Daily Writing Prompt

Get a new writing prompt on your WP Admin dashboard each day to start your next post.

Answering the prompt builds a regular writing habit and puts your post in the WordPress.com Reader next to other writers’ answers. The widget also has a tab of Freshly Pressed posts picked by the WordPress.com editorial team.

RequirementsMD

The Daily Writing Prompt widget needs an active Jetpack connection to WordPress.com. The widget is free on every connected site, so you do not need a paid plan. You do not need to turn on a feature or setting either. The widget appears once Jetpack is connected.

How the widget worksMD

The Daily Writing Prompt widget sits on the Dashboard screen in WP Admin and has two tabs.

The widget opens on the Writing Prompt tab, which shows a new prompt each day. WordPress.com provides the prompt, and writers on WordPress.com and Jetpack sites all see the same one.

Use the Previous (←) and Next (→) arrows to browse recent prompts if you’d like a different one to answer. The tab also shows profile pictures of writers who have already answered the prompt.

The Freshly Pressed tab lists blog posts the WordPress.com editorial team has chosen to feature.

Answer a writing promptMD

You answer a writing prompt from the widget, which starts a new post with the prompt already in it. To answer a prompt, follow these steps:

1. Go to Dashboard in WP Admin.
2. In the Daily Writing Prompt widget, click the “Post your answer” button. The editor opens a new post that starts with the Writing Prompt block.
3. Write your answer as you would any other post, then click the Publish button.

Jetpack tags the post with dailyprompt. After you publish, the post appears in the WordPress.com Reader under that day’s prompt, alongside other writers’ answers.

View other responsesMD

You can read other writers’ answers to the same prompt in the WordPress.com Reader. In the Daily Writing Prompt widget, click the “View responses” link. The WordPress.com Reader opens, where you can read, like, and comment on other answers.

Read Freshly Pressed postsMD

In the Daily Writing Prompt widget, the Freshly Pressed tab gives you a short list of featured blog posts to read without searching the Reader. To open one, follow these steps:

1. Go to Dashboard in WP Admin.
2. In the Daily Writing Prompt widget, click the “Freshly Pressed” tab.
3. Click a post title. The post opens in the WordPress.com Reader in a new browser tab.

The tabs appear only on days when Freshly Pressed has posts to show. On other days, the widget shows the writing prompt without tabs.

To learn how the WordPress.com team picks posts, and how to improve your chances of being featured, see Recommendations in the WordPress.com Reader.

Hide the Daily Writing Prompt widgetMD

Use WordPress’s Screen Options to hide the Daily Writing Prompt widget. To hide it, follow these steps:

1. Go to Dashboard in WP Admin.
2. Click the “Screen Options” button at the top right of the page.
3. Clear the “Daily Writing Prompt” checkbox.

Your dashboard no longer shows the widget. To bring it back, repeat these steps and select the checkbox again.