Writing, Blogging & Creative Travel Photo Prompts

Topic Starters, Picture Prompts, and Thought-Provoking Questions for You to Answer

"The best learning comes in the doing, and writing from prompts engenders doing."
— Judy Reeves

Many writers and bloggers seek out articles, prompts, and story starters to get their creative juices flowing. Do you need an idea or a writing prompt or two to get you going too? If so, don't miss our Blogger.com recommended Imagination Prompt Generator or our collaborative '365 Pictures' prompt-a-day feature.

We've also listed recommended resources outside of our domain featuring more free writing prompts, story starters, daily writing exercises, visual art prompts, and writing topic generators.

Featured Writing & Photo Prompts, Tools, & Generators on Creativity Portal

"Novels, short stories, flash fictions, memoirs, personal narrative and creative nonfiction, even poetry — all have found publication from their start as writing prompts." — Judy Reeves

Take Ten for Writers Exercises
Get creative with these exercises from Bonnie Neubauer's Take Ten for Writers! Each of these exercises comes with 10 different variables, so every exercise can be done 10 unique times with 10 very different results!

Write-Brain Writing Excercises
Never face a blank page again with these thought-provoking, fun, and playful writing exercises from Bonnie Neubauer's The Write-Brain Workbook!

Fortune Cookie Message Maker
Use the limited lines, characters, and spaces in the small fortune cookie message format as a writing prompt to create a one-sentence adventure, a 3-word story or best one-liner ever!

Brickstorming Your Legacy Brick
What would you write on your legacy brick in 3 lines with 14 characters each? Here's your chance to craft your own witty legacy!

365 Pictures Prompt-a-Day Collaboration
An intentional focus on one new image/prompt pair per day to inspire your creativity, in whatever form that may be. Worldwide creative collaboration of imagery, photos, art, and writing.

Imagination Prompt Generator
Creativity Portal's Imagination Prompt Generator will inspire you by outputting one of many randomly generated writing prompts at the press of a button.

Photographic Essays with Cynthia Staples
Take in a visual feast and an adventurous exploration of light, shadow, and color in Cynthia's collection of eye-appealing photographic essays and photography prompts.

Southwest Series Photo Prompts
A "dry heat" series of travel photos and writing prompts that will ultimately include the following Arizona desert destinations: Tombstone, Bisbee, and the Chiricahua National Monument.

Photo Prompts by Kristi Tencarre
A picturesque writing prompt adventure series inspired by photography enthusiast Kristi Tencarre travels around the world.

Photo Prompts by Carolina Pichardo
Carolina's work has allowed her to travel to places like China, Germany, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. Take in the wonders of the world in this wonderful thought-provoking series.

Seasonal and Holiday Prompts

Spring Writing Prompts
Add a springy step to your writing! Words and picture prompts to inspire your springtime writing needs when everything is fresh and new.

Summer Writing Prompts
Hot and vibrant words and pictures to shine some sun fun on your summertime writing adventures when it's just too sticky to go outside.

Autumn Writing Prompts
Cool, crisp, colorful words and pictures to inspire your fall time writing adventures. Colorful leaves, vibrant trees, pumpkins, and reflections on the dying off of nature.

Thanksgiving Day Writing Prompts
Words and writing prompts to inspire thankful thoughts and gratitude for this Thanksgiving holiday.

Winter Writing Prompts
Freezing scenes and Christmas festivities, these words and pictures will inspire your winter and holiday time writing when it's nice to snuggle up in front of a cozy fireplace to write.

Just Plain Fun Story Prompts

Be Creative! Writing Topics and Words
A sparking list of writing and journaling starters to get you going. Choose a topic from a list of sentence or simple word prompts. Don't miss the amusing Write the Story Prompts!

"So I was like, don't lose your head, man!
And the next thing I knew..."
More Write the Story Prompts »

Inspiring "Prompting" Articles & Series

Using the Subconscious to Paint Fiction
By Esmerelda Jones
How to make your fiction characters come alive by closing off the world and developing an intimate acquaintance with your creations.

CurrentLiving.com Photo Prompts
By Chris Dunmire
Photo prompts categorized under "Reflections: A Celebration of Joy and Spiritual, Creative Living."

Inner Voices of Creativity
By Anne Marie Bennett
A self-reflective series of prompts focused on those little voices in our minds that have something to say about everything we do. What will they say when you allow them to write?

More Prompting Writing Articles »

More Writing & Photo Prompts Inspiration

Sunday Scribblings
A blog that "provides inspiration and motivation for anyone who enjoys writing and would like a weekly challenge."

Story Spinner Online
Bonnie Neubauer's Story Spinner Online "generates gazillions more exercises than the millions generated by the original handheld Story Spinner! You will get a starting phrase, a setting and four words that you must include in a story. Set a timer for 10-minutes...and then write!"

WordStorm
Based on a word that you choose, WordStorm generates a map of related concepts (not just synonymous words, like a thesaurus). You can use it to brainstorm for new writing ideas, overcome writer's block, and boost your creativity.

Stories Without Words: A Photographic Inspiration Blog
"Find an image here and write a story, a poem, an essay." Stories Without Words posts an image a day for the purpose of inspiring writers to comment with a story, poem, essay, or caption.

A Chocolate Box
Activities and prompts presented in a "take one" chocolate box fantasy! Contains "rich" and reflective writing exercises, journal prompts, and insightful perspectives from Heather Blakey.

Creative Writing Prompts
Creative writing prompts, topics, tips, tools, ideas and outlines in an easy to use step-by-step format. Writers resources, journaling prompts and essay help.

Magic Writing Tram
A Flash-based activity and idea generator designed for primary school writing. Includes fun writing exercises surely to engage the active imagination of school-aged children and adults too!

Wild and Wacky Writing Exercises
These wonderful visual and imaginative writing exercises will lead you down a road with a slightly different perspective to prompt your imagination and creative thinking.

Writing Prompts and Journal Topics
Over 100 writing topics and journaling prompts to choose from. Categories cover: What is; What if; What do you think; What; How; I wish; Describe; When; Which; Who; Where; Why; and miscellaneous topics.