IT’S ALL ABOUT – USING OBJECTS AS WRITING PROMPTS

By Melissa Stoller 
 
Glance around your home, in rooms such as the living room, bedroom, and office. Chances are you will find objects that can become excellent story starters. Here are a few prompts to help spark your imagination as you write stories this month:
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1. Find a photograph sitting on your living room mantle. Describe the setting. Who is featured in the photo? What do the people look like and what are they wearing? Choose to write about the subject’s actual history or make up a tale about possible background, goals, and dreams. Create a plot drawing from your observations and imagination.
2. Notice your bedroom dresser and identify special personal objects. Perhaps you will find a perfume bottle, a leather change holder, or a jewelry box. Write a paragraph describing this object, paying close attention to details like colors, shapes, and textures. Also include where you got the object: was it an heirloom or from a local store? Form a story around this object.
3. Scour your home office desk for interesting work items. Perhaps you have files, books, a pencil sharpener, an antique typewriter, a computer, or a beautiful pen. What’s the story behind the item? If this item could speak, what would it say? Draft a few paragraphs based on this object’s history.

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​I hope these prompts help inspire a few new manuscript ideas or add layers to any works in progress. Let me know in the comments. Happy writing! 
 
 
 

​BIO:
 
Melissa Stoller is the author of the chapter book series The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection - Return to Coney Island and the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush, Ready, Set, GOrilla!, and Sadie’s Shabbat Stories. Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom (co-written with Callie Metler and Shirin Rahman, illustrated by Kate Talbot), releases from Clear Fork Publishing in October 2021. Melissa is a Blogger and Course Assistant for the Children’s Book Academy, a Regional Ambassador for The Chapter Book Challenge, a volunteer with SCBWI/MetroNY, and a founding member of The Book Meshuggenahs. In other chapters of her life, Melissa has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, freelance writer and editor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her family, and enjoys theatre, museums, and long beach walks.

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CONNECT:  
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https://www.MelissaStoller.com
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https://www.TheBookMeshuggenahs.com 
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