Writing Prompts

Every story on History Chip adds essential details to history.
We welcome the power of your stories to transform our understanding of the world.

DAILY WRITING PROMPTS

Press the GENERATE button for new daily writing prompts.

Need more Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Writings?

Domestic Workers: Are you a domestic worker? Please describe what it is like to do this work and what your workday entails. Why did you choose this line of work? Do you enjoy your work and if so what about it is satisfying for you?

World War I: Were you or a loved one alive or directly impacted by or involved in World War I? Were you or your father or grandfather a soldier in this war? Were you or your mother a nurse or otherwise involved in the war effort? Do you live where there was fighting? Was someone in your family affected by mustard gas or wounded or killed in the war?

1990s: What are your memories of the 1990s? If you had to sum up the 1990s in a sentence, what would you say? Was there a pivotal event in your life during the 1990s? What music did you listen to in the 1990s? What movies or other entertainment influenced you in the 1990s?

Religious rituals: Please describe the importance of religious rituals in your life, from religious services to coming of age rituals.

Ships: Tell us about your experience with ships. Do you work on ships either in the Navy or on commercial ships. Explain what it is like to live at sea. Or perhaps you just love to watch them or know about them.

Fire: Are you a firefighter? Or perhaps you study fires or firefighting. Or perhaps you have been affected by fire. Please explain your experiences.

Quick and Easy Story Writing Guide

especially for those of us who think we can’t write a story!

So, you want to add a story to History Chip!

That’s great!

The point is to tell your story as you remember it.

Easy peasy, no stress, no worries.

Like singing in the shower.

Now, just take a minute or two to remember the details of the story you want to write.

Consider the basics which should refresh your memory enough to just sit down and write what you remember.

Who

Who are the people in your story?

Just you, friends, family, strangers?

When

When did it happen?

What time of day?

Where

Where did it happen? New York, London, Mogadishu?

What are the details?

What

What happened? A trip somewhere? A hurricane? What are the important details?

Why

Why is this important to you?

Why do you want to share this story?

How

How did it look?How did it feel? Cold, hot, crowded, dangerous, safe, cozy?

Sample Story to Help You Write

WHO: I was 28.

WHERE: I worked in the City and lived in an apartment building on a high floor.

WHEN: It was the middle of March in 2020.

WHAT: Suddenly COVID was everywhere and the City was mostly shut down. I couldn’t go to work, I didn’t want to get in the elevator in my apartment building because we were warned to keep 6 feet away from other people. So, I decided to move to the country to my mother’s house. I had to find new ways to do so many things. We ordered groceries online. I had to find new ways to make a living. Because we were in the country we could take long walks outside which made life much more tolerable during ‘lock down’. My sister had stayed in the city with her elderly grand mother who was in danger from COVID because of her age. They did not leave their apartment for nearly 3 months.

WHY: Life was turned upside down. Restaurants were closed, kids couldn’t go to school, masks were required everywhere and we were afraid of being close to anyone.

HOW: The streets were quiet, the shops and restaurants were closed. People put hearts outside of their houses and in some places people would ring bells or bang on pots at the same time every day to say thank you to healthcare workers and those people who worked in ‘front line’ places like grocery stores and pharmacies. When some businesses began to open, plastic barriers were placed to protect customers from workers, marks were on the floor to direct traffic to keep people from being close to each other, masks were required and air purifiers were everywhere. In the early Spring of 2021, vaccines began to be available and things began to open up a little bit. It was hard to believe that we were experiencing this strange new way of life and could never have imagined that it could last as long as it did. Nearly 3 years later, COVID is still a worry.