Writer’s block tends to hit the hardest when we put too many expectations on ourselves. We intend to sit down and write out a fully formed, polished piece whenever inspiration strikes. But then reality hits, and we find ourselves unmotivated, distracted, or the words aren’t coming out the way we had them in our head.
In these cases, it helps to have a writing session where we just jot down a few ideas or notes. You could start a writer’s notebook, but then it’s on you to come up with a topic or idea for each entry. That’s where writing prompt books can come in handy. Stand-up comedian, blogger, and teacher Paulina Combow has offered a solution to those unproductive writing session with two writing prompt books: 101 Funny Writing Prompts and Ride + Write: Road Trip Writing Prompts.
Below is my review of these two workbooks along with an interview with Combow about her writing.
101 Funny Writing Prompts synopsis
101 Funny Writing Prompts is an 80-page workbook dedicated to inspiring joke writing, journaling, creative writing, and more. Each page features one to three prompts on various topics from lists to hypothetical situations to personal stories. They often feature autobiographical questions that anyone can answer. And despite the title, there is no pressure to be funny or come up with a stand-up routine at the end of each section. The book is designed to get your pen moving and your brain working.
Ride + Write: Road Trip Writing Prompts synopsis
Ride + Write: Road Trip Writing Prompts is a 115-page workbook that focuses on each of the 50 states. Each two-page spread features facts about the state along with travel-themed topics relating to that state. Every page design is different, from the space available to write to the type of lines and clip art inserted throughout the spread.
The book is nice and large to keep on your lap as you ride in a car or fly in a plane, when your mind is focused on geography, travel, and the individual cultures residing within each U.S. state lines. I also like how she personalizes the questions to the reader, such as figuring out the day of the year in which their birthday falls and looking up the corresponding mile marker on I-65 in Alabama to determine what’s there and your thoughts on the area.
Other features
These books remind me of the activity books I used to fill out as a child. I like the variety of the design and the questions. You don’t have to fill them out in order or even worry about writing in full sentences. You just need to scribble some notes to get your ideas flowing. The limited space also keeps your commitment low. So you still feel productive, even if you just finish one prompt.
The covers are soft, and the size is large but compact enough to fit in a backpack or carry under your arm. They fold back nicely, and even if you can’t think of anything to write, you can color in the clip art on each page or even just verbally put the questions out there for anyone in your vehicle or home to brainstorm and discuss. Just flipping through and thinking about the various topics without physically writing anything in the book can be as useful as writing a full essay. It will help you to figure out what topics you’re interested in exploring or how your mind responds to different questions.
Also included in each book are additional pages related to its theme. 101 Funny Writing Prompts includes an index related to comedy terms. Ride + Write features an “About Me” page where Combow lists her credentials as a world traveler.
My recommendation
Combow’s books are well-thought out with fun designs and enough room to play in without having to commit to a full piece. The prompts are great conversation starters as well as a solitary activity that only take a few minutes to complete. They’re also decent lengths that aren’t too bulky to handle or store. I recommend them to writers of all skill levels and those who are looking to clear their minds of their everyday thoughts towards more interesting and exciting topics and questions.
An interview with Paulina Combow
Author links (links will open in a new tab)
What made you decide to publish writing prompt books rather than a memoir or joke book?
I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for 10 years until the shutdown put a stop to live shows. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was teaching stand-up comedy classes to kids on Zoom. I felt I had broken down the basics of writing jokes for them, but it would also be helpful for adults wanting to learn to write comedy. There are tons of writing prompts out there, but they didn’t seem helpful at all. They are more of an exercise and not designed to help you generate actual jokes and material.
I reverse-engineered a ton of my favorite joke premises to ask people questions to get to the heart of what makes something funny. At the end of the day, it was a lot more work to design a workbook, but I got the end result I was going for: a workbook like a coloring book that helps you break through writer’s block and come up with original content.
How did you come up with the facts and research for the states in Ride + Write: Road Trip Writing Prompts?
I did so much research! I’ve been to about 40 states traveling and doing comedy. I wanted to highlight more of the natural and historical things about each state. Things that will hopefully still be around in 100 or 1,000 years from now. I also wanted to give attention to the territories and include them because they are all fascinating, beautiful places.
How involved were you in the design and layout of the books including the convenient workbook size?
I designed every single page! It’s a lot more time-consuming than researching and coming up with prompts. I took graphic design classes in college and have continued to create my own posters and graphics for comedy shows and social media, but designing a whole book was something I always wanted to do. I wanted people to feel like they were getting a quality hand-crafted item they can’t find anywhere else.
How have writing prompts helped you with your writing and stand up?
For me, writing prompts are about working backward from the punchline. Asking myself questions to dig a little deeper helps me figure out what is actually funny about something. Sometimes you can just keep asking yourself “why” until you get there, but these writing prompts do a lot more than ask why.
What types of final pieces do you expect writers to come up with using your prompts? Fiction? Essays? Nonfiction?
They can use these to write their own jokes and stories. I think it’s also helpful for journaling and storytelling. We don’t realize how many stories we have locked inside our heads. I tend to focus a lot more on nonfiction, but they can also be used to develop fictional characters. Go through the prompts and try to answer the questions the way your character would and see where it leads them.
Have you filled out your books yourself? If so, were there any surprising results?
I did answer the questions for myself as I went along to make sure the prompts make sense. I reworded them a million times to try to get to the meat of the story or joke. I still need to go through and journal with the books myself!
At the beginning of Ride + Write: Road Trip Writing Prompts, you mention that you have been to 40 states. What state is your favorite? Which state do you most want to visit that you haven’t yet?
Shortly after releasing the Ride + Write book, I traveled to Hawaii for my wedding. It’s truly the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to, and I only got to see one island, Oahu. I grew up in Kentucky, so most of my early traveling was in the Southeast. I’m fascinated with the Pacific Rim and all the volcanoes that make up the “Ring of Fire.” I want to go to as many of those places as I can, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, American Samoa, Hawaii, etc. These states might as well be on a different planet. They’re amazing!
How did you decide to order the prompts in 101 Funny Writing Prompts?
For this one I didn’t have much of an outline to start, I just tried to come up with a wide spectrum so there would be variety in what people came up with. For Ride + Write, I ordered them alphabetically, but I went back and forth about whether to spread out the territories or put them at the end.
Some of your prompts play around with darker subjects. What is your relationship with dark comedy? What is your favorite type of comedy?
I’m glad you noticed! I’m kind of a goth at heart and love to toss in the darker subject matter. I like to confront the things I’m afraid of. I did hold back though because I wanted it to be appropriate for younger people. Maybe the next one will be all horror or adult-themed prompts.
Horror is so similar to comedy because it’s based on building tension and then relieving that tension. Have you ever noticed how some of the most popular horror movies have great jokes in them? And my favorite type of comedy is probably dry, sarcastic, deadpan humor.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to publish a book similar to yours?
Get started! You can’t finish it unless you start. An outline helps and having a timeline of how long you expect to work on it, but the most important thing is just to start.
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Oo, I am torn between both of these books as the aspects Paulina brings to them by way of her comedic background sounds like it makes for a funny, engaging read!
Looks fantastic