October Writing Prompts

October 2021 Writing Prompts

There are a lot of prompt lists out there, but I've noticed that October prompt lists, whether for artists or writers, are often Halloween-themed. Since Halloween isn't the only thing happening in October, and since there are many people around the world who do not celebrate it, I've created a list of prompts of October that feature elements from a range of international days, celebrations, and meanings attributed to the month of October.

Here is the result:

They aren't in any particular order, so pick and choose whatever you're inspired to write about - or mix a few of the prompts together. If you really like only a handful of prompts, why not try approaching them from different angles, like different genres? For example, for the prompt "Warm Porridge", I could write about:

• a man far from home stumbling into a restaurant and eating porridge that reminds him of his mother - and better days 
• a young woman decides to poison her terribly irritating son-in-law through his favourite meal: warm porridge
• a robot tries to imagine what eating a warm bowl of porridge near a hot fire surrounded by family feels like, but cannot comprehend the concept of emotion or feeling

So we have ourselves a heartwarming story, a chilling tale, and a sci-fi about what it means to be human. Three very different stories, all using the same prompt. In fact, you can even come up with a great many more!

I hope these prompts give you a lot of new stories to write this October. 

Happy writing!