Have you ever found yourself staring at a blank page, bored out of your mind, with no idea what to write about?
It’s a frustrating feeling that every writer experiences at some point.
But fear not!
This ultimate guide is here to spark your creativity and give you plenty of ideas for things to write about when boredom strikes.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- Fun writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing
- Practical writing exercises to hone your skills
- Introspective journaling ideas to explore your thoughts and feelings
- Offbeat topics to write about for pure entertainment value
By the end of this guide, you’ll have a treasure trove of writing ideas to turn to whenever boredom rears its ugly head. So grab your pen or fire up your laptop, and let’s dive in!
Write a Haiku About Your Favorite Food
Haikus are short, three-line poems that originated in Japan. They follow a simple 5-7-5 syllable structure, making them a great option when you want to write something quick and fun. For this prompt, try crafting a haiku about your favorite food.
The condensed nature of haikus forces you to choose your words carefully and focus on the essence of your subject. Zoom in on the colors, textures, flavors, or emotions that your favorite food evokes. You could write about the crimson hue of a perfectly ripe strawberry, the comforting warmth of chicken noodle soup on a cold day, or the child-like joy of biting into a gooey chocolate chip cookie.
Don’t worry about creating a profound work of art. The goal is simply to have fun and appreciate the little things in life, like your favorite foods. Embrace the playfulness of the haiku form and let your creativity run wild.
Write a Letter to Your Future Self
Writing a letter to your future self is a powerful exercise in self-reflection and goal-setting. It’s a chance to check in with yourself, assess where you’re at in life, and dream about where you’d like to be in the future.
Start by choosing a future date to address your letter to. It could be one year from now, five years, or even decades into the future. Then, write about your current life and how you’re feeling. What are your hopes, fears, and dreams? What do you want to accomplish by the time your future self reads this letter?
This exercise can give you valuable perspective and help you clarify your priorities. It’s a way of holding yourself accountable and making a commitment to your future self. Just make sure to store the letter somewhere safe, like a journal or time capsule, so you can actually read it when the time comes.
Write a 6-word Story
For a bite-sized writing challenge, try telling an entire story in just six words. This might sound impossible, but it’s a fun way to flex your creative muscles and practice conveying meaning with brevity. The most famous example of a six-word story is often attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
To craft your own six-word story, focus on evoking emotion and painting a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. Each word should carry weight and contribute to the overall narrative. You might hint at a larger backstory, capture a poignant moment, or deliver a surprising twist.
Since you only have six words to work with, every single one matters. Experiment with different combinations and play around with punctuation to create maximum impact. Remember, the goal isn’t to tell a complex, detailed story, but rather to spark the reader’s imagination and leave them wanting more.
Write a Yelp Review for a Fictional Restaurant
Ever eaten at a restaurant so bizarre, it could only exist in fiction? Here’s your chance to bring that imaginary dining establishment to life by writing a Yelp review for it. Let your imagination run wild as you describe the restaurant’s wacky decor, unusual menu items, and quirky staff.
You could write about a cafe where all the furniture is upside down, a sushi restaurant that exclusively serves fish-flavored ice cream, or a food truck specializing in “invisible sandwiches” (guaranteed to make you lose weight!). Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to get a little weird.
Reviews are a great way to practice descriptive and persuasive writing, even if the subject is fictional. Make your review as detailed and specific as possible to sell the concept. And of course, don’t forget to give the restaurant a star rating at the end, even if it doesn’t exist.
Write a Recipe for Disaster
Recipes are usually meant to help things turn out well, but sometimes it’s more entertaining to imagine how they could go wrong. For this prompt, write a step-by-step recipe for a “disaster” of your choice. It could be a literal recipe gone wrong, like instructions for baking a cake that’s guaranteed to explode, or a metaphorical disaster, like a foolproof plan for ruining a first date.
The key to making this prompt fun is to lean into the absurdity and write the steps with a straight face. Deliver your instructions with the confidence of a seasoned expert, even as they lead to increasingly ridiculous outcomes.
For an added challenge, try to make your recipe rhyme, Dr. Seuss-style. This will stretch your brain in new ways as you search for words that fit both the meaning and meter of your recipe. Just be sure to include a disclaimer that your recipe for disaster is for entertainment purposes only!
Write a Limerick About an Inanimate Object
Limericks are humorous five-line poems with a distinctive rhyme scheme and rhythm. They often feature a person or place, along with a surprising twist or punchline in the last line. For this prompt, instead of writing about a person or place, challenge yourself to write a limerick about an inanimate object.
Start by choosing an everyday object to write about, like a lamp, a spatula, or a paperclip. Then, let yourself get a little goofy imagining its inner life or hidden adventures. What if that paperclip had dreams of becoming a world-class gymnast? Or that spatula moonlighted as a crime-fighting superhero?
Anthropomorphizing inanimate objects is a surefire way to come up with unexpected ideas and make yourself chuckle. And the sing-songy nature of limericks will add an extra layer of silliness to your writing. Embrace the absurdity and aim for the biggest laughs you can muster.
Write an Acrostic Poem Using the Letters of Your Name
An acrostic poem is one where the first letter of each line spells out a word or phrase when read vertically. It’s a fun, approachable form of poetry that anyone can try. For this prompt, use the letters of your name as the starting point for an acrostic poem all about you.
Each line should begin with a word or phrase that describes you, moving through the letters of your name in order. For example, if your name is “Sarah,” you might start with a line like “Sassy and sarcastic, with a heart of gold.” Then move on to a word starting with A, and so on.
This prompt is a great way to explore your identity and share a little bit about yourself creatively. Focus on capturing your unique personality traits, interests, quirks, and dreams. And don’t worry about being profound or poetic – the format itself will lend your writing a sense of structure and style.
Write a Breaking News Story About an Everyday Activity
Local news stations are known for making even the most mundane events sound like breaking news. For this prompt, put yourself in the shoes of an overzealous news reporter and write a sensationalized “breaking news” story about an everyday activity of your choice.
You could write about a thrilling trip to the grocery store, a high-stakes showdown at the laundromat, or a scandalous exposé on the office’s coffee maker. The more ordinary the activity, the funnier it will be to treat it like a major news event.
To nail the local news style, be sure to include lots of dramatic language, puns, and alliteration in your headline and opening paragraph. Pepper in some “eyewitness accounts” from random bystanders to lend your story credibility. And don’t forget to tease your readers with an ominous cliffhanger at the end, like “What this means for your weekend, after the break.”
Write a Haiku About Writer’s Block
Oh, the irony of writing about not being able to write! For this meta prompt, embrace the struggle and write a haiku about the very writer’s block you’re trying to overcome.
Start by reflecting on how you feel when you’re staring at a blank page, waiting for inspiration to strike. Are you frustrated, anxious, bored, or something else entirely? Try to capture that emotion in just a few vivid words.
Then, see if you can find a glimmer of humor or hope in the situation. After all, writer’s block is a temporary state that every writer goes through from time to time. Maybe your haiku could hint at the moment when the block finally breaks and the words start flowing again.
Above all, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to write the perfect haiku. The point is to simply express yourself and have fun with language, even in the face of creative blockages. And hey, if all else fails, you can always write a haiku about the futility of trying to write a haiku about writer’s block!
Write a Yelp Review for Your Hometown
We’ve all seen those Yelp reviews for towns that treat the entire city like a restaurant or attraction. For this prompt, put on your tourist hat and write an honest (yet loving) review of your hometown, as if it were a destination you were visiting for the first time.
Start by considering your hometown’s best features and quirks. What do you love about it? What makes it unique? Be sure to mention any must-see attractions, local hotspots, and hidden gems that visitors shouldn’t miss. You could even include a few insider tips, like the best time of day to visit a certain park or which hole-in-the-wall restaurant has the most delicious tacos.
At the same time, don’t be afraid to poke a little fun at your hometown’s shortcomings. Every place has its downsides, and acknowledging them with humor can make your review feel more authentic. Maybe your town is known for its terrible traffic, sweltering summers, or an overabundance of hipsters. Find the funny in those flaws and exaggerate them for comedic effect.
Overall, aim to capture the essence of your hometown in a way that’s both informative and entertaining. And don’t forget to give it a star rating at the end – even if it’s not a perfect five stars, it’s still the place you call home.
Write an Imaginary Craigslist Missed Connection
“Missed Connections” are those hopeful (and sometimes creepy) posts you see on Craigslist where people try to track down strangers they briefly encountered but didn’t get contact info for. Usually, they involve a fleeting moment of eye contact on the subway or a shared laugh in line at the grocery store. For this prompt, make up your own imaginary missed connection and write a Craigslist post about it.
Start by setting the scene with specific details – where did this encounter take place? What were you and the other person doing? What caught your attention about them? The more vivid and specific you can be, the more engaging your post will be.
Then, add in a touch of humor or absurdity to make it clear that this is a fictional scenario. Maybe you locked eyes with a handsome stranger while reaching for the last can of cheap beer at a gas station. Or maybe you had a profound conversation with a talking dog on a park bench. The sky’s the limit, so have fun with it!
Finally, wrap up your post with a hopeful (but not too desperate) call to action. Ask the person to get in touch if they happen to see your message. You could even propose a fun or silly way for them to confirm their identity, like “tell me what color shoelaces I was wearing” or “Bark twice if it’s you.”
Write an Acrostic Poem Using the Letters of the Word “BOREDOM”
Boredom is the enemy of creativity, but it can also be a great source of inspiration if you know how to channel it. For this prompt, take the very thing that’s causing your writer’s block and turn it into an acrostic poem.
Using the letters B-O-R-E-D-O-M as your starting point, craft a poem that explores the concept of boredom from a unique or unexpected angle. Maybe “B” could stand for “Brain fog, a mental haze,” while “O” could be “Oscillating between restlessness and apathy.”
Challenge yourself to find interesting words or phrases for each letter that paint a vivid picture of what boredom feels like. You could also use the poem to imagine ways to break free from boredom’s grip, with lines like “Daydreaming of adventures yet to come” or “Making lemonade out of life’s dull moments.”
Most importantly, let yourself get a bit meta and have fun with the irony of using boredom itself as a creative writing prompt. With any luck, by the time you finish your acrostic masterpiece, your boredom will have transformed into inspired excitement.
Write a Review of an Imaginary App
In today’s digital world, there’s an app for just about everything. But what about those niche problems or desires that don’t have an app yet? For this prompt, dream up an imaginary app that would make your life easier, more fun, or just plain weirder – and then write a review of it as if it existed.
Start by identifying a need or want that you have, no matter how specific or offbeat. Maybe you wish there was an app that could identify any plant just by taking a photo of it, or one that could magically transport you to a random country for a surprise vacation. Let your imagination run wild!
Then, describe how your imaginary app would work and what features it would have. Would it use cutting-edge AI technology, augmented reality, or something even more futuristic? What would the user interface look like? How much would it cost? The more details you can include, the more believable your review will be.
Finally, give your honest opinion on the pros and cons of your imaginary app. What do you love about it? What could be improved? Would you recommend it to others? Writing a balanced review will make it feel more like a real app that you’ve tested out.
Who knows – maybe your imaginary app idea will inspire a real developer to bring it to life someday! And in the meantime, you’ll have flexed your creative muscles and dreamed up something entirely new.
Write a Haiku About a Historical Figure
History is full of larger-than-life characters who changed the world in big ways. For this prompt, choose a historical figure that fascinates you and try to capture its essence in a tiny haiku.
The limited space of a haiku will force you to focus on the most important or interesting aspects of your chosen figure. Maybe you’ll highlight a key moment in their life, a famous quote, or a lasting impact they had on the world. The challenge is to convey something meaningful about them in just 17 syllables.
For example, a haiku about Albert Einstein might read:
E equals MC squared A brain that changed everything Genius in wild hair
As you can see, you don’t need to include every detail of the person’s life story. Instead, aim to evoke a feeling or paint a vivid snapshot that represents who they were. And don’t be afraid to get creative with your word choice and imagery – after all, this is poetry, not a history textbook!
Writing about historical figures in this way can help you see them in a new light and appreciate their impact from a different angle. Plus, it’s a fun way to brush up on your history knowledge while flexing your poetic muscles.
Write a Recipe for Your Favorite Fictional Food
From the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss to the magical feasts of Harry Potter, fictional stories are full of mouthwatering (and sometimes stomach-turning) made-up foods. For this prompt, choose a fictional food that’s always intrigued you and write a recipe for how to make it in real life.
Start by doing some research on your chosen food. What ingredients are mentioned in the story? What does it look, smell, and taste like? Is it savory, sweet, or somewhere in between? The more details you can gather, the easier it will be to reverse-engineer a recipe.
Then, get creative and start experimenting with real-world ingredients that might mimic the flavors and textures of the fictional food. For example, if you’re trying to recreate the “snozzcumbers” from Roald Dahl’s The BFG, you might start with a base of cucumber and add in some parsnip for a slightly spicy kick. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and combine unexpected flavors!
As you write up your recipe, be sure to include step-by-step instructions that are clear and easy to follow. You could even add in some playful references to the original story to make it feel more authentic. And of course, don’t forget to give your creation a fun and catchy name that captures its fictional origins.
Who knows – with a little imagination and culinary creativity, you might just bring a beloved fictional food to life in your very own
kitchen. Happy cooking!
Write a Limerick About Your Favorite Fictional Character
Limericks are a lighthearted poetic form that lends themselves well to humor and wit. For this prompt, choose a fictional character that you love (or love to hate) and write a limerick that captures their personality or story arc.
Start by brainstorming the key traits or moments that define your chosen character. What makes them unique or memorable? Do they have any catchphrases, quirks, or running gags? Jot down some keywords or phrases that encapsulate their essence.
Then, start playing around with rhyme and meter to craft your limerick. Remember, the first, second, and fifth lines should rhyme with each other, while the third and fourth lines should share a different rhyme. And each line should have a specific number of syllables (8-8-5-5-8) to create that bouncy, sing-songy feel.
For example, a limerick about Hermione Granger from Harry Potter might go something like this:
There once was a witch named Hermione Whose brain was a magical zaioney She studied with zest Aced every test And saved Harry’s butt with her briony
Feel free to take liberties with your character’s story or exaggerate their traits for comedic effect. The goal is to capture their spirit playfully and cleverly, not to write a completely accurate biography. And of course, bonus points if you can work in a groan-worthy pun or two!
Write a Haiku About Your Favorite Word
Every writer has certain words that just feel good to say or write. Maybe it’s the way they roll off the tongue, the vivid imagery they evoke, or the layers of meaning they contain. For this prompt, choose your absolute favorite word and write a haiku that celebrates its essence.
Start by saying your chosen word out loud a few times, savoring the sound and feel of it. What emotions or sensations does it stir up in you? Does it have any personal significance or memories attached to it? Jot down some notes about what makes this word so special to you.
Then, start crafting your haiku around those core ideas. Try to capture the word’s sound, meaning, and connotations in just a few powerful images or metaphors. You could explore its etymology, its multiple definitions, or the way it looks on the page. The key is to distill your love for this word down to its purest form.
For example, a haiku about the word “serendipity” might read:
Happy accidents Fate’s gentle nudge toward joy Serendipity
As you write, let yourself get lost in the word and all its lovely nuances. This is a chance to geek out over language and indulge your logophilia (love of words) to the fullest. And who knows – by the end of your haiku, you might just have a new favorite word to obsess over!
Conclusion
There you have it – 20 random things to write about when boredom strikes.
Whether you’re in the mood for silly limericks, introspective haikus, or wacky fictional reviews, there’s a prompt here to get your creative juices flowing.
The next time you find yourself staring at a blank page, don’t despair.
Instead, embrace the opportunity to let your imagination run wild and have some fun with words.
After all, writing doesn’t always have to be a serious or daunting endeavor.
Sometimes, the best way to break through writer’s block is to simply put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and see where your boredom takes you.
So go ahead, pick a prompt, and start writing.
You never know what kind of brilliance might emerge from a moment of mundane inspiration.
And if all else fails, just remember: at least you’re not staring at that blank page anymore!