You have writer’s block. You’ve been sitting there in front of a blank page for hours and nothing is happening. Or do you feel like all you do is write about yourself?
I struggle with empathy. As a writer, that is a handicap. I find myself too focused on my own world and my own goals that I seldom take the time to acknowledge others.
Writing is good medicine for the unempathetic, but like meditation, it is something I need to practice.
Here is how you can practice writing and strengthen your empathy skills.
Allow me to introduce this idea to you. I call this The Cup of Sonder technique. You might have heard this word before, Sonder.
Sonder is the realization that everyone you see passing by is living a life as rich and complex as yours.
It’s basically people-watching. Sit at a coffee shop, sip your americano, and look out the window. Watch as the characters pass by. All you are given are their external traits.
Pick a person and fill in the colours of their lives.
Where are they going? What are they concerned about? What are they looking forward to?
Start writing all of this down and begin to create a world around these serendipitous characters.
I know it’s not the best time to be outside, people watching…
So, if you can’t go sit at a coffee shop and delve into sonder, I have created a list of 100 writing prompts below. Each one is designed with 3-5 traits of a stranger passing by.
Please feel free to write about these characters:
| 1. A woman with a ponytail and large round glasses is wearing a trenchcoat and holding a briefcase. |
| 2. A burly man with a large beard and a big belly is wearing boots. |
| 3. An older woman in an expensive jacket is shouting at someone ahead of her. |
| 4. A man wearing a tank top with tattoos on his exposed arm is walking casually with a smile. |
| 5. A young boy with a green cap is carrying a big case, walking purposefully. |
| 6. A curly-haired woman in a denim jacket is locking up a bike. |
| 7. A woman in a long purple dress that exposes her shoulder is smoking a cigarette and listening to music with big headphones. |
| 8. An elderly man — with a thick mustache, has his hands in his pants pockets — is looking up at the top of a building. |
| 9. A 300-pound man with small glasses is texting urgently on his phone. |
| 10. A boy with long hair is brushing the tears out of his eyes. |
| 11. A bald woman is wearing a fur coat and walking a large 200lb dog. |
| 12. A skinny man wearing a construction vest and a hard hat is covered in soot. |
| 13. A man with his hair dyed green, wearing a black trench coat and holding a cane, stands idly waiting for the traffic lights to change. |
| 14. A woman, wearing yoga pants and a tank top with pigtails, is carrying a bag of groceries. |
| 15. A man with tangled hair, wearing a sports team hoodie, is walking an old bike with the loose chains. |
| 16. A teenage girl, with a fluorescent pink backpack, is listening to music and nodding her head to the beat of the song. |
| 17. A large man is looking at a piece of paper in his hands, shaking his head in frustration, and swearing loudly to himself. |
| 18. A mother, wearing an expensive green dress, is pulling her son who is resisting her command. |
| 19. An old woman, dressed in a red velvet coat, is pushing a dolly of full plastic bags. |
| 20. A man, with sunglasses and a popped polo shirt collar, is spinning his keys on his finger and whistling a song. |
| 21. A large woman in a baggy black hoodie and sweatpants jogs by. |
| 22. A thin man, wearing a baseball cap backward and a small black t-shirt, is walking with a limp. |
| 23. A man, with a strong build and short brown hair, is holding his phone, looking up occasionally, and reading the street signs. |
| 24. A bigger man, in a brown sweater and a toque (beanie), wearing earphones, is walking with one hand in his pocket. |
| 25. A woman, in blue jeans and a blue tank top that might be a one-piece swimsuit, passes by holding a bicycle helmet. |
| 26. An elderly lady, wearing a blue bucket hat and carrying a backpack in front of her, is looking into a window of a restaurant. |
| 27. A man — wearing sunglasses, a gray blazer, and shorts — crosses the street, while drinking a cup of coffee. |
| 28. A teenage boy in a striped shirt is holding a bouquet of flowers like it is a suitcase. |
| 29. A dad, crossing the street carrying a toddler and holding the hand of an older child, is expressionless as he picks up a shoe that fell from his toddler’s foot. |
| 30. A woman with long brown hair stops to look through a shopping bag she was carrying. |
| 31. A younger woman with crutches and a leg in a cast hobbles past. |
| 32. A small woman with big glasses in a fluorescent raincoat is holding a mailing tube tightly. |
| 33. A man with bed head hair is wearing earphones, scrolling through his phone, and looking up now and then to avoid hitting anyone. |
| 34. A well-dressed woman hands her boyfriend her phone and poses along the street for a photo. |
| 35. A large man, wearing a construction helmet, is taking notes on a tattered notepad. |
| 36. A man, with a baseball cap and big lumberjack beard, is walking with a cane. |
| 37. A woman — with short blonde hair, black sunglasses, and a turtleneck — is waving at someone across the street. |
| 38. An unshaven man with greasy hair, wearing a polo shirt, is holding a door open. |
| 39. A woman in scrubs is untangling her earphone cords while holding her tablet. |
| 40. An older woman in sweatpants is drinking from a bottle wrapped in a paper bag. |
| 41. A younger man wearing sunglasses with short hair is helping an old lady cross the road. |
| 42. A bald man with a white backpack and a long beard is carrying a pink electric guitar. |
| 43. A chubby woman dressed all in black is riding a kid scooter. |
| 44. A man with long white hair, wearing a safety vest, is holding a bundle of blue tarp and searching for something on the ground. |
| 45. A man, with a white hat and big brown boots, is carrying a hiking backpack. |
| 46. A woman with her hair disheveled passes by, wearing a long baggy rock band t-shirt and flip flops. |
| 47. A woman with short hair dyed blue wearing a basketball jersey. |
| 48. A man, wearing a bowler hat and a pink-patterned trench coat, walks by swinging his arm wildly. |
| 49. A woman, with a blonde ponytail, dressed all in black is digging through her purse. |
| 50. A very tall man, towering above everyone else, passes by concealing something moving in his pocket. |
| 51. A young man, with feminine features, strolls by with a bounce in his step. |
| 52. A man, with a mop-top haircut, is wearing thin-rimmed glasses on his long nose. |
| 53. A woman with a large afro in a blue patterned dress and three-inch heels strides pass with a purpose. |
| 54. A woman, wearing a black hoodie and sunglasses, is holding a large feather like a glass of wine. |
| 55. A man with bandages unwrapping around his legs is trying to gather the loose ends. |
| 56. An androgynous man runs by with blond hair in a bun, wearing a red hoodie t-shirt and spandex pants. |
| 57. An old woman in a red silk coat stands at the corner with her arms behind her back staring across the street. |
| 58. A fit woman with a ponytail, wearing a green sports bra, is pushing a baby carriage as she jogs. |
| 59. A very large man, shaped like a balloon, trudge by wearing a big blue shirt with Al Pacino’s Scarface on it. |
| 60. A tall woman, with long hair down to her butt, is wearing a black romper, holding a small purse casually at her side, and walking with great posture. |
| 61. A man, with many piercings on his face and hair dyed with multiple colors, passes by with a cigarette in his mouth. |
| 62. A shirtless man, with short messy hair, is holding a clear plastic cup with nothing in it. |
| 63. A man with a backward cap and a goatee, wearing a red plaid shirt, is carrying a flagger stop sign. |
| 64. A woman with dreadlocks is pushing a very large double bass case on wheels across the street. |
| 65. A tanned man with long curly hair, wearing a tie-dye shirt, is skateboarding as fast as possible down the street. |
| 66. A girl with a fairy haircut and eyebrows that spike up at the end walks past with a cup of coffee. |
| 67. A balding man with comb-over hair is wearing a long shirt — way too long for him — and walking as though there is a rock in his shoe. |
| 68. An old lady wearing a blue fishing hat is pulling a two-wheel shopping dolly that has flower patterns on it. |
| 69. A woman wearing only an orange bikini and running shoes is filming herself on her phone as she walks by, not acknowledging the glances she’s receiving. |
| 70. A teenage boy with long hair, wearing a black tank top, is lighting a cigarette that won’t spark. |
| 71. A woman in a pink dress is riding a motorized wheelchair, speeding by and almost hitting some pedestrians. |
| 72. A tanned thin wrinkly man is holding a garbage bag open and telling people to look inside. |
| 73. A well-built man with a white beard is wearing a beanie and a whole assortment of necklaces from animal teeth to colorful gems. |
| 74. A man in an ill-fitting tuxedo is pacing nervously, pulling out a flask from his inside coat pocket and taking a swig. |
| 75. A grumpy old man sits on a bench, wearing a brown coat, with his arms are crossed as he watches people stroll him by. |
| 76. A small short-haired woman is wearing multiple layers of clothing, topping it off with a vest, and following a couple asking for change. |
| 77. A woman with silky blonde hair is adjusting a big gray backpack that clung heavily on her shoulders. |
| 78. A man, with a salt-and-pepper five o’clock shadow, is wearing a green hoodie with the zippers unzipped, revealing that he is not wearing a shirt underneath. |
| 79. A man in a fresh new blue t-shirt is walking around with a snake wrapped around his shoulder. |
| 80. A little girl in a white dress is eating chocolate ice cream and walking a dog the same size as her. |
| 81. An older man is running down the sidewalk, pushing a two-wheel hand truck with a tower of boxes upon it. |
| 82. A small man — but very muscular — with a lot of tattoos is constantly looking over his shoulders. |
| 83. An athletic woman is rollerblading while wearing a long pink dress. |
| 84. A man with thick eyebrows and a thicker mustache is carrying a cardboard box filled with antique. |
| 85. A woman, wearing a red shirt with the number 69 on her back, is laughing loudly as she walks by. |
| 86. An older lady carrying a shopping bag in one hand and a rolled-up yoga mat in the other is in no rush to get where she’s going. |
| 87. A glamorous woman in a beautiful gown has her make-up ruined from tears still on her face. |
| 88. An athletic young man wearing a white t-shirt decided that here is the best place for him to do some pushups. |
| 89. A woman in a plaid shirt and ripped shorts is carrying a six-pack of beer and a brown paper bag. |
| 90. An elderly woman, with slicked-back greasy hair, is wearing aviator glasses and a leather jacket. |
| 91. A strapping man in a larger yellow shirt is pushing a double baby stroller that has no babies in it. |
| 92. A man wearing a motorcycle helmet on his head is shuffling through a folder full of documents. |
| 93. A college student is typing on her laptop as she walks down the street, carrying a backpack with the zippers open. |
| 94. A man with a long ponytail is smoking a pipe and curling his curly mustache. |
| 95. A woman with a lot of plastic surgery is wearing a shiny dress that is reflecting the lights off the sun. |
| 96. A young girl with pig-tails is riding a unicycle down the street and waving to people as she passes by. |
| 97. A lady in t-shirt, shorts, and high-heels falls to the ground, her glasses sliding away from her, her elbows are scraped. |
| 98. A man, with a handlebar mustache and a mullet, dressed in a denim jacket, is carrying a medicine ball in both arms. |
| 99. A 20-something-year old is holding a case of beer, but the box is broken, so he’s having an awkward time carrying it. |
| 100. A man wearing a facemask and sunglasses is standing at the intersection waiting for the street lights to change. |
I hope it can inspire you and that you will create something wonderful from it. Please feel free to share what you’ve written in the comments below, I’d love to read it. And if you are up for the challenge, you can try to write all 100, one for each day.
For more writing and editing resources, please consider signing up for my mailing list. You won’t receive emails from me often, but when you do, it’ll include only work that I’m most proud of.
Elliot Chan 