12-1 Prompts – Alaa Khaldun

I have a plan for what order in which I want to post my articles. Mostly chronologically, but I wanted to get this article out now rather than later. My friend, AK Lee, has begun a monthly prompt challenge for 2026, and I am excited to get started.

Let’s start with the basics: What is a prompt?

Under the Oxford Dictionary, prompts “(of an event or fact) cause or bring about (an action or feeling), cause someone to take a course of action, encourage (a hesitating speaker) to say something, supply a forgotten word or line to (an actor) during performing a play,” etc.

In a writer’s case, a prompt is a challenge, idea, or nudge to write something specific. For example, I can say to a writing student, I want you to write a one-page story on seeing a dog in a pram. (I’m at an indoor kids play area, sitting at the parent’s corner, and there’s a family next to me with a curly-haired dog in a pram. It’s cute. And it hasn’t once looked at me ?. Oh, it’s a girl! She has a little pink ribbon on her head.) Sorry for the distraction. As you can see, prompts can come from anywhere. These types of prompts are usually easy and short. They make you think outside the box, or your genre, or get you to observe something you might not have noticed or cared about. The usual challenge is to create on the spot. Who are your characters? Where and when is this? What is happening? And what type of beginning, middle, and end can you fit into a single page? (This is called Flash Fiction and I’ll address this in another article).

So why should you challenge yourself like this?

In any aspect of your life, challenges help you out of your comfort zone, allow you to try new experiences and give you a sense of accomplishment once you’ve finished, regardless if you had ‘won’ or not. Writing is no exception. Joining competitions, setting personal goals, and prompts are fine examples of challenging yourself to write more, and well. Prompts also help grease those creative wheels while holding your hand and guiding you out of that deep and unpleasant pit called Writer’s Block.

Where can I find prompts?

You can find prompts in many places, such as books, from friends and teachers, apps, and the internet. One quick search on Google for ‘Writing Prompts’ will result in articles from Reddit – ‘r/WritingPrompts’, Reedsy – ‘1800+ Creative Writing Prompts To Inspire You Right Now’, Writer’s Digest – ‘100 Creative Writing Prompts for Writers’, The New York Times – ‘Writing Prompts’, and so much more. There are apps now dedicated to writing prompts such as iDeas For Writing and Writing Challenge.

When you start your prompts challenge, unless you’re a student in class, just know that you can pick the ones you want to do. If you are stressed, do not attempt the very first prompt you see. Try a few easy ones first, and once you are confident, pick any prompt at random. This in itself is a new challenge.

AK Lee Prompts:

My friend, a wonderful writer and author, has started a prompt challenge this year. Lee will send subscribers a four-option prompt for each month. The prompts will consist of one word, one picture, one song, and one excerpt/quote. You can do one, or as many as you like. Lee will send out the prompts at the beginning of each month and a second email towards the end of the month with her examples.

Challenge Excepted:

For January 2026, I’ve decided to go with the first prompt, ‘Awakening’:

There I was, asleep on my bed, enjoying the bliss of silence. Peaceful. Undisturbed. No distractions. A gentle respite on the comfort of my soft bed. Stillness. I want to get used to this, but I can’t. I have responsibilities. And, invaders.

I could tell you my story, of how I invited these unrelenting besieges to my sanctuary. But not today. Today I shall show you how moving from dreams to consciousness without opening my eyes happens within a fraction of a second. Of how I am beset with requests and questions upon the sudden landing of weight on my softest body parts. For such small creatures, they had a way of finding all the best places to squish me.

Their combined power was stronger than I, and they knew it. That’s why they always attacked as a team. No matter what the events were of the previous day, every weekend morning was early. Why, oh why, was that so? You’re allowed to sleep in, I once said. Why would you choose chaos?

“Mama! I can’t find my blue car!”

Maybe if I pretend to be asleep, they will give me a few more minutes?

“Are you awake now? Open your eyes, it’s day outside.”

One of them pries my eyes open. I smile. Tis too late, I have been found.

“Mama! I’ll open the curtains so you can wake up. I want you to help me with something.”

It’s my turn to attack and I grab them both for a cuddle. We all giggle.

I wrote this quickly, so it’s unpolished. I’ll use it as editing practice for another article.