Narrative Prompts

Word Prompts
hope gratitude determination rain coffee
beginning dreamscape nightmare pain wander
adventure escape scorch trust first
tenuous thoughtless bashful neglect hushed
cold rough troubled abandon maze
photograph shatter star flight kiss
wonder liberate scintillate wild light
thrive manifest whole starlight unfold
voltage listen power transform soar
vibrant live survive taboo persist
tender music passion laugh persevere
smile nurture poise sacrifice shine
sacred wander temper kinetic learn
desire invigorate kindness voyage weave
mischievous ruse flame antique crime
dance parasite undertow verdant thunderstorm
serenity lullaby burning embrace slumber
sunrise hesitate danger luck death
disaster nature lie secret obstacle

Definition Prompts
axiomatic - self-evident, obvious faux pas - blunder in etiquette esurient - greedy, hungry simulacrum - effigy, image or representation vacillate - waver in mind or opinion
sororal - of or relating to sisters, sisterhood bonanza - a source of great and sudden wealth or luck obfuscate - to make obscure or unclear evanescent - vanishing, fading away, fleeting verecund - bashful, modest
anfractuous - characterized by windings and turnings; sinuous taciturn - inclined to silence; reserved in speech mirabilia - marvels, miracles catalyst - a person or thing that precipitates an event or change adamantine - utterly unyielding or firm in attitude or opinion
sojourn - temporary stay bellicose - inclined or eager to fight rhathymia - carefree behavior; light-heartedness discomfiture - the state of being disconcerted bailiwick - a person's area of skill
bight - a bend or curve in the shore of a sea or river lugubrious - mournful, dismal or gloomy lassitude - weariness of body or mind from strain; listlessness augean - difficult and unpleasant samaritan - one who is compassionate and helpful to a person in distress
osmatic - of or relating to the sense of smell alligate - to attach; bind croesus - a very rich man plaintive - mournful escapism - the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind in an activity
unctuous - excessively smooth, suave or smug celestial - pertaining to the sky or visible heaven indemnity - compensation for damage or loss sustained melee - confusion; turmoil; jumble blarney - deceptive or misleading talk
garth - yard or garden solace - something that gives comfort, consolation or relief domicile - a place of residence; abode; house or home inflorescence - flowering or blossoming ylem - the hypothetical initial substance of the universe from which all matter is derived
stewardship - the responsible overseeing and protection of something worth preserving panacea - an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties cosset - to pamper; coddle hero - a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character erstwhile - former; of times past
credulous - willing to believe or trust too readily; gullible felicific - causing or tending to cause happiness apoplectic - extremely angry; furious hypermnesia - the condition of having an unusually vivid or precise memory bromide - a platitude or trite saying
delegate - a person designated to act or represent another or others phronesis - wisdom in determining ends and the means of attaining them soniferous - conveying or producing sound pinnacle - the highest or culminating point zephyr - a gentle, mild breeze
caprice - a sudden, unpredictable change beacon - a person or thing that illuminates or inspires ephemeral - lasting a very short time halcyon - calm; peaceful; tranquil effervescent - vivacious; merry; lively
peripeteia - a sudden turn of events concinnate - to arrange or blend together skillfully existential - of or relating to existence stargazer - a daydreamer copacetic - fine; completely satisfactory
rhapsodic - extravagantly enthusiastic; ecstatic lacuna - a gap or missing part obumbrate - to darken, overshadow or cloud macabre - gruesome and horrifying numinous - spiritual or supernatural
flagitious - shamefully wicked aplomb - imperturbable self-possession, poise or assurance coalesce - to unite so as to form one mass gossamer - a fine, filmy cobweb seen on grass or bushes galvanize - to startle into sudden activity
embosom - to cherish magnanimous - generous in forgiving insult or injury sanguine - cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident hyperbolic - exaggerated plebeian - common, commonplace, or vulgar
stolid - not easily stirred or moved mentally slake - to lessen or allay by satisfying august - inspiring reverence or admiration svengali - a person who completely dominates another, usually with selfish or sinister motives remora - an obstacle, hindrance or obstruction
thalassic - of or relating to seas and oceans prismatic - spectral in color; brilliant demur - to take exception; object undulate - to move with a sinuous or wavelike motion stymie - to hinder, block, or thwart

Lyric Prompts
your hands are gravity while my hands are tied now here we stand with their blood on our hands lies and secrets become your world no damsel in distress, don't need to save me i'll be your ocean let the waves crash on the shore
when did the future stop feeling so far? we're fallin'off the edge and i don't think that we'll fly holding on to something that feels safe demons trying to shoot me down unpack your childhood traumas
and if i'm being honest i just need a friend it could be an endless night your eyes already told me what you never said why you been actin like a stranger i don't speak my mind, i just sit and listen
kinda feels like i just won the lottery can we dance til the sky's awake i wish i could show you more of yourself you want a good girl that does bad things and i've been a hero, helpless
i'd do anything in my power to see you just smile now i'm all up in my head again i hit the ground running every night i'm the hero of this story, don't need to be saved and i'm harder on myself than you could ever be regardless
just say the word and i'll part the sea i'm an apostrophe i'm just a symbol to remind you that there's more to see i'm just a girl, guess i'm some kind of freak i deserve better how rare and beautiful it is to even exist
and everybody's watching her but she's looking at you if i'm lost then how can i find myself take me back to the night we met for a dreamer, night's the only time of the day i could spend my whole life getting over you
i think i'll miss you forever like the stars miss the morning sky nostalgia is a dirty liar that insists things were better than they seemed the sun will rise and we will try again just because you feel good doesn't make you right i'm bleeding out inside
you can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness you can run but you can never hide the pain in my veins is hereditary saving myself is all i really know i'm losing myself in the darkness of the world
in my defense, i have none you didn't even hear me out i can go anywhere i want, just not home for you, i would ruin myself i'm still a believer, but i don't know why
baby, kiss it better we were something, don't you think so? i just wanted you to know that this is me trying we'll carry on destiny is calling me
am i more than you bargained for yet? i won't deny i'm gonna miss you when you're gone my heart is breaking, but there's no use crying pull this pin, let this world explode everybody wants to change the world but no one wants to die
we're damned after all second chances, they don't ever matter, people never change god i sure hope you are dead keep your feet on the ground when your head's in the clouds i wrote the gospel on giving up

Quote Prompts
you are not weak just because your heart feels so heavy - andrea gibson there comes a point when you either embrace who and what you are, or condemn yourself to be miserable all your days - laurell k. hamilton keep going. your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life - roy t. bennet i've been hurt so bad and i still love so hard. i admire my heart for that - alexandra elle you don't find love, it finds you. it's got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what's written in the stars - anais nin
we know you're tired, tired and scared. happens to everyone, okay? just don't let your feet stop - haruki murakami no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted - aesop i want to calm down, to rest, to outlive this nonsense - anne sexton the bravest thing you can ever do, is to stay kind and soft even when the world has been cruel to you - nikita gill raise your words, not your voice. it is rain that grows flowers, not thunder - suli proverb
i don't know if you've ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong - lemony snicket goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. because for those who love with their heart and soul there is no such thing as separation - rumi you alone are enough. you have nothing to prove to anybody - maya angelou people take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost - dalai lama i always find beauty in things that are odd and imperfect - they are much more interesting - marc jacobs
the universe created you for a reason, now go out there and find out what it is - nikita gill the important people in our lives leave imprints. they may stay or go in the physical realm, but they are always there in your heart, because they helped form your heart. there's no getting over that - rachel cohn if you want to choose the pleasure of growth, prepare yourself for some pain - ivan d yalom i'd stand in the shadows of your heart and tell you i'm not afraid of your dark - andrea gibson sometimes in life, we need a few bad days in order to keep the good ones in perspective - colleen hoover
one should always be drunk. that's all that matters...but with what? with wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you choose. but get drunk - charles baudelaire nobody else will ever be able to save me if i'm not fighting as hard as i can to save myself - claudia gray we should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us - l.m. montgomery most of us are gifted with the ability to see the monsters hidden within another, but are unable to see past them. it takes a special kind of person to see the light inside of every living being - lynette simeone have you ever had that feeling - that you'd like to go to a whole different place and become a whole different self? - haruki murakami
maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light - madeleine l'engle you keep storing up all that anger and grief. eventually it spills over. or you drown in it - leigh bardugo the world gives you so much pain and here you are making gold out of it - there is nothing purer than that - rupi kaur you need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun - shaun hick i miss you deeply, unfathomably, senselessly, terribly - franz kafka
do you think the universe fights for souls to be together? some things are too strange and strong to be coincidences - emery allen i was born lost and take no pleasure in being found - john steinbeck everything i've ever let go of has claw marks on it - david foster wallace she was saying goodbye and she didn't even know it - markus zusak even though i am often in a mess, inside me there's still a calm, pure harmony and music - vincent van gogh
a ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for - john a shedd i wish i could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever - suzanne collins we have built cathedrals out of spite and splintered bone, of course they aren't pretty, nothing holy ever is - brenna twohy there is a glass girl in my head. if i ask too many questions she will shatter - chris killen ...her wings are cut and then she is blamed for not knowing how to fly - simone de beauvoir

Question Prompts
have you ever experienced the overview effect? what was it like? have you ever loved someone you shouldn't have? have you ever loved someone who didn't love you back? have you ever been lost? how were you found? have you ever discovered a truth that was hidden from you? how did you react?
have you ever gotten a birthday gift you did not like? have you had experiences with racial or religious discrimination? have you ever experienced a major storm? have you experienced a random act of kindness? did you pay it forward? have you ever been let down by a friend?
have you had an odd experience that didn't make sense at the time? has a broken heart ever led to something unexpected? what is a secret you have never shared? what is a day you would like to forget? what event changed your life?
what dream did you have that was so good you were upset to wake up? what is a memorable childhood vacation? what lesson did you learn the hard way? what's something you've lost that you'll never get back? what's a memory you have of a physical injury?
what keeps you up at night? what's an experience you had at your first job? what childhood memory changed your perspective? what is the most unfortunate event that ever happened to you? what is your most memorable family event?
what is the biggest challenge you have overcome? what fear have you overcome and how did you do it? what's the story behind your nickname(s)? what lesson did you learn as a teenager and how has it shaped your life? what is your definition of family?
what's the most dangerous experience you've ever had? what has been the worst conflict you've had with another person? what was it like to get your first pet? what is a memorable sporting experience you've had? what is a sad experience you've had with someone you care about?
what experience have you had that left you feeling frustrated? what tough experience have you had that was worth it in the end? what was your bravest moment? what place do you try to avoid? when have you strugged with terrible choices and what was the outcome?
when did you make a mistake and how did you rectify it? when did you take a risk and did it pay off? when did you lose faith in someone or something? when did a misunderstanding end up being unexpectedly funny? when did you discover that the world is bigger than you thought?
when have you been truly frightened? when have you felt out of place? when did you know you were an adult? how did you find your way back? how did you decide what you were going to do for a living?
why couldn't you do it? why did you do it? who believed in you first? who will you think of at the end of your life? do you have experience moving from one place to another?
do you remember the moment you met the person who would change your life? do you have an experience you think has only ever happened to you? do you remember a time when you disappointed someone? if you could switch lives with someone, who would it be and why? could you have made a better choice?

Sentence Starter Prompts
i am not simple my bottle is almost empty i just want to dance it's a comfortable feeling to die we are all living our own story
if i'm to choose between one evil and another, i'd rather not choose at all you don't need mutations to strip men of their humanity know when a legend becomes a prophecy? when it gains believers who taught you to fight like this? this is my story, not yours
wolves hunt to fill their bellies. wild dogs kill for sport. keep the gods out of it there are two types of men. those who see opportunity and take advantage, and those that forge the opportunities themselves. i can't cry...don't know how how did you get out of there?
i'm not heartless i'm on your side, remember? insecurity is so not attractive you're more capable than you give yourself credit for you never know how much time you have left. none of us do.
i don't know, maybe i'm just a little depressed please, i don't want to see you do anything foolish i'm gonna get "bless this mess" as a tramp stamp one day legitimately, i think you're becoming a dog we are concerned that you're going crazy
that's a hell of a forty-eight hours right there things are just...wackity-fucking-schmackity stop sharpening knives sometimes you shouldn't look at the bright side. sometimes you just gotta realize there's a real dark thing going on did your brain just break?
don't join a cult today, okay? wait til tomorrow she has no regard for her life, or anyone else's promise me you're not gonna overreact so, how scary was i? it's my first war wound, think i'll wear it with pride
magic's always been inside of you you're bleeding i smell something witchy it's not like we haven't cheated death before. i don't understand why this time isn't any different we all make choices in life
you're trying to quit, and i'm not going to let you i don't want to be a hero how do i know i'm not going to mess up again? you're nothing but an object living a lie, pretending to be a person that's because all you ever do is worry about what people think
burying memories is a man's way of surviving, but there are some things a man should never forget it's as if i'm here, but not here at all i can't do this anymore your survival is not a mistake it's in your hands now, i wish you no regret
that sounded a lot more bad-ass in my head my entire life feels like running after something i don't really mind death, i've buried people before i should've known, he's a pisces you have to stop torturing yourself, you have to let go
you've got the killer instincts of a house plant for one thing, i have questions it's time for you to stop fearing what you can do you bit me! you don't look like much

Visual Prompts