Writing prompts and exercises can be the perfect way to move your writing project forward. Some of our members have shared their favourite writing prompts to spark your creativity.

In her book, Reading like a Writer, Francine Prose mentions a short story by Paul Bowles in which a timid tourist packs “two small overnight bags full of maps, sun lotions, and medicines.” Her comment: What very different conclusions we might form about a man who carries a bag filled with dice, syringes, and a handgun. Your challenge: choose three objects at random—not necessarily something you would put in an overnight bag—put them in your character’s bag, send them away, and see what happens.

About Michelle Barker:

Michelle Barker is an award-winning author, editor, and writing teacher who lives in Vancouver, BC. Her newest novel My Long List of Impossible Things, came out in 2020 with Annick Press. She is the author of The House of One Thousand Eyes, which was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year and won numerous awards including the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. She’s also the author of the historical picture book, A Year of Borrowed Men, as well as the fantasy novel, The Beggar King, and a chapbook, Old Growth, Clear-Cut: Poems of Haida Gwaii. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have appeared in literary reviews around the world. Michelle holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and works as a senior editor at The Darling Axe. She is represented by Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists.

For more about Michelle and her work click here.