Here are some tips to help you use the prompts to your advantage. Remember - there are no rules when it comes to working with writing prompts.
1. Use the prompts to ignite an idea within you. You don’t have to take them as is, just take what you like out of them, take the idea, character, anything that you can use as inspiration, to spark off your writing session.
2. Ask yourself questions if you’re having trouble getting started... “Who is this character? What do they want? What do they need? What or who is standing in their way? What will happen if they don’t get what they want/need?”
3. Aim to write 100 or 200 words or if you’d rather set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes or even 5 minutes and write to that, come what may.
4. Check out Holly Lisle’s post on writing to a writing prompt. Paraphrased, she says, you need to have a Character/Subject and a Conflict. From there, you can create any story you desire.
5. A way to use the prompts, if you are practicing regular writing, is to do one each day, for a set period, perhaps as a “writing exercise” to start of each writing session. Pick a section and start making your way down the list.
6. Try Freewriting. Flip through the book and choose a prompt at random and write it even you hate it. Your hesitation may prove to spark an excellent idea for a short story or something longer.
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I have broken this book up into 5 sections; the first four on different fantasy sub-genres and the last section on fantasy title prompts, including; fairy tale and myth & legend fantasy, epic fantasy, modern fantasy (including sub-genres such as Paranormal and Urban Fantasy), and other more general fantasy prompts (including other fantasy sub-genres). Within each section there are two types of writing prompt:
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The first is a typical writing prompt, with typically a character, setting and a conflict. You might even get a villain for your protagonist. Sometimes one or more of these elements are missing. It’s then up to you to create the missing pieces for your story idea.
The second set of prompts are titled “story starters” and indicate a style of prompt that typically contains a single line of text or dialogue, designed to spark a story in your mind or on the page within a timed writing exercise. These typically don’t have a character or setting, but usually the conflict or situation. Again, it’s then up to you to build out your story idea.
Remember, for both style of prompt, take what you like, and disregard what you don’t. You never have to use the prompts as is.
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I have tried to group these 500 prompts under relevant sub-genre headings, but it proved a difficult exercise, so I tried my best. There are many that cross sub-genres, but I hope you can easily find the prompt you want. Don’t forget to use the search tool (if you have the ebook) to search a certain keyword you might be looking for.
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500 Fantasy Writing Prompts || Author : Erica Blumenthal
Fantasy500 Fantasy Writing Prompts: Fantasy Story Ideas and Writing Prompts for Fiction Writers Book by Erica Blumenthal Please read the first three chapters! This short-but-jam-packed writing promt book by Erica Blumenthal is just the firework you need to...
