PRISM Prompts is a treasure chest full of muses, wonderings, and inspiration for both seasoned writers who are itching for a new approach to their craft and new writers who are looking for a place to get started, somewhere outside of the blank page. Turn the key, lift the lid, and look inside. Take whatever shines the brightest or the strangest, bring it home with you, and write.
During my time as the Reviews Editor at PRISM international, I have been so inspired by all the wonderful book reviews and interviews I’ve been lucky enough to play a small part in. Reading keen analyses of other people’s works, as well as sifting through insightful interview comments, has inspired me to think deeply about my own writing practice. And while I can’t predict my future, I can dip my toes into divination when it comes to my characters.
There are many ways to play with fortune-telling to generate story ideas. Here are a few of my favourites. Each of the following prompts can be used for inspiration at different points in the writing process.
Prompt: Plant the seeds, then look back at the past from the future.
- Write a list called Things I Like in a Novel. (You could also explore this idea as a mind map). This list can contain vague notions and hyper-specific details. Here is a random selection of examples from my list: a group of unlikely friends with complimentary and opposing personalities, stories that explore women’s bodies under a new lens, the feeling of being outside.
- Once you have your list, put it away and forget about it.
- Free write for fifteen minutes. Set a timer and don’t stop until the timer goes off– even if part of the time you’re just writing the words “I don’t know” over and over again on the page. Keep going!
- At the end of the free write, take a look at what you’ve made, and circle the sections that interest you. Keep exploring that image or that character and their story!
- After you’ve finished the exercise, don’t look at your list, but also don’t throw it away. Keep it somewhere safe where it can lie like a forgotten treasure until the moment is right.
- Once you’ve finished writing whatever project you go on to work on, take out your list and look at it. At first, this may not feel like divination, but I’ve found that the ideas I write down during this initial brainstorming session often end up being threaded into the book I go on to write. It’s fascinating to see the seeds you planted so long ago, and to reflect on how they’ve changed and grown. Use this exercise as a reminder of how your initial spark of an idea can bloom!
Prompt: Do a tarot or tea leaf reading for your character!
- Doing a tarot or a tea leaf reading for one of your characters is a great way to get to know them better and to help answer tricky questions that might spring up mid draft. Whether you’re meditatively drinking a cup of tea or sitting with your fingers hovering above your favourite tarot deck, I recommend asking a specific question. Make sure your inquiry does not have a yes or no answer. Instead, try asking about a personal matter that your character could use advice on.
- You can ask this question as if you are a third party doing a reading for your character, or you can ask it as if you are that character because, after all, they do live somewhere inside of you.
- Interpret the images on the cards or the wondrous shapes at the bottom of the teacup as a message for your character. What does this reading suggest they do next? What does it clarify about their path or their personality? What is standing in their way? What might their future hold?
I hope these prompts inspire you to be explorative in your writing. Remember that every sentence is a discovery, every word on the page a gesture in the unfurling of a map that only you can chart.
Victoria McIntyre is a writer currently working on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓əta (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She is the outgoing Reviews Editor at PRISM international. She also recently completed her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Her work has been published by The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, The Goose, The Hart House Review, Last Leaves Magazine, and others.