Literary Ninjas | Writing Prompt #004: Testing the Waters

As much as I love creating elaborate writing prompts with twists and turns, there is also a need for the more basic kind, where a word simply is given as the theme, and the writer goes from there. The reason I resist these, however, is because oftentimes these prompts are seen as an "easy way out" for getting in a daily word count and "lazy" practice.

But the point of writing prompts is always to present a challenge to better improve one's writing skills, so as always, I will guide the initial direction in a way that may seem the obvious to some of my more hardcore prompters out there:
  
The theme of choice will be the concept of "imprisonment".  

• The approach is up to your interpretation, with the constraint that you avoid the obvious.
• Make a list of the first three images or ideas that come to mind when you read the word "imprisonment" (e.i. prisoners of war, jail). Got them all down? Good. You're not allowed to use those three things as your interpretation of the theme.
• Do, however, think outside the box. Make another list--ask yourself, "What are ways a person could be imprisoned without a literal, barred cage enclosing them?" and "What are the things that characterize an individual being imprisoned, other than literal shackles?"There are many aspects to this theme to be explored, so don't get stuck on the mundane and commonplace!
• Make sure to consider the basic questions of Who/What/Why/How and utilize the answering or leaving unanswered of said questions. Who is imprisoned? Who are the captors? How did this come about?
• Minimum word count of 2,000 for short stories/500 for poetry.

Want to share your prompt ideas or completed prompts? Comment below with ideas or links to your finished pieces.

Look familiar? You may recognize these prompts from the late blog, Literary Ninjas, and DeviantART literature group, Writing-For-Fun. With my choice to close both, I still wanted to make the prompts available to those interested, and thus they will be posted here on Sleepy Hollow Street.