Podcast

Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen (Morgen with an ‘e’) hosts the ‘300 Words a Day’ podcast with 200+ episodes of prompts helping you if you’re stuck for ideas.

Available on Spotify (other platforms coming soon), each episode is released at the 300th minute (5am UK time) daily.

These writing prompts inspired by Morgen’s favourite statistic: 300 words a day equates to 109,500 words a year. Astounding, isn’t it.

Each episode is a unique prompt followed by seven explored questions: ‘Who, What, Where, When, Why, How?’.

These prompts can inspire you whether you are at the beginning of your creative journey or already have many projects under your belt.

Designed to help you overcome writer’s block, or at the very least, start a new project that could potentially lead to your magnum opus.

They include:

Episode 1: Friday 1 August 2025

  • Trevor hadn’t heard from her in a week.

Things to think about (the who, what, where, when, why and how):

  • Who is Trevor? Build a character list for him. You may not use all the information but it’s good to have a picture of him in your mind. If you do know what he looks like, search for that image online and download it to your folder so you can remind yourself. This is especially useful if you’re writing a longer piece.
  • Who is ‘her’?
  • What is their relationship?
  • Where is she? Where is he?
  • When did she go missing? Was it a week ago or sooner?
  • Why hasn’t he heard from her?
  • How is he going to find her?
  • We usually write about what exists but we often forget negatives – what should be there but isn’t.

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Episode 2: Saturday 2 August 2025 (2. 300 Words a Day Ep2 – 2nd August 2025)

  • It was the football that drove Charlotte mad.

Things to think about (the who, what, where, when, why and how):

  • Who is Charlotte? Who is behind the ‘football’?
  • What is the ‘football’? A football ball, a match, the whole sport?
  • Where is Charlotte? Where is the football?
  • When is the story set? Does the era matter?
  • Why is it driving her mad? Is there a repetition element?
  • How is the situation resolved? In any story there would have to be a resolution; in this case either by Charlotte giving in or a relevant party compromising?

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Episode 3: Sunday 3 August 2025 (3. 300 Words a Day Ep3 – 3rd August 2025)

  • Everything changed for the couple.

Things to think about (the who, what, where, when, why and how):

  • Who is the couple? Are they a man and woman, two men, two women? Does it matter? You could write the piece, changing the dynamic, and see which you prefer.
  • What changed? How had their life been previously? How is it now? Is it better? Worse? There’s more conflict if it’s worse but sometimes things change for the worse but it’s how it’s supposed to be.
  • Where are they?
  • When does the story take place?
  • Why has their life changed?
  • How do they change it back? Do they want to?

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Episode 4: Monday 4 August 2025 (4. 300 Words a Day Ep4 – 4th August 2025)

  • The water had ruined everything.

Things to think about (the who, what, where, when, why and how):

  • Who are the characters in this piece? There would normally be at least one character in a story.
  • What is ‘everything’? It could be something small, such as a bottle leaking in a bag whose contents have been soaked or something on a larger scale.
  • Where does the story take place? Does the location matter?
  • When does the story take place? Does the era matter?
  • Why was the water ‘allowed’ to ruin everything?
  • How will the matter be resolved?

As you can see, it doesn’t take much to build a beginning picture of a story.

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Episode 5: Tuesday 5 August 2025 (5. 300 Words a Day Ep5 – 5th August 2025)

  • It wasn’t charging properly.

Things to think about (the who, what, where, when, why and how):

  • Who is doing the charging?
  • What hasn’t charged properly?
  • Where does the story take place? Does the location matter?
  • When does the story take place? Does the era matter?
  • Why is it important that something was charging? If it’s simply a case of getting a replacement lead, there’s not much of a story.
  • How is the matter resolved?

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Episode 6: Wednesday 6 August 2025 (6. 300 Words a Day Ep6 – 6th August 2025)

  • “Why are you with him?”

Things to think about (the who, what, where, when, why and how):

  • Who is talking? Who is he/she talking to? Who is ‘him’?
  • What is the problem with the character being with ‘him’?
  • Where does the story take place? Does the location matter?
  • When does the story take place? Does the era matter?
  • Why is the narrator concerned about ‘him’ being with whoever he/she is talking to?
  • How is the story resolved?

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Episode 7: Thursday 7 August 2025 (7. 300 Words a Day Ep7 – 7th August 2025)

  • The competition was a draw.

Things to think about (the who, what, where, when, why and how):

  • Who is involved in the competition? Who are the organisers? Who are the participants? Are there other attendees?
  • What is the competition? Is it outdoors or indoors?
  • Where does the story take place? Where is the conflict?
  • When does the story take place? Does the era matter?
  • Why was the competition a draw? Does it mean an attraction or the score is equal? It could be read as either.
  • How does the story continue? If the scores are equal is there a rematch?

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And so on!