• When you perceive a “sign”, pursue it instead of dismissing it. Write an account of what happened.
  • Write from a place of intense curiosity
  • Write something you will know you will do in the near future as if it were the present moment
  • Recall one of your first memories in at least 500 words. If you don’t find enough words, fill it out with fiction.
  • Write about how you feel while sleepy or hungry. Inspect the sensations.
  • Condense an essay into an aphorism
  • List things that would get you out of bed immediately
  • When was the last time you cried? Why did you cry?
  • Describe the guilt a dog feels after he ripped open the doggie bag without the permission of his owner.
  • Write a letter of forgiveness (try to be honest)
  • Accomplish silence, then write your stream of thought.
  • Imagine yourself at your worst (angry, stressed, depressed, etc) and then have you at your best (happy, wholesome) soothe you.
  • Write your stream of thought as soon as you wake up.
  • Write a dream as soon as you wake up, then store it. One week later rewrite the dream without looking at the original dream. Compare.
  • Form a cast of archetypes so that you can use them in dialogue.
  • Describe small tweaks that you think would lead to vast improvements in the life of a person close to you.
  • Do you remember the last time you lied? Why did you lie?
  • Trim, shape and reorganize a stream of thought.
  • Find the oldest piece of substantial text you’ve written, and become your own editor. Improve your piece and write tips for your former self.
  • Play out inner conflict through characters
  • Play out inner reconciliation through characters
  • What are you grateful about today?
  • Show and tell: describe a personal object that carries personal significance.
  • Write about the shadows of light and the light of shadows (find the bad in the good and the good in the bad).
  • Describe an emotional state in metaphor.
  • Describe the day you will live tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, describe the day as it actually was. Contrast your expectation with your experience.
  • Describe your day in reverse. Begin from the present moment and trace back the day 24 hours.
  • Register your current experience taking into account senses and emotions: where you are, what do you see, what do you smell, where you are emotionally, how does it feel sitting on a chair, and so on.
  • You did something really naughty and now you’re on trial. Create a dialogue with these characters: a judge, the devil, an angel, and yourself.
  • Describe the person who speaks in your head.
  • Describe who you are in the most detailed and comprehensive way possible. Then remove everything that is non essential so your essence is recognized.
  • Stoic exercise: rehearse responding to setbacks with wisdom. Choose a real recent example of a setback or frustration and write how you would have handled it in the wisest way possible.
  • Describe the most embarrassing moment you’re willing to admit, but write it in a humorous tone.
  • Stand up and spin until you are dizzy. Describe the experience of dizziness while dizzy.
  • Think about something that makes you uncomfortable and then do it. Describe the feeling of discomfort. Describe the outcome.
  • Describe your inner experience in an altered state of mind.
  • Describe your day, then remove everything that is routine. What remains?
  • What do you think is your purpose in life?
  • You inherit an empty house under the condition that you inhabit and furnish it within a year. You receive an allowance of $1,000 USD/mo to furnish the house. Describe in chronological order the things that you buy and the justification to buy them.
  • Describe your perfect day
  • Soothe yourself with acceptance
  • Stoic exercise: meditate on the impermanence of everything
  • Recreate an emotionally powerful moment you’ve had, but now multiply your feelings by ten.
  • Recreate an emotionally powerful moment you’ve had, but now diminish your feelings to nearly nothing.
  • Express inner experience in metaphor
  • Write a letter of acceptance to yourself.
  • Describe a character of complete competence.
  • Describe a character of complete incompetence.
  • Go inside a difficult feeling and confront it.
  • Describe an imaginary dinner with someone you admire.
  • Describe a dream you remember well, but from the perspective of another character within the dream
  • Think about a long-lost friend from childhood. How is he or she as an adult?
  • The embassy of Morocco demands an immediate apology for your behavior at last night’s reception. You don’t remember what happened
  • If somebody asked an immediate family member to describe you, what would they say?
  • Think about something that scares you, then describe yourself in a situation where you overcome it”
  • During ten minutes, close your eyes and put attention on your breath. Each time you attention wanders, write down where it wandered
  • Describe a day in the life of a dolphin from the first person perspective (as if it was you)”
  • Think about a controversial issue you feel strongly about. Make a convincing argument for the other side