January Writing Prompts

This collection of January writing prompts is dedicated to the palate cleansing beginning of the new year. January is a month of resolutions, bitter temperatures, snow angels and crackling fireplaces. After the barrage of holidays the previous couple of months, January is a calm month allowing adults and students alike to settle into the following year while they get used to putting the new year on their assignments and checks. Feel free to use these January story starters to stimulate the minds of your students, your children or yourselves!

January Writing Prompts

1. January is often the month in which resolutions are made and broken. If you could force yourself to stick to a resolution throughout the entire following year, what would it be and why?

2. The ball was first dropped in New York's Times Square in 1908. Imagine if the city had decided to use something different than a ball to drop during the New Year's Eve ceremony. What are some examples of other objects they could have used and how would these changes have affected future Times Square bashes?

3. The month of January is often punctuated with so much cold weather that most people would rather stay inside than go out. What are some of the things you, you friends and your family do in January to keep active? What would your ideal snowy night consist of?

4. The Winter Olympics often occur during January and feature many exciting events such as ice hockey and figure skating. If you had been trained in a winter sport for the Games, what sport would it be and why? How would this training have affected your childhood?

5. The first Emmy Awards occurred in January of 1949. Imagine that you have created a wonderful television show and you are up for one of these prestigious awards. What would the show be, what actors would it feature and why would people like it so much?

6. Born in January 1809, Louis Braille developed a system of communication for the blind that is still in use today. How would your life have changed if you had been blind from birth? How would your goals and ambitions change in addition to your day to day life?

7. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated every January to honor this celebrated civil rights activist and all he did for the world. If you had to fight for rights in your own current life, what would they be and why? Do you think you could be as brave as Dr. King?

8. We often think of winter animals like polar bears and penguins during January. If you could have any winter animal as a pet, which one would it be and why? What would you do with said animal when January and February came to a close?

9. January is sometimes called National Thank You month. If you could thank 10 people in your life for something they did for you, who would those people be and why would you thank them? Do you think that somebody might thank you this month?

10. Ben Franklin was born in January 1706 and his words of wisdom became some of the most quoted phrases of all time. If you had to offer someone wisdom that would stand the test of time, what would it be and why? Do you follow this wisdom on a daily basis?

Thanks for reading these January writing prompts! If you are interested in having January writing prompts (and prompts for the entire rest of the year) check out my book, 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More, available in paperback and in digital form.

Done with January Writing Prompts? Go back to Creative Writing Prompts.