1-MINUTE PROMPT:
Heartbreak is a universal experience. Think of a time when your heart felt shattered. Imagine the story of your heartbreak is going to premiere in living color on the Hallmark Channel. Brainstorm a list of movie titles that aptly describe what happened.
5-MINUTE PROMPT:
People handle breakups in all kinds of ways, from endless ranting and raving, to lying around depressed. What about you—how did you cope after a big breakup? Write your younger self a letter offering thoughts and advice on how to deal with the post-breakup blues.
10-MINUTE PROMPT:
Let’s turn the tables. Remember a time when you experienced unrequited love. Rewrite that story of heartbreak where, this time, you are the one who isn’t interested in the other person. Will you let the besotted one down easy or flip your hair and sashay away?
20-MINUTE PROMPT:
Heartbreak isn’t reserved for romantic relationships. Kids, parents, coworkers, pets, and friends cause pangs in our tickers too. Do some freewriting about a memory where your heart got broken in a nonromantic situation—then throw in an element of magical realism to the mix and see where it leads you.