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10 Ways to Use Writing Prompts for Personal Development, Business & Leadership · The Daily Writer

• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Writer.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Each weekday, we bring you a short lesson that helps you live out the four practices of a great writer: creativity, consistency, courage, and connection.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Here on the weekend edition, we take a deeper dive into those topics through conversations with writers, as well as teaching that helps us apply what we're learning.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I recently came across a wonderful quote by Edward Dabano, who is an author and inventor.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I shared this quote on one of the recent weekday episodes, but I want to share it here again because I liked it so much.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: He said, Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And as a writer, you know that creativity is a vital part of your work and business.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: There are moments when your creative energy is flowing and you can't write the words fast enough.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And those are the moments we live for as writers, aren't they?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: But there's also those other moments, the ones where you're stuck and the words just will not come no matter how hard you try.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: You sit there staring at the blank page, wondering how to break through those creative blocks.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, one of the best tools for doing that is writing prompts.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Writing prompts are a simple yet powerful tool to get your words flowing again.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're stuck in a creative rut, you need a little bit of a spark to interrupt your thinking pattern, to introduce something new into the mix, and to get those creative juices flowing once again.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: For example, let me share a few fun writing prompts.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: And these are all original with me.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, imagine you're the villain in your favorite movie.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think people misunderstand about you?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, describe the last time you did something really kind for someone.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: How did it make you feel?
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, what place have you always wanted to visit, but you haven't?
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And why do you want to go there?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Number four, a Hollywood producer is making a movie about your life and needs a scene where you overcame a big obstacle.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: What event from your life would be perfect for this scene?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And number five, you're walking along the beach and you find a note in a bottle from 1873.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: What does the note say?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now you may think, Kent, those are fun and all, and I can see how those are great for creative writing, but how would I use those in other areas of my life?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you're in luck because on this episode I want to share ten specific ways that you can use writing prompts for personal development, business, and leadership.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, writing prompts are much more than just feel-good snippets or these fun kind of silly things.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think that writing prompts are an essential tool for unlocking your creativity on both a personal and professional level.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive into 10 specific applications for writing prompts in personal development, business, and leadership.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is productivity.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: How many times have you sat in front of a computer screen staring at a blank document, just trying to think of something to write?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's happened to me about a million times, and it's probably happened to you as well.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: A writing prompt gives you a little spark to get things moving, and I guess you might think of this as creative fiber, you know, something that kind of gets the system moving.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry for the weird imagery there, but it's all I can think of.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, though, it's true.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: A writing prompt is a little spark just to get things moving, to get the creative juices flowing, and really to get you back to a place of higher creativity once again.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: So writing prompts can help you save time and be more productive by getting past writer's block and getting into a great state of flow.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Number two is journaling.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Journaling is a powerful habit for a bunch of reasons.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: It helps you reflect on your life, it's a brain dump, and it's also an opportunity to explore creative ideas and much more.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people have started a journaling habit, but they quit because they couldn't think of anything to write about.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And writing prompts solve this problem by giving you something to respond to.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a big advocate of journaling for the reasons that I've already listed, but I'm also a huge advocate of it because it's a great opportunity to relieve stress and anxiety.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's especially important because the last year has been filled with tons of stress for most people.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of anxiety, lots of worry, lots of weird things going on.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: So journaling is a great way to relieve that stress and to help deal with anxiety.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And writing prompts are great for journaling.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely writing prompts can help with stress and anxiety on many levels.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Number three is fiction.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've ever written fiction or at least you've tried to write fiction, you know that it's not as easy as it looks.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to come up with new plot ideas, characters, dialogue, and stories, and you've got to do this all from your own head.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And you may already have plenty of ideas and characters, but writing prompts can take your fiction to a whole new level by giving you new ideas for story directions as well as for dialogue.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: But the coolest part of that is that you can have your characters respond to these prompts so you can hear what they're thinking and they're feeling.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And basically, writing prompts are a way to get into your character's head, which of course is going to give you lots of material for the story, the plot, dialogue, and so forth.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: So writing prompts when you're writing fiction can really help you get unstuck and be more productive as you're writing that fiction.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Number four is speaking.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, speakers and presenters need to keep their listeners engaged.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Not only do you need stories, you also need twists and turns and surprise elements in your talk or in your presentation.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And a writing prompt can give you a creative idea for your talk, or you can also use it as a reflection point for your listeners.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: And those can come in really handy if you do any kind of group discussion or exercises.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Number five is teaching.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where my heart really is with this one, because I've been a college prof for 17 years.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds kind of weird to say.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, one of the hardest things to do as a professor or as a teacher is to get students talking and engaged.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I have completely changed my teaching style over the last few years from being a lecturer to being much more of a coach or a guide in the classroom.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because it's vital that we help students get engaged and get talking, and we've got to create interactive learning environments.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, it just becomes like that Charlie Brown situation where nobody's listening to the teacher.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's like a wah, wah, wah, wah.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: The teacher's talking, but nobody's listening, kind of a deal.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, writing prompts can really help solve that problem in teaching because you can use these for icebreakers.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, one of the classes that I teach in undergrad is a freshman-level public speaking course.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So these can be great for having students give impromptu speeches.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're great for presentations, for group discussions, in-class assignments, homework, and lots of other things.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the really cool thing about writing prompts is that these can be adapted to any subject or any grade level.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So these can go all the way from elementary school, all the way up through PhD programs, you know, in the right situation, I suppose.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I love about these is they are so incredibly versatile.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Number six is masterminds.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've been a part of mastermind groups for many years, and I couldn't even begin to try and tell you how much masterminds have added to my life.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: But why are masterminds so powerful?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's because it's a structured way for people to build on each other's wisdom and knowledge.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like, you know, if you if you have 10 great musicians and you bring them all together, you're gonna have a like a super group type of band.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's kind of how a mastermind is.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: You bring these great people together and you're like multiplying their knowledge and their experience and their wisdom, and you come up with some really cool stuff in a mastermind group.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to take a mastermind group one step further, writing prompts can add new life to your discussions.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: They can help you explore new creative pathways, and you can get group members talking more.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes, honestly, in a mastermind group, you just need a little something extra to introduce into the conversation, and a great writing prompt will do exactly that.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Number seven is blogging.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you do blogging, you can use writing prompts to spark ideas for articles, blog posts, and other types of content.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: And there have been lots of times over the years when I wasn't sure what I was gonna say about a topic when I sat down to write about it.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, heck, for that matter, there have been many times where I didn't even know what I was gonna write about in the first place, but I know I've got something due.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've got a schedule I've got to keep, so what in the world am I gonna write about?
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And in my experience, a great writing prompt can get your creative juices flowing, and once that happens, the words come a lot faster.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Number eight is social media posts.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you have ever wondered what to say on social media to help people get engaged, look no further because writing prompts, I believe, are a great answer.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: You can simply copy and paste writing prompts or you can adapt them to your audience.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a fantastic way to get your fans, your followers, and your group members talking and engaged a lot more.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And when you get them talking, they feel more like they're a part of the community.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes you have those people in any kind of a group situation who just dominate every discussion.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: But when you have a good writing prompt, when you have a great question, a lot more people get engaged because they have something to respond to, and those dominating personalities suddenly don't necessarily dominate so much because everybody else is engaged as well.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Number nine is podcasting.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: So you're listening to a podcast right now, of course, but guess what?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: All the content on a podcast has to be created by somebody.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: In this case, on the Daily Writer Podcast, it's created by me and my guests when I have them.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: But if you host a podcast, you've got to create constant material for your show.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you can become a much more interesting and engaging host by using these prompts as questions for podcast guests, if those fit into the context of your show.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: But you can also use these writing prompts as something to spur your own solo show content.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the key principles of writing, I believe, is that writing prompts more writing.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, when you write, that creates more material in your mind and in your creative workflow for you to create more and more material.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're constantly creating, it'll produce more ideas, and those ideas begin to cross-pollinate with other ideas and so forth.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: So when you introduce fun ideas through writing prompts, that helps to give you even more podcast material, which can then be adapted into other written formats like books, blog posts, articles, social media posts, newsletters, and so forth.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I do all those things from my podcast.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm speaking from experience here.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, writing prompts can be adapted for any podcast topic and also any format of a podcast.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: So again, I love writing prompts because they're really, really versatile.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Then finally, the tenth way that you can use writing prompts in personal development, business, and leadership is through coaching.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you do coaching of any kind, you know that it's vital to get your clients talking and engaged.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And one way to do this, one way to get a conversation started is by using prompts to spark new directions and conversations.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And you can adapt these prompts for specific topics or specific coaching approaches or situations.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: And you can also just use these as icebreakers and discussion starters.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there you have it.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I went through those kind of fast, but I didn't want to dwell on any one for too long because I've got 10 of these things that I wanted to mention today.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: But these are 10 ways that you can use writing prompts for personal development, business, and leadership.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And as you can see, they're sort of like the Swiss Army knife of content because they're so useful in so many different situations.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a natural follow-up question that you'll have after hearing all this is, Kent, where do I get these writing prompts?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's two answers to that question.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, you can scrounge around on the internet for a few wimpy writing prompts from different websites.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Some of those might be useful, some of those may not be, but you're going to waste a bunch of time scrounging around looking for stuff.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Or the second option is that you can take advantage of a very cool package I've put together, which is 365 daily writing prompts.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't have to go searching online for these, you don't have to put your own list together, and you certainly don't have to write these because I've already done all the work for you.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can have these prompts sent directly to your inbox one every day for the whole next year.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: And whenever you subscribe to Daily Writing Prompts, here's what you get: you get an original writing prompt every day via email, including weekends, for the next 365 days.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, you get a bonus email every 30 days with a printable list of the previous month's worth of prompts.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, every month you're gonna get the previous month's worth of prompts just in one simple list so you don't have to copy and paste from all the previous 30 emails.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then third of all, you're gonna get a quick start guide to help you get the maximum value out of these writing prompts.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: So think about how your life and your writing or your business could look one year from now.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you unleash your creativity on a daily basis with these writing prompts, it's pretty cool.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: These are an immensely useful tool for your personal growth, business leadership, and so much more, no matter what type of business or industry that you're in.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Whew.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this has been a fun episode.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I've shared a lot about writing prompts here.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you can tell I'm excited about these.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I personally use these all the time, and I think they're a really, really useful tool.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can check all this out at dailywriterlife.com slash writing prompts.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: That goes to a sales page where you can find out more about the writing prompts and how to get those if you want to.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And again, that is dailywriterlife.comslash writing prompts.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, there will be a link to these in the show notes.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: This has been an absolute blast.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate you hanging out with me here on the Daily Rider Podcast, and I will see you tomorrow.