the permission prompt
writing prompt for loosening control and refinding flow
2025, october 14
when a project stops feeling fun, when i lose the spark or start overthinking every line, i like to work with permission prompts.
i give myself one specific permission for the day, or for the next two weeks, or whatever time frame feels like it might bring back a sense of creative freedom — the kind that makes me want to sit down and write again.
the permission’s job is to silence the annoying editor in my head — the one who keeps shouting out rules, categories, and expectations.
some permissions that have helped me lately:
• this month i give myself permission for my “novel” to simply be a kid’s diary.
• this week i give myself permission for the novel to consist only of short memory snippets from the protagonist — each chapter just one page, one memory.
• today i give myself permission for the novel to consist only of snapshots from the protagonist’s stream of consciousness — one as she’s waking up, one as she’s falling asleep.
once the permission is declared, i write on that spell and see what unfolds from there.
try it:
writing prompt
what permission would you like to give yourself — or to receive — for your project?
what kind of permission would grant you a freedom that also, somehow, sparks productivity?
once you know it, write entirely within the permission’s world and see what unfolds.