Holiday Writing Prompts

First of all, I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. As you may have noticed, it's been about a month since my last blog. That is because, like many of you, I did my best to disconnect over the holiday and actually take some time off. But now, let's get back to it!

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Writing prompts are great for a couple of reasons. First, they get your creative juices flowing. If you are in a rut or stuck on a current story, they give your brain a chance to focus on something else. This can give you an idea about your current story but at the very least will show you that you aren't in a total block and your brain still works, which is always reassuring. Second, writing prompts can help ensure that you are writing regularly. Creating a solid writing habit is essential if you ever plan on writing something of length or if you just want you writing to improve. The more you do it, the better you get.

Since I am into all things blood and murder, I thought it would be fun this holiday season to convert a bunch of standard boring holiday prompts into some prompts of the more creepy variety. I featured some of these on my Instagram stories, but this post will provide a summary of all the converted prompts. The nice thing about the conversions is that not all of them ended up staying holiday specific and could be done at any time; however, most of them do well in a wintery setting. Living in Colorado, we are smack in the middle of snow and cold, so if you are in a similar situation, these will all work great for you.

Here is a list of some traditional holiday prompts and their conversion to creepy thriller prompts instead. These are based on whatever happened to pop into my weird, murdery head when I read the initial prompt. The initial prompts were simply found by searching online.

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1. Write a story that includes the phrase, "Thank you! It's just what I wanted!" --> Write a story where someone opens a gift on Christmas morning with a body part inside.

2. Write about a family's first holiday after a parent has gotten remarried, and how there are new faces at the table and new traditions to be honored --> Write about a holiday dinner where one of the siblings brings her new beau, and there's something off about him

3. In the form of diary/journal entries, write about someone on a long-awaited trip --> In the form of diary/journal entries, write about someone being held captive in a basement.

4. Write about someone who is given a bird for the holidays but doesn't know how to take care of it --> Write about someone who gets a pet for the holidays that is possessed by a demon.

5. Write a story where someone shares a cup of hot chocolate with a friend --> Write a story where someone shares a cup of hot chocolate with a vampire

6. Write a story about an unconventional holiday tradition --> Write a story about a family that murders together for the holidays.

7. Set your story at a work holiday party --> Set your story at a serial killer convention holiday party.

8. Write a story that takes place over the eight nights of Hanukkah --> Write a story about a detective tracking down The Hanukkah Killer

9. After a heavy snowfall, you notice a single set of footprints heading into the woods and decide to follow them. Write a story about what happens. --> After a heavy snowfall, you hear a knocking sound. You see drops of blood in the hall leading to the basement. You open the door.

10. Write a meet-cute about two people who fall in love over the winter break --> Write a meet-cute about two people who are hired to kill each other.

11. You receive a mysterious, life-changing holiday gift in the mail. Write a story about what happens when you open it. --> You find an unmarked package on your porch on Christmas morning. Write a story about what happens.

I have some additional traditional holiday prompts that I can convert if you are interested. If you find one online that you want to make creepier, post it in the comments, and I'll convert it for you. Or, if you write to any of these prompts and want to share, post them in the comments as well!