September Writing Prompts: Fresh Starts & Shifting Seasons

Katie Zeliger
Sep 12
2 min read

🍎 Fresh Starts & Shifting Seasons

September feels like a natural reset—the air turns crisp, new routines settle in, and we start looking ahead to the last quarter of the year. It’s the perfect month to write about change, memory, and possibility. Whether you’re a fiction writer, essayist, or poet, here are prompts to spark your creativity this month.

✨ Fiction Prompts

A character returns to their hometown after years away and finds it both familiar and strange.
A child makes a new friend at the start of the school year, but something about this friend is unusual.
Write a scene where the weather shifts dramatically in a single afternoon, mirroring a character’s internal struggle.

✨ Nonfiction Prompts

Write about a time you experienced a “fresh start.” What fears and hopes came with it?
Reflect on the ways your daily routine changes with the seasons.
Journal about a September memory from childhood.

✨ Poetry Prompts

Capture the moment summer fades into fall in just ten lines.
Write a poem in which each stanza begins with the phrase, “This is the season when…”
Use the imagery of apples, books, or backpacks as a metaphor for transition.

📝 Mini Challenge: Reset Your Writing Routine

Choose one small habit to anchor your writing this month—five minutes in the morning, a sentence before bed, or one page every Sunday. By pairing your writing with the rhythm of September, you’ll set yourself up for consistency all autumn.

September is all about transitions. Use these prompts to embrace change and let it fuel your creativity.