Writing Prompts, Story Starters, and Resources to Get Words on the Page
Every story begins somewhere.
Sometimes it starts with a character, a photograph, or a line of dialogue you can’t stop thinking about.
Sometimes it starts with a blank page and absolutely no idea what to write.
The Prompt Me Creative Writing Series was created for all of those moments. These interactive workbooks combine visual prompts, story starters, creative exercises, writing space, and practical resources to help writers stop waiting for inspiration and start writing.
Your Story Is Already in There
The hardest part of writing is often getting started.
Rather than telling you exactly what to write, the Prompt Me workbooks give you places to begin. A photograph might become a mystery. An unfinished sentence could introduce a character. A list of unrelated words may turn into a scene you never expected.
The same prompt can inspire a short story, poem, journal entry, screenplay, or the beginning of a novel.
There isn’t one correct response.
There’s simply somewhere to start.
Find Your Prompt Me Workbook
You don’t need to use the books in order. Choose the one that fits the writer, reader, genre, or project in front of you.
| If you want to… | Choose… |
|---|---|
| Explore many kinds of writing prompts | Prompt Me |
| Find another varied collection | Prompt Me More |
| Keep the ideas coming | Prompt Me Again |
| Use full-color photo prompts in an eBook | Picture This |
| Write fantasy or science fiction | Prompt Me Sci-Fi & Fantasy |
| Develop a romantic story | Prompt Me Romance |
| Create mysteries and build suspense | Prompt Me Mystery & Suspense |
| Write horror, thrillers, or creepy stories | Prompt Me Horror & Thriller |
| Plan and organize a complete novel | Prompt Me Novel |
| Encourage a younger writer | Prompt Me Kids |
| Record, analyze, and discuss books | Prompt Me Reading Log & Analysis |
Choose what sounds useful today, then explore the details below.
Start with a Little of Everything
Prompt Me: Creative Writing Journal & Workbook
The original award-winning, all-purpose workbook includes picture prompts, first-person and third-person story starters, dialogue exercises, creative combinations, poetry, journal pages, and writer reference lists.
It’s a good place to begin if you want a broad mix of inspiration. The content is clean enough for teens and useful for experienced writers, too.
Prompt Me More
New photographs. New story possibilities. No complicated sequel knowledge required.
Prompt Me More continues the flexible format with visual prompts, opening lines, dialogue, creative choices, poetry, journal pages, and expanded character and sensory resources.
Prompt Me Again
This collection offers more photographs, story starters, dialogue prompts, branching choices, classic-story exercises, poetry, journal pages, and reference tools.
Choose it when you love the original format or believe there’s no such thing as having too many writing prompts.
Picture This: Creative Writing Photo Prompts & Inspiration
Sometimes you need to see an idea before you can write it.
Described as the digital cousin of Prompt Me, Picture This features more than fifty original full-color photographs with 144 prompts and 422 possible combinations. It also includes written prompts, creative choices, fun facts, tips, and master word lists.
The functional table of contents lets eBook readers jump between prompts and resources without wandering onto the internet and forgetting why they picked up their device.
Choose Picture This when you want portable, visual inspiration in full color.
Write in Your Favorite Genre
Prompt Me Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Magic. Mythical creatures. Strange technology. Impossible places.
This genre-focused workbook can inspire fantasy quests, science fiction adventures, invented worlds, supernatural encounters, and characters who don’t have to be human.
Reality has enough rules. Your story doesn’t need all of them.
Prompt Me Romance
Every romance needs two people, a reason to bring them together, and something determined to keep them apart.
Along with photographs and story starters, Prompt Me Romance explores romantic arcs, intimacy, love languages, flowers and their meanings, classic plots, familiar tropes, and memorable kisses.
You already know they’re going to fall in love. The fun is making them work for it.
Prompt Me Mystery & Suspense
A missing object. An unreliable witness. A locked door. One detail that doesn’t belong.
Use the prompts and genre-focused exercises to develop clues, secrets, suspicious characters, hidden motives, and stories that keep readers guessing.
Every writer leaves clues. The question is whether the reader notices them.
Prompt Me Horror & Thriller
Nightmares. Monsters. Dark places. Terrible decisions.
This workbook includes hundreds of prompts, photographs, creative generators, charts, and reference tools for developing frightening situations and unsettling stories.
It’s clean enough for teens but sophisticated enough for seasoned writers. You don’t have to be the next Stephen King. But your characters may want to leave the lights on.
Build the Whole Story
Prompt Me Novel
Having an idea is exciting. Turning it into an entire novel can be considerably more complicated.
Prompt Me Novel helps you develop and organize plot, conflict, setting, point of view, characters, emotion, dialogue, and revision without forcing every story into the same formula.
Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. It has to exist.
Inspire a Young Writer
Prompt Me Kids
Big imaginations deserve somewhere to go.
Prompt Me Kids introduces younger writers to storytelling through story starters, choices, lists, poetry, animals, coloring pages, writing tips, and plenty of room to experiment.
It works well for homeschool writing practice, classroom enrichment, screen-free creative time, or a child who is always making up stories.
Teach a Creative Writing Workshop
A creative writing workshop needs enough structure to get people started without deciding what their stories should become.
Writing teachers, librarians, homeschool families, and workshop leaders can use the Prompt Me workbooks for:
- Short writing warm-ups
- Sensory description
- Point-of-view practice
- Character and dialogue exercises
- Plot and conflict
- Genre exploration
- Poetry
- Revision
- Multiweek writing projects
Choose one prompt and write for ten minutes. Then compare the different directions everyone took.
Next, change the point of view, genre, setting, or emotional tone.
One prompt can become an entire workshop, and everyone can participate without everyone having to write the same story.
Writing on Your Own?
Writing alone has its advantages. No one questions your strange search history or watches you rewrite the same sentence fourteen times.
But there isn’t always someone nearby to suggest a new direction or tell you to stop overthinking and write something.
The Prompt Me workbooks can become that quiet creative companion. Open to any page, choose what catches your attention, set a timer, and see what appears.
Use them to:
- Begin a writing habit
- Work through writer’s block
- Generate story ideas
- Develop characters and scenes
- Try a new genre
- Return to a stalled project
- Practice without pressure
You don’t have to work in order or finish every prompt.
Change it. Combine it with another idea. Turn a romantic photograph into a murder scene. Give the villain the heroic line. Move the whole story to another planet.
The page gives you a place to begin.
The story is still yours.
What You’ll Find Inside
Each workbook has its own focus, but books in the series may include:
- Photo prompts
- First-person and third-person story starters
- Dialogue exercises
- Fill-in-the-blank combinations
- Branching choices
- Poetry and journal pages
- Character-development tools
- Word lists and reference charts
- Space to write directly in the book
Not every prompt will speak to you every day. Skip it. Change it. Return to it later.
Prompts are invitations, not assignments. Help me choose a workbook.
From Creative Writing to Writing Within
The Prompt Me name has grown beyond fiction. The Prompt Me Creative Writing Series helps you discover stories, characters, and worlds.
The Prompt Me Within series turns some of that curiosity toward the person holding the pen through guided journals for safety, self-trust, relationships, and self-discovery.
One helps you explore what you might create. The other helps you explore what you may discover about yourself.
For People Who Love to Read, Too
Prompt Me Reading Log & Analysis
Writers learn a great deal by reading. Prompt Me Reading Log & Analysis offers a visual, flexible alternative to traditional reading logs. It provides room to explore ten books chapter by chapter while keeping notes, drawings, vocabulary, literary analysis, and ideas together.
Readers can record:
- Settings and characters
- Chapter notes
- Vocabulary
- Annotations
- Literary terms
- Discussion ideas
- Visual responses
- Creative projects
It’s designed for homeschool literature study, classes, book discussions, readers who want to remember more, and writers studying how published stories work.
Sometimes a stick-figure drawing can start a better conversation than a page of formal questions. And all the notes stay in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choose a question to learn more about the Prompt Me Creative Writing workbooks, photo prompts, genre collections, classroom uses, and writing resources.
What is the Prompt Me Creative Writing Series?
The Prompt Me Creative Writing Series is a collection of interactive writing workbooks created by author and former teacher Robin Woods. Depending on the title, the books may include photographs, story starters, dialogue prompts, creative exercises, poetry, writing space, character-development tools, charts, word lists, and practical writing resources.
Which Prompt Me workbook should I start with?
Start with Prompt Me: Creative Writing Journal & Workbook if you want a broad mixture of photographs, prompts, exercises, and writing resources.
You can also choose the book that best fits your current interests:
- Prompt Me More for another varied collection of creative inspiration
- Prompt Me Again to keep the ideas coming
- Picture This for full-color photo prompts in an eBook
- Prompt Me Sci-Fi & Fantasy for invented worlds, magic, mythical creatures, and strange technology
- Prompt Me Romance for attraction, relationship development, romantic conflict, and chemistry
- Prompt Me Mystery & Suspense for clues, secrets, suspicious characters, and unanswered questions
- Prompt Me Horror & Thriller for fear, danger, monsters, nightmares, and unsettling stories
- Prompt Me Novel for developing and organizing a complete novel
- Prompt Me Kids for younger writers
- Prompt Me Reading Log & Analysis for readers, literature study, and book discussions
Do I need to use the Prompt Me books in order?
No. Every book can be used independently. Prompt Me, Prompt Me More, and Prompt Me Again share a flexible format, but each contains different photographs, prompts, exercises, and resources.
You don’t need to complete the pages within a workbook in order, either. Open anywhere and choose what catches your attention.
What is the difference between Prompt Me, Prompt Me More, and Prompt Me Again?
Prompt Me is the original all-purpose collection. Prompt Me More and Prompt Me Again continue the format with entirely new photographs, story starters, dialogue exercises, creative choices, journal pages, and writing resources.
They are companion books rather than traditional sequels. You can begin with any of them.
What kinds of writing can I create with the prompts?
Use the prompts to begin a scene, poem, short story, screenplay, journal entry, character study, or novel. You can change the pronouns, switch the point of view, move the idea into another genre, combine several prompts, or use one line to revive a stalled project.
The prompt provides somewhere to begin. The story is still yours.
Are the workbooks for beginning or experienced writers?
Both. Beginning writers receive approachable places to start without needing to invent an entire story at once. Experienced writers can generate ideas, experiment with new genres or points of view, develop characters, solve story problems, or work through writer’s block.
Can the Prompt Me workbooks help with writer’s block?
They were created for the moments when you want to write but don’t know where to begin. A photograph, unfinished sentence, line of dialogue, unusual word combination, or creative choice can give you a direction without dictating the entire story.
Open to any page, choose one element, set a timer, and start writing. You can skip anything that doesn’t interest you that day.
Are the Prompt Me workbooks appropriate for teenagers?
Yes. The general and genre-focused workbooks are clean enough for teen writers while still providing useful exercises, vocabulary, and reference tools for adults and experienced writers.
Prompt Me Kids was created specifically for younger writers.
Is there a Prompt Me book for younger writers?
Yes. Prompt Me Kids introduces younger writers to storytelling through story starters, creative choices, lists, poetry, animals, coloring pages, writing tips, and room to experiment.
It works well for homeschool writing practice, classroom enrichment, screen-free creative time, or a child who is always making up stories.
What is Picture This?
Picture This: Creative Writing Photo Prompts & Inspiration is the digital cousin of the Prompt Me workbooks. This full-color eBook includes 52 original photographs taken by Robin Woods, 92 written prompts, more than 422 possible combinations, creative choices, animal facts, writing tips, and master word lists.
Unlike the print workbooks, Picture This is primarily a collection of visual inspiration and writing resources. Writers can respond in a notebook, journal, or digital document.
Are there workbooks for particular genres?
Yes. The genre-focused collections include:
- Prompt Me Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Prompt Me Romance
- Prompt Me Mystery & Suspense
- Prompt Me Horror & Thriller
Each book combines creative prompts with charts, exercises, vocabulary, and reference resources selected for that genre.
What is the difference between Prompt Me Mystery & Suspense and Prompt Me Horror & Thriller?
Prompt Me Mystery & Suspense focuses on clues, secrets, crimes, suspicious characters, hidden motives, unanswered questions, and building tension.
Prompt Me Horror & Thriller leans into fear, danger, nightmares, monsters, dark places, frightening situations, and unsettling stories.
Is Prompt Me Romance only for romance novelists?
No. Prompt Me Romance can inspire romantic scenes, poems, short stories, screenplays, complete novels, or romantic subplots within fantasy, mystery, science fiction, historical fiction, and other genres.
Its romance-specific resources explore romantic arcs, stages of intimacy, relationship barriers, love languages, familiar tropes, flowers and their meanings, and memorable kisses.
Is there a workbook for planning and writing a complete novel?
Yes. Prompt Me Novel: Fiction Writing Journal & Workbook helps writers brainstorm, develop, organize, draft, and revise a novel.
It includes tools for plot, conflict, setting, point of view, characters, emotions, body language, dialogue, summaries, revision, beta readers, and other parts of a large writing project. You can use it from beginning to end or go directly to the section your story needs.
Do the print workbooks include space to write?
Yes. The print workbooks include journal pages or designated writing space so you can respond directly in the book. You can also continue longer responses in a separate notebook or digital document.
Picture This is an eBook focused on full-color photographs, prompts, facts, and reference lists rather than writing space.
Can teachers, librarians, and workshop leaders use the Prompt Me books?
Yes. Individual prompts can support bell activities, timed writing, sensory description, point-of-view practice, character development, dialogue exercises, poetry, genre exploration, revision, collaborative storytelling, and longer creative projects.
The variety allows students to respond to the same starting point in different ways or choose the kind of prompt that works best for them.
Can I photocopy or distribute pages from the workbooks?
Purchasing a workbook does not automatically grant permission to reproduce or distribute its pages. Please don’t scan, upload, photocopy, or distribute substantial portions of a book without permission.
If you’re planning a classroom, homeschool co-op, library, or workshop activity and have questions about using particular material, please contact Robin Woods.
Is there a Prompt Me workbook for readers rather than writers?
Yes. Prompt Me Reading Log & Analysis provides a flexible, visual way to explore ten books chapter by chapter.
Readers can record settings, characters, chapter notes, vocabulary, annotations, literary terms, discussion ideas, drawings, and creative responses. It can support homeschool literature study, classroom assignments, book discussions, or writers studying how published stories work.
What is the difference between Prompt Me Creative Writing and Prompt Me Within?
The Prompt Me Creative Writing Series focuses on fiction, storytelling, imagination, and writing craft.
The Prompt Me Within series uses guided reflection, body awareness, psychology, and trauma-informed principles to support self-awareness, emotional resilience, self-trust, relationships, and self-discovery.
One helps you explore what you might create. The other helps you explore what you may discover about yourself.
Where can I see sample pages from the workbooks?
Each individual book page includes a closer look at the book, selected sample pages, and information about its prompts and resources. Start with the comparison above or explore:
Where can I buy the Prompt Me workbooks?
Visit the All Books page to explore every title and find its purchase link. You can also use the purchase buttons on each individual workbook page.
Stop Waiting for the Perfect Idea
You don’t need to know the ending.
You don’t need a complete outline.
You don’t even need to feel ready.
Choose a photograph. Finish a sentence. Follow a strange idea for one page and see what happens.
The story can begin here.