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Each week, we issue a writing prompt to our own staff, guest contributors, and readers like you. We welcome guest submissions, so if you’re interested in being featured or regularly contributing to the site, email your responses to kelaine.conochan [at] thepromptmag.com.


You know, it’s not exactly easy to write. It’s not a hobby like running or knitting or playing video games, where you can just do it and zone out.

While so many hobbies allow us to turn off our brains, writing does the exact opposite. It’s not “be in the moment” meditation, but rather “capture the moment” meditation. We’re not offered an escape by watching someone else’s creation; we can only escape by creating our own.

Writing demands so much of us.

It requires style and substance. It requires coherent thoughts and a point of view. It requires time and effort and passion. It requires a beginning and a middle and a conclusion.

But when you get to THE END, holy wow wow. That feeling. That is enough energy to send you to the moon. THAT energy is why we write. But why am I telling YOU when you should be telling me? Go ahead and answer the prompt!

This Week’s Writing Prompt: WHY I WRITE

This week, we’re looking for new original pieces, using WHY I WRITE as our prompt.

If you’ve got an inspired ideas about how to respond to this week’s prompt, send us your submission of 400-700 words. Write us anything that comes to mind when you think of  WHY I WRITE. It can be a personal essay, a poem, short story, script, or anything else original and fresh. Ironic or sincere, real or imagined—just make it worth our while and we’ll publish it, include it in our newsletter, and give you the chance to join the creative, talented staff writers here at The Prompt.

Email your responses to kelaine.conochan@thepromptmag.com by Saturday July 1st at midnight EST.

The Prompt Staff

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