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Links from the Show at a Glance:

 

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OR

 

Support me on Patreon to get instant access to the 100 prompts AND a whole library of digital goodies available exclusively to Patrons!

 

You’ll also get instant access to:

 

• Patron only Art Library – 600+ photos strong of abstract photography, floral photography, and nature photography that you can use for whatever you want – plus new photos added semi-regularly

 

• The Artsy Reflections audiobook – a recording of the 1st 100 tiny 100-word stories, plus my uncensored, and sometimes super-weird, retrospective commentary

 

• Outtakes reel – a hilarious compilation of the flubs I made on my first few audiobooks

 

• First dibbs on select free audiobooks I narrate as soon as they’re released

 

Random number generator

 

Random word generator

 

Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs

 

 

Art Ink Podcast Transcript:

 

[Intro:]

 

Welcome back to a brand new episode of Art Ink, my friends. Today I have a special treat for you… I’m sure it’s no surprise if you read the title before you hit play, but this is a bonus episode I felt compelled to share with you. Today we’re coloring outside the usual Art Ink lines.

 

Some of you might know that I’ve been working on a massive list of creative writing prompts specifically geared towards artists. Well, honestly the list writing has been over for a while now, but a couple of weekends ago, I got the overwhelming impulse to put together a pretty PDF for you to download.

 

I spent hours embellishing this ebook on Canva, but that was because I was having so much fun, I ended up spending the entire weekend on it.

 

I know that many of you listening to this show are artists yourselves… and lemme tell you, finding artists who want to write about their own work has been like trying to pull a 20-year-old tree out of the ground with my bare hands. Now that could be more of a me problem, I admit, but I think there’s also an overarching fear surrounding writing that invokes flashbacks of high school horrors best forgotten.

 

But I want to change that. And if you’re listening to this episode you can be that change! I want to empower you to share your story, to share your art’s story, because I know that telling your story will help you to make life long connections with the people who get to experience it.

 

If you’ve ever said “but I don’t know what to write about,” you are not alone. I used to say that all the time. And I just know that today’s episode is going give you plenty of ideas to get started on.

 

And with that, I think it’s time to dig into a big, juicy sampling to get your writing taste buds tingling.

 

Shall we?

 

 

20 Creative Writing Prompts for Artists

 

1. What emotion did you feel most strongly while you were creating the piece you’re writing about? Now tell us about your favorite memory of that emotion.

 

2. Write about your first experience of working in your medium from the perspective of your tools or material. You are blue paint, you are your favorite camera lens, you are two knitting needles working together for the first time. Go!

 

3. Write from the perspective of your art on display when she overhears a conversation about her from two of your guests. (Alternate option: record yourself criticizing the piece, listen to it, then write your art’s reaction).

 

4. Roll a die, add two zeros to the end of your result; that’s your word count. Write your stream of consciousness about your art piece for that many words. (Bonus Idea: Set a timer to limit how much time you have. No dawdling! If you think it write it!)

 

5. Imagine you are an alien archaeologist from 2000 years in the future pulling your art out of a time capsule discovered in space… your art is the only thing inside. Describe it to your alien friends.

 

6. Write 3 haikus about your art that tell a complete story. (haiku 1: beginning, haiku 2: middle, haiku 3: the end)

 

7. Describe a mistake you’ve made in your art practice that led to a happy accident, a new technique, or a change in your perspective as an artist. Bonus points if you publicly show the mistake in your work in addition to writing about it.

 

8. Google the name of the main color in your art, go to Images, select an image that calls to you and connect your artwork to it in 100 words or less. Connecting seemingly random things is a great writing practice to develop, and it’s easier than you think. Bonus points if you look up a two-word color like pale green or pastel purple.

 

9. Roll a die or two. Begin your story with that number. Is it an address, how old you are (or how old your character is), or could it be the amount of money you have to buy a new art supply? Go with your gut, don’t hesitate, just start writing! You can also use a random number generator like the one at https://www.random.org/.

 

10. If your art were a sound effect what would it be? A blaring horn in NYC traffic? Chirping crickets? A sneeze? Maybe it’s a doorbell or the ringtone when your mom calls. Write 100 words incorporating this sound into your story.

 

11. Imagine your art could share a message or express a little known truth telepathically with every person who laid eyes on it. What would that message be in 10 words or less? That’s your title. Why is that the message you chose? That’s your story.

 

12. List the first 6 adjectives that come to mind when you look at your piece. (let use yellow, rocky, surreal, misty, playful, and bright for instance). Now use those words to write the first paragraph of your story. Her yellow hair was bright, and playfully whipped around in the wind as she strolled along the rocky shore. The sunrise has just barely burned off the morning mist, giving the landscape a dreamy surreal quality. There you go… I did that in under a minute and you can too. And I had to make up the piece of art those words came from, so it should be even easier for you!

 

13. Give your art a spirit animal. Why did you choose that particular animal. Describe the similarities and/or differences between your art and the chosen animal.

 

14. You’re being sent to an all expenses paid art retreat for one year, but you can only bring 6 things with you (when it comes to art supplies that is; assume clothing, hygiene, and food items are all taken care of).

 

15. Record yourself rambling about your art for a full minute and then listen to what you said. Transcribe it. Whoop dere it is!

 

16. What if your art were like the wall of schnozberries in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory? What would it taste like? Take your reader back to the most memorable time you last ate that food.

 

17. Making connections is a skill that takes practice. Head over to a random word generator (https://randomwordgenerator.com/) and use the first word that pops up in a story that ties into your artwork. It doesn’t have to be a true story, get creative and make it all up.

 

18. Take a silly online quiz from the perspective of the piece you want to write about. You know the kind I’m talking about right? What Disney Princess are you? What kind of cupcake are you? Write your art’s response to the results.

 

19. Imagine that your work caused something unspeakable to happen. What’s the worst thing you can think of? Yeah, that happened. You have the opportunity to change it, but you’d have to choose to change the past, to have never created the piece that started the ripple effect… it’s your best work, so good it may bring you fame and fortune, and no one actually knows your creation sparked something horrible… would you give that all up to prevent the unspeakable from happening? Why or why not?

 

20. Imagine your creativity is an invisible being who dictates all that you create. Who is it? A ghost? A goddess? An angel? Your astral projecting ex-partner who’s playing a trick on you? Write about this being’s motivation for guiding you to create your latest project.

 

 

[Conclusion:]

 

So that was just a randomly chosen sampling of the first 20 prompts that called to me as I was putting this episode together, but there’s a shit-ton more inspiration where that came from! Just visit rebekahnemethy.com/100-creative-writing-prompts-for-artists to download the whole eBook for free. You’ll get 80 more prompts, a quick tips guide on how to get the most out of your experience with them, AND I’ve also included a bonus template to give your story ideas some structure.

 

If, however, you found this valuable and you would like to make a contribution to support Art Ink on Patreon, you can also access those 100 prompts over there, as well as countless other digital goodies I’ve put out over the years.

 

Off the top of my head, all Patrons get instant access to:

 

Patron only Art Library – 600+ photos strong of abstract photography, floral photography, and nature photography that you can use for whatever you want – plus new photos added semi-regularly

 

The Artsy Reflections audiobook – a recording of the 1st 100 tiny 100-word stories, plus my uncensored, and sometimes super-weird, retrospective commentary

 

Outtakes reel – a hilarious compilation of the flubs I made on my first few audiobooks

 

First dibbs on select free audiobooks I narrate as soon as they’re released

 

Oh yeah, and duh, you, as an Art Ink listener might be interested in this: Patrons get new episodes of Art Ink 2 days before everyone else!

 

Visit rebekahnemethy.com/patreon to show your support and get the goods.

 

So, yeah, there’s lots of exclusive content on Patreon starting at as little as $1 per month. And yeah, you get ALL digital goodies for that low price and that’s actually brand new. It used to be that what you got as a reward depended upon how much money you donated. Now, as far as the content that’s in the library, it started to seem silly for me to withhold it from anyone. After all, it’s completed. It doesn’t take me any more of an effort to give it to you.

 

And I should probably mention that the mega prompt book I created is just the beginning of what I have planned. I’m working on a batch of story templates to put out next – and those will only be available on Patreon.

 

Anyway, whether you decide to download the free 100 Prompts PDF or have some extra change to spread around, what matters most is that you get your creative juices flowing and start writing about your creations.

 

And then, drop me a line, you all know I’m always looking for more submissions. Hint, hint.

 

Make sure to dig into the show notes if you’re looking for links for all that! Ok, with that my friends, I’m out. I’ll catch ya on the next one!

Are you an artist with a story to tell?

We'd love to hear your story on the next episode of Art Ink. Check out our submission guidelines to find out how to make it happen.