Old photographs can make powerful writing prompts. They’ll work differently depending on whether they are pictures of people you know, or know something about, or don’t know at all. These are some photographs I found at an estate sale.
I brought them to our writing group meeting a couple of weeks ago to use as a writing prompt. Different people, poses, types of photos appealed to each of us in different ways. Not knowing anything about them freed us to imagine anything based on this brief moment preserved in the image.
Who are they?
What happened to them?
What did they do later that day?
How did their story become lost, so that no one would want to keep their picture?
What was happening in the larger world when the photo was taken?
How did it feel to wear these clothes?
What kind of chores did they have to do?
What was most important to them?
If there had been stories to go with them, these photos probably wouldn’t have been tossed into a box to sell. But the photos themselves are compelling, asking for a story to go with them. If one of these speaks to you, the story is yours to write.
