Creative Writing Prompts Reimagined: A Story in a Box

There’s a lesson I’ve taught every year — I bring in worn, mysterious shoes and ask students to build a character around it. It’s simple. No slides. No backstory. Just the shoe.

And every year, it works. Because writing is about imagining what’s missing.

I love that lesson. Every year, my students love that lesson.

But one day, while thinking about blog ideas, I found myself reflecting on my time at school and how creative writing used to feel - not as a student, but as a person. Prompts were flat. “Write about the room that you’re in” or “Describe a forest.” They never used to give me anything to hold onto.

But the shoe? That had texture.

Then I started thinking, when I write now, my inspiration doesn’t come from neat, tidy sentences. It comes from experiences, from objects, from real tangible things. And then I started to wonder, what if a creative writing prompt wasn’t just a sentence?

What if it was a world?
A stack of police documents.
A letter with smudged ink.
A faded old photograph.
A child’s forgotten drawing.

And if they all came together?

And that was the moment the Creative Writing Collections were born.

I decided to call them Collections because that’s exactly what they are meant to feel like: curated fragments of a forgotten story. Not a book. Not a game. Not a puzzle with a single solution. But something that feels like it belongs in an exhibit - something you’ve stumbled across as it lay half forgotten, and now it’s yours to explore, interpret and reinvent.

The Victoriana Collection

The first box I built is rooted in history. I’ve always found Victorian London fascinating - the texture of it, the tension, the contrasts. So, it felt like the perfect place to start.

The Victoriana Collection is filled with printables that could have existed: a séance invitation, an asylum letter, a missing persons report. Many of the documents reference real places, so you can spiral into your own research, or veer entirely into fiction. That’s the beauty of it.

Because it was my first box, it also became the most widely tested, and the range of responses was incredible. Some people wrote ghost stories. Others, psychological thrillers. One even created a dark romance. It became clear, almost immediately, that this box never gives you the answers. Instead, you’re the one writing them.

Everything from the packaging to the prompt cards is designed to feel immersive, like something you could have found in the attic of an old house. And that’s the point: to feel like you’ve stumbled upon a forgotten story, and now it’s yours to tell.

The Kindling Collection

Where Victoriana is urban, shadowy, and laced with London fog, The Kindling Collection is her rural, folklore-laced, colourful cousin.

This box centers around a single English village - one with traditions that stretch across centuries. On the surface, it’s idyllic: small cottages, midsummer celebrations, the warmth of a close-knit community. But beneath all that, there’s the unsettling sense that something is truly… off.

Inside the box, you’ll find documents that span generations: festival posters, memorial booklets, children’s drawings, blurry photographs, and symbols that keep appearing again and again. Some of the pieces are dated 2025. Others go back hundreds of years.

I live in rural Scotland, and I’ve always been fascinated by the kinds of traditions people still take part in - even when no one remembers how they started. That was the spark for this Collection: a blend of folklore, firelight, and the unspoken. It’s about what lingers in quiet places and what no one dares to name.

No Single Story

These boxes don’t give you a beginning, middle, and end.

They don’t tell you what happened.

And that’s deliberate.

Everyone who has tested them has used them differently, which is what I hoped for.

Some people pulled out their favourite piece and began there. Others mapped out full-scale crime walls, complete with string and scribbled notes. One tester brought the box to a girls’ night and plotted a dark mystery over a bottle of wine. Another created a whole collection of poems and short stories, each inspired by a single prompt.

But that’s what I love most:
There is no single story.
Only fragments. Clues. Atmosphere.
And your imagination.

What’s Inside

Each Collection is available in two formats: physical and digital - both designed to spark your imagination in different ways.

The Physical Box

The physical version is the most immersive. Each one contains over 40 beautifully designed documents, carefully curated to feel like fragments of a forgotten story. Pages are aged or styled where appropriate - think smudged ink, creased corners, forgotten letters. They’re bundled in theme-appropriate wrappings: hand-torn chiffon, velvet ribbon, twine - whatever fits the world you’re stepping into.

You’ll also receive:

• A unique prompt card tied to the theme

• A handful of trinkets or tactile elements, like lace scraps, tarot cards, vintage keys, or strange little tokens. No two boxes will ever be exactly alike.

It’s made to feel like something you stumbled across by accident and couldn’t look away from.

The Digital Version

The digital edition includes all the same core documents and prompts, styled to match the Collection’s theme and delivered as a high-resolution PDF download. It’s perfect if you prefer to print at home, write from your screen, or want a more flexible, accessible version of the experience.

While it doesn’t include physical trinkets or the hand-bound aesthetic of the physical bundle, the storytelling potential and creative freedom are just as powerful.

Who Are These For?

These boxes were made for the daydreamers, the overthinkers, the ones who scribble ideas in the margins of their notebooks.

For writers who feel stuck - and for the ones who just need a spark.
For teachers looking to bring creative energy into the classroom.
For book lovers, storytellers, and people who find beauty in strange little details.

Each Collection is flexible enough to be used solo, in a writing group, or even in creative writing lessons.

Whether you're a lifelong writer or just getting started, these boxes are a door, and you get to decide where they lead.

What’s Next?

This is just the beginning.

I’ll be releasing more Collections as I expand into different genres - each one built around a unique setting and time period. Some will reach deep into the past. Others will imagine strange, not-so-distant futures. Every box will bring its own voice, its own secrets, and its own way of drawing you in.

I’m a teacher at heart, and helping the next generation tap into their creativity is something I care deeply about. That’s why I’m also excited to explore Children’s and YA versions of the boxes - playful, immersive, and designed to spark younger imaginations.

And there’s already a collaboration in the works. But more on that soon.

Want to be first?

The first two boxes - Victoriana and Kindling - launch this June with a limited drop.

If you love mysterious details and stories that reveal themselves through fragments or are looking for truly inspiring writing prompts with texture, you might just love what’s coming.

◆ Join the waitlist and be the first to know when the boxes go live.