It’s that time of year when we’re reminded of things we are thankful for. Thankfulness lasts all year long and is a wonderful habit to cultivate. But the beauty of Thanksgiving is that thankfulness sits in front of us. That makes thankfulness a great writing prompt for this season.
Writing about things you are thankful for, even in list form, helps get your writing muscles moving. It’s a prompt you can write about differently every day. So when you can’t think of another prompt, you can always write about thankfulness.
Writing about things you’re thankful for also sets up your mind and even your body for a good day. Thankfulness switches the path your thoughts travel in your brain. If you are feeling upset or frustrated, thankfulness shifts your mind to a more peaceful path. Your body will follow suit. That makes thankfulness a writing prompt that pays off in many ways.
Thankfulness is a helpful writing exercise, whether or not you include the result in your project. But think about the ways you can include it. There’s a way to incorporate thankfulness in nearly every writing project:
- A memory of a thankful moment.
- A character’s feelings or even habit of gratitude.
- A letter of thanks, whether mailed or not.
- A paragraph on how thankfulness fits in with your nonfiction topic.
- The Acknowledgment page of your future book.
- A moment of pause amid the crisis of a life story.
- A blog post on thankfulness to inspire readers.
When you focus on thankfulness as a writing prompt, you can just free write a list of what you’re thankful for, just to get your thoughts flowing. It’s a great way to ease back into writing when you’ve had to take some days off. Or you can intentionally write rough thoughts that you might later develop for your manuscript.
Thankfulness is also something that can help you keep up your writing habit during busy holiday times. It doesn’t take long to jot down three things you’re thankful for, but it keeps you writing and reflecting. That reflection may lead to taking further notes to include in your project in the future.
This week, take 10 minutes to write about something you are thankful for. Notice how it boosts your brain and keeps your thoughts flowing. If you were having a tough day, see if it helps. Don’t worry about how you might use this piece of writing. Just write and set it aside. If it inspires more, that’s great. If not, it’s helped you in the day, and that’s great too.
Happy thankful writing and have a blessed Thanksgiving season.
Janet Eriksson 