Janet and Caroline have conducted nearly a dozen editions of The 18 Somethings Project, some just for themselves and others open to the public. Here’s a sampling of some prompts and stats from a few of the public editions. (You’re welcome to use these prompts for your own writing.)
*New* Shelter In Place Edition, April 2020: 320 participants from around the country / world
what was wasted
I create an occasion for
Pink moon says
When you free yourself from _______, you can
Bruised orange
The time travels
A closet stuffed with old _______
At the root of it
What you never knew
We are working our way back to
The cactus flowers
She distills the
You trust the
in the stillness
By the river, they
Dear you
We can’t save
A portal to
June 2013: 60 participants from Albuquerque to Australia, all first-time participants in 18 Somethings.
The prompts were:
I forgot how
whistle
they hate the smell
capslock
our world was
where the wound is
a chorus of
the ______ district
he wanted more than
elipses
the war will be
ring finger
you are the
winners and losers
graffiti
when we knew
the texture of the
how you left
December 2013: 106 participants representing 36 cities and 5 countries (including the US). 79 people were new participants.
The prompts were:
I wear it as
censor
sleeveless
his teeth like
glacial
the first edition
to dig for
shepherding
a country of
she doesn’t want
corner
what’s in their minds
sweatpants
never before seen
a route towards
binary
imprinted upon
you will
June 2014: 74 participants, with a big concentration in the Bay Area, as well as folks in Canada, the Philippines, Vietnam, and “the Open Road.” Prompts:
what I avoided
a recording of
pocket
and the sun is
shopping list
him / hymn
poodle
what she forgot
!!
gap
a vigil for
your chest is
entrenched
the exact right thing was
wind tunnel
super_______
it was enough
we waited for
