Writing Prompts - DylanThomas.com

To help inspire you to write, to provide a focus, or offer a new challenge, we’ll be posting fortnightly writing prompts on our Facebook, Twitter and blog.

Often these will be photo prompts, but sometimes they might be word games or particular exercises.

They might inspire you to write a poem, craft a short story, a biographical piece of writing, a letter, some escapism.

You could decide to keep it to yourself, share with friends and family, or even send it to us! We’d love to feature your responses via our social media channels @DTCSwansea (Twitter) and @DylanThomasCentre (Facebook).

Prompt 1 #NationalWritingDay

We’re starting our new series of writing prompts today!

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.
Here are two questions to help get you started:

How did it get there?
Who was it intended for?

Prompt 2

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.
Here are two questions to help get you started:

Who lives in a flat like this?
What happens in this flat?

Prompt 3

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Where did this ship sail from?
Who is aboard?
Why is it in Swansea Marina?
Where will it go next?

Prompt 4

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who is this?
Why are they here?
What is their story?

Prompt 5

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who is this?
How did they end up here?
What happens next?

Prompt 6 #InternationalLiteracyDay

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who is this?
What are they doing up here?
What are they looking at?

Prompt 7

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who are these two characters?
What are they talking about?

Prompt 8

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Where is this pointing and why?
Who put the sign there?

Autumn Writing Prompt (9)

Dylan Thomas wrote a number of poems about autumn and winter.
Can you write an autumnal poem?

What colours do you see?
What is the weather like?
What do the trees look like?
What things could be hiding in the fallen leaves?

Halloween Writing Prompt (10)

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who are these ghosts?
What mischief are they going to get up to?
Who is the ring leader?

Prompt 11 – Kitten on the drums!

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

What’s the name of the band he plays in?
Who else is in it?
What kind of music do they play?
Where do they go on tour?

Prompt 12 – Snail on the Rail!

Can you write a nonsense poem about the Snail on the Rail?

Prompt 13 – A Dragonfly pauses for rest

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Where is this dragonfly going on their holidays?
Who are they visiting?
What prey will they catch for dinner?

Prompt 14 – Swansea Sunglasses

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who did these sunglasses belong to?
What was the last thing they saw?
How did they end up here?
Where will they go?

Prompt 15 – A Beach Scene

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who was sitting here?
What were they talking about?
Why did they suddenly leave?
You could write this as a dialogue, if you like.

Bear Writing Prompt (16)

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who is this character?
Where is he?
Who’s he hiding from?
What happens next?

Football boots (17)

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who do the boots belong to?
How did they end up in the tree?
Will they come down again – if so, how?

Egg writing prompt

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Where was it discovered?
What will hatch from it?
What will it be called? What powers will the hatchling have?

Writing Prompt 19

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Look what’s arrived in the post!
Where has Yevgeny been?
How did he get in the box?
Where is he now?

Writing Prompt 20

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who do these belong to?
Why have they been abandoned?
Where are they now, and what happens next?

Writing Prompt 21

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Yevgeny has found his human slave’s yarn stash!
What is he planning to do?
Will he make a fantastical creation?
What havoc will ensue?

Bottle Writing Prompt (22)

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

What is in the bottle?
Who has drunk it?
What did it taste like?
What is going to happen to them?

Toad Writing Prompt (23)

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Who has been turned into a toad?
What did they do?
Where are they going to go?
How can they change back – assuming they want to?

Yevgeny loves books! (or bookshelves, anyway).

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

What is his taste in literature?
Would he choose anything from this bookshelf?
Is he an aspiring writer himself?

Writing Prompt 25

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Where has this ship been?
Who is on board?
Will it set anchor in this bay, and if so, what happens next?

Writing Prompt 26

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

If these trees could speak, what stories would they tell?
Who has sat amongst them?
What has landed on them, or made them its home?

Writing Prompt 27

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

You’re swimming towards the shore, and are arriving at a new place. You’ve never been there before. Describe what you do and who you see and what happens in the first ten minutes after you arrive.

Writing Prompt 28

Write a poem or a piece of short fiction inspired this image.

Dylan said of his poems: ‘I never thought them to be imitations but rather wonderfully original things, like eggs laid by tigers.’ What unusual images and combinations would you choose to describe your own writing?