Creepy Crawlies

Writober 2026 Prompt Post

🔗Post contains Amazon associate links (shown with Aal in parentheses)
🐦‍⬛Example poems are copied here for educational purposes.

Photography prompt: Take a picture of creepy crawlies. I used Halloween plastic bugs_(Aal) for this photo.
Photography technique: Let a little natural light into a dark room.

Flash Fiction prompt: Write a story of any length up to 999 words inspired by the photograph above.
Flash Fiction technique: Explore a new genre – there are many different genres and subgenres of horror. Try something you haven’t tried before.

They creep. They crawl. So many legs, pincers, antennae. I’ll never get over the large black millipedes I met in West Africa. Why do they have to be so friendly?

One of the first creature features was Them! with giant ants:

Example Poem: “Worms Won’t Need a Menu” by Alice Walker from The World Will Follow Joy_(Aal)

Worms Won’t Need a Menu
For my “girls”

I am glad
You will never
See
Menus
All over
The world
On which
Your flesh
Appears
In thousands
Of
Seductive
ways.

I console
Myself: Worms
Won’t need
A menu
To describe
Their human
Dinners.

Still,
I like to imagine
Them
Sitting alert
At table
Reading
Of
Our
Succulence.

Poetry Prompt: Write a poem about a creepy crawly or several.
Poetry form: Concrete poetry – use line length and white space to make your poem look like what you’re writing about.

Fun Writing Activity: Word Jars – Collect some empty containers. I tend to use vases. Type up lists of words that you associate with Halloween, Autumn, fears, etc. Sort them into their parts of speech. Nouns go into one jar, verbs in another. I have a jar for janus words (words that mean something and its opposite at the same time), and a jar for abstract nouns (words that can’t be measured like emotions and beliefs). When you’re in need of a place to start, or you’re feeling stuck, pick some words from your word jars and see what interesting combinations crawl to the surface.

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.

Have Fun!
And Come Back Often