100 Things to Write About When You’re Stuck (Science-Backed Prompts)

The blank page wins more battles than it should. You sit down to write, and suddenly your mind empties like a theater after the credits roll. If you’ve ever wondered “what should I write about today?” or feared you’ll run out of things to write about, you’re not alone. Here’s what most writing advice misses: the problem isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s that your brain needs a specific entry point to activate its creative networks.

So what are good things to write about? The answer depends on your goals, but the best topics to write about share one quality: they connect to something you genuinely care about. Whether you’re searching for journal prompts, blog post ideas, or fiction inspiration, the key is finding subjects that spark your curiosity.

As a writer, are you afraid you’ll run out of things to write about? Every writer faces this fear, but it’s largely unfounded. The world generates infinite material daily—your experiences, observations, relationships, and questions provide endless fuel. The challenge isn’t finding topics; it’s recognizing the gold already surrounding you.

These 100 writing prompts work because they’re grounded in how creativity actually functions. Use them to bypass the blank page and discover what you’re meant to write.

Why Your “Boring” Life Is Actually Writing Gold

Most aspiring writers believe they need dramatic experiences to create compelling content. They wait for the perfect story to happen to them.

This belief is backwards.

In Anne Lamott’s classic book on writing, Bird by Bird, she offers a different perspective:

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories.”

—Anne Lamott, Author

The mundane details of your life—your commute, your family dinners, your 3 a.m. thoughts—contain more material than you’ll ever exhaust. The trick is knowing how to access it.

Personal Experiences and Anecdotes

Dr. James Pennebaker’s research at the University of Texas reveals something remarkable: writing about personal experiences for just 15-20 minutes over four consecutive days produces measurable health benefits, including improved immune function and reduced stress. The act of organizing emotional experiences into narrative form reduces the cognitive load of holding back thoughts.

What is the easiest thing to write about? Your own life. Personal experiences require no research, no expertise, and no permission. You already have the material—you just need to access it.

These eight prompts help you mine your personal history.

1. Your Life and Memories

Even if you think your life lacks drama, it’s a treasure trove of source material. Start with your earliest memory or something mundane that holds unexpected significance.

As you write, layer in sensory details:

• What were you feeling physically?
• What did you smell, taste, or hear?
• Who was present, and what were they doing?
• How does this memory connect to something in your present life?

The goal: communicate mood without directly stating it. Show the reader; don’t tell them.

2. Interests and Hobbies

You don’t need a Ph.D. to write about your passions. Your personal experience gives you a perspective that experts often lack—the beginner’s clarity.

Maybe you crochet because chronic illness keeps you in bed. Perhaps you’re obsessed with trains because mechanical systems feel more predictable than human relationships. These angles make your writing distinctive.

Start with why you love this thing. The rest follows naturally.

3. Experiences From the Everyday

Skip the dramatic adventures. Some of the most engaging writing examines ordinary routines.

About 3.1% of the American workforce^{1https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2021/acs/acs-48.pdf} commutes by public transit daily—down from 5% before the shift to remote work. What does that experience feel like? Do you wake up earlier? Worry about safety? Does transit expand your freedom or constrain it?

That 3.1% represents millions of potential readers who’ll recognize their own experience. For everyone else, your writing offers a window into an unfamiliar world.

Pro Tip: Write about how the same experience varies by location, time of day, or the person having it.

4. Feelings and Emotions

How are you feeling right now? Practice reflecting on your emotions at the start or end of each day.

What are the best and most important things to write about in a diary or journal? Your emotional landscape. This isn’t just journaling—it’s training. Neuroscience research shows that labeling emotions (putting feelings into words) reduces amygdala activation and engages the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s regulation center. You’re building emotional intelligence through deliberate practice.

Emotion Starters:

• Certain, secure, ambitious
• Confident, bold, pleased
• Grateful, optimistic, content
• Annoyed, critical, resentful
• Sad, defeated, disappointed
• Determined, inspired, creative

5. Thoughts and Ponderings

Do you ever wonder why mockingbirds sing at night? Feel like cherry blossoms symbolize something you can’t quite name? Random thoughts become seeds for longer work.

Neil Gaiman addresses where ideas come from:

“You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it.”

—Neil Gaiman, Author

Research on the brain’s Default Mode Network supports this. This neural network activates during daydreaming and unfocused states—precisely when creative connections form.

Pro Tip: Carry paper and pencil, or use your phone’s notes app to capture passing thoughts. Those fragments from your commute or sleepless nights may become your next article or book premise.

6. Dreams Without Pressure

Keep a notebook by your bed. Write down dreams immediately upon waking.

What is the best thing to write about in an empty journal? Start with your dreams. This urgency isn’t arbitrary. Dreams occur during REM sleep when norepinephrine levels are low. Upon waking, your brain’s neurochemistry shifts rapidly, and dream traces decay within minutes if not encoded into memory. Dream recall rates approach 95% when participants are awakened during REM sleep, but drop dramatically with delayed recording.

Beyond capturing material, this practice builds your habit of writing without pressure—no one sees what you record.

7. Goals Through the Year

Setting goals works, but only when done correctly. Edwin Locke and Gary Latham’s Goal-Setting Theory—the gold standard in organizational psychology—identifies what makes goals effective: they must be specific and challenging.

“Write more” fails. “Complete 500 words daily for 30 days” succeeds.

Write down your goals and the steps required. Include writing-specific targets:

• Weekly word count
• Monthly submission to one publication
• Joining a writer’s group by [date]
• Completing your manuscript draft by year’s end

8. Quirky and Strange Family

Whether it’s your family history or the personalities around your dinner table, writing about family reveals who you are. Step back as you write. Observe with curiosity rather than judgment.

What makes your family surprising, intriguing, or unexpectedly funny? Even difficult relationships contain material worth examining.

Pro Tip: Ask questions. You likely don’t know everything about your family’s history. Those untold stories are waiting.

Current Events and News Stories

Before writing about current events, inform yourself thoroughly and respect the people you report on. Take controversial positions when warranted, but don’t manufacture controversy for attention.

Distinguish between reporting and opinion. Personal perspectives belong in opinion pieces, not news reports.

9. Local Perspective on Local Events

To report on local events, get involved in your community. Build connections with key people. Stay alert for stories even when you’re not actively looking.

How do I find happy community things to write about? Start by attending local gatherings—festivals, charity events, neighborhood meetings. These positive community stories often go uncovered by larger outlets, creating opportunities for writers who show up.

Action Steps:

1. Attend a local festival or event
2. Identify the organizer and request five minutes for an interview
3. If they decline, thank them graciously—they may become a future contact
4. Interview at least three attendees
5. Take quality photos (publications want visuals)

Pro Tip: Research the event beforehand. Prepare specific questions. Record interviews using your phone’s voice memo app, and take handwritten notes as backup.

10. Global Events From a Local Perspective

Global events provide endless writing topics. Even without foreign policy expertise, you can offer local angles on international concerns.

Subscribe to a nonpartisan news roundup for daily overviews. Cross-reference with sources from different political perspectives to understand how coverage varies.

11. Opinion Pieces on Social or Political Issues

After tracking news consistently, you’ll form educated opinions—distinct from social media hot takes. Quality opinion writing requires robust research integrating present events with historical context.

Action Step: Select a social or political issue. Instead of reacting only to current headlines, research the historical precedents. For example, when covering labor disputes, study the General Strike of 1926 and trace how different political parties have responded to labor movements over decades.

12. Political Events

Political topics abound, but context determines quality. Viewing politics only through immediate events produces skewed analysis.

Action Step: Choose a political event. Research the most significant world events from recent years. Trace how the political landscape has evolved over at least five years.

13. Social Events

Social events offer lighter, faster-turnaround topics that still matter to local communities. Subscribe to local newsletters and attend networking events to learn about gatherings before they happen.

Be prepared to interact with attendees and capture photos.

Travel and Adventure Stories

Publications constantly seek travel and adventure content. If you travel, you should write about it.

Before visiting any destination, find Facebook groups or forums for that location. Locals post about favorite restaurants, upcoming events, and current issues—often more reliable than reviews written by people who’ve never visited.

14. Research Other Cultures

Writing about other cultures requires significant research, but the payoff is substantial. Learning about different cultures enriches both you and your readers.

Research before traveling to understand acceptable communication styles and avoid unintentional offense. While experiencing the culture, ask questions, venture off tourist paths, and maintain respect throughout.

Pro Tip: Avoid criticism or objectification when writing about other cultures. Better yet, write about your own culture from an insider’s perspective that outsiders rarely access.

15. Where to Stay

Researching accommodations intimidates many travelers. Write well about this, and you’re solving a real problem.

While traveling, ask locals about neighborhoods to avoid, where their visiting family members stay, and which hotels have solid reputations.

16. What to Do

Ask yourself: What unique perspective can I add? Skip standard tourist destinations. Dig into what makes a place genuinely distinctive.

Try these approaches:

• Board a bus without a destination
• Stay at a bed and breakfast and talk with the owner
• Hire a guide and ask them to show you their childhood haunts

Pro Tip: Read a novel by a local author set in your destination. You’ll gain insider perspective and discover locations missing from guidebooks.

17. What to Pack

Packing choices make or break trips. Use your location knowledge to create genuinely useful packing guides.

Key considerations:

• Local dress norms and religious customs
• Appropriate footwear for terrain and transportation
• Electronics adaptors for the region
• Safety concerns and precautions
• Dietary restriction accommodations
• Seasonal weather patterns
• Available over-the-counter medications
• Shopping accessibility (urban vs. remote)

18. Stresses and Challenges

Travel isn’t always glamorous. The stresses and challenges make for compelling reading—don’t sanitize your experiences. Sharing difficulties creates relatability that polished accounts lack.

19. The Stories of People You Met

When writing about others, respect their privacy and stories.

Travel can be lonely. Resist the temptation to simply consume food and sights. Slow down. Talk to locals. Ask questions. Listen to their stories. This respect for the people whose home you’re visiting transforms tourist experiences into genuine human connection.

When you write about places, write about people.

Don’t visit Costa Rica just for beaches. Go for the melody of Spanish conversation, the artisans selling handmade goods, the families who’ve grown coffee for generations.

20. Photo Essays

If you love both writing and photography, photo essays offer an immersive format. The images create narrative or theme; your writing supports and expands on them.

Photo essay types:

• Events: protests, parades, rallies
• Walking tours of specific locations
• Changes at one place over time
• Street fashion documentation
• Day-in-the-life sequences
• Food from specific cultures or regions
• Religious traditions
• Comparative studies (public transit, hotel rooms, or restaurants across different cities)

Reviews of Books, Movies, and TV Shows

Practice your craft while sharing opinions on pop culture. These topics build your writing skills and attract readers who share your interests.

21. New books from your favorite author
22. Books from your favorite genre
23. A roundup of the best books of the year
24. Hot new authors to watch
25. New movie releases
26. Classic films worth revisiting
27. Movies everyone should watch
28. Themed movie lists
29. TV shows that deserve revival
30. Anticipated TV show returns

How-To Guides and Tutorials

How-to content remains perpetually popular. If you have a skill, someone wants to learn it. Blog posts and tutorials on specific skills attract readers searching for exactly what you know.

31. Your hobbies explained for beginners
32. Trending hobbies and how to start
33. Detailed step-by-step instructions
34. A skill you’ve mastered
35. A skill you’re currently learning (document the journey)
36. A skill someone important taught you
37. A product you genuinely love
38. Products generating buzz
39. An underappreciated product
40. Supply lists for specific skills or hobbies
41. How to overcome common learning barriers

Reflections on Life, Love, and Happiness

Human emotions are complex, and readers connect with relational experiences—both failures and successes. Share your interpersonal stories and insights.

42. What makes you happy, sad, or angry
43. What helps you relax
44. What inspires you
45. Relationship advice from real-life experience
46. Relationship challenges you’ve navigated
47. Summer romance stories
48. School-era love stories
49. Surprising love stories

Funny Things to Write About

Humor makes serious topics approachable and builds connection with readers. Good humor in writing is surprisingly rare—if you can do it well, that’s a valuable skill.

50. Funny things that happened to you
51. Funny things you’ve witnessed
52. Funny things you’ve read about
53. Satirical takes on everyday situations

Why Writing Prompts Work

Writing prompts aren’t just for beginners. Professional writers use them to spark creativity, discover new modes of expression, and refocus when stuck on other projects.

Research on “divergent thinking”—the cognitive process of generating multiple solutions—shows that constraints paradoxically increase creative output. A prompt narrows the infinite possibilities of a blank page into a manageable starting point.

The following prompts leverage specific cognitive strategies to activate your creative networks.

Things to Write Poems About

Poetry hasn’t disappeared in the modern world. While poetry reading declined slightly^{2https://www.arts.gov} from 11.7% of adults in 2017 to 9.2% in 2022, listening to poetry has emerged as a new engagement vector, with 4.8% of adults consuming poetry through audio formats.

The medium evolves. The need for it remains.

54. The shape and color of light on the object in front of you
55. The texture of carpet under your feet
56. How you felt when someone said they loved you
57. How you felt when someone wasn’t there for you
58. The rhythm of moving water
59. The smell of sunshine and freshly cut grass
60. Your father’s hands
61. Your mother’s smile
62. Being sick as a child
63. Letting go of a dream
64. The physical sensation of heartbreak
65. The sound of public transportation
66. The smell of city life
67. The rhythms of rural life
68. The sight of children playing
69. The feel of what you’re wearing right now

Things to Write About When Bored

Next time boredom strikes, resist reaching for your phone. Writers need empty space for unexpected ideas to emerge. Instead of distracting yourself, treat boredom as creative opportunity.

70. Imagine you’re a dog who just discovered your favorite toy is missing. Write the scene from the dog’s perspective.
71. If you have no siblings, rewrite a life event with an imaginary sibling present. If you have siblings, rewrite an important moment as if they didn’t exist.
72. Look at an object in front of you. Write about it as a product you need to sell. Invent a function. Identify your target customer.
73. Write a thank-you note to someone who shaped your life.

Things to Write Songs About

74. The classic breakup song with an unexpected twist
75. Your toothbrush
76. How waking up at home feels
77. A melody that mirrors the rhythm of wind in trees
78. The summer you lived overseas
79. A dream that was taken away
80. The way your child looks when happy
81. The sound of plants growing (if you could hear it)

Things to Write About Yourself

How to write about myself? Start by considering your family history within its time and place. Did you grow up with Florida sunsets, church barbecues, and 90s grunge? Or miners’ strikes, political upheaval, and different cultural touchstones? Your unique circumstances and experiences provide material for vignettes, essays, or novels.

82. What food did everyone bring to school lunch? Write about always having it—or never having it.
83. What was your favorite school cafeteria meal? Describe the smells, taste, and whether you ate alone or surrounded by friends.
84. What was the political climate during your grade school years? Research a political event from when you were 11, then write a scene showing how it affected you without your awareness.
85. Write about something a parent did that drove you crazy. Connect it to a memory where you felt loved and safe.
86. Your favorite summer memory, in full sensory detail.
87. A slow, poetic narrative about your hometown.
88. A change that shifted how you experience the world: a move, divorce, new sibling, friend leaving.
89. How people see you versus how you wish they saw you.

Writing Prompts for Fiction Writers

For fiction writers ready to start a novel or short story, plot generators can spark unexpected directions. Whether you’re drafting your first short story or planning an epic series of novels, these prompts provide starting points for your imagination.

90. Mystery

A weary veteran. A deaf reporter. A family saga about overcoming insecurities. It begins in a manor with a job offer. Someone had a troubled childhood. Tell it in epistolary form.

91. Drama

A cynical detective. A poor pilot. A hardboiled PI story about blackmail. It begins at a farmhouse with news of a hacked database. The case spans four decades. All characters die by the story’s end.

92. Romance

A stubborn jockey. A cautious barista. A romantic suspense about standing up for oneself. It begins near a yard sale with a runaway cat. Both protagonists are always in the right place at the wrong time. They never manage to meet in person.

Starting Your First Book

What is the best way to start writing my first book? Begin with a single scene rather than an outline. Many successful novelists recommend writing the scene that excites you most—regardless of where it falls in the story. This builds momentum and helps you discover your characters’ voices.

Once you have 5-10 scenes, patterns emerge. You’ll see what your book wants to be. From there, outline loosely and keep writing forward. The first draft’s only job is to exist.

Fiction Writer Resources:

• How to Write Compelling Content
• How to Write a Book: 10 Questions Before You Start

Writing Prompts for Non-Fiction Writers

Non-fiction encompasses memoir, essays, journalism, how-to guides, and blog posts. These prompts help you find your angle on real-life topics.

Personal Essays

• Write about a belief you held strongly that changed completely
• Describe a skill you learned from an unexpected teacher
• Explore a family tradition and what it reveals about your heritage

Journalism and Reporting

• Profile someone in your community doing quiet, important work
• Investigate a local issue that affects daily life but gets no coverage
• Write about how a national trend manifests in your specific location

How-To and Educational Content

• Teach something you learned the hard way
• Break down a complex process into beginner-friendly steps
• Compare different approaches to solving a common problem

Memoir Prompts

• The moment you realized you’d become an adult
• A place that shaped who you are
• The story behind an object you can’t throw away

Things to Write About in a Letter

Letter writing has become rare, which makes it special. Don’t worry about profound content or major news. Write what you think. Share your feelings. Let structure emerge naturally.

93. Last week, I was surprised by…
94. I am sitting… and I can see…
95. Remember when…
96. I always think of you when…
97. Did you know…?
98. I was thinking about…
99. Lately, I’ve been feeling…
100. You’ll never believe who I saw last week…

Finding Your Unique Writing Voice

Every writer struggles with voice. You read authors you admire and wonder: How do I sound like myself instead of a pale imitation?

Your writing voice emerges from the intersection of what you notice, how you think, and the words you naturally reach for. It can’t be manufactured—only discovered through practice.

Exercises for Developing Voice

Write the same scene three ways: First as yourself, then imitating a favorite author, then combining elements you liked from both versions.

Read your writing aloud: If sentences feel awkward to speak, they’ll feel awkward to read. Your natural speech patterns inform your authentic voice.

Notice your obsessions: What topics do you return to repeatedly? What details catch your attention that others miss? These patterns reveal your unique perspective.

Write without editing: First drafts often contain your truest voice before self-consciousness creeps in. Capture that raw quality, then refine it.

Voice vs. Style

Voice is who you are on the page. Style is the technical choices you make—sentence length, vocabulary, structure. Both develop over time, but voice comes first. Master your voice, and style follows.

The writers you admire didn’t find their voices by trying to be original. They found them by writing honestly about what mattered to them, in language that felt natural. Do the same.

How to Find Inspiration and Overcome Writer’s Block

Studies show up to 94% of academics experience writer’s block at least occasionally. Only 6% claim immunity. You’re not alone.

Some researchers argue “writer’s block” is actually a symptom of perfectionism or fear rather than a distinct condition. The cure is often behavioral—low-stakes writing—rather than waiting for inspiration.

How do you find things to write about everyday? Build systems that generate material automatically. These eight strategies help when writing feels impossible:

1. Change your environment. Visit a café, botanical garden, or park. New settings clear mental clutter and provide people-watching opportunities for character development.
2. Know when to push through and when to stop. Some days require sitting down and writing regardless. Other days, if every word feels like extraction, take a walk or shift activities entirely.
3. Write about what interests you. Nothing kills motivation faster than boring topics. Even assigned subjects can be approached from angles that engage your curiosity.
4. Research more. When blocked, stop writing and start researching. Take notes. Create rough sketches of concepts. This builds material for when words flow again.
5. Keep a journal. What are things to write in a journal? Anything. Journaling provides low-pressure practice. No one sees it. Use it to capture thoughts, feelings, and fragments for future projects.
6. Join a writer’s group. Writer’s groups provide feedback, fresh ideas, and accountability. Even introverts benefit from supportive community. Writing is lonely work—connection helps sustain it.
7. Maintain a source file. Save interesting studies, articles, and images in a dedicated folder. When inspiration runs dry, browse your collection for sparks.
8. Set specific goals. Accomplishing even small targets—daily word counts, weekly writing sessions—triggers dopamine release and builds momentum.

Resources and Tools for Writers

• Reedsy Book Formatting — Free
• Plot Generator — Free
• Science of People: How to Write a Book — Free
• Science of People: Compelling Content — Free

Things to Write About: Your Takeaway

The blank page loses its power once you have an entry point. These prompts work because they engage specific cognitive processes—from the emotional processing of personal writing to the divergent thinking sparked by constraints.

Your next steps:

1. Try the Pennebaker Protocol: Write about an emotional experience for 15-20 minutes daily for four consecutive days. Don’t edit. Just write.
2. Schedule boredom: Block 30 minutes without phone or inputs. Let your Default Mode Network generate unexpected connections.
3. Capture dreams immediately: Keep notebook and pen ready. Record keywords before your brain’s waking chemistry erases the traces.
4. Set one specific goal: Not “write more” but “500 words before breakfast” or “submit to one publication this month.”
5. Pick one prompt from this list right now. Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Start writing.

Curious about the writing process behind a bestselling book? Explore Vanessa Van Edwards’s writing process for Captivate to see how these principles work in practice.