What do you think?
Rate this book
5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts: 501 Prompts to Unleash Creativity and Spark Inspiration
Make writing an enjoyable daily habit with inspiring 5-minute prompts
Carving out a few minutes of writing time every day can help you become a better writer—but coming up with topics to write about is often easier said than done. That’s where 5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts comes in. Filled with 501 prompts to get your creative juices flowing, this book encourages you to practice your writing every day.
What sets this writing book
A mix of prompts—Experiment with a variety of genres—from adventure and fantasy to memoir and mystery—as well as different story elements and formats.Ideas for expanding your writing—With each prompt, you’ll find an expansion prompt that invites you to spend more time writing and dive deeper into the story.An easy-to-use index—Complete the prompts in order or search for a topic that excites you with a convenient index that organizes the prompts by genre and story element.
Spark fresh ideas and build up confidence in your writing with this 5-minute prompt journal.
Carving out a few minutes of writing time every day can help you become a better writer—but coming up with topics to write about is often easier said than done. That’s where 5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts comes in. Filled with 501 prompts to get your creative juices flowing, this book encourages you to practice your writing every day.
What sets this writing book
A mix of prompts—Experiment with a variety of genres—from adventure and fantasy to memoir and mystery—as well as different story elements and formats.Ideas for expanding your writing—With each prompt, you’ll find an expansion prompt that invites you to spend more time writing and dive deeper into the story.An easy-to-use index—Complete the prompts in order or search for a topic that excites you with a convenient index that organizes the prompts by genre and story element.
Spark fresh ideas and build up confidence in your writing with this 5-minute prompt journal.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
183 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 12, 2022
837 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Tarn Wilson
4 books33 followersTarn Wilson is the author of three books: the award-winning memoir-in-essays In Praise of Inadequate Gifts (Wandering Aengus Press, 2022); the forthcoming 5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts: 501 Prompts to Unleash Your Creativity and Inspire You to Write (Rockridge Press, 2022), and the memoir The Slow Farm (Ovenbird Books: Judith Kitchen Selects, 2014). Her personal essays have been published in numerous journals, including Brevity, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, River Teeth, Ruminate, and The Sun. She is a graduate of the Rainier Writing Workshop and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is a high school teacher.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 22, 2022
Wilson's introduction starts with an admission--that sometimes, even she feels lacking in ideas. It seems she must have a pretty high bar for herself because even though she felt sapped, she still has 501 prompts that she offers to us all who are genuinely feeling at a bit of a loss!
As a high school English teacher, I love that she, too, is a teacher and has made this so classroom-friendly. Need to get some students into a writing ritual to settle them down in the first five minutes of class? Great, just open up to pretty much any random page and get a few. (Even if you have a class every day for the typical 180-190 days a school year, you could choose a couple a day to give students choices.) If the students feel like they're on a roll and want to continue their stories--and I'll wager they will--Wilson offers ways to expand each of the prompts.
If you teach creative writing and you have specific themes in mind for a lesson, like setting or dialogue, Wilson has each of those kinds of prompts labeled for you. Want to go by genre and have your students try out sci-fi? She's got you covered. Humor? Romance? Mystery? Check, check, and check.
This prompt book will definitely stay on my classroom desk, within easy reach!
Thank you, Rockridge Press, for my advanced copy.
As a high school English teacher, I love that she, too, is a teacher and has made this so classroom-friendly. Need to get some students into a writing ritual to settle them down in the first five minutes of class? Great, just open up to pretty much any random page and get a few. (Even if you have a class every day for the typical 180-190 days a school year, you could choose a couple a day to give students choices.) If the students feel like they're on a roll and want to continue their stories--and I'll wager they will--Wilson offers ways to expand each of the prompts.
If you teach creative writing and you have specific themes in mind for a lesson, like setting or dialogue, Wilson has each of those kinds of prompts labeled for you. Want to go by genre and have your students try out sci-fi? She's got you covered. Humor? Romance? Mystery? Check, check, and check.
This prompt book will definitely stay on my classroom desk, within easy reach!
Thank you, Rockridge Press, for my advanced copy.
May 3, 2022
5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts is the perfect antidote for writing doldrums. If the sheer volume of prompts (501) were not enough to immediately win you over, the delightfully unique character of each drives it home.
My first tour through the book was a mad dash, flipping sporadically and letting my imagination run wild. I felt giddily overwhelmed, wanting to write several prompts simultaneously. The variety of prompts allowed me to binge this creative craving and the structure allowed me to maintain that innovative edge.
In addition to reviving my own writing, I was also able to help inspire my students. Not only did my high school students enthusiastically engage in creative writing, they asked when we could write again. The variety of prompts allowed each of my students a creative spark that spoke directly to them.
From a seasoned professional to a nervous newbie, 5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts is the essential kick off party for anyone interested in writing.
A special thanks to Rockridge Press for the advanced copy.
My first tour through the book was a mad dash, flipping sporadically and letting my imagination run wild. I felt giddily overwhelmed, wanting to write several prompts simultaneously. The variety of prompts allowed me to binge this creative craving and the structure allowed me to maintain that innovative edge.
In addition to reviving my own writing, I was also able to help inspire my students. Not only did my high school students enthusiastically engage in creative writing, they asked when we could write again. The variety of prompts allowed each of my students a creative spark that spoke directly to them.
From a seasoned professional to a nervous newbie, 5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts is the essential kick off party for anyone interested in writing.
A special thanks to Rockridge Press for the advanced copy.
April 20, 2022
Fresh, original and extremely helpful writing prompts to spark your creativity whether you need a daily writing practice or just an occasional nudge. I was so lucky to read an Advanced Reader Copy. Highly recommended.
April 29, 2024
I've been collecting writing prompts since I was in 11th grade and my English teacher handed out one of those "purple passion" ditto sheets containing a list of prompts. I became an English teacher and ended up replacing that teacher when she moved to a different part of the state. I shared that list of prompts with my students. I later heard back from one of them who also became and English teacher and also shared that list of prompts. I've been retired for close to 20 years now, but I still love collecting prompts from many sources.
This is one of the best collections of prompts that I've found. I originally borrowed the book from Kindle Unlimited, but I liked the prompts so much I bought the book. I've gone through the whole book once highlighting, bookmarking, and annotating ones that I immediately connected with. I've already written a story for #43 "Pick up an object near you, perhaps pulled from a bag, drawer, or shelf. Write in the voice of that object." I opened a drawer and found my mom's old wooden photo album from which I removed photos to scan, then instead of putting them back into the slots where they had resided for years, I just stuffed the whole pile into the front of the album and then buried the album in a drawer. I hadn't realized how unhappy that photo album had been until I started telling its story. The prompt is open ended enough that it can be repeated many times with different results.
What I especially like about so many of the prompts is that it's easy to modify them to fit individual circumstances. One of the prompts was "Plot Invent a character who fears change." I don't have to invent that character. I AM that character, so I could easily write that as memoir instead of plot.
Of course, not every prompt spoke to me right now, but perhaps some day in the future one of them I dismissed this time will jump out at me.
This is one of the best collections of prompts that I've found. I originally borrowed the book from Kindle Unlimited, but I liked the prompts so much I bought the book. I've gone through the whole book once highlighting, bookmarking, and annotating ones that I immediately connected with. I've already written a story for #43 "Pick up an object near you, perhaps pulled from a bag, drawer, or shelf. Write in the voice of that object." I opened a drawer and found my mom's old wooden photo album from which I removed photos to scan, then instead of putting them back into the slots where they had resided for years, I just stuffed the whole pile into the front of the album and then buried the album in a drawer. I hadn't realized how unhappy that photo album had been until I started telling its story. The prompt is open ended enough that it can be repeated many times with different results.
What I especially like about so many of the prompts is that it's easy to modify them to fit individual circumstances. One of the prompts was "Plot Invent a character who fears change." I don't have to invent that character. I AM that character, so I could easily write that as memoir instead of plot.
Of course, not every prompt spoke to me right now, but perhaps some day in the future one of them I dismissed this time will jump out at me.
November 13, 2022
I enjoyed working with this book. I sometimes struggle to think of topics for my poetry. The prompts in this book help. I might try writing some short stories using the 5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts. Note to poets. Don't look only at poetry prompts. Many of the prompts generate creative thoughts.
May 29, 2024
If you are a writer, I highly recommend this book. The author has created an outstanding variety of prompts in so many genres that appeals to even the most diverse writers' group. But the two-step prompts are my favorite because they take you so much further into the creative process. This has become one of my go-to books when I need a push.
June 10, 2023
Great for Teachers
If you are a creative writing teacher, this will save your bacon! I used so many prompts from this book to inspire my students. They loved the prompts and I loved the resource!
If you are a creative writing teacher, this will save your bacon! I used so many prompts from this book to inspire my students. They loved the prompts and I loved the resource!
December 11, 2025
Brain Muse
Makes writing fun and brings up memories that were forgotten. Helped me refresh some stale characters and helped enliven a few dead scenes.
Makes writing fun and brings up memories that were forgotten. Helped me refresh some stale characters and helped enliven a few dead scenes.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews