A Collection of Writing Prompts from Kleon and Walker

Here are some writing prompts I found that I'll use when I get back to 

from Kleon

1. Makes a T-chart list: What excites you? What drains you?  (at the bottom: "do more of this, do less of this)
2. Write one of your favorite quotes here (left side of page); Say it 5 different ways: 1.   2.  " (right side of spread)
3. Page with this written 5 times: "Thanks to _______________/ who taught me ____________"
4. Negative Manifesto.  I will not ____.  (repeated 7x)
   
5. Plagiarize yourself: find an old piece of writing, cut it up, rearrange it, and paste it here. 
6. If you can't come up with your own ideas: 1. identify a opular idea that you despise and would like to destroy; 2. find an old opposite idea everyone's forgotten and resurrect it.
7. 10 Things I want to Learn...
8. 4 frames on a page: "Paste pictures of your heroes in the frames provided for when you feel lost/or lonely" (the text is spread among the frames)
9. Cheerful retrospection.

   When I write in my diary, I often try to start with Paul Chowder’s advice in the novel The Anthologist, paraphrased this way by author Nicholson Baker:

   If you ask yourself, ‘What’s the best thing that happened today?’ it actually forces a certain kind of cheerful retrospection that pulls up from the recent past things to write about that you wouldn’t otherwise think about. If you ask yourself, ‘What happened today?’ it’s very likely that you’re going to remember the worst thing, because you’ve had to deal with it–you’ve had to rush somewhere or somebody said something mean to you–that’s what you’re going to remember. But if you ask what the best thing is, it’s going to be some particular slant of light, or some wonderful expression somebody had, or some particularly delicious salad. I mean, you never know… 

   
   
10. Copy a passage from one of your favorite books backwards. 
11. placekeeper

12. Because nearly everyone in the world believes their job to be difficult. I once went to a party and met a very beautiful woman whose job was to help celebrities wear Harry Winston jewelry. I could tell that she was disappointed to be introduced to this rumpled giant in an off-brand shirt, but when I told her that her job sounded difficult to me she brightened and spoke for 30 straight minutes about sapphires and Jessica Simpson. She kept touching me as she talked. I forgave her for that. I didn’t reveal a single detail about myself, including my name. Eventually someone pulled me back into the party. The celebrity jewelry coordinator smiled and grabbed my hand and said, “I like you!” She seemed so relieved to have unburdened herself. I counted it as a great accomplishment. Maybe a hundred times since I’ve said, “wow, that sounds hard” to a stranger, always to great effect. I stay home with my kids and have no life left to me, so take this party trick, my gift to you.

    Paul Ford - How to be polite (link)

from Walker