Writing Prompts

We hope that reading this book inspires you to reflect on your own experiences in 2020 and to write about them. To get you started, here are some writing prompts drawn from the writing in this book.

• Write a list of items that you used regularly in 2020 that you didn’t use before (such as a face mask). Write a list of items that you did not use much in 2020 that you used often previously. Write about the differences between these lists.
• Describe an anniversary that you celebrated in 2020 and how it compared to celebrations in previous years.
• Think about family and friends you were unable to visit in person in 2020. How did you connect with each other? Write about some of your most cherished conversations and interactions despite the distance.
• Take a piece of writing about 2020 that you really appreciate and write a response to it. You might take the same form (if it is a haiku, for instance, write a haiku in response to it). Or you might take up the same themes in the context of your personal experiences.
• Write a letter to someone important in your life about how you experienced 2020.
• Write about a specific day in 2020, providing as much detail as you can remember of what you saw, heard, smelled, felt, and tasted. The day might’ve been a typical one, or it might’ve been an extraordinary one.