Month: October 2025

30 Free Story Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Creative

November is right around the corner, and I couldn’t be more excited. Every year, I dedicate this month to unleashing my creativity. I work in a very data-heavy job, and my creative side often gets pushed to the back burner. But for the last five years, November has been different—I wake up early each morning, sit down with a notebook or laptop, and write. Every single day.

A few years ago, I adapted National Novel Writing Month (#NaNoWriMo) for children’s authors and created Children’s Book Writing Month: #ChiBoWriMo. The challenge is simple and fun—write one story a day using an open-ended writing prompt. With this framework, I’ve written more than 150 children’s stories across five cozy Novembers, and today I’m sharing 30 brand-new prompts to help you start your own creative sprint.

But in full transparency… I’m switching things up this year. After writing 150 children’s stories, I think it’s okay—maybe even necessary—to give my brain a new adventure. So I’m taking it full circle and hopping on the #NaNoWriMo train. This children’s book writer is about to attempt a full-length adult novel!

Will I hit the official 50,000-word goal in November? Honestly, we’ll see. My true goal is to finish a complete rough draft by the end of the year. Wish me luck as I attempt to double (or quadruple!) my daily word count. Here’s to trying new things, stretching our creativity, and letting November surprise us.

And if you love women’s fiction, please reach out—I’m going to need a fresh group of beta readers!

Teach Your Kids Important Phone Numbers Right Now (2 Min. Hack)

When my first daughter was little, I wanted her to know how to reach me in case of an emergency — but memorizing numbers wasn’t exactly a preschooler’s idea of fun. So I came up with a quick little hack that worked so well, I used it years later with my second daughter!

This simple activity helps kids see, say, and touch the numbers — hitting every learning style and making it stick. Best of all, it takes just a couple of minutes to make.

What You’ll Need

  • An old phone (disabled, or toy)
  • Round pricing stickers
  • Painter’s or masking tape
  • A marker

How to Make It

  1. Stick the round labels where the numbers would be and write in the digits.
    (Bonus tip: draw the green phone/call icon at the bottom so kids learn to “press call.”)
  2. On the back, add three strips of tape and write down:
    • Mom’s number
    • Dad’s number
    • 911
life skills for kids

That’s it! Your child can now practice dialing anywhere — at home, in the car, or while waiting at appointments.

Once they’ve memorized your number, it’s one less thing to worry about. You’ll feel more at ease knowing they have the skills to reach you when it really counts — and they’ll feel so proud showing off their “grown-up” phone skills.

—

Need a fun story for 2-7-year-olds?
Ringo Picked is a seriously silly story about a really good raccoon with a very bad habit!

Find the paperback/ebook/audiobook available here.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com