you get the picture. Ask all sorts of questions about the trip. Change the above questions to match the trips below, do a little research (sometimes a photo of a place is all I need to get going) and write about:
a fishing trip
a bike trip
a hiking trip
sailing around the world
a cruise
a camping trip
mountain climbing
a rafting trip
an eco-friendly vacation
a working archeological vacation
Writing Prompts Summer Vacation- List of locations
Stonehenge, England
Chichen Itza, Mexico
Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem
The tomb of Christ in the Old City of Jerusalem
Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Everglades National Park, USA
New Orleans, Louisiana
The Arctic Wild
A safari in Africa
Ikh Nart Nature Reserve in Mongolia
The Mammoth Graveyard in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
Got some ideas now for writing? How about for your next vacation? Trips to someplace new and different (whether for real or in your imagination) can make for a wonderful discovery of new ideas. Happy writing and happy travels!
Looking for other creative writing prompts? How about starting with a setting?
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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, JASPER MOUNTAIN and THEATER OF ILLUSION are available online and at bookstores everywhere. Check out more at www.kathysteffen.com