Overcoming writer's block

Purpose

The purpose of this prompt is to help you overcome writer's block by suggesting some ideas that you might use when starting off a piece of work.

 Acknowledge

Please check and follow your local guidelines about whether this use of generative AI is permitted. If it is permitted and if you use this prompt in the process of creating work for assessment, you may need to acknowledge the use of AI. 

 Prompt

Note: The following prompts were tested in Microsoft Copilot for Web. It is most suitable for language based generative AI.

To use when you are lacking ideas:

You are an expert in logistics, writing a paper on inventory management in not-for-profits organisations. Brainstorm ideas you can write about and include short explanation on each idea. Be succinct and thought provoking.

To use when you don’t know how to expand:

You are an expert in <FIELD>, writing a <TASK YOU ARE WORKING ON>. You have talked about <SECTION YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH> in your work. Suggest ways you can expand on this to give a more thorough understanding of it.

Alternatives:

You are an expert in <FIELD>, writing a <TASK YOU ARE WORKING ON>. Suggest topics you can write about and include why this is a good idea. Explain each suggestion with a outline of how to expand on it. Be prepared to give more examples.

You are a tertiary level student in <FIELD>, writing a <TASK YOU ARE WORKING ON> on <TOPIC>. Suggest possible areas to explore in your work with reasoning for why this is worth writing about. Be thorough in explaining each idea and how to expand on it.

Follow-up prompt (optional):

Please provide more ideas.

Expand on idea number <NUMBER>.

Please give more explanation on each idea.

 Explanation

The first prompt gives the AI a role (expert), the task (brainstorm ideas), and instructions (how it should structure and write the completion). 

These prompts ask the AI for possible directions and areas that you can continue writing about. This is useful for overcoming writer's block and other situations where inspirational and thought provoking ideas are desired. It will provide a a list of ideas and possible directions you can continue writing about. If further explanation is required follow-up prompts can be used to seek more information. 

 Examples