creative writing topics for new year

The new year means new beginnings — and new resolutions. Whether your students hope to become stronger readers or aim to be more compassionate toward one another, the new year is the perfect time to help them reflect upon what they need to do to achieve their goals.

These 31 new year writing prompts will inspire your students to reflect on the past year, set realistic goals and resolutions, and look ahead to a bright future to make 2024 even more successful!

1. What are your resolutions for this new year?

2. Why is it important to make new year’s resolutions?

3. What was the best thing that happened to you this past year?

4. What are you most looking forward to this new year?

5. This year will be a year of…

6. In what ways were your kind to your friends, family, and teachers this past year?

7. What can you do this new year to be a good friend?

8. What can you do this new year to show gratitude for your friends, family, and teachers?

9. This new year, I’m grateful for…

10. This new year, I can’t wait to…

11. What new adventures would you like to go on this year?

12. Can you describe your most memorable new year?

13. Why is the new year important to you?

14. Have you made a new year’s resolution before? What was it?

15. Does your family have any new year’s traditions? What are they?

16.  What can you do to make this new year even more special than last?

17.  Before this year ends, I will…

18.  The best book I read last year was ________ because…

19.  The book I’m most looking forward to reading this year is ________ because…

20.  This new year, I can’t wait to learn about…

21.  This new year, I hope I’m able to…

22.  What will you need to do to achieve your goals and keep your resolutions in the new year?

23.  What can we do as a class this new year to be more kind to one another?

24.  How can your classmates and teachers help you achieve your goals and resolutions?

25.  How can you help your classmates and teachers achieve their goals and resolutions?

26.  In what ways can you practice empathy this year?

27.  Describe a time when you helped a classmate or teacher. How did you feel afterward?

28. What was the most fun part of the year in class for you?

29. What are you most excited to do in class next year?

30. What can you do next year to be helpful at home and at school?

31. What was the most interesting thing you’ve learned this year?

Combining daily writing exercises with extended class or small-group discussion will help your students set realistic, yet meaningful, goals to make the new year even more successful than the last. By encouraging your students to really reflect on the new year and what it means to make and keep resolutions, they’ll be prepared to overcome any challenge they may encounter along the way — and help their friends and classmates do the same!

Shop workbooks that encourage writing skills below. You can find all books and activities — including writing workbooks and other writing resources — at  The Teacher Store .

Want more great content? Click  here  to subscribe to our Teacher Newsletter and get teaching ideas delivered right to your inbox. 

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content

Simply Contented

31 writing prompts for the New Year

June 4 Leave a Comment

Journaling your way into the new year…

For many of us – myself included – January marks the start of a new beginning. A beginning where you get to wipe the slate clean and anything is possible. Having said goodbye to everything that happened the year before, you get to look forward and think about all the exciting things you want to see and do over the coming months.

But what exactly do you want to accomplish this year?

What are your goals and how are you going to make them happen? Not sure? Well, don’t worry because I’ve got you covered and this post is going to help!

One of the best ways to figure out what you want for the new year is to use writing prompts. Writing prompts that not only focus on self-reflection but goal setting and personal growth too. Writing prompts that are going to help you get your new year off to a great start and set goals that truly resonate with what you want.

And so, in this post, I’m sharing 31 of my favourite writing prompts so that you can do just that. PLUS, I’ve created a FREE printable with all 31 prompts on it for you to download too…so make sure you snag your copy!

Want to know what my 31 writing prompts for the new year are? Keep reading!

Why use journaling prompts like these?

You can’t set goals for the year if you don’t know what you want. Nor can you focus on your personal growth if you don’t know which areas of your life need attention. It might sound obvious but you’d be amazed by the number of people who set goals without ever really taking the time to think about what they want.

Start your year with renewed focus and clarity

Things are always better when we have a plan, right? When you have a plan and you know what you want, you’re more likely to set goals that truly resonate. And when your goals resonate, you’re more like to accomplish them.

Answering new year writing prompts like these will help you to gain focus and clarity. You’ll discover what your core values are, what drives and motivates you and what things in life matter to you most. Your answers to these questions will show you which areas of your life you’re doing okay in and which need attention the most so that you can start your new year heading in the right direction.

It’s time to stop dwelling on the past

It’s all too easy to dwell on the past. To focus on all the things that didn’t go so well and the things you didn’t quite accomplish and feel like a failure. But the past has been and gone, you can’t change it and all dwelling on it does is stop you from moving forward.

Using new year writing prompts like these helps turn that mindset on it’s head. Instead of looking back, you get to look forward. You get to let go of whatever has been holding you back and set goals that will help you to make a change for the better so that you can start creating a life you love.

31 writing prompts for the new year…

So, are you ready to find out what my 31 writing prompts for the new year are? Here they are, split into three categories – self-reflection; personal growth and goal setting. Get your notebook and pen ready…it’s time to start writing!

Writing prompts for self-reflection…

• If you had to pick ONE word to sum up the past year, what word would you choose? Why did you choose that word?
• What books have you read over the last year that made an impact on your life?
• What would you like to let go of and leave in your past? (It could be an old relationship, a painful secret, a grudge or a regret.)
• Are there areas in your heart, mind, or body where you need healing? Who could you ask to walk that journey with you?
• Are there areas in your life you’re happy with and don’t want to change?
• How would you like your life to be different this year?
• Who took the time to mentor you when you really needed it last year? How can you thank that person?
• If you could create a dream team to help you make life flow more smoothly, who would be in it? Why did you pick them and what have you learned from your choices?

Writing prompts for personal growth…

• What brings you joy, lifts you up and makes you smile? How can you fit MORE of it into your every day?
• What would you like to learn this year? Are there other cultures you’ve always wanted to study or classes you want to attend?
• In which areas of your life will you challenge yourself? Are there new skills you want to develop or a talent you want to hone even more?
• What self-limiting beliefs do you want to push past in the new year? What self-limiting beliefs are keeping you stuck (e.g. I can’t control my finances, I could never leave my job, I’m no good at anything)?
• What new mantras will you use to replace your limiting beliefs (e.g. I’m getting better at managing my money, I’m capable of doing any job I like, I have lots of skills to share etc.)?
• What word will you choose for your word of the year this year? Why this word? What does living out this word look like to you?
• How will you use your word of the year to shape your decisions in the coming weeks? The coming months?
• Who could you share your word for the year with?
• Where will you display your word of the year so you’ll see it often and be reminded to lean into it?
• What new hobbies would you like to take up? Why do you want to pursue them?
• How much negative content on social media do you consume? How could you make your online experience more positive this year?
• Which books would you like to read this year? How can you add more reading time to your day?
• What new foods do you want to try? Do you want to perfect your chocolate muffin recipe, make yummy smoothies, or try new cuisines?
• Who would you like to bless this year? List 3-7 people you’d love to pour into – yourself included if you want!
• Thinking about the people you’ve just listed; how will you bless each one of them?
• Looking ahead, who could you mentor in the coming months? This can be someone you want to mentor personally or professionally.

Writing prompts for goal setting…

• What three things do you most want to accomplish in 2020? How will you make space and time to honour these goals?
• What new routines would you like to establish? Which not so great habits do you want to replace with better or healthier ones?
• What projects do you want to start this year? Why is working on these projects important to you?
• Who do you want to meet this year? Make a list of 3-5 people. Think about why you chose each person specifically and ways you could meet them.
• Where would you like to travel to this year? (Think locally AND further away if you want to.)
• Is there clutter in your home you’d like to get rid of? Which room would you start with and what would you do with the things you no longer want or need?
• Which charities or organisations would you like to donate to in the coming months? It doesn’t have to be money, it could be your time, your energy or your skills instead.

How to get the most out of these new-year journaling prompts…

There you have it, my 31 writing prompts for the new year! Want to get the most out of these goal setting and personal growth journaling prompts? Follow these five tips.

#1: Download the FREE printable

First, be sure to download the FREE printable that comes with this post. You’ll find all 31 writing prompts for the new year on it. Keep it somewhere safe so that you can come back to it any time you want. File it in your diary or planner and whenever you have a few minutes, scroll down the list, pick a question and start writing.

#2: Keep it simple

If you’re new to journaling and this list of 31 writing prompts overwhelms you, don’t worry. Just pick a few that you feel you could answer and go from there. Write whatever comes to mind and when you’re done, simply pick another question.

Know that you don’t have to journal on every writing prompt for the new year either. Some questions will resonate, others won’t and that’s okay. Simply pick the ones that do and leave out the rest.

#3: Write without judgement

The idea here is to dig deep and search for answers that are going to help you move forward. And you can’t do that unless you’re honest. No one else needs to see your answers and you can always throw them away after. So, allow yourself to be honest. To write freely and without judgement. Don’t worry if you don’t have answers on how to make something happen. You don’t need answers right now. That comes later. For now, just get your thoughts down on paper.

#4: Reflect

Once you’ve answered these new-year writing prompts, go back over what you’ve written. Spend some time reading and reflecting on your answers and use them to help you set your goals for the coming year. Want somewhere to record your goals? Check out my weekly goal setting worksheet.

#5: Use these writing prompts again and again.

These writing prompts aren’t just for the new year. They work great as goal setting and personal growth journaling prompts any time of the year. So, if at any time you’re feeling lost or stuck, simply revisit them. Give yourself a fresh start by pretending it’s a new year and reviewing everything up until now. Read over your answers and use them to gain fresh focus.

Want all 31 writing prompts in one long list?

• What charities or organisations would you like to donate to in the coming months? It doesn’t have to be money, it could be your time, your energy or your skills instead.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• BECOME A MEMBER
• WORK WITH ME

Privacy Overview

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

100 New Year’s Eve writing prompts

December 26, 2023 by Richard Leave a Comment

100 New Year’s Eve Writing Prompts

Here are 100 New Year’s Eve writing prompts, the clock striking midnight on December 31st and here are holds a symbolic power unlike any other, representing both the closing of one chapter and the tantalizing blank page of another soon to unfold. As writers, this singular holiday possesses a unique creative pull – calling us to capture the wild revelry of parties and celebrations unfolding amid the intimate contemplations of those alone on this night. It compels us to explore the strange intermingling of nostalgia and hope that infuses the year’s final hours. Whether one is an aspiring writer searching for writing inspiration or an experienced pen simply longing to limber up with a few quick exercises before the new year arrives, these 100 eclectic New Year’s Eve prompts promise to ignite the imagination.

Covering a colorful spectrum of genres from tender romance to family drama to quirky magical realism, the prompts offer narrative springboards rather than restrictive rules – showing off the holiday’s supple storytelling potential. We’re encouraged to inhabit a diversity of perspectives as the fateful midnight countdown nears, chronicling crowded celebrations through the eyes of servers, volunteers and revelers while also giving voice to the solitary soul welcoming 2024 from an empty apartment or airport terminal’s uncomfortable chair.

Despite vastly different backdrops, each vignette allows writers to illuminate the unique blend of nostalgia and tentative optimism that inflects this night, stitching a fragmented year together with memories even as our dreams threaten to rend fresh seams. Whether grappling with endings or beginnings, these prompts give writers the chance to capture the bittersweet essence of New Year’s Eve in all its messy glory before launching their own blank pages into whatever 2024 may hold.

Here are 100 writing prompts about New Year’s Eve 2023:

• You wake up on December 31st realizing this will be the first New Year’s you spend completely alone. How do you feel? What do you do?
• You have an opportunity to attend a glamorous New Year’s Eve party this year. Write about getting ready, what you wear, who you meet at the party, and how you feel ringing in 2024.
• The ball is just about to drop in Times Square. Write a story from the perspective of one of the police officers securing the event.
• You have tickets to see your favorite band play a New Year’s Eve show. Describe the night – the music, the countdown to midnight, the celebration with friends.
• You’ve just been hired to work as a server at an upscale restaurant on New Year’s Eve. Write a story about your hectic but exciting night.
• Write a story about a married couple whose New Year’s Eve plans get unexpectedly cancelled. How do they end up salvaging the night?
• You decide to get together with childhood friends on New Year’s Eve. Write about reminiscing over old memories and catching up.
• A busy single mom scrambles to find a babysitter on NYE so she can finally have a night out. Write this story.
• You have to work the New Year’s Eve night shift. Write a story about the colorful characters and conversations you encounter.
• Your flight gets cancelled on December 31st due to bad weather. You end up spending New Year’s Eve with complete strangers in an airport.
• Write a story about someone who finds out devastating news right before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
• A family gathers at the grandparents’ house for a New Year’s Eve celebration full of games, laughter and hope for 2024.
• Best friends reunite for their annual New Year’s Eve slumber party – write about their traditions, goals for the upcoming year, and secrets shared.
• Your character lives on the West Coast and video chats their family on the East Coast at midnight on New Year’s Eve to ring in 2024 together.
• Write about someone who has to work the night shift on NYE, but finds small, special ways to celebrate.
• Your most fun, dependable friend has to cancel your NYE plans last minute. You have to scramble to make new ones.
• Write about someone who usually hates NYE, but decides to have an epic, magical one this year – what do they do?
• Your character volunteers to work at a children’s hospital handing out treats and celebration favors to sick kids on NYE.
• Your character decides to spend NYE reflecting on their personal growth and setting meaningful goals for 2024. Describe their thoughtful night.
• The power goes out just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Write about how your characters improvise and end up having more fun.
• A busy college student decides to throw a small NYE party in their tiny apartment for all their friends who couldn’t make it home this year.
• Write a story about someone whose flight gets cancelled on the 30th, forcing them to spend NYE stuck in an unfamiliar city. What adventures ensue?
• Your character finds themselves working the drive-thru window at a fast food place on a busy NYE – describe the madness and mayhem you see.
• Write a story about someone who finds themselves spending NYE with someone they have complicated romantic feelings for. How does the night unfold?
• A group of longtime friends creates extravagant costumes every year for NYE. This time the theme is sci-fi/alien invasion – describe each outfit.
• Your main character goes out to their favorite bar alone on NYE, hoping to meet someone interesting. Do they? What’s the interaction like?
• Write about an introverted character who decides to push themselves by attending a huge NYE costume party this year. Describe their costume and experience.
• Your character orders Chinese food and watches the NYE celebrations in Times Square alone in their PJs. Tell the story of a cozy, happy night.
• Write about an elderly character reflecting on past New Year’s Eves – maybe from the 1920s, 50s, and 80s – compare celebrations and traditions.
• An unexpected blackout leads your characters to have an old-fashioned New Year’s Eve by candlelight and fireplace. Describe this cozy night.
• Your character finds a magic camera on NYE that shows them snapshots of their upcoming year. Describe 5+ significant images it reveals.
• The family dog inadvertently eats the edibles intended for the adults’ NYE party leading to a strange, chaotic night. Tell this story from the dog’s perspective.
• On a whim your character takes a trip to New York City to experience the NYE ball drop in Times Square. Describe crowds, sights and their experience.
• Your character is tasked with creating fun games, activities and entertainment for a children’s NYE party. Describe several of their ideas.
• Your protagonist decides to go bar-hopping alone on NYE, determined to find new friends/love. Tell the quirky story of their night out.
• Your character has plans to celebrate NYE with their partner, but wakes up with no memory of them or the past year of their life. What happens on this strange night?
• Your character finds a spot with a perfect view of a local NYE fireworks show. While there alone, a stranger joins them and they form an unexpected connection.
• Your protagonist volunteers at a homeless shelter serving food and passing out donations on NYE. Write about the conversations and connections they make.
• Your character’s NYE plans fall through so they wander their city taking polaroids of strangers. Write quick stories about 5+ images/people that stand out.
• A meet-cute on an elevator that gets stuck for 2 hours on NYE leads to more. Write this romance short story.
• Your character goes to a fortune teller on NYE that gives them eerie but accurate predictions for the next year. Describe 5+ fortunes she sees.
• Write a story about friends stuck at the world’s worst NYE party who sneak away to have their own celebration.
• Your character goes through a bad breakup right before NYE. Their friends swoop in to take them on fun adventures all night to lift their spirits.
• Your protagonist babysits their little cousin on NYE. Write about the silly games, kid’s champagne toast, midnight celebration, etc.
• Your character’s resolution is to be more helpful this year so they decide to volunteer on NYE. Write about who they help and how it impacts them.
• A grumpy character gets trapped overnight in an airport with an annoyingly upbeat person on NYE. Write their odd couple story.
• Your protagonist gets invited to a glitzy NYE wedding with a group of wild college friends. Describe the celebration and after party shenanigans.
• Your character meets someone at a masquerade NYE ball and spends the night falling in love though they never see each other’s faces. What happens at midnight when they unmask?
• NYE superstitions say to wear polka dots, smash plates, etc at midnight. Write a story about friends trying these rituals all night for good luck.
• Your character returns to their hometown for nostalgic celebrations on NYE including a visit to their favorite childhood haunts. Describe this trip down memory lane.
• The big NYE storm fills up the homeless shelter with new people in need. Your character (volunteer or person staying there) connects with someone unexpectedly.
• Your protagonist finally decides to stand up to their abusive partner during the NYE party. Write about this scene and the fallout after.
• A character’s long lost friend suddenly shows up on their doorstep to celebrate NYE. Write about their emotional reunion.
• Your protagonist signs up for a medical trial that pays well but requires staying in a facility over NYE. Describe their surreal holiday experience.
• Your character manages a fancy hotel. Describe the over-the-top celebrations, crazy requests, mishaps and more that happen working NYE.
• Your protagonist visits a psychic right before NYE who tells them they’ll meet their spouse soon. Write the story of their hopeful year.
• Your character plans for a dying relative’s last perfect NYE celebrating their life/legacy. Write heartfelt goodbyes as 2023 ticks away.
• Your protagonist finally decides to make a move on their crush as the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Will they find romance?
• Write about neighbours who barely know each other alone on NYE banding together for a meal when they lose power during a storm.
• Your protagonist’s seemingly perfect NYE night ends with them making an embarrassing mistake going viral before midnight. What happens?
• A grumpy character stuck working at a fast food joint on NYE ends up having surprisingly heartfelt conversations with customers.
• Write a story about a character who vows to move overseas in 2024 buying their plane ticket as a symbolic NYE act.
• Your protagonist accidentally invites two dates to their NYE party, leading to hilarious mishaps trying to keep them apart.
• Your protagonist rediscovers a beloved childhood memory just before midnight (old toy, song, etc). Write about how this impacts their 2023 reflections.
• On a whim, your protagonist takes a solo trip to Monte Carlo to gamble and celebrate lavishly on NYE. Describe this fancy story.
• The flight your protagonist is piloting gets quarantined on the tarmac over NYE due to a passenger illness scare. Write this drama.
• Your protagonist parties too hard on NYE and wakes up New Year’s Day to a surprise tattoo, marriage certificate, or in another state. What surprise is in store?
• A random power outage strands people in an elevator together missing the epic NYE parties they had planned. Write this odd story.
• Your protagonist finds a sparkly gown at a thrift shop the day before NYE that seems to be magic. What mystical adventures unfold on NYE when they wear it?
• The ball your protagonist ordered for NYE is delivered broken days before. Write a funny story about them scrambling to re-plan a dropped ball celebration on a budget.
• Your protagonist promised their kids a perfect NYE so when the babysitter cancels last minute, hijinks ensue trying to salvage it.
• Write about unexpected romances sparking at a hospital on NYE. (Nurse/doctor, patient/visitor).
• Your protagonist gets called in to work the night shift on NYE. Write a story featuring colorful coworkers, conversations and midnight countdown antics.
• Your character’s estranged best friend from childhood shows up unexpectedly on NYE. They spend the night catching up and reconciliation unfolds.
• Your protagonist reluctantly goes to a holiday costume party and ends up having a profound, life-changing experience. What happens?
• Your protagonist finally has enough money to celebrate NYE at their dream destination – tell the story of their perfect international holiday trip.
• Your protagonist is tasked with keeping a wealthy family’s very spoiled children happy on NYE for a big bonus. Write funny stories of chaos and mayhem.
• Your protagonist accidentally gets on the wrong cruise ship for a NYE vacation. Write a comedy about their wacky nautical vacation gone wrong.
• Your protagonist meets someone in the final moments of 2023. You flash forward to show glimpses of their life together over the next year.
• On NYE your protagonist finds a wallet outside a party with no ID, only a photograph. Tell the story of them sleuthing to find the owner.
• A character is contemplating ending their life on NYE but a stranger notices them crying on a bridge and compassionately intervenes. Write this emotional story with a hopeful ending.
• Your protagonist plans a fancy NYE party but their apartment gets destroyed in a pre-celebration mishap. Show them rallying friends for an impromptu street celebration.
• Your character can’t afford their dream NYE celebration so their thoughtful partner secretly recreates aspects of it with DIY touches. Write this heartwarming story.
• Your protagonist wakes up with amnesia on NYE slowly regaining memories showing how they will fall in love with their kindly caretaker through flashbacks.
• Your protagonist finally decides to make their career dreams come true and quits their unfulfilling job on NYE. Write about starting 2024 following their passion.
• Your protagonist’s eccentric relative dies right before NYE leaving behind elaborate funeral instructions including arriving via parade float. Describe this funny memorial service.
• Your protagonist needs closure so they travel to reconnect with a past love on New Year’s Eve. Do they find the answers and resolution they hoped for?
• Write a powerful scene where your character makes a New Year’s resolution to leave their abusive partner during a NYE party among cheering friends.
• Your protagonist’s best friend goes into unexpected labor at a fabulous NYE costume party. Chaos and hilarity ensue!
• While your protagonist is celebrating NYE, Death pays them a visit to reveal troubling secrets about the year ahead. What news must they now wrestle with?
• Your protagonist accidentally gets trapped in a bank vault over New Year’s Eve with a handsome stranger. Over the course of the night romantic sparks fly.
• On a whim your protagonist travels to New York City alone for NYE. Write funny stories about their adventures navigating the big crowds and celebrations.
• Your protagonist was supposed to propose to their partner on NYE but the ring gets lost amid comical mishaps. Does it work out in the end?
• Write about unexpected romances blossoming at a hospital on December 31st between patients, staff, strangers waiting for news.
• Your protagonist attends a 1920s speakeasy-themed NYE costume party. Describe their elaborate flapper outfit and the glamorous celebrations full of mobster intrigue.
• Your character’s critical client unexpectedly goes into labor on NYE so they heroically manage both the high stakes birth and keeping their client happy.
• Your character goes into 2023 not believing in love but a meet-cute with a stranger as the New Year dawns changes everything. What 2024 visions suddenly seem possible?
• A grumpy concierge’s whole perspective on life changes over the course of one unforgettable NYE shift spent listening to guests’ stories.
• Your character finds a magical radio on NYE at midnight playing songs from their upcoming year hinting at what’s ahead. Describe 5 songs and their meaning.
• Your protagonist celebrates an incredible NYE that they find out years later their guardian angel orchestrated behind the scenes. Flashback to show the miracles.

Whether used as a daily warm-up over the final days of December or simply savored as a one-time exercise on the last night of the year, engaging with these evocative prompts promises to spark creativity amid the reflective mood unique to December 31st. Some may inspire short sketches dashed off in the hours leading to midnight, while others may plant narrative seeds that blossom into fully formed short stories with the new year now in bloom. Whatever the final written destination, this eclectic collection of 100 story ideas celebrates the rich inspirational territory the transitional holiday offers all writers. As fresh dreams and declarations hover on our tongues, these prompts give us the nudge we need to capture the magic of New Year’s Eve and launch our writing into exciting uncharted territory when the gleaming ball drops at last. Whether used to bid a dramatic farewell to 2023 or determine adventures ahead in 2024, let these vivid prompts serve as your writerly life raft as you sail into the thrilling unknown future that awaits on January 1st. The blank page of another year is all yours – let your writing spirit soar. 

If you enjoyed these prompts, please leave us a comment, and we have many more writing prompts on our site .

Related Posts:

About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Privacy Overview

• Writing Prompts

10 New Year’s Writing Prompts For Kids

The start of a new year is a brilliant time for reflection and writing down your thoughts. Not only can you write about your favourite moments of last year, but you can also look forward and write about the future. The ending of a year is also a very magical moment, as signifies the start of something new and changes. Making it the perfect time to start some writing! Of course, we all need a little inspiration now and then and that’s where our new year’s writing prompts come in handy! We have created a range of 10 New Year’s writing prompts for kids to encourage them to reflect and to write some fun stories!

New Year’s Writing Prompts:

• The clock strikes twelve and BANG! Something has changed… continue the story.
• How would you describe a fireworks display? Think about the colours, the sounds and your feelings.
• Time is frozen! A new year will never begin unless you…
• What were your best moment/s of last year and your worst moment?
• What are your goals for the next 12 months and why are they important to you? Try and list 5 goals or resolutions for 2018.
• If you could do one thing again, what would it be?
• The last day of 2017 keeps repeating itself, over and over again! How will time fix itself?
• You are planning a New Year’s Eve party. What will you do? Provide all the details, including food, entertainment, attendee list etc.
• It’s the first day of 2018, you wake up and find that everyone has disappeared. The date on your calendar reads January 0 th ! Continue the story…
• Describe how you and your family celebrated New Year’s Eve.

Looking for more fun new year prompts? Check out our post on 50+ New Year Journal prompts or our 31 January writing prompts for kids .

We would love to read your ideas based on our new year’s writing prompts! Share your ideas or new years stories in the comments below or using the #imagineforest on social media.

See our collection of writing prompts or sign-up to our website for more daily writing resources!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

Related Posts

Comments loading...

JournalBuddies.com

Journal Buddies Jill | December 11, 2023 December 11, 2023 | Writing , Teaching Activities

16 New Year’s Writing Activities

Start January off on the right foot with your students with these 16 fun and fabulous New Year’s writing activities! These new year writing activities are designed to help kids improve their writing skills while also focusing on a positive start to the new year.

As you begin the New Year in your classroom, your students will be refreshed and rejuvenated from the holiday break.

You see…

This is an ideal time to review the norms that were established in the classroom at the beginning of the year and to revisit any goals that were established back in September.  It is also a wonderful time of year to establish new priorities with your students.

Plus…

At the start of the New Year, teachers and homeschoolers may want to review their remaining curriculum to ensure that writing is a top priority during the second half of the school year. To renew your commitment to improving your students’ writing skills in the new year, consider incorporating these New Years writing activities into your lesson plans for the first few days back at school after the holiday break.

Of course, because we love writing, we think writing skill development is a high priority for all students in all grade levels.

We hope you use the following writing activities for students to kick off the year and wish you and your students a very Happy New Year!

16 New Year’s Writing Activities for Students

New Year’s Writing Activity #1 — Write a New Year’s Poem

In the classroom, students should be encouraged to explore different styles of writing. Poetry is a great way for elementary students to learn to express themselves while improving their writing skills.

For this activity, ask your students to write a poem that describes their hopes and dreams for the New Year. The poem can be written in any style that they prefer.

Activity #2 — Describe the Experience of New Year’s Eve

With this activity, students can spend time reflecting on the fun they had with their family and friends over the holiday break. Ask them to write a descriptive journal entry about their New Years celebrations. They should include any activities they enjoyed as well as discuss their feelings about the new year.

Activity #3 — Research Cultural Celebrations and Write a Report

Students are often surprised to discover that different cultures commemorate the new year in unique ways. Each student can be assigned a different country or community for this activity. Then, they will be required to research the New Year’s celebrations for that group of people and detail their findings in a report that can be presented to the class.

Activity #4 — Write Directions for Sticking to Your Resolutions

It’s easy to come up with New Year’s resolutions, but it’s a lot harder to see those resolutions through. To help your students stay committed to their resolutions, ask them to write a set of simple directions to keep them focused on their goals.

Activity #5 — Best and Worst: A Reflection of the Previous Year

Sometimes, the best way to move forward in the New Year is to come to terms with the year that has passed. Have your students explore their thoughts and feelings on the past year in a journal entry, where they are required to outline the best part of the year as well as the worst part.

Activity #6 — Design a Calendar of Goals

In this activity, students will be required to look past those generic New Years resolutions that everyone makes and then promptly forget about after a few days. Rather than making resolutions, have your students outline one attainable goal for each month of the year and describe with actionable steps how they plan to achieve that monthly goal.

Activity #7 — Start a New Year Happiness Jar

Positivity is a great thing to focus on in the New Year, especially in the classroom. To emphasize the need for thinking good thoughts, have your students begin a classroom Happiness Jar. This project requires students to write down moments and memories that make them feel happy. They can fold up their answer and stick it in the jar. The jar makes for a fun reflection at the end of the school year.

Activity #8 — Write a Toast for the New Year

Consider hosting a classroom party to commemorate the New Year, and incorporate this writing activity into the celebration. Provide some fruit juice and pour a little in each student’s glass. Then, ask each student to write a toast for the New Year to share with their classmates. You and the entire class will have fun ringing in the New Year in the classroom.

Activity #9 — New Year, New You: How You Hope to Grow This Year

Have your students write an essay about how they want to improve themselves and grow in the New Year. This will help them reflect on the past while focusing on the possibility for the future.

Activity #10 — Resolve to be a Better Classroom: Making Community Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions do not have to be an individual endeavor. In your classroom, you can transform the New Year into a community-building experience.

Ask your students to write down suggestions for classroom resolutions that everyone can be committed to. Then, compile all the suggestions and have the students vote to determine the top three choices.

Lastly, display your new community resolutions in the classroom to help your students remember them.

Activit y #11 — Write a Story About an Old Habit You Wish to Break

This is the best time of the year to consider breaking an old habit and adopting a new, more productive lifestyle. Explain to your students the detriment that bad habits can have on their personal lives as well as their educational development.

For example, waiting until the last minute to do their homework can cause them stress and often leads to shoddy work.

Ask your students to write about a bad habit they wish to break, the effect it has on their life, and what they wish to do differently in the new year.

Activit y #12 —  Set Your Own New Year’s Resolutions

Spend some time in the classroom discussing New Year’s Resolutions and the tradition of making them prior to New Year’s Eve. Ask your students to write about three resolutions that they wish to make for the new year.

In addition, have your students outline a plan of action that will allow them to keep their resolutions not only in January but also throughout the months ahead.

Activit y #13 — Write a Fictional Story About a Character with a Goal for the New Year

Your students may need to spend some time developing their creative writing skills in the new year, which is why a fictional writing activity is important to incorporate into the curriculum.

Ask your students to create a character and allow them to set a goal for their character to accomplish. This gives them a chance to learn about developing a personality through writing while also introducing them to the elements of a story, including establishing a conflict for the story as well as a solution.

Activit y #14 —  Establish New Rules for the New Year

By January, your students know what to expect when they come into your classroom. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they like all of the rules. Allow them to have some fun after returning from break, and ask your students to write a new set of rules for the classroom.

Tell your students that they need to remember that rules are designed to keep the classroom in order, and ask them to identify the ways that their rules will enhance the classroom experience.

Activit y #15 — Write About 3 People You Wish to Connect within the New Year

In addition to setting personal and educational goals, you  could ask your students to consider the people that they want to create relationships within the coming months.

Perhaps there is a new student in the class that they could reach out to, or maybe they could work on forming a better relationship with an elderly family member. Their writing assignment should require them to identify the individuals as well as discuss what they will do to connect with those people.

Activit y #16 — Create a Journal Entry About Last Year’s Resolutions

While many writing prompts in January will focus on the year ahead, you could also request that your students evaluate and analyze the year that has gone by.

Ask them to identify the resolutions they made the previous year and identify if they were able to stick to their goals. This can help them come up with ideas for realistic and valuable resolutions to make in the coming year.

January marks the beginning of the second half of the school year and it’s certainly a time to start looking ahead at your goals for the new year. Work with your students to keep them writing and progressing throughout their grade level, and allow them to learn to enjoy the creative writing process.

158 More FREE Writing Prompts for the New Year

• 50 New Year’s Writing Prompts and Ideas
• 77 Quick and Fun New Year Journal Prompts
• 31 Wonderful January Journal Prompts

While it may be a time to ditch some old ways and create new habits, you’ll never want your students to stop writing! The start of a new year is the perfect time to explore new story ideas and writing prompts!

Until next time, write on…

If you enjoyed these New Year’s Writing Activities ,   please share them on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. I appreciate it!

Sincerely, Jill journalbuddies.com creator and curator

PS – Take a look at these Back from Winter Break Writing Prompts for a different perspective of the new year!

Tap to See Prompts 50 Great New Year Writing Prompts New Year's Journal Writing Resolution 77 Quick and Fun New Year Journal Prompts ------------Start of Om Added --------- @media (min-width: 320px) and (max-width: 767px) { .inside-right-sidebar { display: none !important; } } Search Now Offering You 18,000+ Prompts!

Tap to See Prompts 50 Great New Year Writing Prompts New Year's Journal Writing Resolution 77 Quick and Fun New Year Journal Prompts Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7-8 Grade 9-12 All Ages ------------End of Om Added --------- Tags Activities , Activities for Writing , classroom , create new habits , creative writing process , creative writing skills , educational development , educational goals , enjoy creative writing , goals , Grade Level , help students , Holidays , January , January Writing Prompts , keep students writing , New Year Writing , New Year’s activities , New Year’s Eve , New Year’s Resolutions , personal goals , story , students , teachers , write , write a story , writing , writing assignment , writing prompts , writing skills div#postbottom { margin-top: 12px; } Search Now Offering You 18,000+ Prompts!

Maria Chatzi | New Year Creative Writing Prompts

Countdown 10, 9, 8, 7…

10 Imaginative New Year Creative Writing Prompts

New chapter, new dreams, new hopes for your creative life.

By Maria Chatzi | Posted 12/21/13 | Updated 1/3/24

“New year — a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours.” —Alex Morritt

Use the following short list of writing prompts to ignite your imagination for journal writing or as an exercise to get you back to your daily creative thinking and creative writing habit after the holiday break. So, grab a pen and a cup of coffee, get cozy and start writing. Happy writing!

Hibernation

Imagine a wicked witch had put you under a spell and you had fallen asleep through winter. What would you have missed out on? What if, instead of the witch, it was a compassionate wizard or your fairy godmother — what would they have saved you from by casting this spell?

Think of two words you hated the previous year and two words you loved. Think of “why” you felt the way you did about them. What could have made things be the other way round? When could at least one of your hated words have become a loved one, and in what case would at least one of the loved words turn into a hated one?

Unmistakable

You receive an unusual email message. It is a letter from one of the mistakes you’ve made last year, which has come to life. Write what your mistake wrote to you.

You wake up one morning to find you are traveling inside a snowflake. What was the weirdest thing that happened to you on this journey?

Write about a snowball that was actually a camouflaged tiny planet.

Springing Forth

Write a list of winter-related words. Then use them all in a piece of writing on a spring theme.

On returning home, you find a huge snowman standing in your living room. “I came for the interview.” he says in a strange sounding voice. You notice that, although close enough to the burning fireplace, he’s not melting. Continue the story.

Write about a time when the turning of the year came with the disappearance of your most treasured possession.

Conversations

You’re hosting a party for New Year’s Eve. An Unfulfilled Wish (or Dream) and a Broken Resolution, both coming from the previous year, come to life and sneak in, uninvited. They start a conversation with one of your guests. Write part of this conversation.

©2012 Maria Chatzi. All rights reserved.

• Inspiration
• Craft Workshop
• Creative Blocks
• Unconventional Art
• Helps Kid Love Writing
• Collage Cubies
• Story Starters
• New Year Prompts
• Prompts Catcher
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Collaged Journal
• Valentine's Rock
• Doodle-y Christmas
• Beach Treasure Candle
• Seashell Wreath
• Pebble Art Scene
• Beach Finds Decor
• Birdie Bookmark
• Heart-Flower Bookmark
• Pebble Key Ring
• Snowflake Ornament
• Pebble Pendant

60 Best New Year Journal Prompts For 2024

Dive into insightful reflections and inspiring goal-setting to make this your most fulfilling year yet. These prompts are designed to spark creativity and personal growth!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Kickstart your New Year with a journey of self-discovery! In this post, we’ll present 60 dynamic journal prompts to inspire your reflections and resolutions.

These thoughtfully designed prompts will help you unpack the past year’s lessons, set clear goals, and ignite your creativity.

Whether you’re a journaling pro or a curious beginner, these prompts are your perfect companions for a fresh and insightful start to the New Year. Let’s dive in and make this year your most reflective yet!

But first, don’t forget to check out the video below and how to get your free New Year Workbook!

What is a New Year Journal Prompt?

A New Year Journal Prompt is a thought-provoking question or statement designed to inspire reflection, introspection, and goal-setting at the start of a new year. These prompts are tailored to help individuals look back on the past year’s experiences, achievements, challenges, and lessons, as well as to set intentions, objectives, and resolutions for the year ahead.

In short, New Year Journal Prompts are a personal guide to self-reflection and goal setting. They’re a way to check in with yourself, celebrate your progress, and map out your next steps.

Use Our New Year Workbook

A New Year workbook can be a powerful ally in your journey of self-improvement and reflection. Choose a workbook that resonates with your personal style and goals–be it a detailed planner or a workbook with prompts that challenge your thinking.

Here’s a tip that can make a real difference: incorporate “Action Steps” next to each goal. It’s one thing to set a goal; it’s another to outline specific, achievable steps towards it. This method bridges the gap between aspiration and reality.

While the workbook is a guide, remember, the most profound insights often come from within. Use the prompts and sections as starting points, but don’t hesitate to venture beyond them with your thoughts and reflections.

And for those looking to deepen their workbook experience, we created our own goal-oriented workbook. It’s a workbook for you to do at the end of the year to reflect and get some closure on this past year and also prepare and get ahead for the next year. And the best thing? It’s totally free:

Year In Review Prompts

Ready to reflect on your year? Each prompt is designed to encourage deep reflection and meaningful insights into the year that has passed, aiding in personal growth and self-awareness .

• What were the three most significant events of this past year for you, and why?
• Reflect on a challenge you overcame this year. How has it shaped you?
• List five things you learned about yourself in the past year.
• What was your happiest memory from this year? Describe why it stands out.
• Identify a habit you formed this year. How has it impacted your daily life?
• Who had the most significant influence on you this year, and how?
• What was the best book/movie/show you discovered this year and why?
• Write about a moment this year when you felt most alive. What sparked it?
• What was an unexpected joy you experienced this year?
• Reflect on a goal you achieved this year. How did you accomplish it?
• Which relationship in your life grew the most this year, and how?
• What was the most important lesson you learned this year?
• Which place that you visited this year was most memorable and why?
• Describe a risk you took this year and its outcome.
• What was your biggest mistake this year, and what did you learn from it?
• How have your priorities shifted over the past year?
• What was the funniest or most surprising moment of the year for you?
• What was the most meaningful conversation you had this year?
• How did you make a positive impact in someone’s life this year?
• What are three things you’re grateful for from this past year?

New Year Goal-Setting Journal Prompts

These prompts are tailored to foster forward-looking thinking and practical goal-setting for the New Year, helping to lay out a roadmap for personal achievement and growth.

• What is one skill you want to learn or improve in the coming year?
• Envision where you want to be this time next year. What does that look like?
• Set a specific health-related goal for the New Year. How will you achieve it?
• Identify a personal quality you want to develop or strengthen. Why is it important?
• What financial goal do you wish to achieve, and what steps will you take?
• Choose a book or a subject you want to explore deeply. What intrigues you about it?
• Plan a dream trip for the upcoming year. Where would you go and why?
• What professional achievement are you aiming for in the New Year?
• Which hobby would you like to spend more time on? Set specific goals for it.
• Write about a new habit you want to form and how it will benefit you.
• What’s a fear you want to conquer this year? How will you approach it?
• Create a detailed action plan for one major goal you have.
• How will you improve your work-life balance in the New Year?
• What steps will you take to strengthen your most important relationships?
• Describe a way you want to give back or contribute to your community.
• Set a creative goal for the year (writing, art, music, etc.). How will you pursue it?
• What’s one thing you want to change about your daily routine?
• How do you plan to prioritize self-care in the upcoming year?
• Describe a new adventure or experience you want to have. Why is it appealing?
• What is your primary personal growth goal, and why is it significant to you?

Yearly Self-Reflection Prompts

These prompts are designed to encourage a deeper exploration of personal experiences and feelings over the past year, aiding in introspection .

• What part of your life did you give the most energy to this year, and why?
• How have your values or beliefs evolved over the past year?
• Reflect on a moment this year when you felt exceptionally proud of yourself.
• What has been your most significant source of inspiration this year?
• How did you handle stress differently this year compared to previous years?
• In what ways did you grow emotionally over the past year?
• What was a recurring thought or theme that kept appearing for you this year?
• How have your relationships influenced your personal growth this year?
• What was the most challenging decision you made this year, and how did you arrive at it?
• Describe a moment this year when you felt completely at peace. What led to it?
• What aspects of yourself are you most grateful for this year?
• How did you contribute to your community or those around you this year?
• What was the biggest risk you took this year, and what was the outcome?
• Reflect on a moment of failure this year. What did it teach you?
• How did you express creativity this year in a way that felt fulfilling?
• What was the most impactful piece of advice you received this year?
• How have your priorities shifted throughout the year, and what influenced these changes?
• What was your most impactful conversation this year, and what did you learn from it?
• Reflect on a moment this year when you had to be courageous. What did it involve?
• What are you leaving behind this year, and what are you carrying forward into the next?

My Favorite New Year Prompts

These are my top prompts I ALWAYS journal with every New Year. I find they help me clarify my next year’s goals and also review what worked this year. Here they are:

• Letting Go: “Reflect on something you’re holding onto from the past year. What steps can you take to let go of it for a more peaceful and fulfilling new year?”
• Gratitude: “Identify three unexpected things that happened this year for which you are grateful. How have these experiences enriched your life?”
• Motivation: “Think about a goal that excites you for the coming year. What motivates you to achieve this goal, and how can you maintain this motivation throughout the year?”
• Clarity: “What is your goal phrase, mantra, or word for the next year to remind you of your ultimate goal? What do you really want to focus on?”
• Forgiveness: “Is there someone you need to forgive, or do you need to seek forgiveness from someone as you enter the new year? Write about how this act of forgiveness can bring a positive change in your life.”
• Bad Habits: “Identify a bad habit you want to break in the new year. What is a concrete plan you can implement to overcome this habit and replace it with a healthier one?”

New Year Prompts Tips

Ready to start journaling? Before you look at the prompts below, take a look at these quick and innovative tips to supercharge your journey with New Year prompts.

Create a Journaling Ritual

Transform your journaling into a meaningful experience by establishing a unique ritual. Consider lighting a special candle or playing a particular piece of music each time you journal, creating a serene and reflective atmosphere.

This ritual not only sets the mood but also signals your mind that it’s time to delve into thoughtful self-reflection.

Use Prompt Jars

Inject spontaneity into your journaling with a “prompt jar.” Write down various journal prompts on slips of paper and place them in a jar, drawing one randomly for each journaling session to add an element of surprise.

For a digital twist, create a virtual jar using an app or a digital note-keeping platform where you can randomly select a prompt, keeping the spontaneity alive in the digital realm.

Integrate Multi-Sensory Prompts

Bring your journaling to life by integrating prompts that engage multiple senses. For example, describe a recent meal in vivid detail, focusing on the taste, aroma, and textures, or recall your favorite vacation this year, noting the sounds, sights, and scents encountered.

You can even go above and beyond by using scents such as essential oils to prime your brain , taking you back to that distinct memory.

Crafting Your Journaling Streak

Keeping track of your journaling streak shouldn’t feel like a chore. It’s part of the fun! The idea here is simple: mark off each day you journal to build a visual streak, creating a motivating chain of your efforts.

Calendar not your style? Check out these laid-back and creative alternatives:

• Digital Habit Trackers: Easy and handy, these apps let you see your streaks with just a tap.
• Jar of Wonders: Drop a pebble, bead, or any small item in a jar for each day you journal–watch it fill up!
• Artsy Wall Chart: Turn a wall chart into a piece of art, adding a colorful mark for each journaling day.
• Sticker Wonderland: Who doesn’t love stickers? Add one to a notebook for each day you write.
• Custom Craft Board: Get crafty and make a board where you can hang or place something small for each journaling day.

These fun alternatives keep your journaling streak visible and give you that little nudge of satisfaction every time you add to them. Plus, they’re a cool addition to your space!

I hope you found these prompts useful! Ready for more New Year awesomeness? Head on over to: The Best Ways to Make (and Keep) Your New Year’s Resolutions

Popular Guides

How to deal with difficult people at work.

Do you have a difficult boss? Colleague? Client? Learn how to transform your difficult relationship. I’ll show you my science-based approach to building a strong, productive relationship with even the most difficult people.

Related Articles

Science of People offers over 1000+ articles on people skills and nonverbal behavior.

Get our latest insights and advice delivered to your inbox.

It’s a privilege to be in your inbox. We promise only to send the good stuff.

40 New Year Journal Prompts to Make 2024 Your Best Year

This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you sign up or purchase products or services mentioned. Read the full disclosure here.

Last Updated on December 17, 2023

Whether last year was amazing, horrible, or a total blur, it’s your next step forward that makes the biggest impact.

Before I started truly reflecting on how previous years shaped me, I felt like I was just stumbling into the next year with zero direction. Learn from my mistakes–don’t let that be you! The new year is your opportunity to absorb what the last 12 months taught you, applying it to the year ahead for your ultimate success.

These New Year journal prompts will guide you through setting resolutions that matter, reflecting on the highs and lows of last year, and pinpointing your biggest priorities in 2024.

No matter which prompts you choose, the defining question to ask yourself is: how will you make this year better than the last?

Table of Contents

40 New Year Journal Prompts to Start 2024 in the Best Way

Be on top of your game this new year with these journal prompts that cover it all, like:

• Planning your new year resolutions
• Reflecting on last year’s challenges and successes
• Welcoming more balance into your life
• Clarifying your priorities for the year ahead

Don’t forget about these New Year journal prompts! Pin ’em to come back later!

Planning Your New Year Resolutions

• Do a brain dump of all the things you want to achieve this year.
• Which area of your life could use the most attention in the new year?
• Think about previous new year resolutions you didn’t follow through with. Why did you steer away from them?
• Do you tend to make your goals “too big”?
• What good habits would serve you best to implement?
• What do you want to do more of this year?
• What do you want to do less of?
• Did you have any self-destructive habits last year? How can you overcome them?
• If you could only achieve one thing this year, what would it be?
• How will you practice balance so that you don’t burnout?
• Is there a resolution you keep making every year but don’t stick to? Why?
• What specific actions will you perform in order to achieve your resolutions?
• How will you give yourself grace and self forgiveness if you “fall off the wagon”?

RELATED: 41 January Affirmations to Start the Year on a High Note

Questions to Reflect on Last Year

• What is your biggest takeaway/learning lesson from last year?
• What are 3 things that went well?
• What are 3 things that didn’t go so well?
• Which month were you at your lowest point?
• Which month were you at your highest point?
• How can you keep up the things that made last year a success?
• How can you create less stress, overwhelm, or negativity this year?
• What strides have you made in your personal development last year?
• What is something you’ve grown to accept during the last year?
• Did you live a balanced lifestyle with adequate time for rest and leisure?
• Did you experience burnout? If so, what is the main thing that triggered it?
• What limiting beliefs did you experience last year that you’ll leave behind?
• What, in your life, is consistently improving year after year?
• What are 10 things you’re most grateful for?

RELATED: 35 January Journal Prompts for a Clean Slate

Finding Your Priorities in the New Year

• What is the number one thing you want to make a priority this year?
• Which area of your life needs to be prioritized more?
• Which people do you want to prioritize, and which do you need to create space from?
• How can you put yourself first?
• What are your main core values?
• The affirmation that will empower me the most this year is… (these New Year affirmations will help you decide!)
• What would a successful year look like to you?
• What do you really want to accomplish?
• How can you be kinder and more compassionate to yourself?
• What is one way you can change your mindset for the better?
• How can you nip any feelings of self-doubt in the bud?
• How can you persevere despite the challenges you’ll face?
• How can you make more time for self care this year?

RELATED: 40 Monthly Reflection Questions to Identify Your Needs

Need some help planning your New Year goals? Grab my goal planner!

Science says 92% of people don’t achieve their goals. After using this goal planner, it’ll be crystal clear why. (And how you can be the 8% who does!)

My Printable Goal Planner gives you the best strategy to brainstorm, plan, AND effectively achieve the right goals for your life!

Why journal for the new year?

Sometimes, we need to write things out to figure out a sense of direction. Journaling for the new year will help you better visualize it so that you can navigate the next year better!

One of the biggest benefits of journaling is mental clarity , because writing down your thoughts helps to organize them.

These New Year journal prompts are the perfect way to guide yourself through the “planning phase” of your new year. You get the chance to reflect on how the previous year went, what you want to keep in your life, and what you want to let go of as you walk into 2024. 

If you feel nervous, uncertain, or unprepared in any way right now, journaling will help you overcome those feelings and put your best foot forward!

How do you start a New Year journal?

Hey, new year, new habits! There’s no better time than now to start a journal, and the New Year is a prime opportunity to begin a regular journal practice. 

Here are some simple ways to introduce journaling into your routine this new year:

• Simple bullet point lists – start with as little as “3 things I’m grateful for today” and expand from there. You can also try “10 yearly goals I want to achieve” or “50 things that make me smile.” Instead of feeling like you’re writing an essay, lists can make journaling less daunting!
• Daily wins – do you ever end the day feeling like you got nothing done? You’re probably doing more than you realize! By reflecting on all of today’s wins (no matter how small–making your bed is a win!), you boost your confidence and get to savor that sweet sense of reward.
• One-word mantra – start each day with a “word of the day” or “affirmation of the day” and let it guide your journal entry. Let’s say you choose “fulfillment,” you can let your mind take you to whatever fulfillment means in your life!
• Letter to your future self – What better way to kick off the new year than with a letter to yourself to read by the next January 1st? Write about all your wishes, hopes, and dreams for yourself a year from today. Then, set a reminder in your phone to follow up and read it!

The most common complaint about journaling is that starting is the hardest part. These simple journaling ideas are here to help you over that hurdle!

Let me know in the comments:

Which 2024 New Year Journal Prompts will you use to prepare for the next year of your life?

Psst…make self care quick and easy by downloading my (free!) printable daily self care check in! Grab it to start adding a little self reflection into your morning + night routines.

You will receive your daily self care check in shortly.

More Ideas You’ll Want to Try in 2024

65 New Year Affirmations for a Successful But Balanced 2024

24 Goals to Set in 2024: Goal Ideas for Personal Growth

2024 Vision Board Ideas for Adults You’ll Want to Copy NOW

100 Exciting End of Year Journal Prompts to Reflect on 2023

LIKE THESE NEW YEAR JOURNAL PROMPTS? PIN THEM FOR LATER!

Founder & Content Strategist

Hey there! I'm Alexa, and I'm a self-care enthusiast and mental health advocate. At Ambitiously Alexa, I'm here to support women like you who are on a mission to achieve allll the things they're passionate about and make time for self care. I make this balance possible through journal prompts, positive affirmations, and self care ideas you'll love! Here's more about me, including my B.A in Psychology...

Similar Posts

35 Couple Journal Ideas to Get Closer to Your Partner

This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you sign up or purchase products or services mentioned. Read the…

52 May Journal Prompts That Will Make Your Thoughts Blossom

Last Updated on April 27, 2023 Any month can be a month for new beginnings and fresh possibilities. But there’s something so special about May that makes it the perfect…

8 December Goals to Crush the End of the Year

85 Halloween Self Care Ideas for a Feel-Good Spooky Season

Affirmations for Friends: 100 Words for Closer Friendships

Last Updated on July 3, 2023 Looking for affirmations for friends to show your gratitude and appreciation to your besties? Whether you could use some words of affirmation for a…

5 Minute Self Care: 90 Quick and Wildly Helpful Ideas

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Copy short link

New Year Writing Prompts for Kids

Happy New Year!

Our New Year’s resolution is to make writing fantastically fun for your child! Here are the best creative writing prompts to help improve your child’s writing skills while they have fun:

• In what ways were you kind to your friends, family, and teachers this past year?
• A New Year’s Resolution is a promise to do something differently in the new year. Can you write your own New Year’s Resolution?
• January always makes us think of new beginnings. Can you write a poem that focuses on the word “Beginning”?
• Write about the New Year’s Eve traditions your family has.
• What is your favorite memory from the previous year?
• Can you write an adventure story with a character that has alliteration in their name? Example: Florence Flamingo.
• Do you have any travel plans for next year? If so, where are you going and what are you most excited about?
• What month are you most looking forward to this coming year? Can you write a diary entry about why?
• How do you celebrate New Year? Do you eat any special dishes? Do you play specific games with your family and friends?
• Grudge the Bear has blue fur. Can you create another animal that is the color blue?
• What’s one thing you hope to achieve or accomplish this year?
• Can you write a haiku about winter? Remember the format: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables.
• Can you write about an accomplishment that you achieved last year? Why are you proud of it?
• What is something you always do on the first day of the year?
• The start of a new year is the perfect time to try a new hobby. What is a hobby you’d like to try next year and why?
• Story starter: As the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, an unexpected visitor appeared in the backyard - a magical creature who promised an extraordinary adventure to anyone brave enough to follow the trail of shimmering stardust...
• New Year journal prompt: Look back on the last year and reflect on something you’re proud of.

More writing prompts

• January Writing Prompts
• Winter Writing Prompts
• Summer Writing Prompts

How Night Zookeeper can help

New year, new learning! Boost your child’s reading & writing skills this year with Night Zookeeper!

Our award-winning program uses gamified learning to keep children engaged, entertained, and excited to learn. Whether you’re homeschooling this year, or looking for a reading & writing resource to use after school, we guarantee that our educational games, writing activities, interactive lessons, and printable worksheets will transform your child’s learning journey.

Sign up today and get a 7-day FREE trial!

Got any questions? Email us at [email protected] , or reach out to us on social media:

Make Reading & Writing Fantastically Fun!

• Award-winning reading & writing program for kids
• Improves spelling, grammar, punctuation & vocabulary
• Over 1,000 different learning games and activities

Holiday Writing Prompts for Kids

How To Help Your Child Make New Year's Resolutions

Wonderful Winter Writing Prompts for Kids

New Year Journal Prompts: Get Your Year Started Right

by Sue Weems | 0 comments

It's a new year! Whether you love making New Year's resolutions or resist it, reflection at the end of a season is often a great way to provide clarity and direction. Here's a list of new year journal prompts to start your year in a positive way! 

I typically don't make long (or short!) lists of resolutions to conquer at the beginning of the new year. I love to clean out a few drawers or closets, to reflect on what worked last quarter or year, and gently toast in a new season.

One of my daily habits year-round includes morning pages though, so I love to see a list of journaling prompts for the days when no words seem to appear. Even five minutes a day can help you break bad habits , start new ones, and set intentions for the day ahead. Whether you have personal goals, financial goals, fitness goals, or just make it through another Thursday goals, you'll find some prompts below for your next journaling session. 

Try it out and see what you think! 

Reflection Prompts

• What were your top three moments of joy this past week/ month/ year?
• What was the most surprising thing that happened to you?
• What’s something you did this year that most people don’t know about?
• What was a small, perhaps overlooked memorable moment this year that brought you unexpected happiness or insight?
• What daily routine or habit made a difference in your life this past week/ month/ year? 
• What career goals did you meet (or not) and what factors influenced that outcome? 
• What health goals did you try this week/ month/ year and what were the results? 
• How did you make a positive impact in your family or community this last week/ month/ year? 

Dreaming Prompts

9. What is one thing you want to do or experience differently next year? 10. If you could achieve anything without limitation in the coming year, what would it be? 11. Is there a new skill or hobby you want to pick up next year? 12. Where do you see yourself by the end of next year, both personally and professionally? 13. What word would you like to be able to use to describe the coming year and why? 14. What professional goals would you like to hit this year and why? 15. Do you have any relationship goals and what plans might you make to pursue them? 16. What creative projects do you plan to tackle this year?  17. Do you have a bucket list? What's on it? Expand your definition of bucket list to include anything that brings you joy: museums you want to visit, concerts you want to attend, parks you'd like to visit in each season, roads you'd like to drive, books you'd like to read, desserts you'd like to make or try. 

Dreams into Goals Prompts

17. Take a few deep breaths and clear the mental clutter. Write about your top three priorities this year, articulating how meeting those priorities will feel each week, month, and by year-end. 18. Choose one priority. What daily habit can you incorporate today to move you closer to that priority? Make it as small as possible and try to do it at the same time each day. 19.  What is one actionable step you know you need to make but haven't? You've probably been avoiding it for a lot of reasons—don't write about those. Instead, write about creative ways you could take one small part of that step today and write about how it might go better than expected. Give yourself a pep talk!  20. If you are like me and have long lists of things circling in your head every day distracting you from the task at hand, try this: make a comprehensive list of everything flying around in your brain at regular intervals during the day. You don't have to plan to do anything with it, but I often find getting that list down clears space in my brain to work on the things I want to work on.  21. Add an appointment with yourself weekly to check in on your progress toward your dreams. Don't use this as a time to judge yourself. Find ways to celebrate your progress, identify what didn't work and what did, and set your next steps. 

 Writing Goal Prompts

And what list on The Write Practice would be complete without writing goal prompts? Read Joe's full article How to Set Meaningful Goals for 2024 That You Can Manage and Achieve here. In it, he outlines for key types of writing goals for writers: lifetime, yearly, weekly, and daily. See if these new year journal prompts help you move your writing dream forward.

22. Imagine yourself twenty years from now. You're supremely happy. You've accomplished everything you wanted to and more. What does your life look like? What have you accomplished? 23. What projects are you going to accomplish this year? Or at least make progress on? Joe suggests goals such as:

• Write the first draft of your book
• Get something you’ve written published
• Get 100 rejection letters from agents or publications (hat tip to Sarah Gribble)
• Create a successful blog, podcast, or YouTube channel
• Get your first project as a freelance writer
• Write a new short story every week for a year
• Find a writing community that supports your work (We love ours, come join us!)
• Learn how to give strong feedback to other writers
• Revise the first draft of your book

Remember you can't do them all at once, but you can work on one or two this year and get closer to your goal! 

24. Looking at that goal you have for this year, what can you do this week toward accomplishing it? Make a list of two to three small achievable, measurable things. (Then go do them!) 25. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Work on one aspect of your writing goal for this year for just fifteen minutes whether you spend it researching, outlining characters, creating a setting, or writing a blog post, spend just fifteen minutes today. Then write a quick reflection about how it felt to move the needle on your goal! 

Write Your Way into a New Year

We hope these journal ideas have helped you think about your current goals and how you want to move into the coming season with intention and clarity. And if getting in a daily writing habit is on your list, come see us each day. We always have a daily writing prompt for practice.

Choose one of the prompts above. Set the timer for 15 minutes . Write for the full fifteen minutes. When complete, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop and tell us about the writing goals you have for the year ahead! Not a member? We'd love to have you join us this year! Get a writing community behind you to support you and help you grow. 

Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

New Year’s Journal Prompts: 55 Activities to Help Reflect on the Past Year and Set Goals for the New Year

By: Author Valerie Forgeard

Posted on Published: September 21, 2022  - Last updated: December 26, 2023

Categories Writing , Inspiration , Self Improvement

Start your New Year the right way by recording your goals and remembering your resolutions. Get inspiration for your New Year’s resolutions with these 55 New Year journaling prompts.

Each journal prompt is an inspirational question that will help you set goals and think about the things that are important to you.

55 Bullet Journal Prompts for Reflection and Resolution

Journal writing prompts are a great way to reflect on the past and set resolutions for the future. Use these journal prompts as a starting point for your bullet journal in the New Year.

Year in Review

• Choose a word that describes how you want to feel in the new year: inspired, energized, hopeful?
• What negative aspects of your life will you leave behind this past year?
• What is your favorite memory about this past year?
• What do you wish you’d done more of this past year?
• Where have you been this previous year that you’ve never been before?
• What was your most crucial reflection this previous year?
• What was the best book you read this previous year?
• What’re you most excited or nervous about right now?
• What is the biggest challenge in your life right now?
• What would you like to do more of?
• How are you enjoying the new year so far?
• What major life events, milestones, or changes have you experienced this year?
• What advice would you give yourself if you could go back a year in the past?
• What do you wish someone had told you on January 1st of the previous year? And why?
• If you could relive last year, what would you change and why?
• What places have you never been to but would like to go?
• Why do you think it’s essential to have goals?

Achieving Your Aspirations

• What are your top 3 goals for the coming year?
• Write down the first big goal you want to achieve this year.
• What’s stopping you from living your dream life and achieving your goals?
• How are you going to achieve those goals?
• What steps will you take?
• Who can help you along the way?
• What collections, habit trackers, or page layouts will you add to help you achieve your goals in the new year?
• What’ll you do differently in the coming year?
• What was your biggest mistake this year, and how can you avoid it in the coming year?
• What was your biggest success this year? How do you feel about it now?
• What’re some good daily habits you want to incorporate into your life in the new year?
• What do you want to focus your attention, time and energy on in the new year?
• What health and wellness practices do you want to implement in the new year?
• What would it be if you could spend more time on one activity in the coming year?
• What part of your personal development do you need to focus on to grow?
• What’s your plan to maintain accountability for your personal growth?
• What’s your plan to begin developing into a healthier you this month?
• What changes could you make next year to help you feel fulfilled in your work?
• What would it be if you could create one thing for the rest of your life?
• What can you do in the new year to be grateful to your friend(s), family, and loved one(s)?
• How can you show more kindness to others this year than you did last year?

Embracing Growth and Change

• What three skills or qualities about yourself would you like to improve or strengthen in the coming year?
• What are 3 ways you can challenge yourself out of your comfort zone this year?
• Where would you go if you could celebrate the New Year anywhere in the world?
• What’s something you need to let go of in order to move forward in the coming year?
• What’ll be different this year than last year?
• What do you want to do less in the coming year?
• What do you want to stop doing in the coming year?
• Where do you want to travel in the coming year?
• How will you be more organized in the coming year?
• How will it feel when you’ve achieved or implemented your resolutions?
• Who do you need to forgive so you can make peace with yourself?
• How can you love yourself and others better in the coming year?
• List three things that make your life worth living and why they mean so much to you.
• What’re your hopes and dreams for the future?
• What do you want for the world in the coming year?
• How can you help make your hopes come true ?
• How can you become a better person?

These prompts are designed to help you gear up for the upcoming year. For a more in-depth self-exploration through journaling, consider exploring our collection of “ 365 Journal Prompts ” which offers a comprehensive approach to daily self-reflection.

Journal Writing Prompts for the New Year

Setting goals for the new year is a great way to motivate yourself. But following through on those goals is even harder. The best way to stay motivated and ensure you achieve your goals is to write down what you want to do in a journal.

Writing down your goals daily will help you stay focused and committed to achieving them. You can use any type of notebook to do this, from store-bought paper to laptops or tablets to habit tracker apps on your phone if that works best for you. Just choose what works for you.

New Year’s journaling prompts are an opportunity to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the year ahead. There’s no right or wrong approach, but taking the time to pause and reflect on what went well, where the biggest challenge is, and how you can leverage your strengths in the coming year is reassuring and can give you clarity on your goals.

You can also use these journal entries when you’re away from home, on vacation, or on a double date when you want to talk about important topics but don’t know what to talk about. Starting a new year is like setting out on a new adventure; it can be scary and exciting at the same time.

Review Your New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are a great way to motivate and start fresh. But if you haven’t stuck to your goals, now is a good time to review them.

If you made a resolution, it’s probably something you feel strongly about. Maybe you wanted to lose weight , quit smoking, or save more money. These are good resolutions, but they can be difficult to keep. If you’re having trouble keeping your resolutions, here are some tips to help you get back on track:

Set Realistic Goals

Your goal should be something you can realistically achieve within the year. If you set an impossible goal, like losing 20 pounds in two weeks or quitting smoking, you’ll probably give up before you accomplish anything.

Instead of setting yourself up for failure, try making small changes that will lead to big results over time (e.g., don’t quit smoking immediately, but reduce it gradually until you eventually don’t need cigarettes anymore).

Reward Yourself

Reward yourself for achieving something related to your resolution by doing something good for yourself (e.g., treat yourself to a SPA day). If you don’t reach your goal in time, don’t punish yourself by giving up, but try again until you reach your goal and feel proud of what you’ve accomplished so far!

Related Post

February Journal Prompts: 40 Creative Writing Ideas to Help You Reflect, Relax, and Organize Your Thoughts

24 New Year Writing Prompts

The clock’s about to strike midnight, and there’s this electric feeling in the air. It’s like a mix of looking back at old memories, feeling hopeful about what’s to come, and being super excited about all the new stuff that might happen.

The new year is basically a giant blank space , just waiting for you to fill it up with your goals, dreams , and all that fun stuff.

Want a cool way to kick things off?

These New Year writing prompts about new beginnings are here to get your creative juices flowing!

Let’s check them out.

New Year Writing Prompts

• Think back to the person you were at the beginning of the year and compare it to who you are now. What significant changes have you noticed in your personality, habits, or life choices? Write about the most transformative experience you had this year and how it contributed to your personal growth .
• Writing a letter to your future self can be a powerful way to set intentions and visualize where you want to be. Consider the goals, dreams, and aspirations you have for the upcoming year. Pen down a letter to yourself one year from now, detailing what you hope to achieve and the person you aspire to become.
• Every year, we come across people who make a difference in our lives, often without seeking recognition. It could be a stranger, a colleague, or even a family member. Write about someone who positively impacted your life this year and describe why their actions meant so much to you.
• As the year comes to an end, there are bound to be memories that stand out. However, there are also those moments that might not seem significant at first but have a deeper meaning upon reflection. Recount a seemingly ordinary day from this year that, upon reflection, holds a special place in your heart.
• Every year brings its own set of challenges, both big and small. These challenges test our resilience, patience, and determination. Describe a particular challenge you faced this year and the steps you took to overcome it.
• Objects often hold sentimental value and can tell stories about moments, experiences, or people. Think about objects you’ve acquired, lost, or cherished this year. Choose three objects that symbolize your year and explain the significance of each.
• Books have the power to change our perspectives, offer solace, or even challenge our beliefs. Reflect on the books you’ve read over the past year. Write about a book that deeply resonated with you this year and how it influenced your thoughts or actions.
• Often, we make plans or set goals that, for one reason or another, we don’t get to fulfill. These untraveled paths can be sources of regret , learning, or future aspirations. Discuss a path you didn’t take this year and how you feel about that decision now.
• Music has a profound way of capturing moments, emotions , and phases of our lives. Reflect on the songs or melodies that have accompanied you throughout the year. Detail a playlist of five songs that encapsulate your year and explain the significance of each track.
• Life has a way of teaching us lessons when we least expect it. Sometimes, these lessons come from unexpected sources or experiences. Write about a lesson you learned this year from an unlikely source or situation.
• Locations, whether new or familiar, can have a significant impact on our lives. It could be a new city, a quiet corner in a local park, or even a room in your home . Describe a place you frequented or discovered this year and how it influenced your state of mind or perspective.
• Food often carries memories, traditions , and stories. Think about a meal or dish you had this year that evoked strong emotions or memories. Share a recipe that holds significance for you from this year and the story behind it.
• In the hustle and bustle of life, there are moments of silence that offer clarity, peace, or introspection. It could be a quiet morning, a solitary walk, or a moment of pause in a busy day. Recount a silent moment from this year that left a lasting impression on you.
• Dreams, whether literal or metaphorical , can be powerful sources of inspiration and insight. Reflect on a dream you had this year, either while asleep or a daydream, that had an impact on your waking life. Describe this dream and how it influenced your thoughts or decisions.
• Sometimes, it’s the smallest gestures that hold the most meaning — a smile from a stranger, a helping hand when you least expected it, or an unexpected gift. Write about a simple gesture you received or witnessed this year that restored your faith in humanity or touched your heart deeply.
• Traditions, whether cultural , familial, or personal, connect us to our roots and histories. Reflect on a tradition from your past that you either revisited or reintroduced into your life this year. Discuss the significance of this tradition and how it enriched your year.
• Communication isn’t always about what’s said out loud. Sometimes, the most profound messages are those left unsaid or conveyed through non-verbal means. Reflect on a moment this year where silence or unspoken words held deep meaning, and describe the emotions and realizations that arose from it.
• Nature has a unique way of grounding us, offering solace, and providing perspective. Whether it’s a breathtaking sunset, a serene forest walk, or the rhythmic sound of waves, nature’s moments can be transformative. Write about a moment in nature this year that offered you clarity or a much-needed escape from the daily grind.
• Art , in its many forms, can evoke emotions, inspire creativity, and challenge our perceptions. It could be a painting, a film , a sculpture, or even a dance performance. Describe a piece of art you encountered this year that moved you deeply or prompted you to see the world differently.
• Over time, we often set aside hobbies or passions to make way for responsibilities or changing interests. Think about a hobby or activity you once loved and revisited or rediscovered this year. Discuss the joy and nostalgia of reconnecting with this pastime and how it added value to your year.
• Life is full of unexpected moments where things seem to fall into place perfectly, often when we least expect it. These moments of serendipity can be magical and affirming. Recount a serendipitous event from this year and how it made you feel about fate or destiny.
• Immersing oneself in a new culture or tradition can be enlightening and broaden our horizons. It could be through travel , reading, or even meeting someone from a different background. Write about a cultural experience you had this year and the insights or appreciation it brought into your life.
• Giving, whether it’s time, resources, or a simple act of kindness , can be incredibly fulfilling. Reflect on a moment this year where you were on the giving or receiving end of generosity. Describe this act of giving and the ripple effect it had on you or those around you.
• The vastness and beauty of the night sky can evoke feelings of wonder, introspection, and connection to the universe . Perhaps you witnessed a meteor shower, a lunar eclipse, or simply gazed at the stars . Share a moment under the night sky this year that made you ponder life’s mysteries or feel connected to something greater.

Founder and Chief Content Curator @ Digital Phrases

I'm a writer, words are my superpower, and storytelling is my kryptonite.

1001 Writing Prompt About New Years

March 10, 2021

Commaful is supported by readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect who we choose to review or what we recommend.  Learn more

The start of the year is a very magical moment, as it signifies change and the beginning of something new. This makes it the best time to assess and reflect on the stories you have written the previous year, and brainstorm and plan what kind of stories you want to create in the future. 

Below are writing prompts that are perfect for the new year. Whether you are an aspiring writer looking for new ideas or an author stuck in a bad writer’s rut, you may use them as a source of inspiration, so that you may achieve your writing resolutions this year.

• New Year’s resolutions – what are you going to do this year?
• How would you like to spend New Year’s Eve?
• You received a card for the New Year’s Time Capsule, what is your entry?
• New Year’s Day and in celebration something crazy happens.
• What do you hope will happen in this year?
• What will you never forget about this past year? What was your worst decision made this year?
• Some words of wisdom for a friend regarding the New Year?
• The worst way to ring in the new year is to…
• If you could change one thing about 2017, what would it be?
• Make a toast to New Year’s Eve
• It is New Year’s Eve and something crazy is about to happen.
• What would you like to accomplish this year?
• A time capsule is discovered depicting this year in review for the next generation.
• New Year’s resolutions
• What should you be doing right now?
• People have various points of view on this new year’s eve.
• A magnificent New Year’s display…
• You just got back from the New Year’s Party and boy are you tired.
• It’s fifty years from now, New Year’s Eve. What does it look like?
• In one word, what would you describe your last year?
• You have to explain New Year’s to someone that has never experienced it before.
• What will the future look like 10 years from now?
• Every new year increases the chances of…
• It is the last New Year’s of the century. What plans do you have?
• What did you tell yourself when 2015 began?
• Instead of new year’s resolutions why not make new year’s expectations?
• For those celebrating New Year’s Eve…
• You invited a certain someone to a New Year’s party. They didn’t show, and a few hours ago you found out why…
• How will you celebrate the beginning of 2017?
• How do you plan on ringing in the New Year?
• You have an unidentified ringing in your ear.
• What are your New Year’s resolutions?
• What do you remember about the previous year?
• How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
• What is the best midnight kiss you have ever received?
• Are there any traditions you’d like to see more of in your new year?
• This year is going to change me for the better
• No trap here, just an overhyped desire for improvement.
• You aren’t crazy about New Year’s parties, but everyone says this one will be the best time of all.
• It is New Years Eve and you don’t have any plans.
• Describe your ideal New Year’s celebration.
• What will this new year bring?
• A young woman contemplates her future so far before…
• This year’s milestone What is something you look forward to?
• What do you want to happen this year?
• What do you do on New Year’s Eve?
• What will be different, the same, or perhaps both in 2012?
• What is something from your past that you plan to hold onto for another year?
• Look for more next year…
• Out of all the cups you raised in a toast to the New Year, which one would you say you are destined to fill?
• How did we get here?
• Happy New Year!
• What will you be this New Year’s Eve?
• What is your most memorable New Years moment?
• After a long night at a New Year’s party, someone discovers that you can do anything.
• What does falling in love feel like?
• What are your resolutions? Which one or two will be the most difficult for you to keep?
• On the day of the first snow, someone did something amazing.
• What do you see coming into your life in this new year?
• Where is the best place to be on New Year’s Eve?
• You anticipate ringing in the New Year with your loved one.
• At the stroke of midnight, you will finally get your one wish.
• Call on the spirits.
• A look back on another fantastic year of blogging.
• Wrapping it up…
• Set out a candle, mead, and reading material.
• You’re awaiting a gate to open. It’s been twelve hours…
• Write about an object that you keep.
• It’s midnight and time for a kiss…who do you kiss?
• Why are New Year’s resolutions so important?
• What is your New Year’s resolution going to be?
• 3. Keep Track Of Your Ideas
• An accident occurred this year …
• The year is almost over and everything is unraveling.
• Imagine how you’d feel if this was your first New Year’s
• What does the New Year mean to you?
• The year got away from you. What won’t happen this year.
• A new year is the perfect time to write about a journey.
• What will you do to ring in the new year in a memorable way?
• Your friends are partying it up at a New Year’s party and you want to join.
• What is burning in someone’s heart and mind as the clock strikes midnight? Write a scene about it.
• What was your greatest accomplishment this year?
• There are two sides to every person , what is your shadow side planning to do this holiday season?
• Something just went terribly wrong.
• What does it mean to be new?
• I wish you happiness, health and…
• You come upon a group of people who are kidnapped and blindfolded in a basement. Now it’s you to save them all.
• We hope the list helps you write a New Year’s story you will never forget!
• What is one thing you wanted from the previous year?
• What does your New Year’s self look like?
• Are you looking forward to the new year, or dreading the old one ending?
• You’ve made a new year’s resolution you know you can keep.
• It is New Year’s Day and you wake up in a stranger’s body.
• You have the chance to travel back in time for NYE. What year would you choose and why – provide some background about the year you chose if you can.
• What are you expecting from the New Year?
• What is your New Year’s resolution?
• Change is in the air. This year, you have to navigate through a maze of change and figure out what to do next. What will happen to you? Write about it!
• What is the resolution you will never keep?
• It has been a tough/great year.
• Set a goal to achieve in the new year.
• You are not prepared for what is going to fill the news when you turn on the television…
• What is one resolution that you have made this New Year and why do you think it is important?
• Goals for this New Year’s are…?
• It is the last day of the year and you’re…
• Even the sound of the year changing is…
• It is the end of the year and you have accomplished a great deal.
• What part of New Year’s resolutions are you going to keep?
• Go to your liquor store and buy a bottle of something.
• What will you be looking toward tomorrow?
• 2019 starts winter and your story starts now
• How will New Year’s change things?
• What are you most looking forward to in 2017?
• Your first task of a new year is…
• The year hasn’t even started and it’s already the worst year ever.
• What will you be saying anything during the New Year’s countdown?
• Discuss what would happen if the year was twice as long as it had been before.
• What will you tell your kids when they ask you the story of New Year’s Eve when they grow up?
• What did you do last New Year’s?
• New Year’s Day is like…
• There is a superpower that only 1% of the population has.
• In 300 words or less, what was the best moment of the past year for you?
• What will the next year bring you?
• What’s the worst thing you can say at a New Year’s party?
• A child writes a letter to their future self.
• You find yourself stranded in a snowstorm on New Years Eve. The sheriff comes by around 5pm to inform you that you’ll have to spend the night. What happens next?
• They said it couldn’t be done. They were wrong. Someone/something did something/succeeded at something.
• What did you do when the clock struck midnight?
• It’s New Year’s Eve and you need to let go of something.
• How do you tradition in your writing?
• What did you expect this year to be like?
• The Year of the Snake is upon us. What will you do to bring the most abundance into your life?
• Did Santa mess up your Christmas?
• You find a box in the attic. Curiosity is getting the better of you and you just have to look inside.
• You finally make a New Year’s resolution you can stick with.
• What is your favourite part of New Year’s celebrations? It is New Year’s Eve and something crazy is about to happen. You’re at a New Year’s party and something isn’t right. This year will be…? What is the best way to ring in a new year?
• Why do we celebrate New Year’s?
• You wait at the end of the year for a certain person, but they don’t show up. How do you spend New Year’s Eve?
• What do you think you will be most grateful for this coming year?
• You’ve read your last Newspaper of the year and set it aside.
• Your biggest piece of New Year’s advice
• Which Tradition from your religion do you follow?
• What tradition should not be forgotten?
• What would you like to leave behind?
• What do you think of the New Year Crystals trend?
• Your personal resolutions for the new year.
• The worst way to ring in the new year is…
• What does being married have to do with your new year’s resolution?
• Imagine there is another person who was born the same day as you.  What would the relationship be like?
• What will you do if you are forced to experience New Year’s Day alone?
• A year ago was…
• Be sure to have your students use their newly-found craftiness to brainstorm ideas for writing!
• New Year’s Eve is your last night on earth.
• Make a resolution to change things.
• Describe a car accident you were in during the New Years Eve.
• Are babies born at midnight of the new year or later?
• Your character receives a letter on New Year’s Eve. What does the letter say?
• What is your ambition for this year’s new year?
• As the ball drops, what are your resolutions?
• The year is almost over and you haven’t achieved anything you set out to do this year. What do you do?
• What are your plans for this New Year’s Eve?
• Make a list of New Year’s ideas.
• On New Year’s day, I…
• What is your first New Year’s memory?
• How did you spend New Year’s Eve?
• You have gathered around a campfire with a group of friends to make a New Year’s wish.
• Your New Year’s resolution surprises everyone around you.
• New Year, New Me… how about you?
• What would New Year’s look like if it lasted 365 days?
• It’s New Years Day and your friends are a mess because of something that happened.
• What do you look forward to tomorrow?
• If you could sum up this year in one word, what would it be?
• Write an add-on to a present character’s life.
• What will you do this upcoming year?
• The New Year starts with the biggest adventure so far.
• Ending the year with a bang
• It is New Year’s Day. How are you celebrating the start of the year?
• The past is a thing of the past, this is a new year.
• Something bad is about to happen… It’s New Year’s.
• You want 2018 to be different but it isn’t.
• What do you want this year to be like?
• There is a post-apocalyptic world. Would you Rather be the leader or a survivor?
• Every new year has to start somewhere.
• Why can’t you write one of these New Years Writing Prompt lists? What is stopping you? Start today!
• A New Year’s resolution to keep.
• This year will be…
• Life will never be the same…
• The Son of Man is born today and something is about to begin.
• You’ve got 1 New Years Resolution and you can never break it.
• How would you feel if you arrived late to a New Year’s party and missed the countdown?
• Is this year when…
• The year catches you and shows you possibilities.
• The next generation always gets to have some sort of adventure!
• How would you characterize the new year? Are you hopeful for what lies ahead, terrified, excited, etc?
• What are you anticipating about 2018?
• You wake up to find it isn’t New Year’s Day. What happened?
• New Year’s Day arrives and the events of the night before become apparent
• What will your New Year’s resolution be this year? How will you ensure you accomplish it?
• What do you want to do when you are sixty?
• What do you want to accomplish in 2018?
• You’ve made a New Year’s resolution that guarantees success.
• How can you be prepared for the events of the New Year?
• What is your New Year’s resolution for 2017?
• It’s somehow December again and you can’t believe your time is running out.
• Imagine this is your last New Year’s and something crazy happens.
• What were you doing a year ago for New Year’s?
• Tell us a story that takes place on New Year’s Eve.
• The best thing about the new year is no…
• Write a New Year’s Poem
• You’re at the New Year’s eve party of the year and you’ve just made a bad first impression on someone you’d like to get to know better.
• From miners to composers to potters, people over the ages have made a song or other form of art to welcome a new year.
• My New Year’s resolution is…
• Where do you find yourself on New Year’s Day?
• As you died, you traveled through a dark tunnel toward a bright light. You find yourself in a room with some characters from your life. One more thing—this room is a stage. What do you do?
• Tell us something about 2017.
• Why is New Year’s Eve so special?
• It has been a long and hard year and you’ve been counting down the days to the New Year. Now it is here. A new year means a new start and a clean slate.
• What will you carry forward into the new year?
• When the clock strikes midnight on New Years Eve, it hits…
• It’s New Year’s Day, now what?
• Describe a New Year’s Party.
• What was your favorite New Year’s experience?
• You find yourself alone on New Years Eve and your past makes itself known.
• Future You decides to drop in to answer that question. What does he/she have to say?
• What has been the worst year for you?
• What New Year’s tradition have you always wanted to try?
• What do you do the night before New Years Day?
• Your best friend turns to you and says they…
• New Year’s resolutions suck but you’re doing it! Write about it
• Something unexpected happens at midnight.
• You wake up one morning and it is January 1st.
• What do you try to improve in your life in the New Year?
• This post contains affiliate links.
• There is a new year approaching, how will you ring in the new year?
• New Year’s Day is almost here. What should you do to make it special?
• It is a typical New Year’s Day and you get a call…
• A meteorite lands in your backyard. What do you do?  It is New Year’s Eve and you spend it alone.  Are you lonely?  Do you miss anyone?  How do you feel about the future?
• It is New Year’s Eve, what do you plan to do?
• Do you see yourself making resolutions this year?
• A New Year can bring you everything you’ve ever wanted.
• New Year’s is traditionally a time for saying good-bye to past troubles and expectations. What is your favorite way to say good-bye to the past?
• Love is in the air but nothing is going according to plan.
• On New Year’s Day, everyone has a plan for the future. What are your plans for next year?
• Make sure to show up in the comments and vote on your favourites, or make your own. You should also give a little bit of feedback to the writers. Happy New Year!
• Make a New Years resolution.
• Share your view about the past year and how you’re looking…
• You have a year to prepare some crushing blows. What are you going to do?
• What happened at the New Year’s Eve party you went to way back in 1999?
• A funny story about New Year’s celebrations
• What is the worst way to ring in the New Year?
• The year ahead will be the best time of your life.
• A thick red liquid trickles down the walls, seeps in between the floorboards, pools down the hall, and slips under the crack of the door. It pokes just outside into the dim basement light, wiggles at the welcoming shadow. A stain grows bigger…bigger than the thirsty little red mouth. And with a failed attempt at a curdled squeak a tiny red creature emerges from the puddle of liquid. What horror is this?
• Similar New Year’s prompts can be found at the Sharebook list of writing prompts .
• What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
• What will you be doing for New Year’s?
• Are you ready to ring in the new year?
• At the end of the day what will you remember?
• When it is finally here the new year will be…
• You wake up in the morning on New Year’s Day and your life has been completely changed. Who changed it and how?
• What will you do first when it is the new year?
• What will happen to you in the year of the dragon?
• If you could give a bottle of champagne to anyone in the world by the end of the year, who would you share a toast with?
• What will you do this New Year’s on New Year’s Day?
• This year you resolve to…
• What do you want to bring into the new year?
• As the new year approaches, your fondest memory of the old one is…
• What was the best thing that happened to you in the past year?
• What do you hope to accomplish in the new year?
• If you had this year to relive, what would be the one thing you’d fix?
• You spent New Year’s Eve alone and something happened.
• Your worst New Years party.
• Pen in hand, what is your New Year’s resolution?
• Is there something that happened last New Year’s Eve that you won’t forget?
• You are walking somewhere at night and hear music. It sounds familiar.
• What are you thankful for?
• Let’s talk about relationships in 2016…
• It’s New Year’s and you’re going to party until…
• The first year
• What is on your to do list for this year?
• You and the ruler of the New World land in a strange land.
• Congrats on making it through a whole year.
• What was your most memorable New Year’s Eve ever?
• Why do we celebrate this holiday?
• Reasons to celebrate
• You walk in the streets and notice everybody is changing.
• Do you believe in traditions?
• What is your most memorable New Year’s Eve?
• You had a dream. A really weird dream.
• What did you do last New Year’s Eve?
• What is the wildest thing that could happen on New Year’s Eve?
• List your two best New Year’s moments from last year.
• A lesson on relationships or people.
• What does the New Year look like?
• What do you hope next year will bring?
• A new year will change everything.
• What did you learn last year?
• Is the start of the new lunar year a great time to make a fresh start?
• What is your New Year resolution?
• You have a year to improve yourself. How is that going?
• I am starting the New Year…
• It is a new year and a new you! Tell us how you will improve yourself.
• What gives you hope for the upcoming year?
• What do you think were the major events of 2010?
• Some people like to wait until the last minute to put out the food on the table.
• How was your 2017? The best or worst year ever?
• What is a good new year’s resolution or promise?
• Why is New Year’s the best time to start things?
• Rumor has it we will see a meteor shower this year on New Year’s Eve.
• Which celebrity will be trending this year?
• A New Year’s Greeting is anything that is good for the past year.
• The New Year means one thing, new opportunities.
• How does it feel to ring in a new year?
• You are in a diner in the middle of nowhere and your favorite song starts playing and your face erupts in a crazy smile.
• You can’t go wrong with writing prompts! They can be used in all kinds of genres and in different formats. You can easily go from writing them in a notebook to writing them on your iPhone or iPad. Just be sure to save them to your computer or smartphone so you can access them anytime. It’s amazing how far technology has come.
• New Year’s Eve went horribly awry.
• New Year’s Day has come. You are…
• If you could invite anyone you’ve ever met to your New Year’s party who would you invite?
• A watched pot never boils, but what else happens when a watched pot boils?
• New Years Eve, it’s tax time, and you hear some weird noises.
• The Past, Present, and Future
• Describe your perfect Superbowl party
• What are you hoping to get from this year?
• What is the most depressing part of New Years?
• How would you describe the perfect New Year’s celebration?
• What are you looking forward to in the New Year?
• It’s the biggest party of the year! Everybody is watching, including you. What is your role?
• What are your big plans for the next year?
• At your New Year’s party you become the life of the party.
• What do you want to forget from last year?
• When a new year arrives you will always have…
• Now that 2011 is coming to a close as will your woes.
• A New Year’s Resolution on paper
• A comet falls from the sky. This is how it all begins…
• A new year is greeted with new hope and tremendous opportunity.
• Why does the New Year start in January?
• What did you do to celebrate the new year?
• What’s your New Year’s resolution?
• What will you do if you win the lottery?
• New Years counts…
• What is the most important phrase to have at a New Year celebration?
• You’ve been at a party all night long.
• It has been a year and you have a new belief.
• What is something that you miss about the old days?
• What is your new year resolution?
• As the last seconds of the year slip away, your past year flashes before your eyes.
• This year, you resolve to…
• On New Year’s morning the sun arose anew.
• You’ve decided to set some resolutions for your life, But what are they?
• There is a new twist of fate for people turning a year older in the new year.
• You recently got engaged! Plans for the wedding are falling into place, but…
• This year will be a warm one.
• What did you do last year’s New Year’s eve?
• What’s the weirdest New Year’s tradition that you’ve heard of or experienced?
• How is your New Year going so far?
• The past is the past, and this is a new year. You resolve to…
• It is New Year’s Day and you ate too many sweets.
• You were supposed to go to a New Year’s Party, but you didn’t get an invitation.
• New Year’s resolutions are meant to be broken, and you are no exception…
• What happens on New Year’s Eve that is…
• New Year’s Day doesn’t have to be boring.
• Then another and another…
• Two words that sum up the year were…
• New inspirations, ideas, and experiences await.
• Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? What were they? Did you follow…
• You have managed to get invited to two New Year’s parties, but have only one ticket.
• New Year’s Eve is a day of making resolutions and stepping into the next beginning.
• What do you want this year to be?
• What do you feel is the best way to end this year and start the new one?
• Things you’re glad you did in 2010 but won’t do in 2011.
• People are preoccupied with the new years. Do you agree or disagree?
• What part of your past year are you most proud of?
• Two thousand twelve is finally over.
• This New Year may be…
• What looked like a great year ends up being…
• New Year’s resolutions are…
• Someone you know will tell you all about their future plans for the new year. One thing they say will be true.
• Plan a cross country road trip There’s an app for that, just sayin’.
• I’d love to have a holiday that is for… _Enter an empty line_
• Your best character is Twilight Sparkle and she’s about to have a strange encounter.
• Time to discuss the theme for Writing on The Sound 2018!
• What are your new year’s resolutions?
• The worst that could happen at a New Year’s party
• What is your worst New Year’s memory?
• Let the answers to the four prompts inspire you for your story. If that budget is feeling tight then all you need is something that sparks your interest — something that makes you want to put it to paper or tap on the screen.
• What do you think will be the biggest disappointment in the upcoming year?
• What is the best way to bring in the New Year?
• What is the most important advice you’d give a new year baby?
• What will be the last thing you remember?
• What do you think 2017 will mean for you?
• There is so much to look forward to in the coming year.
• It is the end of the year after a great success.
• An impromptu performance
• What should the New Year bring?
• New Year’s Resolutions
• This year will be like no other.
• The end of the year is coming quickly, what do you most hope will happen in 2013?
• Are you ready for the new year?
• Write about what is good about the New Year.
• You get a one-way ticket to the past. Where do you go?
• How do you know when a new year begins?
• What will this New Year be like?
• New Year’s Day is a great time to…
• You’re on your last bar of the year and your phone dies.
• What will your first act in the new year be?
• What was the craziest New Year’s Eve you have ever experienced?
• What is your resolution for this coming year?
• How do you plan to spend your New Year’s Eve?
• A look back at the past year. From your view anyway.
• Famous New Year’s resolution that failed.
• Everybody loves a new year, but what do you like about a new year most?
• Imagine that we are living in the future and something amazing happened during the last twelve months. Describe how that event would affect a normal person in the future.
• Your favorite season is coming to an end and you wonder what th…
• Something new is about to enter your life.
• It’s New Year’s Eve and you’re feeling low.
• What resolution is most notable for you?
• Have you ever been to a New Year’s party?
• There’s a made-up holiday where a person should not. How will you celebrate it this year?
• There is a new year’s tradition practiced around the world, what is yours?
• If you could just spend New Year’s Eve with one person, who would that person be?
• When midnight strikes the BIG moment will happen.
• What is the worst New Year’s resolution you have heard of? Let us know in the comments. What are you planning for your life this year? Have you made new year’s resolutions? Follow us by e-mail or go to our  home page and check things out. We follow back too!
• What would you most like to accomplish in 2014?
• Happy New Year with lots of
• Something strange has happened at the New Year’s party.
• New Year’s is boring and stuffy. How will you change it?
• Make your wishes.
• Hope you enjoy some of these ideas and remember you can send me some of your favourite ones to add to the list of prompts.
• What makes you always look forward to the next?
• Do you believe in the new year’s myth about new beginnings?
• If 2015 took you to the edge of the world, let 2016 bring you back.
• Detain me. Keep me at bay. Arrest me.
• There is a new year day and everyone is celebrating. Who are you and what are you doing?
• What was the best part of the old year and what was the worst?
• Choose a major new year’s resolution from a list.
• New Year’s resolutions… good luck keeping them!
• What do you think is in store for you in the coming year?
• What is New Years according to you?
• What can be worse than a New Year’s Eve party?
• How does your New Year’s resolution go wrong?
• The following are new year’s writing prompts with nature themes.
• What will you miss about the past year?
• You decide that this next year is going to be your best year.
• What scares you about next year?
• Make a resolution to.
• What are some New Year’s resolutions?
• Let the new year begin…
• What is your biggest New Year’s resolution?
• What kind of new year are you expecting?
• How does one find peace at the end of yet another year?
• You want a different year from the one you currently have.
• Where were you in 2016?
• Do you expect good things in 2010?
• How do you plan on spending the night of New Year’s Eve?
• You are at a New Year’s Eve party and all of a sudden…
• Leave a comment below to share your favorite New Year writing prompt idea to get your creative juices flowing!
• What will 2017 hold?
• New Year’s resolutions can be tough. Do you struggle with having them?
• Do you have New Year’s Resolutions?
• How will you celebrate the new year?
• This year you will…
• You continue to reach for your New Year’s resolution.
• A breakdown occurs on the way to the New Year’s party.
• Describe a time when you were surrounded by other New Year’s celebrators.
• This year has been…
• Happy writing!
• What is the most important new year’s resolution?
• Ring in the New Year….
• The beginning of a New Year is like the beginning of a person’s life.
• What do you want to be old news by the new year?
• There is a New Year’s party and everything goes wrong.
• What is the best way to achieve success in the new year?
• What are you going to achieve this year?
• Write about a time when you celebrated new year with family.
• New Years Eve is here and it’s time to throw a party. What’s on the menu?
• How do you make sure your new year is the best it can be?
• What doesn’t change?
• Where are you going to be to ring in the New Year?
• How did last New year’s celebration go?
• What is something that will happen this year?
• Every good thing has an end. Happy New Year!
• With everyone enjoying New Year’s Eve 2011, something totally unexpected happens.
• Something new is coming on the first day of the year.
• What is the worst way to ring in a new year?
• 1.  Thank you for visiting! Feel free to add your own new years prompt.
• What do you have going into the New Year?
• Tell me something you are excited about in the new year!
• What would it be like if you just abandoned your friends
• What part of New Year’s traditions do you dislike?
• If you knew what was about to happen in 2014, what would you have done differently in 2013?
• People are coming over for cake, champagne, and new years.  What will you do?
• What kind of gift will you give this New Year’s?
• How would you like to spend the last day of 2014?
• What does the year ahead look like?
• Look back at your year and think about all the happy moments.
• Is there a perfect way to end a year and ring in a brand new one?
• What does a popular New Year’s resolution do?
• What will you be doing on New Year’s Eve?
• A moment that you’ll remember forever at New Year’s.
• New Year’s Resolution
• New Year’s resolutions are silly.
• If you could have anything for the New Year, what would it be?
• Loosely connected new years writing prompts
• You receive a letter claiming that your birthday has changed. What?
• You’ve awoken to a new year. What’s in store?
• 2017 New Year’s Day or New Years Day is celebrated on Sunday 1st January 2017.
• What is your life going to be like in the new year?
• What do you plan to do for New Year’s?
• One thing to do at New Year’s is to count down the last seconds of the year. Make a list of all the good things that happened to you in the last 365 days. If you’re stuck on what to do, make notes on three to five awesome things that happened in every year of your life.
• Every new year you make a new promise to yourself.
• You don’t like the New Year tradition where everybody takes new advice.
• This year won’t be the same as the last.
• What will you do on New Year’s Eve?
• The holidays are coming to an end, and something is lurking nearby.
• Ring in the New Year
• What are you looking forward to from the New Year?
• It’s almost that time of year again! Time for parties, gift exchanges, and another joyous holiday season. Enjoy the mix and feel free to download it.
• A trip to Paris just isn’t the same if one doesn’t eat…
• Who is your biggest inspiration this year?
• What do you have to look forward to for the new year?
• How did you spend New Year’s?
• A new couple finds out that what they really want is to be with each other.
• You receive an anonymous note.
• Black rather than New Year’s Eve. What will you do to change things?
• It is the last day of 2016…Goodbye!
• History, mythology, and urban legend are filled with spirits, spirits that define a place, that embody the region, the city, or the town itself and forever abide.
• If it is New Year’s Eve, you are…
• You are ringing in the new year, but it’s not without something going wrong…
• What are your resolutions for the New Year?
• You are going to be drunk, extremely drunk on New Year’s Eve, what will be the result?
• Write something along the lines of the traditional guidelines–what you want to achieve, what is in the past.
• What are your new year resolutions?
• Make a “funny” spooky joke about New Year’s!
• Before the New Year begins the party has started, what do you hear from outside?
• How do you feel when a year ends?
• What will the new year bring?
• What are some New Year’s resolutions that you want to make?
• What was the worst year of your life? How would you spend new years to turn it around?
• You have a New Year’s Eve resolution.
• Do you like New Year’s resolutions?
• The governor is calling for new laws, unprecedented charity, and more work to do.
• Remembering last New Year’s Eve, what happened?
• What will New Year’s eve bring?
• Make this coming year one to remember!
• What New Year’s resolutions are you making for this year?
• What does a New Year mean to you?
• and many more.
• You’re in Wonderland with Alice and the Cheshire Cat. You…
• Write a poem about the new year or make up a rhyme for it.
• New Year’s Resolutions 5 min.
• What kind of year will 2013 be for you?
• What is the best word to describe this year?
• What is your New Year’s Resolution?
• Do you believe parties, festivities should be limited to just one day? If so, why?
• What is your favorite New Year’s movie?
• What tradition best sums up this year?
• So you have a plan to make this the best year ever.
• What are some changes you want to make next year?
• It’s New Year’s and everything is on sale.
• Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of this year?
• Does time move faster or slower in the new year?
• Who will you hold close tonight?
• A New Year’s vision, poem, or cheering for the season.
• Running late for a New Year’s Eve party.
• What was your best moment of the last year?
• Why does the song “Auld Lang Syne” make you remember past New Years?
• There is one important driving force in the new year. What is it that drives you?
• What are you hopeful will change this year?
• What do you hope to accomplish this year?
• Share with a friend who loves New Year’s celebrations!
• What does the past year mean to you?
• What will you do at midnight? What would like to happen?
• Do you believe in New Year’s resolutions?
• Most people have traditions for New Year’s, but really who developed those traditions?
• At midnight, you receive a visitor from the past, present or future.
• Wow! What a great idea.
• How do you imagine New Years to be in your dream world?
• What will you do to make sure next year is the best year?
• New Year’s deals, sales or bargains are supposed to bring you good fortune and bring better times.
• What does this year hold for you?
• On New Year’s Eve, get yourself all dolled up and dress to impress with the compliments of people around you.
• If you could go back and change the year 2013, would you?
• The sky is falling
• It’s New Year’s Day and time to reflect on the year you just left behind and the next one coming. What are you feeling? What has happened? 16 Prompts For Your 2016 Writing Journal
• What was the best year of your life?
• How will you spend your New Year’s eve?
• There are many New Year’s rituals in different cultures. What’s yours?
• At this New Year’s party, you are probably…
• A new year’s resolution is on your mind…think about it now.
• What will the New Year bring?
• What worries do you still hold for this year?
• It is the first day of a new year and you have a lot to look forward to.
• Your internet account is almost out of minutes. You find out the Internet will be shut down until the new year. How will you spend your last minute or two on the Internet?
• A website and/or blog for creative writer’s to get writing prompts weekly.
• Has technology made New Year’s Eve better or worse?
• Write About How Your Year Will Be Better
• Think of the most unlikely things to happen during a new year’s celebration. Within reason of course.
• 2009 was quite an interesting year for me.
• So we are walking down a path, and it’s the end of the year, it’s December 31st, and if we turn to the left we see a little girl and…
• Any year you wake up is a good year.
• What will your plan be to celebrate the New Year?
• A premonition comes to you as you countdown to midnight on New Year’s Eve.
• You decide to follow a new year’s tradition!
• Where will you party until the New Year arrives?
• It is the night before New Years and someone you know may not be where they are supposed to be.
• How do you want to end this year?
• What did that mean?
• What happens when there isn’t enough champagne to go around at a New Year’s celebration?
• What came to mind when you read the word New? What feelings did you get?
• What do you hope the new year will bring?
• What makes the perfect New Year’s party?
• It is New Year’s Eve and time to reflect on the past year
• Something interesting happens to you when you choose to spend the night of New Year’s Eve “as a sober.”
• Introduce yourself to someone at a new year’s party.
• What do you think 2013 will be like?
• Who do you want to be when the clock strikes midnight?
• Fill in the blank with one thing you want to make happen in the new year.
• A new year has come and ideas are overflowing.
• You watch as friends and family become tomorrow’s resolutions.
• If you could change anything about New Year’s what would it be?
• The following was an activity done by American primary schools to promote social conversation and talking. The goal at first was to break social barriers and make it easier for friends to talk. It also rewarded anyone who had an opinion or subject for concern or enjoyment. The new year’s wheel was a nice circular pencil and pen rubbings sheet that asked about random things. These thoughts were there and all it needed was a friend to finish it.
• A guide for
• What exciting thing do you plan to do to celebrate?
• Five ways to have a good New Year.
• How do you plan to celebrate the end of the year?
• What is the best way for me to beat the holiday stress?
• Your New Year’s resolutions this year are…
• When celebrating New Year’s you must have treats… List 5 of your favorites.
• You’ve been alone for 4 New Years Eve. What do you do?
• What do you plan to do after midnight rings in the New Year?
• What is going to be the best part of this year?
• You should always write whatever you want without thinking of others’ opinions. You can stop reading here if you’re fully convinced. But if you feel uncertain, then go on reading.
• What do you think about new year’s resolutions?
• You are waiting for the first stroke of New Year’s Eve…What are you feeling?
• You’ve had a bad year. Love, career, etc. But in one hour, it’s all going to change.
• What next year brings scares me the most.
• Something weird is going on at Howie Crabtree’s party.
• This year will be better than last year.
• The party has arrived at your door and you are…
• Someone who is very cold and tries to get somebody to share their heat.
• Someone you know is trying to block you from getting your resolutions for a new year. Why?
• Write a brief scenario about your favorite New Year’s celebration.
• How do you say goodbye old year?
• You can never be too sure of what the new year will bring.
• A New Year’s party isn’t complete unless…
• Are you going to celebrate New Year’s? How?
• The New Year isn’t all that great.
• What was your favorite memory from last year?
• This year won’t be…
• How do you do over the cold winter, or ice skating?
• New Year’s Eve is like…
• What is one tradition that is important to New Year’s celebrations around the world?
• What did you wish for on New Year’s Eve?
• A pie / cake / pastry / dumpster fire is headed your way.
• Everyone is preparing for the new year.
• Explain how you are hoping this new year will change your life.
• There is someone special you will meet for the first time on New Year’s.
• What were your favorite memories of last year?
• On the first day of 2018, you will…
• New Year’s Resolution that you always break.
• During a New Year’s party, you meet the love of your life.
• Did you learn anything from this year?
• Dancing is what brings everybody together, no matter where you are from.
• New Year’s resolutions…What are yours?
• This year for Christmas…
• What message would you want to send to a new year?
• Your New Year’s Resolution
• You’ve spent the entire day to make sure your hair looks just right for the party.
• What has happened to you on New Year’s you don’t care to repeat?
• What were you doing one year ago on New Year’s?
• Can you recall your favorite New Year’s celebration?
• This year will be great.
• Another new year brings up many questions.
• How do you feel about New Year’s Resolutions?
• How will the world change as we move from 2018 to 2019?
• What happened in a past New Year’s celebration?
• What are you resolving to do?
• You’re a freshman in college and you’re about to meet your roommate.
• It’s New Year’s Day and you discover someone’s left some kind of “gift” inside a box.
• You are not sure if you are in the future or the past.
• Have you made any plans for this new year
• What is your secret New Year’s wish?
• What will or didn’t happen during your annual New Year’s resolution?
• A cool prompt that would make a to-be hero question superheroes.
• What will you do as you turn the page of your calendar over from 2015 to 2016?
• For more theme ideas, see my list of lists …
• You finally get the chance to jump off the highest building in the world, but it’s New Years Eve. So, do you wait for the new year to take the plunge or jump now?
• What are you wearing on New Year’s Eve?
• Hope you’re able to use these new year writing prompts to kick start your imagination and start writing awesome new year’s stories.
• Relive New Year’s Eve.
• When did you last talk about New Year’s Eve with someone?
• New Years, new self? Describing this year will change your life.
• Share an outline of what your New Year’s resolution will be.
• At the stroke of midnight, you get the greatest gift!
• What were your exact thoughts during and after last year’s New Year’s celebrations?
• What scares you about New Years eve?
• What did you do on New Years?
• New Year’s resolutions are compulsory. What is the one change you know you have to make?
• Nobody could have imagined what has happened this new year.
• What are you looking forward to?
• Which traditions do you like to take part in for New Years?
• Why did you have such a great year?
• You and your friends are making a New Years movie montage. What shots make it to the final cut from this year?
• What kind of New Year’s resolutions does your character have?
• How would you define success for this new year?
• It’s New Year’s and something dreadful is happening.
• A New Year is usually viewed as a new opportunity. What new opportunities will you
• Your spouse and you decide to do something a little different on New Year’s Eve. What do you do and why?
• A new start is just the beginning.
• What composes your New Year’s Resolution?
• How are you winding down the year?
• How do you see yourself in the new year?
• It is the first day of the year. Let’s all talk about making resolutions!
• What is holding you back from your resolutions this year?
• After the NYE party, disorganized thoughts run around in your head.
• Where will you be one month from today?
• Elves are known to help humankind but  you must warn humanity.
• The future has bright or dark things in store, what are yours?
• Make one up! What would you do on New Year’s Eve?
• It is New Year’s Eve, but nothing will happen.
• Thank you for reading and as always it is appreciated if you share and comment below, questions or comments. This helps me grow as a blogger and show me what people are really interested in reading about if anything.
• What do you want to see happen in this coming year?
• You only have minutes to figure out what decided what the year would mean for you.
• You have been asked to ring in the New Year on television. What are you going to say?
• Tonight the first of the New Year fireworks explode overhead.
• How do you feel when it is the new year?
• Someone came up with a spell that would allow a person to go back in time 10 or 15 years. Do you want to try the spell? Residing in a different body from a decade ago, would you change certain things?
• If 2016 had a theme song, what would it be?
• Something happened to you that was exceptionally good? Make a list of all the good things that happened.
• Snow has arrived just in time for New Year’s .
• Describe how you will spend midnight on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.
• To write something futuristic.
• Why are new year’s resolutions never kept?
• What do you want to accomplish in your life this year?
• There are new opportunities for you in this new year.
• The best way to end a year is to…”
• You’re out walking on New Year’s Day and see and hear something interesting
• What is your New Year’s wish?
• What cliché would you like to escape?
• Is there anything you want to leave behind from last year?
• Go up and talk to three people at the party.
• Write about your resolutions.
• What’s in your little black book?
• What plan are you making?
• Fun New Year’s writing prompts for kids
• Think of a moment that would make a great New Year’s moment.
• What are you most looking forward to in this new year?
• This year is…
• Is a new year a new beginning? What will you do this year?
• Your last day/night of the year is spent…
• What are your harshest lessons learned from the past year?
• What is the worst way to ring in the new year?
• You’re on New Years Eve and you’ve got the blues.
• What do you wish for?
• What is your biggest New Year’s Resolution?
• As you remember your favorite memory from previous New Year’s Eve celebrations you find a companion traveling the same memory-lane.
• You find yourself at a new year’s party. Your friend brings flasks of expensive alcohol. What do you do?
• What are three resolutions you would like to make?
• Since the time before time began, you have waited through a never ending New Year.
• If you could spend one last New Year’s Eve with any celebrity, who would it be?
• New year, New crimes to solve.
• How will you measure your life when it is half over?
• What is a new experience/approach you will try this year?
• How do you want to spend New Year’s?
• What do you have to do to recover from New Year’s?
• This year you are…
• You are about to make a mistake.
• Your phone rings with a video call from someone you really want to see.
• What are you hopeful for the New Year to bring you?
• What if something crazy happened?
• On New Year’s Eve you find out…
• In what ways would you want to either bring back a cancelled series or end a series long before it was supposed to?
• After the party is over, she goes to sleep.
• Where would you want to be?
• What are you planning on keeping the same for the new year?
• What would you do for a million New Happy Dollars?
• How do you envision the future?
• Write a query letter asking Santa for exactly what you want.
• You’re at home when someone knocks at your door…
• Every New Year’s you reflect on December of the year before and think about how things will be different in the next year. What has happened in your life to cause you to believe that?
• You wake up to a giant mess… what happened?
• Describe a New Year’s kiss.
• Is the new year all it was cracked up to be?
• Write A New Years Poem
• People always give up on their resolutions by New Year’s Day.
• What is a New Year’s resolution that you’re particularly proud of?
• Welcome to the Future
• It is New Year’s Eve. What will you do?
• Why do we reach for a resolution in the New Year?
• Thoughts on the next new year.
• Celebrating a new year is…
• Tonight or tomorrow?
• What is the worst way?
• You get a visit from the Aurora Borealis.
• New Year’s Eve has just ended, but the party’s just beginning.
• What did you do for New Year’s?
• Your whole life, your reality, is flipped upside down in a single second.
• Are you going away on vacation for New Year’s?
• What new year’s traditions do you agree with?
• It’s New Year’s eve a few minutes into the year.
• New Year’s Eve is approaching, what are you going to do to celebrate?
• It’s the New Year and something good has happened.
• A really bad hangover. It’s 3am and you are praying it’s the year 2038 already… Go time travel, go time travel, go!
• Write a letter to someone who will be celebrating with you.
• You have been given a unique opportunity to travel through time and you have to travel to the past to experience…
• You decide to ring in the new year.
• What will your New Year’s Resolution be for this year?
• Something goes wrong before midnight on New Years and people panic striking out.
• Something super weird happened on your way to the New Year’s Eve party.
• The year is almost over.
• Pencil? Mascara? Candle? What do you choose?
• What are the best plans for New Year’s Eve
• You look to the future and can’t decide on a goal.
• It is not New Year’s Eve yet and you are, well, lying to yourself.
• What do you want to accomplish in the next year?
• Recommended Books on Writing Prompts and Prompting
• Imagine you’ve just broken your New Year’s resolution.
• What did you eat to celebrate New Year’s?
• What will your significant other give to you for new year’s?
• A memory you hold close about New Year is…
• What has been your favorite year?
• Rewrite this year’s headlines.
• If you have to pick something that defines 2012, what would it be?
• New Year’s resolutions. Do you have any?
• Do you make any New Year’s Resolutions? How about what you’re going to do in the new year?
• You’ve had a pretty awful 2014. What do you want to change?
• If you faint in January, will you wake up thinner or fatter?
• Is New Year’s resolution smiley face selfies and red lipstick or is it clichéd alcohol and bad parties?
• You wake up during New Year’s celebrations and you realize that you…
• How will 2017 change your life for the better?
• How would you spend New Year’s Eve in another country?
• It’s the first day of the new year and you jump to your feet as a New Year’s resolution stirs you. You grab a pad and pen and start writing, “I will…”, but something stops you. Oddly, even as your pen holds its course, you step back and pound the desk with your fist. It occurs to you that even though you’ve got all sorts of very worthy resolutions, there’s also a list of equally important goals you have not even thought of yet. Let’s fix that. What’s the perfect resolution for the New Year?
• It’s the first of the year and you are…?
• There’s a stairway that connects heaven and earth.
• Sometime on New Year’s Eve, someone is going to do something that people will remember them for. Whether they intended it to be remembered or not, that is when they will become their most famous. Tell me the sci-fi story revolving around the event, just like that.
• I want to start this year out differently.
• If you could go back and do things differently, what would you do?
• Use all of them as inspiration for writing a book or story!
• Is New Year’s Eve more exciting than New Year’s Day? Why or why not?
• What are you looking forward to this year?
• What happens one year exactly after you’ve made a New Year’s resolution?
• What changes do you plan to make this coming year? What is your New Year’s resolution?
• Each year you are smarter than the day before. Why and What wisdom awaits you in the year ahead?
• As you prepare to turn your calendar over to 2019, could you make room for…
• You’re busy partying. Who is your partner in crime?
• Have a New Year celebration you would like to write about?
• You’re on New Year’s eve, or so you think.
• You have gotten negative reviews from your boss and you’re dreading it being the new year.
• Who are you going to celebrate New Years with?
• What do you most look forward to every New Year’s?
• It is New Year’s Day and your day is going…
• This year hasn’t been perfect.
• You need to cancel the celebration.
• Imagine your ideal New Year’s Eve .
• What New Year’s resolution will you break by the time the year is out?
• You’re walking down the street during New Year’s and you find a penny.
• What would you do if you spent new year’s with your ex?
• When creating a new year’s resolution story try to make it a resolution that will turn your entire life around. It is even more interesting if your main character may actually succeed in accomplishing it. Writing a resolution story can be different from writing others. For example, you can have your main character directly face opposition in attaining their resolution. It can be made more complex with various subplots. How your character achieves or fails to achieve their resolution can be the structure that you base your story around.
• What will you carry from the old year and bring into this year?
• What time will you celebrate the New Year?
• The end of a year brings lots of new beginnings and possibilities
• How do you feel about new years?
• How would you spend a perfect New Years evening?
• Two people come to you with a dilemma at New Year’s- how do you solve it?
• What resolution do you have for the new year?
• You screw up New Year’s and the last day of the year is going to be rough.
• How are you celebrating New Year’s Eve this year?
• What did you do that was out of the ordinary on New Year’s that you’ll never do again?
• What memory do you want to make this year?
• Come in and join us today. There is always fun and interesting goings on such as articles, stories, and more. Anonymous posting available for those who just want to read!
• What are New Year’s resolutions?
• The power is out, and you have no way of knowing what time it is.
• See you tomorrow with the first writing prompt.
• You’ve found that special someone but New Years Eve would be a perfect time to share that with them.
• What crazy prediction are you making about the coming year?
• Why does anyone care about the new year when life never changes?
• What do you think the year will hold?
• The New Year brings the promise of…
• I have made it through another year.
• How are you celebrating the new year?
• Reject the traditional new year’s resolutions. Decide this year is what you make of it.
• You just want to go to bed, but there is one more thing to do.
• What was your most unforgettable New Year’s Eve ever?
• How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
• Funny New Year jokes
• It is New Year’s and you and your friends are…
• There is a distraction at the ball.
• January 1st begins in the middle of the night—what does the morning look like?
• New Year’s in a…
• Joel Watson, author of Jack of Fables, gives his advice on writing a great 12/31 Word Awesome story. We hope you are writing your 12/31 stories.
• Time travel is real and you are given the opportunity to experience New Year’s in the future. How did it change?
• Tell us about a New Year that rang in the future.
• As we enter a new year, we welcome the opportunity to……
• Write a letter to your future self, explaining what you accomplished this year.
• Your new year’s resolution is…
• What part tradition do you actually like?
• What are you about to say, when the clock strikes midnight?
• something, something, etc., and you will feel as it should! Happy New Year, everyone!
• As New Year’s resolutions are often made up—what is the biggest one you’ve ever made? Did you keep it?
• How do you plan to spend New Year’s Eve?
• Take a new year selfie, but why?
• It is the New Year—what are you going to do with your time?
• We have had a wonderful year, no thanks to you.
• You’re waiting for the New Year to begin and it’s still an hour away.
• It is New Year’s and you have some resolutions in mind.
• What is the best gift you received last year?
• What has been the best part of the past year?
• New Year’s Day is worried about the future.
• A mistake leads to you meeting someone new.
• The future is very unclear and looking scary.
• On the first of the year, your life’s biggest mistake came back to haunt you…
• What were your favorite New Year’s memories?
• How do you plan to ring in the New Year?
• What do you not want to know about this next year?
• It is New Year’s Day and you wake up to an unforgettable situation.
• The moon doesn’t rise until midnight on New Year’s Eve. You must be patient.
• You are finding it hard to say goodbye to a friend.
• Make a simple New Year’s postcard.
• Declare to everyone loudly what your New Year’s resolutions will be.
• What is a meaningful New Year’s Resolution?
• What do you think will change in the new year?
• What are your regrets from the past year? What will you do differently this year?
• It’s the first five minutes of the new year. What are you doing?
• Your significant other is amazing at making elaborate New Year’s parties. What is your favorite?
• New Year’s is here! Something crazy has happened.
• Where do you see yourself in the new year 5 years from now?
• Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, the moment the clock strikes “one”, make a New Year’s resolution.
• What time should the ball drop to ring in the new year?
• Something smells great during the New Year’s Eve parade.
• It is New Year’s Eve and you have a plan to ring in the new year. Tell us that plan and what happens.
• When will be the rise of the King?
• What are your hopes for the New Year?
• You are at a party that you expected to be a bore, but suddenly…
• You’ve been in a n apocalyptic war and you think the world can’t get any worse.
• How will you spend the New Year’s holiday?
• Your invitation was crumpled up and thrown in the trash.
• Your New Year’s resolution is…
• What would you do differently if you were starting the new year over?
• Why don’t you talk to the janitor?
• Resolutions are something everyone makes. Here are some…
• What is the most annoying activity to participate in at a New Year’s Party?
• What is the best way to celebrate New Year’s Eve?
• You have a New Year’s resolution, what do you want to do this year?
• Have you been to the same New Year’s party every year?
• The final ten weeks of the year is the busiest for many due to things such as holiday spending, Christmas shopping, and New Year celebrations. What does this mean for you?
• You have one New Year’s wish this year. What is it?
• It’s New Year’s Eve! There is a storm raging. What do you do?
• Something is waiting for you at every turn as you head into a new year.
• When you look back at 2016, what will you remember most?
• Let us know in the comments below how you celebrated this year’s new year.
• The beginning of a New Year can be stressful.
• Snap your fingers and your favorite song plays.
• What are your plans for the New Year, and how will they
• You are so excited for the new year to come.  The doorbell rings and who is there…?  What do you do?
• New Year’s Day is boring.
• Where would you house a pair of conjoined New Year’s babies?
• How did you ring in the new year?
• What is one New Year’s resolution that you are going to try to keep?
• How are you going to celebrate the new year?
• New Year’s usually means lots and lots of resolve.
• Who are you inviting to your New Year’s party?
• New Year’s Resolution – Taenerable
• What message do you want to send with your writing?
• A stranger in a distant land wishes…
• This feels like the year people will finally realize what I’ve said to them over and over.
• What will you do on New Year’s Eve?
• Something is hiding in the New Year’s ball.
• My New Year’s resolutions are…
• I am going to rule the world, starting this year.
• How does New Year’s change you in a good or bad way?
• After living a long and good life, your New Year’s resolutions are to…
• You are preparing for a New Year’s celebration, but an important part of the tradition has escaped you.
• A repeat of last year’s mistakes is wiser than trying something new!
• A chance to say goodbye to the last year

Recommended Posts:

• 1001 Writing Prompts About Bullying
• 1001 Writing Prompts About Civil Rights
• 1001 Writing Prompts About Crime

Join the Commaful Storytelling Community

Commaful takes everything you love about stories and makes it a bite-sized, on-the-go experience. Fanfiction? Poetry? Short stories? You’ll find it all!

January Writing Prompt: Kickstart Your New Year Writing

My name is Debbie, and I am passionate about developing a love for the written word and planting a seed that will grow into a powerful voice that can inspire many.

Setting Writing Goals for the New Year

Fostering creativity: incorporating writing‌ prompts into ‌your routine, exploring different writing styles to challenge‍ yourself, finding inspiration:‌ uncovering unique‌ sources of ideas, overcoming writer’s block: strategies ⁣to keep your pen moving, strategies ‌to break free from writer’s block, creating⁤ a writing⁣ schedule: making time for‌ your craft, making time for your⁤ craft: tips for⁤ creating⁣ a writing schedule, enhancing your ⁢writing skills: tips for effective editing and revision, reflecting on your⁢ progress:⁣ reviewing​ and celebrating your january writing ‌journey, frequently asked questions, in conclusion.

As the new year approaches, it’s the perfect‍ time‌ to reflect on our writing journey and set new ‌goals to achieve in the upcoming year. Setting clear ⁤writing goals can help ​you ‌stay focused, motivated,⁤ and improve ⁤your​ writing skills. Here are a ⁢few tips to help⁣ you set writing goals for ⁣the⁢ new year:

• Reflect ‌on your ⁤past ⁣achievements: ⁤ Take a moment to look back at what you have accomplished in your‌ writing journey. Celebrate your successes and identify areas ⁤where you can improve.⁤ This reflection will⁣ provide ​a solid foundation​ for setting realistic and achievable writing​ goals for the new ⁢year.
• Identify your writing priorities: Determine what⁢ aspects of writing are most ​important to you.⁤ Do you want to focus​ on ⁤finishing that novel you’ve been‌ working on or improving your​ grammar skills? Identifying your priorities will help you establish specific goals that align with⁤ your writing aspirations.
• Set SMART goals: When setting ‍your writing​ goals, make sure they are​ specific, measurable, attainable,⁣ relevant, and​ time-bound.⁣ Avoid ⁤vague objectives⁤ like “write more,” and instead, set​ specific targets like “write one chapter per week” or “submit three articles to publications monthly.” This clarity‌ will keep you‍ motivated and accountable throughout the year.

Remember, setting writing goals should be ⁣a ⁤personal‍ and unique process. What works for others may not work for you. Take into consideration your own writing style,⁤ interests, and limitations. By setting realistic and tailored goals, ⁢you’ll pave ⁣the way for a successful and fulfilling writing journey in the new ⁤year!

Looking for ways to boost your creativity‍ and​ expand your‍ writing skills? ‍Incorporating writing ⁢prompts into your routine can be an excellent strategy. They ⁤can help break through writer’s block, spark new ideas, and challenge ‌your imagination. Whether you ⁣are a seasoned writer⁢ or just starting out, writing prompts can offer a fresh perspective and push you‍ to think⁢ outside the box.

To effectively incorporate writing ⁣prompts into ⁣your routine, here are a few tips ‌to consider:

• Set aside⁢ dedicated time: Make writing ‍prompts​ a regular ​part⁢ of ​your⁤ routine by ⁤setting aside ​specific⁤ time each day⁣ or week. This will help establish a writing habit and ensure⁤ you‍ make it a priority.
• Choose diverse prompts: ⁣ Diversify your​ prompts ​to explore ​different⁢ themes, ‌genres, or styles. This will keep your ⁣writing ⁣fresh and allow you⁣ to explore various aspects⁢ of your creativity.
• Experiment with ⁣different formats: ⁤Don’t limit yourself to just written prompts. Consider incorporating ​visual prompts,​ such as images or artwork, ‍to stimulate‌ your imagination ‍in new ways.

Writing is⁣ a versatile art ‌that allows⁤ us ⁣to‍ communicate our thoughts, emotions, and ‍ideas. By‍ exploring different writing styles, we⁢ can enhance our⁢ skills, expand our creativity, and challenge ourselves ‌in⁤ ways we never ‌thought ‍possible. Here are some fascinating writing styles ⁣that can provide a fresh perspective⁤ and ​take our writing to ‍new heights: ​

• Journalistic ​Writing: This style focuses on ⁢delivering factual ⁢information ‌in ‌an engaging manner. ⁢It ⁣requires thorough‌ research, concise writing,⁤ and ​capturing the essence of​ a story.
• Descriptive Writing: By immersing ⁤readers ⁣in vibrant and detailed⁤ descriptions, this style ⁤appeals to their senses, creating vivid imagery and allowing them to experience the subject matter.
• Epistolary Writing: Utilizing ‌letters, diary entries, or​ other written forms,⁤ this ​style brings intimacy and authenticity to a⁤ story, providing insights into characters’ thoughts and emotions.

Additionally,‍ we can ⁣challenge ourselves by experimenting with more⁢ complex ‌writing styles, such as:

• Gothic Writing: Dark ⁤and atmospheric, ‌this style often‍ includes elements⁣ of horror, mystery, and‌ romance, immersing readers in brooding settings and complex characters.
• Stream of Consciousness: ⁣ This experimental style aims ⁢to replicate ‍the ⁤flow of ​thoughts and feelings, creating a‍ sense of immediacy and blurring the ‌boundaries between a character’s inner and outer world.
• Magical Realism: ‍ Combining the mundane with ‍the⁣ fantastical, this style​ adds⁣ a touch ⁤of magic to ‌ordinary ⁢settings, often exploring​ themes of identity, surrealism,​ and​ cultural heritage.

Exploring ⁣different writing styles not only ignites our creativity but also expands our understanding of how words can⁢ shape narratives. ​So, why not embark⁢ on a ‌journey of discovery ‌and challenge ⁤yourself to try something new? ⁢Whether delving into⁢ the ⁣depths of gothic⁣ literature or experimenting‍ with⁤ the vividness of descriptive⁢ writing,⁣ the possibilities ​are endless. Embrace the⁣ adventure and unlock the full⁣ potential of ⁣your writing prowess!

In ‌a world filled with ⁢endless‌ information and possibilities, finding inspiration can sometimes feel ⁤like searching⁢ for a needle in ‍a haystack. However, unique sources ⁣of ideas‌ are⁣ all⁢ around us‌ if ‌we ⁢know where to ⁤look. Here⁣ are‌ a⁤ few unconventional ways to⁤ ignite your ‌creativity:

• Embrace nature: Step outside and let the beauty ​of ⁤the natural​ world inspire you.‌ Take a walk in a park, ⁣hike in ⁣the mountains, or sit by the ⁤beach. Nature has a‌ way⁣ of⁣ stimulating our senses and sparking new ideas.
• Engage with different cultures: ⁢Immerse yourself in the ⁤rich tapestry of cultures‌ that surround us. Explore international cuisine, visit art⁣ exhibitions, or attend cultural festivals. Exposing yourself to diverse perspectives ‍and traditions can open ⁤up a ⁤world of inspiration.
• Unplug from technology: ⁤In our digital age, it’s essential to ⁢take a‌ break from screens and electronics. Disconnecting from technology allows your mind to wander and‍ encourages deeper thinking. Try spending‌ a day without your phone⁢ or dedicate time to activities ⁤that don’t involve ⁤screens,​ like reading a book or practicing a⁣ hobby.

Remember, the⁤ key ‍to finding‍ inspiration⁢ lies in ​being open and receptive to‌ new experiences. By‍ exploring ‍these unique sources of ideas, you’ll ⁣discover a wealth ​of ⁣inspiration waiting to be ⁢unearthed.

Writer’s block‌ can be frustrating and demotivating, ​but there are⁢ effective strategies that can help you ‌kick-start your creativity⁤ and get those words flowing again. Here are‌ some tried-and-true methods to ⁢keep your pen moving:

• Change‍ your environment: Sometimes, a simple⁣ change in scenery⁢ can⁣ do wonders.‌ Take your writing outside, visit​ a café, or⁤ simply rearrange your workspace. The ‌fresh surroundings ‌can ⁢invigorate your senses ​and stimulate ⁢fresh ideas.
• Free writing: Give yourself permission to write without any expectations or‌ worries. ‍Set a timer⁤ for 10⁣ minutes and let your pen glide⁢ across the page. Don’t focus⁣ on grammar or‌ punctuation; just⁢ let your thoughts flow ⁣freely. This exercise can help loosen‌ up ‍your ⁢mind and overcome perfectionism, allowing ‌your creativity‌ to‌ flourish.
• Seek inspiration: ‍ Surround yourself ‌with‌ inspiring ‍content. Read books, watch movies, or listen to music that resonates with ⁤your writing goals. Exposing yourself to⁤ different art forms can spark ⁣new ideas and perspectives.

If you ⁢find‍ yourself stuck,‍ remember that writer’s block is​ a ⁣temporary⁤ hurdle that every writer faces at some point. By ⁤incorporating these strategies into your ⁢routine, you can break free from the chains of writer’s block ⁣and ⁣keep your​ pen moving forward.

As‌ a writer, finding time to dedicate to your​ craft can be a challenge.‍ With so many other responsibilities and distractions, it’s​ important to⁢ establish a writing schedule‍ that works for ⁣you. Here are some tips⁣ to ‍help you make ⁢the ⁤most of your writing time:

• Set‌ realistic⁤ goals: Start by setting realistic goals for yourself. Determine how much ⁢time you can realistically commit to writing each⁢ day or‍ week. Remember, it’s better to have a consistent schedule with smaller ⁤writing sessions⁢ than to have long⁢ stretches of⁢ time that are difficult to maintain.
• Create a dedicated⁤ writing space: Having a designated ⁤space for writing can work wonders for your productivity.⁣ Whether it’s a home office, a cozy corner,‍ or ​a ⁢ local coffee shop , find ‌a space where you can​ concentrate and feel inspired. ⁤Make⁣ it your writing sanctuary where you can⁢ fully⁤ immerse yourself in ⁢your work.
• Eliminate distractions: Distractions can hinder your⁣ writing progress. Minimize interruptions by turning off notifications on your phone, ​ closing unnecessary tabs on your computer, and ‌letting those around you‌ know that you need some uninterrupted time to focus on your writing.

Track⁣ your progress: Keep track of your writing​ sessions and progress. This can ⁤serve‍ as a motivating factor and help ⁤you stay ⁢accountable to your schedule. Consider using a journal or a digital tool to record your‍ word count, the time spent writing, and any insights or‌ ideas that arise ‍during your dedicated writing ⁣time.

Find your peak‌ productivity time: Discover ‌the​ time of day when you feel most‌ alert⁢ and creative, and try to align ⁣your writing‌ schedule with that. Some⁢ writers find ‍inspiration early ⁤in the morning, ‌while others thrive⁢ in the⁤ quiet hours of the night. Knowing your‍ peak productivity time can help you utilize your energy⁤ more efficiently ‌and produce ‍your best work.

Remember,⁢ creating a writing​ schedule is about ⁣finding ‍a routine that works for you and honors ‌your‍ creativity. Experiment with ‌different approaches ⁢until you ⁢discover the‍ perfect balance, and don’t be afraid to ‌make ⁢adjustments along the⁢ way. By ⁢prioritizing⁣ your craft and making consistent time ⁣for it, you’ll find ⁣that your ⁢writing ⁤skills and productivity soar.

Editing ​and revising​ are ⁢crucial steps ⁣that can transform your⁢ writing from good to exceptional. ‍By carefully reviewing and refining your⁣ work, you’ll ensure⁢ that your ideas‌ are clear, your‌ sentences ⁤are polished,⁢ and your message ‌resonates with your ⁤readers. ⁢Here‍ are‍ some valuable tips ​to help you master ​the art of editing⁤ and revision:

• Take a break: After completing ​a draft, ⁢give yourself ​some time away from your​ writing. This ⁢break​ allows you to approach your work ‌with fresh eyes ‍when you return, making⁣ it ‍easier to spot errors or areas‌ that ⁤need improvement.
• Read aloud: Reading your work⁣ aloud helps you​ catch ​errors that may have slipped through while⁢ silently reading. Pay attention to ⁤the flow of your ⁣sentences, check ‍for repetition, ​and listen for ⁤clarity​ in ‌your message.
• Focus on structure ‌and organization: Ensure⁢ that ⁤your ⁢ideas flow logically and cohesively. ⁢Check if your paragraphs are ‌well-structured ⁢and if your arguments are presented ⁣in​ a ⁣clear ⁤and impactful manner.
• Trim the excess: Eliminate unnecessary ⁣words, ⁣phrases, ⁣or sentences that do not contribute ‌to your⁢ main ideas. Be concise and avoid ⁢repetition, ensuring that every⁢ word serves a purpose.

Remember, ‍effective editing and revision ‍are⁤ essential for creating compelling and professional‍ writing. By ​implementing these tips⁢ and making it a regular practice, you’ll develop your skills and produce high-quality⁤ content that engages and captivates ⁣your readers.

⁤ ⁤ Congratulations⁤ on completing⁢ the first‌ month of ‍your writing journey! January has come to an end, offering an opportune moment to reflect on your progress so far. Reviewing your accomplishments will not only motivate you but also⁣ give you​ insights into your strengths and areas ⁢for improvement. Let’s take a moment to celebrate the milestones you’ve achieved ​and set the ‍stage for an even more creative and productive February. ⁣

⁤ As you ​look ‍back on January, consider⁤ the following points:

• Take stock of the‌ number ⁣of words you’ve written. Whether it’s‌ a ⁣few ‍hundred or ⁤a few thousand,⁣ acknowledge the effort you’ve‍ put into your ‌writing daily.
• Review‌ the topics you‌ covered throughout the month. Notice any patterns or⁤ themes ‍that​ emerged, as these‍ can help you identify⁣ your areas of interest and expertise.
• Reflect on the feedback you received ⁤and how you⁣ incorporated ‍it ‌into your writing. Recognize the growth you’ve‍ experienced ‌in terms of incorporating critiques and making your work stronger.

It’s vital to celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may ‍seem. Remember that progress is a journey, and every step forward counts.⁣ Give yourself‍ credit for the dedication⁢ and commitment you’ve shown. By celebrating your January writing journey,⁣ you’ll be ⁣motivated and​ ready ⁢to tackle​ the exciting ‌challenges that await you in February. ⁣Keep ⁣up​ the great work!

Q: What is the “January Writing⁢ Prompt: Kickstart ⁢Your New Year Writing”‍ all about? A: The “January Writing ‍Prompt: Kickstart Your New Year Writing” ‍is an article that‍ offers⁤ writers⁣ an inspiring starting point to ⁤jumpstart their⁣ writing in the New⁤ Year.

Q: How can ​this ‌prompt help writers? A: This ⁤prompt provides⁢ a creative direction to guide writers who may be struggling to begin their ⁤writing for ⁤the year.⁣ It acts as ⁣a catalyst​ to overcome⁣ writer’s‍ block and⁢ find fresh inspiration.

Q:⁤ Can you give ⁤an example of a writing prompt ‍for January? A: Sure! An example of a January writing⁣ prompt ‌could⁢ be: “Think about‌ your favorite winter memory. Describe the experience⁢ in detail, including⁢ sights,​ smells,​ and emotions.”

Q: Are the ​writing prompts ⁢suitable⁣ for⁣ different types ⁢of writing? A: Absolutely! The⁤ writing prompts​ can ‍be used for​ various⁣ forms of writing,⁤ such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, ⁣or⁣ even journaling. They are designed to be versatile​ and adaptable to different genres and styles.

Q: Why is ⁤it important to kickstart writing ‍in the⁣ New Year? A: Starting the⁢ year off with writing sets a positive tone and establishes a writing⁢ routine. It allows writers⁤ to build momentum, hone their skills, and accomplish their ⁢writing goals ⁢for the ⁤year ahead.

Q: Can this prompt ⁤be⁢ useful for both experienced and beginner writers? A:‍ Yes, definitely! ⁤The prompt is ⁤suitable ⁤for writers of ‍all ⁢levels. It can assist ‌both⁣ experienced writers ‍looking for a fresh‍ spark as ‌well​ as beginners seeking guidance⁢ on⁣ how to‌ get started.

Q: Can ⁤writers share⁢ their work inspired by⁣ the ⁤prompt? A: ​Absolutely! Writers are encouraged​ to share their ⁢work with others ​who might also be participating in the prompt.⁢ Sharing can foster a supportive​ community and provide an opportunity to receive feedback ⁢and​ encouragement⁢ from ‌fellow writers.

Q: How long does the⁢ prompt last? A: The prompt is designed for the entire month of ⁣January, giving writers ⁣ample ⁢time to explore their ​creativity and produce ‍their best work.

Q:‍ Are there ⁣any additional resources provided in the⁢ article? A:‍ Yes! ‍In addition to ​the writing prompt, the article may also include helpful tips, techniques, ‌or resources to assist writers ⁣in effectively tackling the prompt⁣ and nurturing their​ writing ⁤skills.

Q: Is there ⁤a⁤ follow-up ‍to⁤ the January prompt? A:‌ While the​ article primarily focuses on​ the January prompt, it may mention future writing prompts ⁣or suggest ways to continue the ​writing momentum⁢ beyond the first month ⁤of the year. This encourages writers to maintain their‍ creative energy throughout the year.

In conclusion, participating in ‌the January Writing ⁢Prompt is a great way ​to ‍jumpstart ‌your ‍writing in‍ the‌ new‍ year. So grab your pen and let your creativity⁤ flow! Happy writing! ⁣

Fanfiction Writing Prompts: Weave Fandom-Inspired Stories

Beating the Slump: What to Do When Having Writer’s Block

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Reach out to us for sponsorship opportunities.

Welcome to Creative Writing Prompts

At Creative Writing Prompts, we believe in the power of words to shape worlds. Our platform is a sanctuary for aspiring writers, seasoned wordsmiths, and everyone. Here, storytelling finds its home, and your creative journey begins its captivating voyage.

© 2024 Creativewriting-prompts.com

Jump to navigation Skip to content

Search form

• P&W on Facebook
• P&W on Twitter
• P&W on Instagram

Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Find a home for your poems, stories, essays, and reviews by researching the publications vetted by our editorial staff. In the Literary Magazines database you’ll find editorial policies, submission guidelines, contact information—everything you need to know before submitting your work to the publications that share your vision for your work.

Whether you’re pursuing the publication of your first book or your fifth, use the Small Presses database to research potential publishers, including submission guidelines, tips from the editors, contact information, and more.

Research more than one hundred agents who represent poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers, plus details about the kinds of books they’re interested in representing, their clients, and the best way to contact them.

Every week a new publishing professional shares advice, anecdotes, insights, and new ways of thinking about writing and the business of books.

Find publishers ready to read your work now with our Open Reading Periods page, a continually updated resource listing all the literary magazines and small presses currently open for submissions.

Since our founding in 1970, Poets & Writers has served as an information clearinghouse of all matters related to writing. While the range of inquiries has been broad, common themes have emerged over time. Our Top Topics for Writers addresses the most popular and pressing issues, including literary agents, copyright, MFA programs, and self-publishing.

Our series of subject-based handbooks (PDF format; $4.99 each) provide information and advice from authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers. Now available: The Poets & Writers Guide to Publicity and Promotion, The Poets & Writers Guide to the Book Deal, The Poets & Writers Guide to Literary Agents, The Poets & Writers Guide to MFA Programs, and The Poets & Writers Guide to Writing Contests.

Find a home for your work by consulting our searchable databases of writing contests, literary magazines, small presses, literary agents, and more.

Poets & Writers lists readings, workshops, and other literary events held in cities across the country. Whether you are an author on book tour or the curator of a reading series, the Literary Events Calendar can help you find your audience.

Get the Word Out is a new publicity incubator for debut fiction writers and poets.

Research newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications that consistently publish book reviews using the Review Outlets database, which includes information about publishing schedules, submission guidelines, fees, and more.

Well over ten thousand poets and writers maintain listings in this essential resource for writers interested in connecting with their peers, as well as editors, agents, and reading series coordinators looking for authors. Apply today to join the growing community of writers who stay in touch and informed using the Poets & Writers Directory.

Let the world know about your work by posting your events on our literary events calendar, apply to be included in our directory of writers, and more.

Find a writers group to join or create your own with Poets & Writers Groups. Everything you need to connect, communicate, and collaborate with other poets and writers—all in one place.

Find information about more than two hundred full- and low-residency programs in creative writing in our MFA Programs database, which includes details about deadlines, funding, class size, core faculty, and more. Also included is information about more than fifty MA and PhD programs.

Whether you are looking to meet up with fellow writers, agents, and editors, or trying to find the perfect environment to fuel your writing practice, the Conferences & Residencies is the essential resource for information about well over three hundred writing conferences, writers residencies, and literary festivals around the world.

Discover historical sites, independent bookstores, literary archives, writing centers, and writers spaces in cities across the country using the Literary Places database—the best starting point for any literary journey, whether it’s for research or inspiration.

Search for jobs in education, publishing, the arts, and more within our free, frequently updated job listings for writers and poets.

Establish new connections and enjoy the company of your peers using our searchable databases of MFA programs and writers retreats, apply to be included in our directory of writers, and more.

• Register for Classes

Each year the Readings & Workshops program provides support to hundreds of writers participating in literary readings and conducting writing workshops. Learn more about this program, our special events, projects, and supporters, and how to contact us.

The Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community, providing them with a network for professional advancement.

Find information about how Poets & Writers provides support to hundreds of writers participating in literary readings and conducting writing workshops.

Bring the literary world to your door—at half the newsstand price. Available in print and digital editions, Poets & Writers Magazine is a must-have for writers who are serious about their craft.

View the contents and read select essays, articles, interviews, and profiles from the current issue of the award-winning Poets & Writers Magazine .

Read essays, articles, interviews, profiles, and other select content from Poets & Writers Magazine as well as Online Exclusives.

View the covers and contents of every issue of Poets & Writers Magazine , from the current edition all the way back to the first black-and-white issue in 1987.

Every day the editors of Poets & Writers Magazine scan the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know.

In our weekly series of craft essays, some of the best and brightest minds in contemporary literature explore their craft in compact form, articulating their thoughts about creative obsessions and curiosities in a working notebook of lessons about the art of writing.

The Time Is Now offers weekly writing prompts in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. Sign up to get The Time Is Now, as well as a weekly book recommendation for guidance and inspiration, delivered to your inbox.

Every week a new author shares books, art, music, writing prompts, films—anything and everything—that has inspired and shaped the creative process.

Listen to original audio recordings of authors featured in Poets & Writers Magazine . Browse the archive of more than 400 author readings.

Ads in Poets & Writers Magazine and on pw.org are the best ways to reach a readership of serious poets and literary prose writers. Our audience trusts our editorial content and looks to it, and to relevant advertising, for information and guidance.

Start, renew, or give a subscription to Poets & Writers Magazine ; change your address; check your account; pay your bill; report a missed issue; contact us.

Peruse paid listings of writing contests, conferences, workshops, editing services, calls for submissions, and more.

Poets & Writers is pleased to provide free subscriptions to Poets & Writers Magazine to award-winning young writers and to high school creative writing teachers for use in their classrooms.

Read select articles from the award-winning magazine and consult the most comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines, and prizewinners available in print.

• Subscribe Now

Writing Prompts & Exercises

The time is now.

The Time Is Now offers three new and original writing prompts each week to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. We also curate a list of essential books on writing —both the newly published and the classics—that we recommend for guidance and inspiration. Whether you’re struggling with writer’s block, looking for a fresh topic, or just starting to write, our archive of writing prompts has what you need. Need a starter pack? Check out our Writing Prompts for Beginners.

Tuesdays: Poetry prompts Wednesdays: Fiction prompts Thursdays: Creative nonfiction prompts

Get immediate access to more than 2,000 writing prompts with the tool below:

The Longest Day

• Printable Version
• Log in to Send
• Log in to Save

This year’s summer solstice arrives in the Northern Hemisphere on June 20, marking it the longest day, and shortest night, of the year. And yet, no matter the exact number of daylight or nighttime hours measured out, any day can feel like a very long day, just as any night can end in the blink of an eye. Write a two-part lyric essay in which the first part details one long summer day you’ve experienced, and the second part focuses on one short summer night. For the day that seemed to last forever, did it drag on and on, producing exasperation, or did the hours ooze dreamily and pleasurably? For the night that whizzed by, was there nonstop action that was over before you knew it?

Domestication

In an interview published in Salon, Rosemary Mosco, author of A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird (Workman Publishing, 2021), reflects on the historical connections between pigeons and people, and recounts a process of domestication, obsolescence, and abandonment. “The city pigeons around us…were domesticated by humans a really long time ago,” says Mosco. “They were really bred to be good at living near us. And then, we forgot, and now they keep hanging around us. And we’re like, ‘why are they here?’” Write a short story that involves an encounter or situation with a domesticated animal, whether a pet, livestock, or one wandering the streets. Think about the wild ancestors of this animal, and how they’ve become entwined with humans and civilization. How might you connect philosophical ideas around domestication with other larger themes of your story?

“We tend to treat odor in general as a sort of taboo,” writes Scott Sayare in a New York Times Magazine article about a woman who discovered she could smell Parkinson’s disease, in some cases over a dozen years before medical diagnosis. “Modern doctors are trained to diagnose by inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation; ‘inhalation’ is not on the list, and social norms would discourage it if it were.” This week, focus your attention on your sense of smell as you go about your days, perhaps even ignoring social norms as you inhale all the odors around you. Then, write a poem that focuses solely, or primarily, on smell—perhaps juxtaposing scents that are in your everyday life now and those from a more distant past.

A Question of Belonging: Crónicas (Archipelago Books, 2024) by the Argentine writer Hebe Uhart, who died in 2018, translated from the Spanish by Anna Vilner, contains over two dozen crónicas—a form of narrative journalism popularized in Latin America that is characterized by short, informal musings about everyday topics and observations. In her introduction to the book, Mariana Enríquez notes Uhart’s lack of pretension in her chosen subjects, from what she observed around her to the locals with whom she conversed. “Her fascination with language is not limited to the spoken: She roams around cities and towns taking note of shop names, ads, and graffiti.…” Jot down intriguing or amusing fragments of language you see and hear as you go about your day, perhaps during your commute or while watching your favorite TV show. Write a series of short musings based on your observations, noting any humor or insights gleaned from contemporary language and what it reveals about our current times.

Head This Way

Ayşegül Savaş’s third novel, The Anthropologists , forthcoming in July from Bloomsbury, is narrated by Asya, one half of a young couple setting out to build a new life together in a foreign city. While they solidify friendships, search for an apartment, and accommodate visiting relatives, Asya begins a documentary project. Each of the novel’s vignette titles reference anthropological concepts: Notions of Loyalty, Child-Rearing, Native Tongue, Courtship, Gift Exchange, Division of Labor, Principles of Kinship, and Forms of Enchantment. As Asya reflects on anthropological distance and lenses, these headings raise questions about the conventions, expectations, and routines that constitute a life. What makes a life legible—and to whom? Write a short story with subheadings providing insight or an alternative perspective on scenes. How might they produce additional layers of complexity and ambiguity?

Coming Down Hard

“The sun had just gone out / and I was walking three miles to get home. / I wanted to die. / I couldn’t think of words and I had no future / and I was coming down hard on everything.” In Linda Gregg’s poem “New York Address,” which appears in her retrospective collection, All of It Singing: New and Selected Poems (Graywolf Press, 2008), the speaker recounts bleak existential angst. Despite the pain and darkness, there are glimmers of light. In the second half of the poem, questions are stubbornly answered with snappy, tidy pacing: “Yes I hate dark. No I love light. Yes I won’t speak. / No I will write.” Write a poem that goes all in on angst, channeling a time that felt overwhelmingly uncertain and full of trepidation. How can you experiment with sound and diction to gently steer the dramatic toward the life-affirming?

Attentiveness

Nearly fifty years ago, the writer George Perec spent three days sitting behind a café window in Place Saint-Sulpice in Paris recording everything he saw. In his short book, An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris , his observations of mundane occurrences and objects often considered unnoteworthy—passersby, cars, buses, pigeons, signs, and slogans—are documented. This week situate yourself in one spot, perhaps in your home or workplace, or in a public space like a park, busy crossroad, commercial area, library, or café. Then, jot down the objects and behavior you see, and the snippets of conversation you hear. Write a lyric essay composed of these notes, trying to avoid interpretations or analysis. Taken together, how do your observations create a portrayal of a specific time or place? Pay particular attention to how one observation might lead to another, and to potential rhythms and repetitions.

Power Couple

The 2023 thriller film Fair Play , written and directed by Chloe Domont, follows the lives of a young, newly engaged couple, Luke and Emily, who are colleagues working as analysts in the cutthroat world of high finance in New York. The film focuses on the progression of their relationship, which has been kept hidden from their hedge fund office, and the bitter disintegration of their happiness after a promotion that was initially rumored to go to Luke is unexpectedly bestowed upon Emily, which situates him as a subordinate to his wife within a misogynistic workplace. Write a short story that revolves around an occurrence that catalyzes a shift in the power dynamic between two main characters who have a close relationship. What are the initial responses, and does the transformation happen suddenly or gradually? Are there gender, generational, or other cultural issues that play a role?

Organic Insinuations

“All too often, on a ‘poetry scene,’ people prioritise ‘subject matter,’” says John Burnside in a 2023 interview about his writing process by Jesse Nathan published on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. “I am sure that, as I am working, environmental concerns insinuate their way into the content of a poem organically, as other concerns will—but I would never start from there.” Inspired by the late Scottish poet, who died at the age of sixty-nine on May 29, write a poem that springs not from a predetermined topic or subject matter, but instead allows you to “trust in the sounds, the rhythms that come out of the day-to-day, the sheer immediacy and truth of the quotidian…and the images that lead, sometimes via fairly roundabout paths, to metaphor.” Later, as you reread and revise, what do you discover is the subject of your poem? What might have organically insinuated itself into your poem?

The maintenance or restoration of native plant and animal species has long been at the heart of many ecological and conservation projects, and has historically been a focus of land and environmental stewardship principles held by native and first peoples all over the world. But what if a beloved plant or animal is considered invasive, like the palm trees of Los Angeles or the cattle of Texas? What are the effects or consequences of centuries of existence with this invasive species in a particular locale? This week reflect on the notion of belonging—what are various places and times when you have felt a strong sense of belonging, and situations when you did not feel you belonged? Consider your own perspectives and responses when you encounter someone or something else that seems invasive or does not belong.

In Stephen King’s 1983 novel, Pet Sematary , a doctor moves into a remote house in Maine with his wife, two young children, and their pet cat, and learns from a neighbor about an ancient burial ground nearby cursed by a malevolent spirit which gave it power to reanimate those buried there. This is put to the test first by the family cat, and then by members of the family who die throughout the course of King’s horror story. While each formerly dead being is returned to the land of the living, they don’t come back quite the same. Write a story in which a creature or person returns from the dead, either in actuality or under circumstances in which their reappearance feels as if they are “back from the dead.” What familiar traits remain the same and what is disconcertingly different? Is their return ultimately for the better or the worse?

“I told a friend about a spill at the grocery store, which—the words ‘conveyor belt’ vanishing midsentence—took place on a ‘supermarket treadmill,’” writes Madeleine Schwartz in a recent essay published by New York Times Magazine about her experience of negotiating with and toggling between the French and English languages after moving from New York to Paris. In the piece, Schwartz notes that as she became more comfortable with living and thinking in French, she noticed a blurring of her linguistic capabilities, including a muddling of her articulative abilities in English. Think about a time or situation when words have failed you, or you’ve drawn a blank as to the mot juste. Write a poem that traces or enacts a loss of language, perhaps using invented words, phrases, and spellings or experimenting with font sizes, line breaks, and spacing.

Edible Memories

Many foods, flavors, and dishes hold a wellspring of emotional associations because they remind us of loved ones, habits and traditions, specific locales, and a different time of our lives when we were different people. Write a series of flash nonfiction pieces this week with each segment focusing on an edible item that evokes particularly resonant memories for you. You might begin by jotting down lists of foods you ate regularly growing up—breakfasts, school lunches, vending machine go-tos, favorite fast-food joints, diners, late night spots, home-cooked specialties—as well as a few momentous meals. Who are the people you associate with each one? Aside from taste and smell, consider the surrounding environment, atmospheric sounds, time of year, and who you were at that point in your life.

Wheels and Nails

While the American proverb “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” may be one you’ve heard time and again, often in reference to the idea that whoever raises or vocalizes a criticism the loudest will be appeased, there is a Japanese saying that translates to “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” which points to the positives of conformity in order to maintain a productive and humble society. It can also refer to putting someone who has become too successful back down in their place. Write a story in which your main character diverges from a group of people, and sticks their neck out, so to speak. Perhaps they vocalize a contrary perspective, protest something they feel is unjust, or simply present themselves in an unconventional manner. What are the consequences? Does your story lean toward one proverbial lesson or the other, or does the conclusion demonstrate more ambiguity?

Night at the Museum

If you could spend a night at any museum, which would you choose, and why? The French publisher Editions Stock has a series of books that begins with this premise—each author selects a museum, arrangements are made for an overnight stay, and a book is written about the experience. In Jakuta Alikavazovic’s Like a Sky Inside , translated from the French by Daniel Levin Becker, she spends a night at the Louvre in Paris, where childhood memories of visits with her father are vividly recalled. “From March 7 to 8, 2020, I spent the night in the Louvre, alone. Alone and at the same time anything but,” writes Alikavazovic. Write a poem that imagines a night at a museum of your choosing, anywhere in the world. What memories will you excavate from this imagined, solitary experience?

Chosen Family

Although the origin of the term is unknown and can be defined in many ways, a chosen family is made up of a group of people who choose to embrace, nurture, and support each other despite conventional understandings of biological or marital relationships. Oftentimes a chosen family is formed to take the place of a biological family, however, in some cases, these relationships are formed to expand a family. Write a personal essay about a relationship you have with a chosen family member. How did you first meet? Was there a particular incident that catalyzed what would become an inextricable bond? Has your commitment to each other been tested in ways big or small? Reflect on past memories and experiences you have had with this special person and how your relationship has evolved over the years.

Kingdom of the Planet

In the 1968 science fiction film Planet of the Apes , which is based on French author Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel and has spawned several sequels and a recent reboot, a crew of astronauts crash-lands on a planet ruled by apes who have developed an advanced and hierarchical civilization, complete with systems of governance, labor, scientific research, and a military force. In this far-off place, humans have been reduced to mute primitive beings who are subjugated and kept captive as workers for the primates. Write a speculative story that takes place in another universe with a premise revolving around a role reversal. What are the rules and governing structures of the society that you invent? You might decide to approach your narrative with a tone of horror, satire, or comedy to emphasize your perspective on stereotypical assumptions and social expectations.

Another Country

“I love these raw moist dawns with / a thousand birds you hear but can’t / quite see in the mist. / My old alien body is a foreigner / struggling to get into another country. / The loon call makes me shiver. / Back at the cabin I see a book / and am not quite sure what that is.” In these eight lines that comprise Jim Harrison’s poem “Another Country,” which appears in his final collection, Dead Man’s Float (Copper Canyon Press, 2016), the late poet moves between observations about a natural outdoor setting and the speaker’s own bodily presence, arriving in the final two lines at a sentiment that expresses a feeling of defamiliarization at the seemingly mundane sight of a book. This week write a poem that explores the concept of being so absorbed in one environment or circumstance that to behold a different scene is like traveling to a strange and unknown realm.

Self-Healing

A recent study in Scientific Reports journal revealed that, for possibly the first time, a nonhuman wild animal was seen using plant medicine to heal an active wound. In a rainforest in Indonesia, a Sumatran orangutan was observed ripping off leaves from a climbing vine plant, chewing them, and applying the plant sap to treat a wound on his face, which then healed after a few days. Write a personal essay on the theme of self-healing. Think about experiences when you’ve witnessed another person perform this task, or particularly resonant memories that pertain to your own past behavior. What are the primary emotions present throughout this process? What instances of self-treatment or self-medication in film, art, or literature created an impression on you?

Campus Story

Take inspiration from the concept of a campus novel—which takes place in and around the campus of a university and often involves the intertwined dynamics of students, professors, and conventions about learning and power—and write a story that engages with a school setting, whether prominently situated in the context of the plot or used for a particular scene. Some recent additions to the campus novel canon include Elif Batuman’s The Idiot (Penguin Press, 2017), Xochitl Gonzalez’s Anita de Monte Laughs Last (Flatiron Books, 2024), Kiley Reid’s Come and Get It (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024), and Brandon Taylor’s Real Life (Riverhead Books, 2020). Will you include a character who is a student, teacher, administrative staff member, custodial worker or caretaker, or possibly an alumni revisiting the past? Consider the multitude of ways the incorporation of an educational environment might permeate the atmosphere of the narrative.

The Last Friend

“The day the last friend / dies / we sit alone. / A visitor / from outer space / tries hard / to summon us. / Someone says / EAT DEATH. / I fish around for answers / but the questions / still won’t come,” writes Jerome Rothenberg, who passed away in April, in his poem “The Last Friend.” Included in his collection of one hundred poems, A Book of Witness: Spells & Gris-Gris (New Directions, 2022), the poem presents a list of statements and observations, many of which refer to death or dying in some personal way, though the connections are enigmatic and the logical progression is oblique. Try your hand at writing a poem that mentions its subject directly, but which also deliberately obfuscates or remains ambiguous in its intentions. How might using the “I” as a witness include the reader into your point of view?

Mind Your Manners

The New York City culture and news website Gothamist recently asked New Yorkers about their thoughts on sidewalk etiquette in the crowded, bustling streets of their beloved city. What are the rules, who has the right-of-way, and who should yield? Respondents focused on always walking to the right of the sidewalk and to “move quickly and never stop.” One thoughtful respondent considered the cultural differences of sidewalks used for recreational strolls versus commuting. But the overall consensus was that among nine-to-fivers, tourists, parents with kids, dogwalkers, bicyclists, and groups, seniors deserve the right-of-way. Write an essay about the unwritten rules or etiquette you have observed in your daily surroundings. How have these common practices adapted to fit the needs of different people? Do they evolve over time as social norms change? Consider some of your own experiences with how public etiquette has helped or hindered harmonious community life.

The term sub rosa means “under the rose” in Latin and refers to something said or done in private. The rose has been associated with secrecy since ancient times, a decorative symbol often carved and painted in places like meeting rooms, banquet halls, and confessionals as reminders of confidentiality. This week write a short story that revolves around a conversation or discussion that occurs sub rosa in an enclosed space. Does a certain detail get leaked out or overheard? How might the secretive nature place a burden on your characters? Consider the ways in which the atmosphere and tone of your story feel distinctive in the time and space of your sub-rosa conversation versus the scenes that take place before or after the talk.

Wisdom in Translation

In the anthology Another Room to Live In: 15 Contemporary Arab Poets (Litmus Press, 2024) edited by Omar Berrada and Sarah Riggs, multinational and multilingual poet-translators challenge foundational narratives and rework mythologies through poetic expression. Yasmine Seale’s poem “Conventional Wisdom (Arabic Saying Translated Twenty Ways)” is composed of translations of an ancient aphorism expressing the inextricable place of poetry within Arab cultural heritage. Each line presents a variation on the truism: “Poetry is the record of the Arabs / The art of poetry is Arabs, collected / Good poetry is a list of Arabs / To speak in verse is to remain in Arab memory / To surpass another poet is the Arab odyssey.” Write a poem inspired by this idea of translating a proverb or maxim—either from another language or from English into English. How might you creatively interpolate different “translations” of the saying by incorporating connotations and riffing on free associations and personal experiences?

In Response

In a recent interview with Aria Aber for the Yale Review , when asked his thoughts on the responsibility of the poet, Jackson Prize–winning poet Fady Joudah says, “I often think that the responsibility of the poet is to strive to become the memory that people may possess in the future about what it means to be human: an ever-changing constant. In poetry, the range of metaphors and topics is limited, predictable, but the styles are innumerable. Think how we read poetry from centuries ago and are no longer bothered by its outdated diction. All that remains of old poetry is the music of what it means to be human.” Write a creative nonfiction piece that presents your personal theory of the responsibility of a writer or an artist. To construct an expansive approach, you might use observations about how different creative disciplines overlap in their goals, or consider what has remained resonant as the arts make their mark throughout various eras.

About Our Writing Prompts

What is a writing prompt and how do you use one? Whether you find yourself in front of a blank page or stuck in a work-in-progress, writing prompts can offer a spark that ignites your creative thinking and can lead to new writing. Prompts offer guidance, fresh ideas, and direction for writers of all levels of experience. First, choose a prompt for the genre in which you’d like to write, then carefully read it and consider what it is asking you to think about. It could be a specific setting, a writing technique, or an element of an imagined character; a specific poem, story, essay, song, book, or film from which you might take inspiration; or a current event or a topical theme. A writing prompt is filled with endless possibilities—and there is no wrong way to use one to generate new writing!

What makes our writing prompts unique? We have an archive of over 2,000 prompts, all original and offered here and in our weekly newsletter . You’ll find a variety of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction prompts—some inspired by recent and classic literature and other forms of art, current events, and writing practices, and others that offer guidance for a particular form, including sonnets, erasure poetry, flash fiction, lyric essays, and more. For more than fifty years, Poets & Writers has supported creative writers with trustworthy information and inspiration, and our weekly prompts provide a regular dose of encouragement and motivation.

What are the benefits of using writing prompts? Writing prompts can help you get unstuck if you’re in a rut and the ideas aren’t flowing. But even if you’re not experiencing writer’s block, writing prompts can offer a fresh take or a new approach to a work-in-progress. Writing prompts can also provide the motivation to experiment with a new form, try out a new genre, or learn about other writing techniques. And writing prompts are an invaluable tool for teachers who want to encourage and inspire their writing students.

What is this list of Best Books? Best Books for Writers is a list of essential books for creative writers that we curate to support your writing practice. Every week, we add a book (whether new or a classic) with a synopsis and highlights. Included are books on the writing life, anthologies of craft essays, collections of lectures, practical guides with writing exercises, and more.

Poetry writing prompts Every Tuesday we post a new poetry prompt to guide you in your practice. Get to know the work of contemporary and classic poets, as well as a variety of poetic forms.

Fiction writing prompts Every Wednesday we post a new fiction prompt to spark your imagination. Take inspiration from recently published short stories and novels, and of course, the classics.

Creative nonfiction writing prompts Every Thursday we post a new creative nonfiction prompt to help your exploration of this ever-changing genre. These prompts include information and inspiration for a variety of essays as well as memoirs. Discover new writers and their craft, and fresh ways to generate writing inspired by your life.

Need a starter pack? Check out our Writing Prompts for Beginners .

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

FREE 2024-25 Printable Teacher Calendar! 🗓️

101 Exciting 4th Grade Writing Prompts for 2023 (Free Printable!)

Use them for journal writing, essay topics, and more!

Fourth grade is a time for students to continue to hone their writing chops as they put to use the skills they’ve learned and gain confidence in their abilities. We’ve collected this list of fourth grade writing prompts—including opinion, persuasive, informational, and narrative—to spur your students’ imaginations and get them writing!

You can get 50 of these fourth grade writing prompts in a free PowerPoint slideshow bundle! They make it easy to share these writing ideas with your students.  Grab your free PowerPoint bundle by submitting your email here .

• Persuasive and Opinion Writing Prompts
• Descriptive and Expository Writing Prompts
• Narrative and Personal Writing Prompts
• Creative Writing Prompts
• Current Events Writing Prompts

Persuasive and Opinion 4th Grade Writing Prompts

Would you rather be good at sports or good in school? Why?

Would you rather have lots of money or lots of friends? Why?

What is your favorite subject in school? Why?

Are fourth graders ready to stay home alone? Why or why not?

Name two characters from different books that you think might be good friends. Why?

Which is more important for success, skill or luck?

Should kids be paid an allowance to do chores around the house? Why or why not?

Why are classroom rules important?

If you had a time machine, what era of history would you visit?

Why is math important?

Why is science important?

Should fourth graders have cell phones? Why or why not?

If you could open a store, what type of store would it be and why?

Which would you rather read: a scary story that gives you goosebumps or a funny story that cracks you up? Why?

What is the hardest thing about being a fourth grader?

If I were the ruler of the world, the first law I would pass would be … because …

If you found a backpack filled with dollar bills, what would you do?

Is it ever OK to tell secrets? Why or why not?

What animal makes the best pet? Why?

Is it better to spend an hour a day reading or an hour a day exercising? Why?

Descriptive and Expository 4th Grade Writing Prompts

If you had a YouTube channel, what would you talk about?

What’s the best book you’ve read recently? What was it all about?

If you won a million dollars, how would you spend the money?

Describe what you think of as perfect weather.

Describe how to build a birdhouse step by step.

Write five rules for staying organized.

What is the worst book you ever read?

Describe the physical appearance of someone in your family in detail.

Imagine you are in a hot-air balloon above your house. Describe everything you can see.

Describe how to play your favorite board game.

There’s an old saying: “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” What do you think this saying means?

Describe your perfect day.

One of your little cousins is very nervous about starting kindergarten. What would you tell them to make them feel better?

Imagine you are an adult and describe your dream job.

Explain your morning routine in detail, from waking up to arriving at school.

Describe the perfect meal, including what you’d eat and where you’d dine.

Share what you do on a typical non-school day.

Explain the right way to do one of your household chores, like making your bed or cleaning your room.

Describe your favorite room at home in detail.

How do you prepare for a big test? Describe the ways you study or practice.

Narrative and Personal 4th Grade Writing Prompts

Share one of the stories your family has told you about when you were a baby.

What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?

Write about an adult you look up to.

What’s the nicest thing anybody has ever done for you?

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Write about a time you felt like quitting but didn’t. How did you keep yourself going?

Do you like nonfiction books or fiction books better? Why?

What makes your family unique?

What would you say is your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?

Are you a patient person? Why or why not?

What is something you’ve never done that you would like to try?

What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you?

Write about a time you tried something new and how you felt before, during, and after.

What is your earliest memory?

What’s your favorite holiday? What makes it so special?

Write about a time when you felt proud of yourself.

Tell the story of your favorite field trip of all time.

If you could relive any day in your life, what would it be? Would you want it to be the same or different?

What holiday is important to your family? Describe how you celebrate it together.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten? How did it make you feel?

Creative 4th Grade Writing Prompts

If you met an alien, what three questions would you ask them?

Pretend you drank a magic potion that made you as tiny as an ant. Where would you go and what would you do?

Pretend you ate a magic pill that made you as tall as a redwood tree. Where would you go and what would you do?

Write a story that includes these five words: keys, spaghetti, uncle, jellyfish, spaceship.

What would the world be like if dinosaurs still existed?

If you could invent something new the world really needs, what would it be? How would it work?

Retell a classic story, making the villain the hero instead.

Imagine that one day you woke up and found everyone in the world could no longer talk. What would happen next?

Write a new chapter of your favorite book, with yourself as a new character.

Imagine you woke up one morning with a superpower, like invisibility or the ability to fly. Describe your experiences learning how to use that power.

Use these words to start a story: “When I opened the box that came in the mail, I never expected to find …”

Describe a world where it rains fruit juice and snows M&Ms.

Come up with the most ridiculous excuse possible for why you are unable to turn in your homework today.

Describe a world where all the adults are robots, but kids are still human kids.

Imagine a conversation between yourself and a talking animal.

Describe the kind of creature you’d create if you were a mad scientist. Would it be scary and mean? Nice and friendly?

Invent a new kind of candy. Give it a name, and write a commercial jingle for it.

Write about a day where kids are in charge instead of grown-ups.

Imagine you’re lost in a haunted wood, and tell the story of your escape.

Tell a story that ends with these words: “… and that’s how we all learned to fly.”

Describe a night in the life of the tooth fairy.

Current Events 4th Grade Writing Prompts

If you made a time capsule for this year, what would you put in it?

Describe something that you saw in the news recently and how it made you feel.

Tell about an event that happened recently at your school or in your town.

What do you think is one of the world’s biggest problems right now, and how would you solve it?

Read a news story about something happening in another country and summarize it.

Write a news article about something important that happened to you this week.

Create a poem about something in the local news right now.

Write a letter to the editor about a current issue, explaining your opinion.

Find a “good news” story, and share why it makes you happy.

What living famous person do you most admire and why?

What do you think kids today can do about climate change and global warming?

Learn about an endangered animal, and describe what we can do to help it.

What does the word “racism” mean to you?

What is one thing you would do to make your school or town a better place?

Choose an upcoming sports event, and explain who you think will win.

Describe a current fashion trend or something that’s very popular in your school right now, and how you feel about it.

What can we do to help people with different opinions get along with one another better?

Interview a grown-up you know, and write a news article about them.

What do you think is the best new song right now? The worst? Why?

Describe an event that’s happening in the world right now that you don’t understand. What questions would you ask a grown-up about it?

How do you use writing prompts with your students? Come share your ideas and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Also check out 57 awesome 4th grade books you’ll want to share with students ..

You Might Also Like

50 Creative 3rd Grade Writing Prompts (Free Printable!)

Taking the leap from the primary level to the intermediate grades. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Student Opinion

176 Writing Prompts to Spark Discussion and Reflection

Here are all of our Student Opinion questions from the 2023-24 school year. Each question is based on a different New York Times article, interactive feature or video.

By The Learning Network

Each day of the school year we publish a Student Opinion question inviting students to share their own opinions and experiences in response to New York Times stories on the news of the day. To introduce each question, we provide an excerpt from a related Times article, interactive or video as well as a free link to that piece.

The 176 questions we asked during the 2023-24 school year are available below and in this PDF . The prompts are organized into three sections: questions that lend themselves well to persuasive writing, questions that encourage narrative writing, and additional Student Opinion forums.

Teachers can use these prompts to help students practice narrative and persuasive writing, start classroom debates and even spark conversation between students around the world via our comments section. For more ideas on how to use these Student Opinion prompts in your classroom, you might consult this comprehensive teacher’s guide , which includes practical strategies from a dozen educators.

Questions for Narrative and Personal Writing

1. Do You Multitask? Is It Helpful or Harmful? 2. How Did You Grow and Change This School Year? 3. What Accomplishments Are You Most Proud Of? 4. Have You Ever Been Injured? Tell Us the Story. 5. Where in the World Would You Most Like to Travel? 6. Who Is Your Hero? 7. How Well Do You Get Along With Your Siblings? 8. What Is Teenage Bullying Like Today? 9. Are You a Joiner? 10. When Have You Felt That You Mattered? 11. How Hard Is It to Wake Up in the Morning? 12. What Have You Learned From Failure? 13. Where Is the Line Between Helping a Child Become More Resilient and Pushing Them Too Hard? 14. If You Had $1 Billion to Give Away, What Charity Would You Support? 15. What Are the Small Ways You Show Love to Those You Care About? 16. How Do You Feel About High School? 17. What Activities or Hobbies Do You Do With Your Family? 18. Do You Use, Like, Too Many Filler Words? 19. What Is Your Relationship With Fast Food? 20. What’s the Greatest Gift Your Parents Have Given You? 21. What Is Your Favorite Word? 22. Are You Good at Apologizing? 23. What Is Your Dream Job? 24. What Amazes You Most About Animals? 25. Which Toy Would You Want to Help Design or Update? 26. What Are the Best, and Worst, Recommendations You’ve Gotten From Social Media? 27. What Small Wins Have You Had Recently? 28. What Do You Like About Playing Games? 29. What Everyday Object Deserves More Love? 30. Are You Too Critical of Yourself? 31. Do You Spend Enough Time in the Dirt? 32. What Got Your Attention in the News Recently? 33. Has Your Birth Order Shaped Who You Are? 34. What Elective Do You Wish Your School Offered? 35. How Far Would You Push Yourself Physically to Meet a Goal? 36. How Often Do You Take Breaks From Your Phone? 37. How Do You Deal With Conflicts? 38. What Children’s Book Worlds Do You Wish You Could Visit in Real Life? 39. Has Your Relationship to School Attendance Changed Since the Pandemic? 40. What Can You Make or Fix With Your Hands? 41. What Have You Learned From a Grandparent or Elder? 42. Do You Wish You Had More Places to Go? 43. What Author Would You Most Like to Meet? 44. Have You Ever Lost Someone as a Friend? 45. Do You Keep a Journal? 46. Are You Tired of Influencers? 47. How Did the Covid-19 Pandemic Affect You, Your Family and Your Community? 48. To Whom Would You Write an Open Letter? 49. What’s the Best — and Worst — Part of Being a Sports Fan? 50. How Much Exercise Do You Get Each Week? 51. Do You Have a Hard Time Saying ‘No’? 52. What’s Your Favorite Kind of TikTok Video? 53. What Are Your Favorite Local Businesses? 54. How Involved Do You Expect Your Parents to Be in Your Adult Life? 55. How Important Is It to You to Keep Mementos From Your Life? 56. Who Are Your Favorite Athletes to Watch Right Now? 57. How Does Your School Address Students’ Mental Health Needs? 58. What Communities Are You a Part Of? What Communities Would You Like to Explore? 59. What’s Your TV ‘Comfort Food’? 60. What Sad Songs Do You Listen to When You’re Feeling Down? 61. Will You Be Watching Super Bowl LVIII? 62. What Was Your Most Memorable Field Trip? 63. What Is Unique About Where You Live? 64. What Is Your Experience With Group Chats? 65. Are You a Fan of Movie Remakes? 66. What Brings You Delight? 67. Do You Ever Host or Attend Sleepovers? 68. Here Are 15 Winning Tiny Memoirs. Which Ones Most Resonate With You? 69. What Is Your Reaction to Trump’s Conviction on 34 Felony Counts? 70. Do You Enjoy Keeping Secrets? 71. Are You Growing Tired of Superhero Movies? 72. What Do You Wish You Could Do Well? 73. Do You Think Any of These Mythical Creatures Might Be Real? 74. What Are Your Thoughts on Last Names? 75. Which TV Show or Movie Would You Want to Live? 76. Do You Ever Feel Envious of Others? 77. What Do You Want to Do Differently in the New Year? 78. What Is the Best Month of the Year? What Is the Worst? 79. What Will You Remember About 2023? 80. Do You Prefer Gifts That You’ve Asked For or Ones That Are a Surprise? 81. How Do You Feel About Holiday Music? 82. What Do You Appreciate About Winter? 83. Do You Like to Dance? 84. Do You Ever Feel Sentimental About the Past? 85. What Slang Do You Use? 86. Do You Like Spending Time Alone With Your Thoughts? 87. Do You Like Watching Other People Watch Sports? 88. What Role Does Humor Play in Your Life? 89. What Are You Grateful For? 90. Do You Trust Online Reviews? 91. What Have You Changed Your Mind About? 92. Do You Use Swear Words? 93. The North American Total Solar Eclipse Is Here. Are You Watching? 94. What ‘Oddball Rituals’ Do You Have? 95. Do You Ever Feel Pressure to Post About Your Outrage Online? 96. What Do You Enjoy That Others Think Is Cringe, Played Out or Just Uncool? 97. What Small Moments From Your Life Do You Think About Often? 98. Are You There for Your Friends When They Need You? 99. What Misconceptions Do People Have About Where You Live? 100. What’s Your Take on Beige Flags in Relationships? 101. Do You Share Music Tastes With Your Parents? 102. What Does Hip-Hop Mean to You? 103. What Do You Think of Barbie? 104. How Concerned Are You About the Cost of College? 105. What Has Been Your Best Secondhand Find? 106. What Household Items Can’t You Live Without? 107. How Do You Feel When You’re Interrupted? 108. At Which Museum or Venue Would You Like to Spend the Night? 109. What Were the Best and Worst Parts of Your Summer Vacation?

Questions for Debate and Persuasive Writing

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Ocean Explorer: Engaging Picture-Based Writing Worksheets Comprehension 2024

Description

End of year activities, Writing Prompts, Quick write, Summer, Ocean, Writing, Worksheets, Creative Writing, Vocabulary, Sentence Structure, Ocean Activities, Homeschool, Classroom Resource, Summer Learning.

Dive into the deep blue with our “Ocean Explorer: Engaging Picture-Based Writing Worksheets”! This resource is perfect for keeping students engaged and practicing their writing skills while exploring the wonders of the ocean. Each worksheet features a vibrant, ocean-themed picture and a word bank to inspire creative writing. Topics include Coral Reef, Beach Day, Underwater Adventure, Sea Creatures, Pirate’s Life, Mermaid’s World, Harbor Scene, Deep Sea Exploration, Tropical Island, and Surf’s Up. These worksheets are designed to spark imagination, enhance vocabulary, and improve sentence structure. Ideal for classroom use, homeschooling, or summer learning packets. Embark on this exciting ocean adventure today!

Questions & Answers

Miss turtle.

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think

101 Epic Adventure Story Prompts

Do you want to write in the adventure genre but need help conjuring compelling and adventure-packed stories and concepts? Sometimes reading simple story prompts is the easiest way to get those creative juices flowing .

We get our ideas from many sources — news headlines, novels, television shows, movies, our lives, our fears, our phobias, etc. They can come from a scene or moment in a film that wasn’t fully explored. They can come from a single visual that entices the creative mind — a seed that continues to grow and grow until the writer is forced to finally put it to paper or screen.

In the spirit of helping writers find those seeds, here we offer 101 originally conceived adventure story prompts that you can use as inspiration for your next adventure story.

They may inspire screenplays, novels, short stories, or even smaller moments that you can include in what stories you are already writing.

Common Elements in the Adventure Genre

Adventure movies are the action genre's closest relative. They are seemingly one and the same beyond a single element — location .

Adventure movies are best defined as action movies set within an exotic location — something beyond an otherwise anonymous big city or small town.

They entail a character — or cast of characters — traveling to a new world, or many worlds, to attain what they so desire.

• Indiana Jones movies globe-trot to many different locations.
• The Pirates of the Caribbean  franchise takes us to many worlds across the open waters of the ocean.
• The Goonies  takes children into the underground caves of a pirate's treasure.
• The  Jumanji  franchise takes characters into the jungle worlds of a videogame.
• Jungle Cruise  took us down the waters of the Amazon River.

Again, the key difference between a straightforward action movie and an adventure movie is location, location, location.

Notable adventure sub-genres include:

• Disaster Flicks  —  The adventure aspect of these types of films entails characters struggling to survive through seemingly impossible and yes, disastrous, circumstances.  The Poseidon Adventure ,  The Towering Inferno ,  San Andreas , almost every Roland Emmerich movie, etc. These are all disaster flicks that take us on the ultimate adventure of survival. They can often be blended genres set within the context of natural disasters, alien invasions, and post-apocalyptic situations. In these cases, the disaster itself creates a unique location.
• Quests —  The word quest is perhaps the most simple term to market. The mere mention of it entails a MacGuffin — a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivators that the protagonist pursues — and the grand adventure of attaining it. The Indiana Jones franchise as a whole is perhaps the most well-known of this sub-genre.

Note: Because we’re all connected to the same pop culture, news headlines, and inspirations, any similarity to any past, present, or future screenplays, novels, short stories, television pilots, television series, plays, or any other creative works is purely coincidence. These story writing prompts were conceived on the fly without any research or Google search for inspiration.

101 Adventure Story Prompts

1. Two treasure-hunting teams race against time to find the same treasure in four different potential locations.  

2. A group of high school students traveling abroad must survive the elements when their plane crashes into the jungle. 

3. A gamer wakes up in his favorite car racing game and must win multiple races to survive.

4. A young boy searches for his lost father in the nearby mountains.

5. An astronaut crash lands on an exotic planet.

6. A group of middle school friends discovers a series of tunnels underneath their town.

7. A father and son go on a safari and must survive the elements when their guides are killed. 

8. A group of explorers searches for a long-lost ship that disappeared in the Antarctic two hundred years ago. 

9. A single mother learns that her college-age daughter has disappeared into the jungles of a foreign country.

10. A family struggles to survive a destructive meteor shower.

11. A man wakes up in a dream world that he can't escape. 

12. A woman joins the military and is shipped overseas as she intends to avenge the death of her soldier husband.

13. The last man on Earth flies into space to search for astronauts sent to colonize Mars ten years prior.

14. The last people on Earth go to China's Great Wall to evade attacking creatures that have killed everyone else on the planet.

15. A priest discovers the true entrance to biblical Hell. 

16. A woman fights her way across purgatory to find her true fate. 

17. A boy is taken to an alien world after displaying amazing fighting skills in his video game system. 

18. An FBI agent tracks down a group of bank robbers through the waters of the Grand Canyon. 

19. The President of the United States wakes up on a train taking him into a desert. 

20. A spy escapes to another continent to evade government assassins trying to take him out. 

21. A group of rock climbers discovers a drug deal in the Rockies and must survive as they are pursued. 

'127 Hours'

22. A retired assassin struggles to survive an onslaught of assassins trying to kill him near his mountain cabin home .

23. A gamer escapes into the fantasy world of his favorite game.

24. A classic horror movie fan escapes into the world of his favorite horror movies.

25. Professional thieves are tasked with stealing from a country's gold reserves hidden deep within a mountain.

26. Extreme paintball enthusiasts on a wilderness retreat stumble upon a group of armed criminals.

27. A president must fight off terrorists that attack him on a retreat. 

28. An FBI agent must team up with a cartel boss to find their missing sons in the jungles of Mexico. 

29. Explorers search the ocean for the lost city of Atlantis. 

30. A family finds a lost city underneath their farmland. 

31. A team of explorers is tasked with drilling a ship into the core of the Earth. 

32. A man is catapulted into an apocalyptic future to find the cause of impending doom. 

33. Extreme sports athletes are forced to use their skills for heists in the world's most exotic locations. 

34. College friends search for a mythical island paradise during spring break.  

35. A family is marooned on another planet. 

36. Racecar drivers race across the country in the ultimate race. 

37. Pilots discover a strange city in the clouds. 

38. A robot from the future finds a little girl and takes her to the future world.  

39. Kayakers are whisked away down the Mississippi River during a horrible storm and flood. 

40. A spelunker discovers an underground world. 

41. A bullied boy wakes up as a strong knight in a fantasy world. 

42. Deer hunters discover that they have been targeted by a master hunter that hunts only one prey — man. 

43. A family must survive when they are shipwrecked on a jungle island. 

'Dora and the Lost City of Gold'

44. A waitress is given a mysterious plane ticket as a tip for her excellent service. 

45. An old west gunslinger must survive a posse that is after him. 

46. The world's most deadly convicts are hired for an impossible adventure into the depths of space. 

47. A sailor decides to sail into the infamous Bermuda Triangle to find a lost friend.  

48. A town must survive the worst flood in history. 

49. Storm chasers must survive a unique weather system that creates multiple F5 tornadoes. 

50. A man that has uploaded his consciousness to a simulated reality fights to return to his real body and world.

51. A truck driver travels across the country as he's pursued by gangsters that want his cargo. 

52. An outcast nerd discovers that he's actually a revered prince from another planet, hidden by his royal family to escape an evil space lord. 

53. The story of the Titanic, but the Titanic is a luxury space cruiser that has hit a meteor made of ice. 

54. An astronaut stuck in cryosleep wakes up after his returning ship crashlands in medieval times. 

55. A Navy SEAL is shipwrecked on a deserted island full of vampires. 

56. A submarine crew discovers an underwater civilization of humans. 

57. An asteroid crashes into Earth as people struggle to survive. 

58. Archeologists unlock the mystery of the great pyramids. 

59. The world's last unicorn struggles to get to a safe world. 

60. A wizard from another realm must find a magical item lost on Earth before their evil counterpart does. 

61. A scientist finds the cure for cancer in the jungles but is pursued by a drug cartel wanting to sell it to the highest bidder. 

62. A space pilot goes on an interstellar race to find a coveted treasure. 

'Guardians of the Galaxy'

63. A family sailing the ocean waters must overcome the worst hurricane in history. 

64. Two escaped union soldiers with key intel must make their way through the southern battlefields of the Civil War-era United States. 

65. Old West train robbers must fight off infantry soldiers as the train races across the country. 

66. A Vietnam POW escapes a prisoner camp and struggles to make his way through the war-torn territories to freedom.

67. Criminals are now shipped into space on space prison ships as some try to escape. 

68. Peter Pan's mother tracks him down in Neverland. 

69. Competing treasure hunting families race on the open ocean waters to find a sunken treasure. 

70. A character within a Sim City-like game becomes self-aware and wants to escape to the real world. 

71.  A family vacationing in Hawaii unlocks a portal that transports them back in time. 

72. Asteroid miners struggle to survive an accident. 

73. A family of assassins must survive a syndicate's attempt to take them out while they're on vacation in Europe.

74. A family is transported back to the time of the dinosaurs and struggles to survive. 

75. A riverboat captain attempts the first trip down the Mississippi River. 

76. A futuristic gamer realizes what he thought was a virtual reality shooter game is actually real life. 

77. A movie director finds a way to transport his cast and crew back in time to save money on sets and wardrobes. 

78. Alien monsters chase the last living family on Earth across the country. 

79. A warrior is tasked with venturing to the Dark World to save a captive princess. 

80. A pirate that has fallen in love and wants to leave his pirate ways is chased down by his crew. 

81. Three swordsmen fight their way across a medieval world in search of Excalibur. 

'The Green Knight'

82. A select group of individuals is invited to partake in the ultimate scavenger hunt. 

83. A best-selling author is transported into the fantasy world of his novels. 

84. A science fiction movie director realizes that the world he created for his hit franchise is real. 

85. Siblings mourn the death of their grandpa, only to discover that he's left them an old treasure map.  

86. A witch curses a group of children, causing them to shrink to the size of ants. 

87. A family must find each other after the worst earthquake in human history. 

88. An ancestor of the real Van Helsing is hunted across Europe by vampires.  

89. An off-duty detective on a cruise vacation with his family must fend off terrorists that take over the ship. 

90. A special forces team is catapulted into the world of Wonderland. 

91. An astronaut marooned on the dark side of the moon must make his way to a landing site before it is too late.  

92. A wilderness firefighter must parachute into a wildfire to find a missing family. 

93. A special forces team must retreat back to their base as they are pursued by vampires awakened within an ancient village.  

94. A group of ghost hunters must find their way out of a haunted castle. 

95. A family snorkeling along a reef during vacation finds themselves trapped in an underwater world.  

96. A portal to another world opens during a sleepover. 

97. A conspiracy theorist manages to break into Area 51 and discovers that it houses portals to alien worlds. 

98. An action star is kidnapped and hunted down by a tribe that believes he is the real deal.  

99. Career criminals utilize a city-wide blackout for their crimes. 

100. Scientists travel back to the world of dinosaurs to find a long-dead plant that could save humankind from extinction. 

101. A screenwriter awakens in the world of his science fiction script and must find a way back home.  

'Adaptation'

Share this with your writing peers or anyone that loves a good adventure story. Have some prompts of your own? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter !

Want More Ideas? Take a Look at Our Other  Genre-Based Story Prompts !

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries  Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed , and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies

Get Our Screenwriting Newsletter!

Get weekly writing inspiration delivered to your inbox - including industry news, popular articles, and more!

Facebook Comments

Free download.

Screenwriting Resources:

$ 15.00 Original price was: $15.00. $ 12.00 Current price is: $12.00. Add to cart

Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Next Related Post

Get Our Newsletter!

Developing your own script.

We'll send you a list of our free eCourses when you subscribe to our newsletter. No strings attached.

You Might Also Like

• Hidden Name
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Connect With Us

Writing competitions, success stories.

© 2024 ScreenCraft | An Industry Arts Company

Introducing Apple’s On-Device and Server Foundation Models

At the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference , we introduced Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system integrated deeply into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

Apple Intelligence is comprised of multiple highly-capable generative models that are specialized for our users’ everyday tasks, and can adapt on the fly for their current activity. The foundation models built into Apple Intelligence have been fine-tuned for user experiences such as writing and refining text, prioritizing and summarizing notifications, creating playful images for conversations with family and friends, and taking in-app actions to simplify interactions across apps.

In the following overview, we will detail how two of these models — a ~3 billion parameter on-device language model, and a larger server-based language model available with Private Cloud Compute and running on Apple silicon servers — have been built and adapted to perform specialized tasks efficiently, accurately, and responsibly. These two foundation models are part of a larger family of generative models created by Apple to support users and developers; this includes a coding model to build intelligence into Xcode, as well as a diffusion model to help users express themselves visually, for example, in the Messages app. We look forward to sharing more information soon on this broader set of models.

Our Focus on Responsible AI Development

Apple Intelligence is designed with our core values at every step and built on a foundation of groundbreaking privacy innovations.

Additionally, we have created a set of Responsible AI principles to guide how we develop AI tools, as well as the models that underpin them:

• Empower users with intelligent tools : We identify areas where AI can be used responsibly to create tools for addressing specific user needs. We respect how our users choose to use these tools to accomplish their goals.
• Represent our users : We build deeply personal products with the goal of representing users around the globe authentically. We work continuously to avoid perpetuating stereotypes and systemic biases across our AI tools and models.
• Design with care : We take precautions at every stage of our process, including design, model training, feature development, and quality evaluation to identify how our AI tools may be misused or lead to potential harm. We will continuously and proactively improve our AI tools with the help of user feedback.
• Protect privacy : We protect our users' privacy with powerful on-device processing and groundbreaking infrastructure like Private Cloud Compute. We do not use our users' private personal data or user interactions when training our foundation models.

These principles are reflected throughout the architecture that enables Apple Intelligence, connects features and tools with specialized models, and scans inputs and outputs to provide each feature with the information needed to function responsibly.

In the remainder of this overview, we provide details on decisions such as: how we develop models that are highly capable, fast, and power-efficient; how we approach training these models; how our adapters are fine-tuned for specific user needs; and how we evaluate model performance for both helpfulness and unintended harm.

Pre-Training

Our foundation models are trained on Apple's AXLearn framework , an open-source project we released in 2023. It builds on top of JAX and XLA, and allows us to train the models with high efficiency and scalability on various training hardware and cloud platforms, including TPUs and both cloud and on-premise GPUs. We used a combination of data parallelism, tensor parallelism, sequence parallelism, and Fully Sharded Data Parallel (FSDP) to scale training along multiple dimensions such as data, model, and sequence length.

We train our foundation models on licensed data, including data selected to enhance specific features, as well as publicly available data collected by our web-crawler, AppleBot. Web publishers have the option to opt out of the use of their web content for Apple Intelligence training with a data usage control.

We never use our users’ private personal data or user interactions when training our foundation models, and we apply filters to remove personally identifiable information like social security and credit card numbers that are publicly available on the Internet. We also filter profanity and other low-quality content to prevent its inclusion in the training corpus. In addition to filtering, we perform data extraction, deduplication, and the application of a model-based classifier to identify high quality documents.

Post-Training

We find that data quality is essential to model success, so we utilize a hybrid data strategy in our training pipeline, incorporating both human-annotated and synthetic data, and conduct thorough data curation and filtering procedures. We have developed two novel algorithms in post-training: (1) a rejection sampling fine-tuning algorithm with teacher committee, and (2) a reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) algorithm with mirror descent policy optimization and a leave-one-out advantage estimator. We find that these two algorithms lead to significant improvement in the model’s instruction-following quality.

Optimization

In addition to ensuring our generative models are highly capable, we have used a range of innovative techniques to optimize them on-device and on our private cloud for speed and efficiency. We have applied an extensive set of optimizations for both first token and extended token inference performance.

Both the on-device and server models use grouped-query-attention. We use shared input and output vocab embedding tables to reduce memory requirements and inference cost. These shared embedding tensors are mapped without duplications. The on-device model uses a vocab size of 49K, while the server model uses a vocab size of 100K, which includes additional language and technical tokens.

For on-device inference, we use low-bit palletization, a critical optimization technique that achieves the necessary memory, power, and performance requirements. To maintain model quality, we developed a new framework using LoRA adapters that incorporates a mixed 2-bit and 4-bit configuration strategy — averaging 3.5 bits-per-weight — to achieve the same accuracy as the uncompressed models.

Additionally, we use an interactive model latency and power analysis tool, Talaria , to better guide the bit rate selection for each operation. We also utilize activation quantization and embedding quantization, and have developed an approach to enable efficient Key-Value (KV) cache update on our neural engines.

With this set of optimizations, on iPhone 15 Pro we are able to reach time-to-first-token latency of about 0.6 millisecond per prompt token, and a generation rate of 30 tokens per second. Notably, this performance is attained before employing token speculation techniques, from which we see further enhancement on the token generation rate.

Model Adaptation

Our foundation models are fine-tuned for users’ everyday activities, and can dynamically specialize themselves on-the-fly for the task at hand. We utilize adapters, small neural network modules that can be plugged into various layers of the pre-trained model, to fine-tune our models for specific tasks. For our models we adapt the attention matrices, the attention projection matrix, and the fully connected layers in the point-wise feedforward networks for a suitable set of the decoding layers of the transformer architecture.

By fine-tuning only the adapter layers, the original parameters of the base pre-trained model remain unchanged, preserving the general knowledge of the model while tailoring the adapter layers to support specific tasks.

We represent the values of the adapter parameters using 16 bits, and for the ~3 billion parameter on-device model, the parameters for a rank 16 adapter typically require 10s of megabytes. The adapter models can be dynamically loaded, temporarily cached in memory, and swapped — giving our foundation model the ability to specialize itself on the fly for the task at hand while efficiently managing memory and guaranteeing the operating system's responsiveness.

To facilitate the training of the adapters, we created an efficient infrastructure that allows us to rapidly retrain, test, and deploy adapters when either the base model or the training data gets updated. The adapter parameters are initialized using the accuracy-recovery adapter introduced in the Optimization section.

Performance and Evaluation

Our focus is on delivering generative models that can enable users to communicate, work, express themselves, and get things done across their Apple products. When benchmarking our models, we focus on human evaluation as we find that these results are highly correlated to user experience in our products. We conducted performance evaluations on both feature-specific adapters and the foundation models.

To illustrate our approach, we look at how we evaluated our adapter for summarization. As product requirements for summaries of emails and notifications differ in subtle but important ways, we fine-tune accuracy-recovery low-rank (LoRA) adapters on top of the palletized model to meet these specific requirements. Our training data is based on synthetic summaries generated from bigger server models, filtered by a rejection sampling strategy that keeps only the high quality summaries.

To evaluate the product-specific summarization, we use a set of 750 responses carefully sampled for each use case. These evaluation datasets emphasize a diverse set of inputs that our product features are likely to face in production, and include a stratified mixture of single and stacked documents of varying content types and lengths. As product features, it was important to evaluate performance against datasets that are representative of real use cases. We find that our models with adapters generate better summaries than a comparable model.

As part of responsible development, we identified and evaluated specific risks inherent to summarization. For example, summaries occasionally remove important nuance or other details in ways that are undesirable. However, we found that the summarization adapter did not amplify sensitive content in over 99% of targeted adversarial examples. We continue to adversarially probe to identify unknown harms and expand our evaluations to help guide further improvements.

In addition to evaluating feature specific performance powered by foundation models and adapters, we evaluate both the on-device and server-based models’ general capabilities. We utilize a comprehensive evaluation set of real-world prompts to test the general model capabilities. These prompts are diverse across different difficulty levels and cover major categories such as brainstorming, classification, closed question answering, coding, extraction, mathematical reasoning, open question answering, rewriting, safety, summarization, and writing.

We compare our models with both open-source models (Phi-3, Gemma, Mistral, DBRX) and commercial models of comparable size (GPT-3.5-Turbo, GPT-4-Turbo) 1 . We find that our models are preferred by human graders over most comparable competitor models. On this benchmark, our on-device model, with ~3B parameters, outperforms larger models including Phi-3-mini, Mistral-7B, and Gemma-7B. Our server model compares favorably to DBRX-Instruct, Mixtral-8x22B, and GPT-3.5-Turbo while being highly efficient.

We use a set of diverse adversarial prompts to test the model performance on harmful content, sensitive topics, and factuality. We measure the violation rates of each model as evaluated by human graders on this evaluation set, with a lower number being desirable. Both the on-device and server models are robust when faced with adversarial prompts, achieving violation rates lower than open-source and commercial models.

Our models are preferred by human graders as safe and helpful over competitor models for these prompts. However, considering the broad capabilities of large language models, we understand the limitation of our safety benchmark. We are actively conducting both manual and automatic red-teaming with internal and external teams to continue evaluating our models' safety.

To further evaluate our models, we use the Instruction-Following Eval (IFEval) benchmark to compare their instruction-following capabilities with models of comparable size. The results suggest that both our on-device and server model follow detailed instructions better than the open-source and commercial models of comparable size.

We evaluate our models’ writing ability on our internal summarization and composition benchmarks, consisting of a variety of writing instructions. These results do not refer to our feature-specific adapter for summarization (seen in Figure 3 ), nor do we have an adapter focused on composition.

The Apple foundation models and adapters introduced at WWDC24 underlie Apple Intelligence, the new personal intelligence system that is integrated deeply into iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and enables powerful capabilities across language, images, actions, and personal context. Our models have been created with the purpose of helping users do everyday activities across their Apple products, and developed responsibly at every stage and guided by Apple’s core values. We look forward to sharing more information soon on our broader family of generative models, including language, diffusion, and coding models.

[1] We compared against the following model versions: gpt-3.5-turbo-0125, gpt-4-0125-preview, Phi-3-mini-4k-instruct, Mistral-7B-Instruct-v0.2, Mixtral-8x22B-Instruct-v0.1, Gemma-1.1-2B, and Gemma-1.1-7B. The open-source and Apple models are evaluated in bfloat16 precision.

Related readings and updates.

Advancing speech accessibility with personal voice.

A voice replicator is a powerful tool for people at risk of losing their ability to speak, including those with a recent diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or other conditions that can progressively impact speaking ability. First introduced in May 2023 and made available on iOS 17 in September 2023, Personal Voice is a tool that creates a synthesized voice for such users to speak in FaceTime, phone calls, assistive communication apps, and in-person conversations.

Apple Natural Language Understanding Workshop 2023

Earlier this year, Apple hosted the Natural Language Understanding workshop. This two-day hybrid event brought together Apple and members of the academic research community for talks and discussions on the state of the art in natural language understanding.

In this post, we share highlights from workshop discussions and recordings of select workshop talks.

Discover opportunities in Machine Learning.

Our research in machine learning breaks new ground every day.

Work with us