Creative writing is an essential skill for students to learn and practice, but it can be difficult to find fresh ideas in the classroom. January is the perfect time to introduce creative writing prompts that encourage expression, exploration of unique topics, and the embracing of student creativity! In this article, we’ve compiled a list of 8 inspiring January creative writing prompts that will help you inspire your students and jumpstart their imaginations. So grab a notebook or open up your laptop—it’s time to get inspired!
- Write a story from the perspective of someone reflecting on the past year and setting goals for the coming one. You can base the story on yourself, or on a fictional character you made up. The goals you set could be realistic and based on getting good grades, or achieving a special goal, or entirely made up if you so desire. Let your imagination run wild!
- Imagining they’re living in an alternate reality where winter never ends, write a piece from the perspective of someone who lives in this world. It can be based in the real world or a fantasy world of your choice. You can even make up a world if you’d like. Consider taking a fairy tale you like and expanding on that. Or alternatively, take your inspiration from real-world cultures that live in snowy places, or write about a world of snowpeople.
- Imagine you are an animal living in the wild during cold winter months and write a journal entry detailing one day of your life. It can be any animal of your choosing. A fox traversing the wilderness, or maybe a lion in the Serengeti seeing snow for the first time. You can even choose fictional animals such as dragons and unicorns, or creatures from myth like the cyclops, or a powerful djinn.
- Make up a character who has never seen snow before and describe what it looks and feels like through their eyes . It can be any kind of character you want. You can even choose a favourite character from a book or television show that you love. Try to get into the mind of this character as you write about this new experience for them.
- Take inspiration from traditional fairy tales like “The Snow Queen” and create a tale of your own featuring characters made out of ice and snow. Look to classic holiday stories, or maybe your favourite book and try to emulate the author’s language and expand it to bring your own magic to it.
- Compose a song that celebrates the beauty of a winter wonderland. Look at famous Christmas and holiday songs for inspiration. Talk about your favourite part of the winter season or any activities you and your family do each year. Find your favourite parts of winter and explain why you love them.
- Create a story about a character who overcomes a challenge related to the cold weather. You can write about how a blizzard came to your town, or about a terrible frost that made the roads icy and slippery, or maybe a mist that swooped in during the night. You could even pull from any real-life experiences you have had.
- Design postcards from a fictional winter vacation spot and write short descriptions of what makes each so special in each. Look to your favourite series and stories to find inspiration and try to include as many details as possible. Write the description in the first person as if you were sending this card to your family or your best friend!
Creative writing is an important skill for students to learn, and it can be used for a variety of purposes. By using these 8 January creative writing prompts, you can encourage your students to practice this skill in a fun and engaging way.
Why not use these prompts as the basis for your OurClassBook published writing? OurClassBook can help you turn your students into authors with their own professionally-bound classbook! Students can create their own imaginative stories that make a great keepsake book that they can look back on in years to come.
At OurClassBook, we want to help create an exciting event for your students by publishing their stories. Get started today by ordering our free and easy-to-use classroom publishing kit!