Writober 2026 Prompt Post
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🐦⬛Example poems are copied here for educational purposes.
Photography prompt: Take a picture of a hybrid.
Photography technique: Combine or overlap/juxtapose two things that wouldn’t usually go together.
Flash Fiction prompt: Write a story of any length up to 999 words inspired by the photograph above.
Flash Fiction technique: Combine two diametrically opposed things. One writing prompt that really inspired me was, “Find the despair in hope, and the hope in despair.”
Chimera, mutant, were-creature, part human-part animal, hybrids have inspired many spooky stories. I think of the Isle of Dr. Moreau, Manimal, Animorphs, Bat Boy (There’s even a musical). Whether made by mad scientists, or mutation, hybrids spark the imagination.
Example Poem: “Popcorn-can Cover” by Lorine Niedecker from The Granite Pail: The Selected Poems of Lorine Niedecker(Aal)
Poetry Prompt: Take a noun, an animal or hybrid, and based on its traits, use it as a verb.
Poetry form: Extreme condensation. Say as much as you can with the fewest words possible.
Fun Writing Activity: The What if and What If Game
There are many ways to practice abstract thinking. Here’s a quick game to get us started.
- Start with something concrete. Find a small object you can hold in your hand. Note its size and shape, it’s color and texture. Does it make a sound? What does it smell like? Can you taste it?
- Now, ask yourself a what if question about your object. Something fun like what if this object sprouted legs or wings. Now picture it. Imagine it happening. What would happen next?
- Once you have imagined what would happen, ask yourself another what if. For example: When my object is flying around the room, what if it flew up the chimney, or what if it got caught in a spider’s web?
While engaged in abstract thinking, you can change every concrete aspect of your object—in your imagination.
All of these prompts are intended for inspiration. They are completely optional, and can be combined and intertwined in any way that works for you. Go where the spirit takes you. When you’ve created something you want to share, please mention Writober and Experience Writing, and ping back to this page in your post. Then, come back and make sure there’s a link and/or put a link in the comments. Make sure to visit and appreciate other participants’ responses.