The 2006-2007 prompts
These were the writing prompts for the 2006-07 school year. Feel free to use them, and you can make submissions on these topics under "General" in the 2007-08 year, but we have new prompts for 2007-08 year.
Last year's prompts:
1. Voting. An election is coming; write about the importance – or not – of voting.
Alternate: Halloween. Write about what you do on Halloween. What does it mean to you? Deadline: Oct. 11
2. Shopping. Admit it; you love it. Why? Describe shopping or buying something or saving up for something you really want.
3. Place. Write a story or poem that takes place in a setting in which you have never been — real or imaginary.
Alternate: Eavesdrop. Listen carefully to conversations in the hall or the classroom or at home or in the store. Write about what you hear and try to use the dialog in a story. Deadline: Oct. 25.
4. Name. What’s in a name? (That which we call a rose by any other would smell as sweet. … A nose by any other would still smell.) Write about your own name; or someone else’s. Or make up a name and let that name lead you to a story. Alternate: Fairy tale revision. Pick a familiar story, and make it your own. Modernize it. Change the perspective. Turn it into poetry, or dialogue or a play. Add a new character. Take it another away. What if Goldilocks didn’t have blonde hair? What if Snow White didn’t like to clean? What if Cinderella weren’t so beautiful or charming, after all? Deadline: Nov. 1.
5. An object. Write about the one object that defines you. Tell a story about why it is important to you. Describe it from as many perspectives as possible.
Alternate: Seven. Write about 7 o’clock and what it means to you. Morning or night, story or poem or play. Deadline: Nov. 8.
WINTER TALES DUE NOV. 10: Entries for the special Winter's Tale prompt. A dozen selections will be given dramatic presentations by Vermont Stage Company in early December.
6. Humor. Write funny. Can you? Assume the voice of a goofy character. Tell a story. Make a punny poem. Share a joke. Or five. Make the judges laugh.
Alternate: A possession. What can’t you get rid of? Why? What’s the story behind it? Deadline: Nov. 15.
7. Foreign born. What if you did not grow up in America? Imagine what it would be like to grow up in another country. Try to find out something about the country before you write about it. Tell a story, not a report.
Alternate: Mysteries. Write about a mystery in your life or in someone else’s. Or make it up; write a mystery story. Deadline: Nov. 22.
8. Monuments. In Washington, D.C., there are monuments to former presidents. In Graceland, there’s a statue of Elvis. In Copenhagen, Denmark, there’s a statue of The Little Mermaid. For whom do you think we should be building monuments? Why?
Alternate: Money. What does money mean? Deadline: Nov. 29.
9. Found. Write about finding something. Describe the search.
Alternate: Lost. Tell a story about losing something or being lost. Write a story or a poem about how you feel or how someone else felt because of a loss. Deadline: Dec. 6.
10. The boy. Tell a story about the boy pictured here in the 1930s. Use narrative or poetry; incorporate information you learn about the period in U.S. history. Who was he? What was his life like? Be inspired by what you see. Was he hungry? Did he work on a farm? Or in town in a mill?
Alternate: Elder voices. Interview an older person, someone with a lot of life experience. He or she can be a relative or neighbor or friend or someone who you were referred to. Re-tell the most memorable story they have. Involve them in the process.Deadline: Dec. 13.
DEADLINE CHANGED TO JAN. 10: Lyrics. Is your writing the stuff of music? Do you feel the Bob Dylan in you? Send in your lyrics for the special Young songWriters Project prompt. Deadline: Jan. 10
11. Clothing. What do you wear? Why do you wear what you wear? Write about clothing; style; expression.
Alternate: Decisions. Hard ones. Easy ones. Write about one you made that had some consequences.
12. Faces. When you think of a face whose comes to mind? What’s that person’s story and how is it told on his or her face?
Alternate: A sentence. "She sat at the table, a scowl on her face..." Use this sentence in a story or poem. Deadline: Jan. 24.
13. First line. Pick the first line of a poem or novel. Then write the next sentence, and the next, in your own style and words.
14. Dear George. Write a letter to the president. What is the one thing you want to say? What is the one thing you want him to change?
Alternate: The key. You find a key. Where and how did you find it? What does this key look like? What does it open? Deadline: Feb. 7.
15. Beauty. Write about something beautiful.
Alternate: Hate. Write about prejudice. Deadline Feb. 16.
16. Oh my! You meet your idol. Who is it? What happens? What do you say? What does he or she say back?
Alternate: Change. "If I could change one thing about my school…" Deadline: Feb. 21.
17. No TV. Imagine living without a television. If you did, what would it be like? If you don’t have TV, what do you do instead? National TV Turnoff Week is April 23 through 29. Will you participate? Why or why not?
Alternate: Embarrassment. Write about one thing that was hopelessly embarrassing. And, now, funny. Deadline: March 7.
18. Anger. Rant about something that ticks you off.
Alternate: Voice. Write a character with a voice different from yours. The character could have a different dialect or, simply, speaks differently than you. Create a dialog. Deadline: March 14.
19. Pocket. You have found something strange in your pocket. Describe it as if to someone who has no sight. Tell the story of how it got there.
Alternate: Teaching. Tell a story of something you taught someone or a story of a moment where you took a stand and someone learned from you. Deadline: March 21.
20. Mirror. You stand before a mirror. What do you see?
Alternate: Weapons. What comes to mind when you hear that word? Do you have any? Deadline: March 28.
21. Small town life. This prompt focuses on interviewing, on conversations of discovery. Find an interesting person in your community, talk to them, find out their story. Write a non-fiction account from the interview. Or create a fictionalized story from your interview. Deadline: April 4
22. Farming. This prompt has three cash awards donated by Cabot Creamery (the cheese folks) which will also give winners vintage cheese.This prompt also may require interviewing. Do you farm? Have you worked on a farm? Write about it. Do you know a farmer? Talk to her or him and tell their story. Try not to romanticize. Tell a story that focuses on the reality of farming today. Deadline: April 11.
23. Nightmare. What is your worst nightmare? Tell a story, a poem.
Alternate: The Kitchen Table. What happens at the kitchen table in your house? Tell a story or write a poem about something that happened there. Deadline: April 18.
24. Yellow. Imagine the brightest yellow you can imagine. Write a story that uses the phrase: “That’s the brightest shade of yellow I’ve ever seen.”
Alternate: Challenged. Take away your eyesight, your hearing or your ability to walk. Imagine this new life in a story, poem or creative essay. Deadline: May 2.
25. Bus stop. Write a story that takes place at a bus stop.
Alternate:Superstition. What’s yours? Do you know someone who has them? Tell a story. Deadline: May 9.
Not used: Gender. What does it mean to be a boy? A girl? (How would life be different if you were a different gender?)
Viewpoint. Describe one scene from two different perspectives.
