Writing Prompts!

    Does anybody here have a particular fondness for writing prompts? You know, the short sentences that give inspiration for a short scene (or even a whole story).
    It's fun to try to come up with some oneself, but if a person wants a new writing prompt they've never thought of before, they can always be found on the internet. Interestingly, there are not only millions of original writing prompts, but there are completely different kinds of prompts, each special in their own way. Like for example . . .
    Specific writing prompts. This would be where you're given a specific character, setting, time, and issue to write about. A basic example of this would be: "A young man wakes up on an island that looks oddly like Hawaii, only there isn't another living soul there." We're given the character (the basic concept of one anyway), we have a very specific location, and we also have a specific problem for the character to face. Some might find it restricting to have to stick to all the given rules provided by such a direct prompt, but the provision of such specifics can really be liberating (especially if you don't feel like coming up with a completely new story out of the blue). These kind of prompts are also really good for dipping into new writing adventures head first, with surprises around every corner.
    Bare bones prompts. These are very different than specific writing prompts. Rather than getting an already outlined story , this kind of prompt provides only a handful of terms. A basic example would be just: "Kenny, Valentine's Day, and cinnamon rolls." It's very vague, but this vagueness leaves a lot of power to imagination, because there's no absolute necessity for these things to have their traditional meaning in the story being written. "Kenny" can be the name of an airship instead of a person, "Valentine's Day" can be the title of a music album playing in the background rather than a holiday, and "Cinnamon Rolls" could even be the name of a town instead of food! Everything about a bare bones prompt is a wild card, an invitation to take concepts and get really creative in using them--or, of course, to write a nice, regular scene in which the terms are used in their traditional sense.
    Visual story prompts. These are basically pictures you look at to build a story from--like a picture of a sunny beach with tall plastic flamingos sticking out of the sand. A great thing about this kind of writing prompt is that it's cool to be able to have an actual picture to connect with the story, like when you find an actor or other kind of celebrity who looks exactly like you've envisioned a character in your story. Plus, with a picture, it's easier to imagine what exactly is happening in the scene while writing it.
    Dialogue prompts. These are the prompts that are just bits of dialogue. Basically something like: "I told you we should have taken the flying horseshoes!" which tasks the writer with coming up with a situation to fit this bit of dialogue into. A lot of these prompts that can be found on the web are really funny, meant to instantly catch attention so that a person will want to invest their time and effort in making a story of it. Personally, I think it kind of seems like a lot of work, but dialogue is a fantastic way to showcase a character's personality, and this type of prompt continues to be really popular.
    Isn't it cool how there are so many ways to get inspired to write? Which kind of writing prompt is your favorite?  Can you think of a type that's not mentioned here? :)