1. Prompts can be used for any genre of writing—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, whatever.
2. You can write about yourself in the first-person (“I”) or you can use the prompts to give voice to your fictional characters (or even to inanimate objects, if you feel like being playful!)
3. When the prompt contains a pronoun such as “I” or “she” or “he” or “they,” feel free to change it to anything else. Or feel free to change the tense. Or even to do the opposite. Do whatever you want to do, go wherever you want to go! The prompt is here to serve you; you are not here to serve the prompt.
4. Let the prompt spark the writing (to go wherever it wants to go). No need to follow it literally. In other words, don’t think about what the prompt means; don’t try to force your writing to be “about” the prompt. Try letting the first image that pops into your head be your cue, your guide. Then simply begin. (Famous Alan Ginsberg quote: “First thought, best thought.”)
5. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to write from a prompt.
6. A prompt is not a theme. It is not meant to be your subject. It’s a “nudge” to help you get going. That’s all.