Pictures as Inspiration for Writing Prompts

Pictures as Inspiration for Writing Prompts

Dr. Theodore Cohen suggests writing prompts should be pictures, not sentences. He likes to offer photos grouped around a theme, so writers have some choice. As a flash fiction par excellence author, he writes complete short stories from individual photographs. Please see an example of one of his many flash fiction books at this link on Amazon (the books are always free) Flash Fiction for Animal Lovers and Flash Fiction Stories of the Young. 

"Photos can provide great inspiration. (Writing groups or teachers) may want to start, or add to, collections of photographs of various things: people, animals, and automobiles. Almost anything can be used as a prompt. Perhaps a choice from a set of three photographs could be used to allow selecting of a 'topic' to accommodate ideas for an initial story."

Here are some sources for finding good photos. I usually use photos from Pixabay in the monthly writing prompt post.  I found this list on Pixabay's Twitter page by @PriteshKiri, and also selected photos for this month's free instant PDF download. Of course, stories of any length may be written beginning with a picture. Maybe an entire book!

unsplash.com pexels.com pixabay.com freeimages.com magdeleine.co lifeofpix.com picography.co stocksnap.io freephotos.cc pngtree.com burst.shopify.com duotone.shapefactory.co

One warning is that almost all free online sites have advertising. We are accustomed to such. However, it is easy to click on the most beautiful photos only to find out they are priced. Sometimes, free sites have discount codes for priced photo sites. Terms of use must be checked to see if the image is available for commercial use, which is often allowed. Some photos may be used on book covers, as well. Joining the site allows downloads of different sizes of images. Some sites invite users to upload their own files for sharing. 

I read the Pixabay Twitter page (or I looked at it). They select the most stunning images for sharing with readers and writers. The home pages of many sites also have a selection of irresistible images. It is easy to start creating a collection for your writing group or class. 

For instance, Deb Spence's image was selected for April 9th, 2023. This could inspire a story regarding a family heirloom of silver, decluttering, or even a garage sale.

Sometimes I look at an image and wonder what Cohen would write? It could be a war story beginning with that photo. Here is another selected to be shared by Pixabay and entitled "An Open Book" by Jess Bailey Design. It is a lovely image to inspire an anniversary or Valentine's writing piece. Some writers may chose to write poetry. 

Pixabay has everything: houses, people, activities, seasons, landscapes, art, famous people, Star Wars, and whatever you might imagine. If a search comes up with nothing, try using a different term. For hat, here is a striking photo by 1643606.

Sometimes we notice these stock images on different sites for different purposes. It is annoying when we recognize free images. Try not even looking at the first page of results to search further to find images used less often. Different sizes of downloads are available on Pixabay, and select the one that fits the purpose. Do give credit when possible. According to Pixabay, they have:

Over 2.5 million+ high quality stock images, videos and music shared by our talented community.

Now for the free PDF download, click on the next link. 

Pixabay-photos-as-writing-prompts PDF

Thank you for reading, 

Carolyn Wilhelm

See also my free sites:

jamsandbooks.org

dementiapdfdownloads.com 

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the multi award-winning The Frugal Book Promoter (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), now offered in its third edition by Modern History Press. She is also the author of" How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically." She has two booklets in the #HowToDoItFrugally Series, both in their second editions from Modern History Press. "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "The Great First Impression Book Proposal" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor" (https://bit.ly/FrugalEditor), recently released in its third edition, is the winningest book in the series. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it help them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow for news on her new releases direct from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.