The First Houseplant
Write a reflective essay on the first plant you ever cared for, exploring what it taught you about responsibility and the emotional connection people can develop with their living spaces.
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.
- Cut every sentence that only repeats the one before it.
- Find one surprising fact and build around it.
- Use one example from your own life.
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 Home and Garden prompts
- A Greener HomeDescribe the challenges and rewards of adapting a home to be more environmentally sustainable, perhaps incorporating themes of minimalism, recycling…
- The Low-Maintenance GardenWrite an instructional guide on creating a sustainable, low-maintenance home garden. Include tips on selecting the right plants, using environmentally…
- My First GardenWrite a reflective piece on your earliest memory of gardening, perhaps alongside a family member or friend. Explore how those moments shaped your…
- The Garden's Greatest LessonWrite a personal essay reflecting on the most important lesson you've learned from gardening. Describe the moment or experience that brought this…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
Chapterly gives a draft somewhere to grow: chapters, daily word goals, and readers when you're ready.
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