A Letter for Every Age
Write a heartfelt letter to your child at different stages of their life, describing what you hope for them at each stage—from infancy through adulthood—and reflecting on how each stage impacts your relationship.
Suggested length: An essay or article: 800 to 2,500 words
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Find one surprising fact and build around it.
- Use one example from your own life.
- Open with a specific story, then widen out to the big idea.
Writing essays
A mind at work, one subject at a time.
An essay collection gathers short nonfiction pieces: personal, critical, funny or all three. What ties them together is the writer's voice and way of seeing.
What readers expect
- A distinctive voice
- Personal stakes
- Surprising connections
- Pieces that stand alone
A tip before you start
Follow a question, not a thesis. The pleasure of an essay is watching someone think.
More Parenting and Family prompts
- The Family's Difficult ChoiceShare a story about a time when your family had to make a tough decision together. Detail everyone's roles, the dialogue around the decision-making…
- Parenting Beyond My Own ParentsDescribe the moment you realized your parenting style differs significantly from that of your own parents. Reflect on the impacts of this realization…
- A Childhood Tradition Passed DownReflect on a tradition from your own childhood that you have passed on to your children. Describe the origins of this tradition, why it holds…
- How Upbringing Shapes ParentingInterview different family members from multiple generations and write an essay on how each person's upbringing influenced their parenting style and…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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