ThinkWritten
365 Creative Writing Prompts
Here are 365 Creative Writing Prompts to help inspire you to write every single day! Use them for journaling, story starters, poetry, and more!
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If you want to become a better writer, the best thing you can do is practice writing every single day. Writing prompts are useful because we know sometimes it can be hard to think of what to write about!
To help you brainstorm, we put together this list of 365 creative writing prompts to give you something to write about daily.
Want to Download these prompts? I am super excited to announce due to popular demand we now have an ad-free printable version of this list of writing prompts available for just $5. The printable version includes a PDF as a list AND print-ready prompt cards. {And all the design source files you could ever need to customize any way you would like!}
Here are 365 Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire:
Whether you write short stories, poems, or like to keep a journal – these will stretch your imagination and give you some ideas for topics to write about!
1. Outside the Window : What’s the weather outside your window doing right now? If that’s not inspiring, what’s the weather like somewhere you wish you could be?
2. The Unrequited love poem: How do you feel when you love someone who does not love you back?
3. The Vessel: Write about a ship or other vehicle that can take you somewhere different from where you are now.
4. Dancing: Who’s dancing and why are they tapping those toes?
5. Food: What’s for breakfast? Dinner? Lunch? Or maybe you could write a poem about that time you met a friend at a cafe.
6. Eye Contact: Write about two people seeing each other for the first time.
7. The Rocket-ship: Write about a rocket-ship on its way to the moon or a distant galaxy far, far, away.
8. Dream-catcher : Write something inspired by a recent dream you had.
9. Animals: Choose an animal. Write about it!
10. Friendship: Write about being friends with someone.
11. Dragon : Envision a dragon. Do you battle him? Or is the dragon friendly? Use descriptive language.
12. Greeting : Write a story or poem that starts with the word “hello” or another greeting.
13. The Letter: Write a poem or story using words from a famous letter or inspired by a letter someone sent you.
14. The Found Poem : Read a book and circle some words on a page. Use those words to craft a poem. Alternatively, you can cut out words and phrases from magazines.
15. Eavesdropper : Create a poem, short story, or journal entry about a conversation you’ve overheard.
16. Addict: Everyone’s addicted to something in some shape or form. What are things you can’t go without?
17. Dictionary Definition : Open up a dictionary to a random word. Define what that word means to you.
18. Cleaning: Hey, even writers and creative artists have to do housework sometimes. Write about doing laundry, dishes, and other cleaning activities.
19. Great Minds: Write about someone you admire and you thought to have had a beautiful mind.
20. Missed Connections: If you go to Craigslist, there is a “Missed Connections” section where you can find some interesting storylines to inspire your writing.
21. Foreclosure : Write a poem or short story about someone who has lost or is about to lose their home.
22. Smoke, Fog, and Haze: Write about not being able to see ahead of you.
23. Sugar: Write something so sweet, it makes your teeth hurt.
24. Numbers: Write a poem or journal entry about numbers that have special meaning to you.
25. Dread: Write about doing something you don’t want to do.
26. Fear: What scares you a little? What do you feel when scared? How do you react?
27. Closed Doors: What’s behind the door? Why is it closed?
28. Shadow: Imagine you are someone’s shadow for a day.
29. Good Vibes: What makes you smile? What makes you happy?
30. Shopping: Write about your shopping wishlist and how you like to spend money.
31. The Professor: Write about a teacher that has influenced you.
32. Rewrite : Take any poem or short story you enjoy. Rewrite it in your own words.
33. Jewelry: Write about a piece of jewelry. Who does it belong to?
34. Sounds : Sit outside for about an hour. Write down the sounds you hear.
35. War and Peace: Write about a recent conflict that you dealt with in your life.
36. Frame It: Write a poem or some phrases that would make for good wall art in your home.
37. Puzzle: Write about putting together the pieces of puzzles.
38. Fire-starters: Write about building a fire.
39. Coffee & Tea: Surely you drink one or the other or know someone who does- write about it!
40. Car Keys: Write about someone getting their driver’s license for the first time.
41. What You Don’t Know: Write about a secret you’ve kept from someone else or how you feel when you know someone is keeping a secret from you.
42. Warehouse : Write about being inside an old abandoned warehouse.
43. The Sound of Silence: Write about staying quiet when you feel like shouting.
44. Insult: Write about being insulted. How do you feel? Why do you think the other person insulted you?
45. Mirror, Mirror: What if you mirror started talking to you? What might the mirror say?
46. Dirty: Write a poem about getting covered in mud.
47. Light Switch : Write about coming out of the dark and seeing the light.
48. The Stars : Take inspiration from a night sky. Or, write about a time when “the stars aligned” in your horoscope.
49. Joke Poem : What did the wall say to the other wall? Meet you at the corner! Write something inspired by a favorite joke.
50. Just Say No : Write about the power you felt when you told someone no.
51: Sunrise/Sunset : The sun comes up, the sun goes down. It goes round and round. Write something inspiring about the sunrise or sunset.
52. Memory Lane : What does Memory Lane look like? How do you get there?
53. Tear-Jerker : Watch a movie that makes you cry. Write about that scene in the movie.
54. Dear Diary: Write a poem or short story about a diary entry you’ve read or imagined.
55. Holding Hands : The first time you held someone’s hand.
56. Photograph : Write a story or journal entry influenced by a photograph you see online or in a magazine.
57. Alarm Clock: Write about waking up.
58. Darkness: Write a poem or journal entry inspired by what you can’t see.
59. Refreshed: Write a poem about a time you really felt refreshed and renewed. Maybe it was a dip into a pool on a hot summer day, a drink of lemonade, or other situation that helped you relax and start again.
60. Handle With Care : Write about a very fragile or delicate object.
61. Drama: Write about a time when you got stuck in between two parties fighting with each other.
62. Slip Up: Write about making mistakes.
63. Spice: Write about flavors and tastes or a favorite spice of yours.
64. Sing a New Song: Take a popular song off the radio and rewrite it as a poem in your own words.
65. Telephone: Write about a phone call you recently received.
66. Name: Write a poem or short story using your name in some way or form.
67. Dollhouse: Write a poem or short story from the viewpoint of someone living in a doll house.
68. Random Wikipedia Article : Go to Wikipedia and click on Random Article . Write about whatever the page you get.
69. Silly Sports: Write about an extreme or silly sport. If none inspire you, make up the rules for your own game.
70. Recipe : Write about a recipe for something abstract, such as a feeling.
71. Famous Artwork: Choose a famous painting and write about it.
72. Where That Place Used to Be : Think of a place you went to when you were younger but it now no longer there or is something else. Capture your feelings about this in your writing.
73. Last Person You Talked to: Write a quick little poem or story about the last person you spoke with.
74. Caught Red-Handed: Write about being caught doing something embarrassing.
75. Interview: Write a list of questions you have for someone you would like to interview, real or fictional.
76. Missing You: Write about someone you miss dearly.
77. Geography: Pick a state or country you’ve never visited. Write about why you would or would not like to visit that place.
78. Random Song: Turn on the radio, use the shuffle feature on your music collection or your favorite streaming music service. Write something inspired by the first song you hear.
79. Hero: Write a tribute to someone you regard as a hero.
80. Ode to Strangers: Go people watching and write an ode to a stranger you see on the street.
81. Advertisement: Advertisements are everywhere, aren’t they? Write using the slogan or line from an ad.
82. Book Inspired: Think of your favorite book. Now write a poem that sums up the entire story in 10 lines.
83. Magic : Imagine you have a touch of magic, and can make impossible things happen. What would you do?
84. Fanciest Pen: Get out your favorite pen, pencils, or even colored markers and write using them!
85. A Day in the Life: Write about your daily habits and routine.
86. Your Muse: Write about your muse – what do they look like? What does your muse do to inspire you?
87. Convenience Store : Write about an experience you’ve had at a gas station or convenience store.
88. Natural Wonders of the World: Choose one of the natural wonders of the world. Write about it.
89. Status Update: Write a poem using the words from your latest status update or a friend’s status update. If you don’t use sites like Facebook or Twitter, you can often search online for some funny ones to use as inspiration.
90. Green Thumb: Write about growing something.
91. Family Heirloom: Write about an object that’s been passed through the generations in your family.
92. Bug Catcher: Write about insects.
93. Potion: Write about a magic potion. What is it made of? What does it do? What is the antidote?
94. Swinging & Sliding: Write something inspired by a playground or treehouse.
95. Adjectives: Make a list of the first 5 adjectives that pop into your head. Use these 5 words in your story, poem, or journal entry.
96. Fairy Tales: Rewrite a fairy tale. Give it a new ending or make it modern or write as a poem.
97. Whispers: Write about someone who has to whisper a secret to someone else.
98. Smile: Write a poem about the things that make you smile.
99. Seasonal: Write about your favorite season.
100. Normal: What does normal mean to you? Is it good or bad to be normal?
101. Recycle : Take something you’ve written in the past and rewrite it into a completely different piece.
102. Wardrobe: Write about a fashion model or what’s currently in your closet or drawers.
103. Secret Message : Write something with a secret message hidden in between the words. For example, you could make an acrostic poem using the last letters of the word or use secret code words in the poem.
104. Vacation: Write about a vacation you took.
105. Heat: Write about being overheated and sweltering.
106. Spellbinding: Write a magic spell.
107. Collection : Write about collecting something, such as salt shakers, sea shells, or stamps.
108. Taking Chances: Everyone takes a risk at some point in their life. Write about a time when you took a chance and what the result was.
109. Carnival: Write a poem or story or journal entry inspired by a carnival or street fair.
110. Country Mouse: Write about someone who grew up in the country visiting the city for the first time.
111: Questions: Write about questions you have for the universe. Optional: include an answer key.
112. Rushing: Write about moving quickly and doing things fast.
113. Staircase : Use a photo of a staircase or the stairs in your home or a building you love to inspire you.
114. Neighbors: Make up a story or poem about your next door neighbor.
115. Black and Blue: Write about a time you’ve been physically hurt.
116. All Saints: Choose a saint and create a poem about his or her life.
117. Beach Inspired: What’s not to write about the beach?
118. Shoes: What kind of shoes do you wear? Where do they lead your feet?
119. The Ex: Write a poem to someone who is estranged from you.
120. My Point of View: Write in the first person point of view.
121. Stray Animal: Think of the life of a stray cat or dog and write about that.
122. Stop and Stare : Create a poem or story about something you could watch forever.
123. Your Bed: Describe where you sleep each night.
124. Fireworks : Do they inspire you or do you not like the noise and commotion? Write about it.
125. Frozen: Write about a moment in your life you wish you could freeze and preserve.
126. Alone : Do you like to be alone or do you like having company?
127. Know-it-all: Write about something you are very knowledgeable about, for example a favorite hobby or passion of yours.
128. The Promise: Write about a promise you’ve made to someone. Did you keep that promise?
129. Commotion: Write about being overstimulated by a lot of chaos.
130. Read the News Today : Construct a poem or story using a news headline for your first line.
131. Macro: Write a description of an object close-up.
132. Transportation : Write about taking your favorite (or least-favorite) form of transportation.
133. Gadgets: If you could invent a gadget, what would it do? Are there any gadgets that make your life easier?
134: Bring on the Cheese: Write a tacky love poem that is so cheesy, it belongs on top of a pizza.
135. Ladders: Write a story or poem that uses ladders as a symbol.
136. Bizarre Holiday : There is a bizarre holiday for any date! Look up a holiday for today’s date and create a poem in greeting card fashion or write a short story about the holiday to celebrate.
137. Blog-o-sphere : Visit your favorite blog or your feedreader and craft a story, journal entry, or poem based on the latest blog post you read.
138. Mailbox: Create a poem, short story, or journal entry based on a recent item of mail you’ve received.
139. Sharing : Write about sharing something with someone else.
140. Cactus: Write from the viewpoint of a cactus. What’s it like to live in the desert or have a prickly personality?
141. It’s a Sign : Have you seen any interesting road signs lately?
142. Furniture: Write about a piece of furniture in your home.
143. Failure: Write about a time you failed at something. Did you try again or give up completely?
144. Mystical Creatures: Angels or other mystical creatures – use them as inspiration.
145. Flying: Write about having wings and what you would do.
146. Clear and Transparent: Write a poem about being able to see-through something.
147. Break the Silence : Record yourself speaking, then write down what you spoke and revise into a short story or poem.
148. Beat: Listen to music with a strong rhythm or listen to drum loops. Write something that goes along with the beat you feel and hear.
149. Color Palette: Search online for color palettes and be inspired to write by one you resonate with.
150. Magazine: Randomly flip to a page in a magazine and write using the first few words you see as an opening line.
151. The Grass is Greener : Write about switching the place with someone or going to where it seems the “grass is greener”.
152. Mind & Body: Write something that would motivate others to workout and exercise.
153. Shaping Up : Write something that makes a shape on the page…ie: a circle, a heart, a square, etc.
154. Twenty-One: Write about your 21st birthday.
155. Aromatherapy: Write about scents you just absolutely love.
156. Swish, Buzz, Pop : Create a poem that uses Onomatopoeia .
157. What Time is It? Write about the time of day it is right now. What are people doing? What do you usually do at this time each day?
158. Party Animal: Have you ever gone to a party you didn’t want to leave? Or do you hate parties? Write about it!
159: Miss Manners : Use the words “please” and “thank you” in your writing.
160. Cliche: Choose a common cliche, then write something that says the same thing but without using the catch phrase.
161. Eco-friendly : Write about going green or an environmental concern you have.
162. Missing You: Write about someone you miss.
163. Set it Free: Think of a time when you had to let someone or something go to be free…did they come back?
164: Left Out : Write about a time when you’ve felt left out or you’ve noticed someone else feeling as if they didn’t belong.
165. Suitcase: Write about packing for a trip or unpacking from when you arrive home.
166. Fantasy : Write about fairies, gnomes, elves, or other mythical creatures.
167. Give and Receive : Write about giving and receiving.
168. Baker’s Dozen: Imagine the scents and sights of a bakery and write.
169. Treehouse: Write about your own secret treehouse hideaway.
170. Risk: Write about taking a gamble on something.
171. Acrostic : Choose a word and write an acrostic poem where every line starts with a letter from the word.
172. Crossword Puzzle: Open up the newspaper or find a crossword puzzle online and choose one of the clues to use as inspiration for your writing.
173. Silver Lining : Write about the good that happens in a bad situation.
174. Gloves: Write about a pair of gloves – what kind of gloves are they? Who wears them and why?
175. All that Glitters: Write about a shiny object.
176. Jealousy: Write with a theme of envy and jealousy.
Want to Download these prompts? I am super excited to announce due to popular demand we now have an ad-free printable version of this list of writing prompts available for just $5. The printable version includes a PDF as a list AND print-ready prompt cards. {And all the design source files you could ever need to customize any way you would like!}
177. How Does Your Garden Grow? Write about a flower that grows in an unusual place.
178. Jury Duty : Write a short story or poem that takes place in a courtroom.
179. Gifts: Write about a gift you have given or received.
180. Running: Write about running away from someone or something.
181. Discovery: Think of something you’ve recently discovered and use it as inspiration.
182. Complain: Write about your complaints about something.
183. Gratitude: Write a poem or journal entry that is all about things you are thankful for.
184. Chemistry: Choose an element and write a poem or story that uses that word in one of the lines.
185. Applause: Write about giving someone a standing ovation.
186. Old Endings Into New Beginnings: Take an old poem, story, or journal entry of yours and use the last line and make it the first line of your writing today.
187. Longing: Write about something you very much want to do.
188. I Am: Write a motivational poem or journal entry about positive traits that make you who you are.
189. Rainbow : What is at the end of a rainbow? Or, take a cue from Kermit the Frog, and ask yourself, why are there so many songs about rainbows?
190. Museum: Take some time to visit a nearby museum with your journal. Write about one of the pieces that speaks to you.
191. Cartoon: Think of your favorite cartoon or comic. Write a poem or story that takes place in that setting.
192. Copycat: Borrow a line from a famous public domain poem to craft your own.
193. From the Roof-tops: Imagine you could stand on a rooftop and broadcast a message to everyone below – what would you say?
194. Time Travel: If there was a time period you could visit for a day, where would you go? Write about traveling back in time to that day.
195. Changing Places: Imagine living the day as someone else.
196. Neighborhood: Write about your favorite place in your neighborhood to visit and hang out at.
197. Pirates: Write about a pirate ship.
198. Interview : Write based on a recent interview you’ve read or seen on TV or heard on the radio.
199. Hiding Spaces : Write about places you like to hide things at. What was a favorite hiding spot for you as a child playing hide-and-seek?
200. Extreme Makeover: Imagine how life might be different if you could change your hair color or clothing into something completely opposite from your current style.
201. Empathy: Write about your feelings of empathy or compassion for another person.
202. Opposites: Write a poem or story that ties in together two opposites.
203. Boredom: Write about being bored or make a list of different ways to entertain yourself.
204. Strength : Think of a time when you’ve been physically or emotionally strong and use that as inspiration.
205. Hunger: Write from the perspective of someone with no money to buy food.
206. Greed: Write about someone who always wants more – whether it be money, power, etc. etc.
207. Volcano: Write about an eruption of a volcano.
208. Video Inspiration : Go to Vimeo.com or YouTube.com and watch one of the videos featured on the homepage. Write something based on what you watch.
209. Sneeze: Write about things that make you sneeze.
210. Footsteps on the Moon: Write about the possibility of life in outer-space.
211: Star-crossed: Write a short modern version of the story of Romeo and Juliet or think of real-life examples of lovers who are not allowed to be together to use as inspiration for your writing.
212. Font-tastic: Choose a unique font and type out a poem, story or journal entry using that font.
213. Schedule: Take a look at your calendar and use the schedule for inspiration in writing.
214. Grandparents: Write about a moment in your grandparent’s life.
215. Collage: Go through a magazine and cut out words that grab your attention. Use these words to construct a poem or as a story starter or inspiration for your journal.
216. Oh so Lonely: Write a poem about what you do when you are alone – do you feel lonely or do you enjoy your own company?
217. Waterfall: Think of a waterfall you’ve seen in person or spend some time browsing photos of waterfalls online. Write about the movement, flow, and energy.
218. First Kiss: Write about your first kiss.
219. So Ironic: Write about an ironic situation you’ve been in throughout your life.
220. Limerick: Write a limerick today.
221. Grocery Shopping: Write about an experience at the grocery store.
222. Fashion : Go through a fashion magazine or browse fashion websites online and write about a style you love.
223. So Close: Write about coming close to reaching a goal.
224. Drinks on Me: Write a poem or short story that takes place at a bar.
225. Online Friends: Write an ode to someone online you’ve met and become friends with.
226. Admiration: Is there someone you admire? Write about those feelings.
227. Trash Day: Write from the perspective of a garbage collector.
228. Mailbox: Open your mailbox and write something inspired by one of the pieces of mail you received.
229. Fresh & Clean: Write about how you feel after you take a shower.
230. Energized: Write about how you feel when you’re either at a high or low energy level for the day.
231. Rhyme & No Reason: Make up a silly rhyming poem using made up words.
232. Tech Support: Use computers or a conversation with tech support you’ve had as inspiration.
233. Hotel: Write from the perspective of someone who works at a hotel or staying at a hotel.
234. Underwater: Write about sea creatures and under water life. What’s under the surface of the ocean? What adventures might be waiting?
235. Breathing: Take a few minutes to do some deep breathing relaxation techniques. Once your mind is clear, just write the first few things that you think of.
236. Liar, Liar: Make up a poem or story of complete lies about yourself or someone else.
237. Obituaries: Look at the recent obituaries online or in the newspaper and imagine the life of someone and write about that person.
238. Pocket: Rummage through your pockets and write about what you keep or find in your pockets.
239. Cinquain: Write a cinquain poem, which consists of 5 lines that do not rhyme.
240. Alphabetical: Write a poem that has every letter of the alphabet in it.
241. Comedy Club: Write something inspired by a comedian.
242. Cheater: Write about someone who is unfaithful.
243. Sestina: Give a try to writing a sestina poem.
244. Fight: Write about witnessing two people get in an argument with each other.
245. Social Network : Visit your favorite Social Networking website (ie: Facebook, Pinterest, Google, Twitter, etc.) and write a about a post you see there.
246. Peaceful: Write about something peaceful and serene.
247. In the Clouds: Go cloud watching for the day and write about what you imagine in the clouds.
248. At the Park: Take some time to sit on a park bench and write about the sights, scenes, and senses and emotions you experience.
249. Sonnet: Write a sonnet today.
250. Should, Would, And Could: Write a poem or story using the words should, would, and could.
251. How to: Write directions on how to do something.
252. Alliteration: Use alliteration in your poem or in a sentence in a story.
253. Poker Face: Write about playing a card game.
254. Timer: Set a timer for 5 minutes and just write. Don’t worry about it making sense or being perfect.
255. Dance: Write about a dancer or a time you remember dancing.
256. Write for a Cause: Write a poem or essay that raises awareness for a cause you support.
257. Magic : Write about a magician or magic trick.
258. Out of the Box: Imagine finding a box. Write about opening it and what’s inside.
259. Under the Influence: What is something has impacted you positively in your life?
260. Forgotten Toy : Write from the perspective a forgotten or lost toy.
261. Rocks and Gems: Write about a rock or gemstone meaning.
262. Remote Control: Imagine you can fast forward and rewind your life with a remote control.
263. Symbolism: Think of objects, animals, etc. that have symbolic meaning to you. Write about it.
264. Light at the End of the Tunnel: Write about a time when you saw hope when it seemed like a hopeless situation.
265. Smoke and Fire : “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Use this saying as inspiration to write!
266. Railroad: Write about a train and its cargo or passengers.
267. Clipboard: Write about words you imagine on an office clipboard.
268. Shipwrecked: Write about being stranded somewhere – an island, a bus stop, etc.
269. Quotable: Use a popular quote from a speaker and use it as inspiration for your writing.
270. Mind Map it Out: Create a mind map of words, phrases, and ideas that pop into your head or spend some time browsing the many mind maps online. Write a poem, story, or journal entry inspired by the mind map.
271. Patterns : Write about repeating patterns that occur in life.
272. Scrapbook : Write about finding a scrapbook and the memories it contains.
273. Cure: Write about finding a cure for an illness.
274. Email Subject Lines: Read your email today and look for subject lines that may be good starters for writing inspiration.
275. Wishful Thinking: Write about a wish you have.
276. Doodle : Spend some time today doodling for about 5-10 minutes. Write about the thoughts you had while doodling or create something inspired by your finished doodle.
277. Chalkboard: Imagine you are in a classroom. What does it say on the chalkboard?
278. Sticky: Imagine a situation that’s very sticky, maybe even covered in maple syrup, tape or glue. Write about it!
279. Flashlight : Imagine going somewhere very dark with only a flashlight to guide you.
280. A Far Away Place : Envision yourself traveling to a fictional place, what do you experience in your imaginary journey?
281. On the Farm : Write about being in a country or rural setting.
282. Promise to Yourself: Write about a promise you want to make to yourself and keep.
283. Brick Wall : Write a poem that is about a brick wall – whether literal or figurative.
284. Making a Choice: Write about a time when you had to make a difficult choice.
285. Repeat: Write about a time when you’ve had to repeat yourself or a time when it felt like no one was listening.
286. Outcast : Write about someone who is not accepted by their peers. (for example, the Ugly Ducking)
287. Scary Monsters: Write about a scary (or not-so-scary) monster in your closet or under the bed.
288. Sacrifice: Write about something you’ve sacrificed doing to do something else or help another person.
289. Imperfection: Create a poem that highlights the beauty in being flawed.
290. Birthday Poem: Write a poem inspired by birthdays.
291. Title First : Make a list of potential poem or story titles and choose one to write from.
292. Job Interview : Write about going on a job interview.
293. Get Well : Write a poem that will help someone who is sick feel better quick!
294. Lost in the Crowd: Write about feeling lost in the crowd.
295. Apple a Day: Write about a health topic that interests you.
296. Cravings: Write about craving something.
297. Phobia: Research some common phobias, choose one, and write about it.
298. In the Moment: Write about living in the present moment.
299. Concrete : Write about walking down a sidewalk and what you see and experience.
300. Battle: Write about an epic battle, whether real, fictional or figurative.
301. This Old House : Write about an old house that is abandoned or being renovated.
302. Clutter: Is there a cluttered spot in your home? Go through some of that clutter today and write about what you find or the process of organizing.
303. Go Fly a Kite: Write about flying a kite.
304. On the TV: Flip to a random TV channel and write about the first thing that comes on – even if it is an infomercial!
305. Fruit: Write an ode to your favorite fruit.
306. Long Distance Love: Write about a couple that is separated by distance.
307. Glasses: Write about a pair of eyeglasses or someone wearing glasses.
308. Robotic : Write about a robot.
309. Cute as a Button: Write about something you think is just adorable.
310. Movie Conversation: Use a memorable conversation from a favorite movie to inspire your writing.
311. Easy-Peasy : Write about doing something effortlessly.
312. Idiom: Choose from a list of idioms one that speaks to you and create a poem around that saying or phrase. (Ie: It is raining cats and dogs)
313. Playground: Whether it is the swings or the sandbox or the sliding boards, write about your memories of being on a playground.
314. Romance: Write about romantic things partners can do for each other.
315. Rock Star: Imagine you are a famous rock star. Write about the experience.
316. Come to Life: Imagine ordinary objects have come to life. Write about what they do and say.
317. Airplane: Write about meeting someone on an airplane and a conversation you might have.
318. Health & Beauty: Take some time to peruse your medicine cabinet or the health and beauty aisles at a local store. Write a poem, short story, or journal entry inspired by a product label.
319. Determination: Write about not giving up.
320. Instrumental Inspiration: Listen to some instrumental music and write a poem that matches the mood, beat, and style of the music.
321. Wait Your Turn: Write about having to wait in line.
322. Personality Type : Do you know your personality type? (There are many free quizzes online) – write about what type of personality traits you have.
323. Decade: Choose a favorite decade and write about it. (IE: 1980’s or 1950’s for example)
324. I Believe: Write your personal credo of things you believe in.
325. Lost and Found: Write about a lost object.
326. Say it: Write a poem or story that uses dialogue between two people.
327. The Unsent Letter: Write about a letter that never made it to its recipient.
328. The Windows of the Soul: Write a poem about the story that is told through someone’s eyes.
329. Trial and Error: Write about something you learned the hard way.
330. Escape : Write about where you like to go to escape from it all.
331. What’s Cooking: Write something inspired a favorite food or recipe.
332. Records : Go through your file box and pull out old receipts or records…write something inspired by what you find!
333. Banking: Write about visiting the bank.
334. Sweet Talk: Write about trying to convince someone of something.
335. Serendipity: Write about something that happened by chance in a positive way.
336. Distractions: Write about how it feels when you can’t focus.
337. Corporation: Write about big business.
338. Word of the Day: Go to a dictionary website that has a word of the day and use it in a poem, story or journal entry you write.
339. Pick Me Up: What do you do when you need a pick me up?
340. Unfinished: Write about a project you started but never completed.
341. Forgiveness: Write about a time when someone forgave you or you forgave someone.
342. Weakness: Write about your greatest weakness.
343. Starting: Write about starting a project.
344. Mechanical: Think of gears, moving parts, machines.
345. Random Act of Kindness : Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone or someone has done for you, no matter how small or insignificant it may have seemed.
346. Underground: Imagine living in a home underground and use that as inspiration for writing.
347. Classic Rock: Pick a classic rock love ballad and rewrite it into a story or poem with a similar theme.
348. Night Owl : Write about staying up late at night.
349. Magnetic : Write about attraction to something or someone.
350. Teamwork: Write about working with a team towards a common goal.
351. Roller-coaster : Write about the ups and downs in life.
352. Motivational Poster: Look at some motivational posters online and write a poem or journal entry inspired by your favorite one.
353. Games: Write about the games people play – figuratively or literally.
354. Turning Point: Write about a point in life where things turned for the better or worse.
355. Spellbound: Write about a witch’s spell.
356. Anniversary: Write about the anniversary of a special date.
357. Gamble: Be inspired by a casino or lottery ticket.
358. Picnic: Write about going on a picnic.
359. Garage: Write about some random item you might find in a garage.
360. Review: Review your week, month, or year in a journal entry or poem format.
361. Detective: Write about a detective searching for clues or solving a mystery.
362. Camera: Take your camera for a walk and write based on one of the photographs you take.
363. Visiting : Write about visiting a family member or friend.
364. Trust: Write about putting trust in someone.
365. Congratulations : Did you write a poem, short story, or journal entry every day for a whole year? Write about what you’ve learned and celebrate your achievement!
We hope you enjoy these creative writing prompts! And of course, if you write anything using these prompts, we’d love to know about it! Tell us how you’ll use these everyday creative writing prompts in the comments section below!
And of course, if you’d like the printable ad-free version of these prompts to reference again and again or to use in your classroom, you can find them at our Etsy shop !
Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.
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191 comments.
I have been on a reading binge since being on vacation from school. By rereading Little House, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women among others, one wonders about writing a book. I stumbled across this while looking up unit supplements for my kiddos, and thought, hey, write a page a day and see what happens! Thank you for this collection of prompts! I’ve linked back to this page several times so others can try their hand at writing. Thank you again!
The Flicker, The Teeth, and A Warehouse in the Dark (the warehouse prompt)
I am in a large abandoned warehouse with a flickering light The only light in the whole room. It flickered leaving me in temporal darkness It flickered again and as it was dark I swore I saw something glowing It looked like glowing teeth The lights return and I see nothing Flickers on Flickers off I see the teeth closer Flickers on I see nothing Flickers off The teeth so close Flickers on An empty warehouse Flickers off The glowing teeth are inchings away bright red blood drips from their tips Flickers on Panic rises in my chest but nothing is there Turns off The mouth of bloody teeth is before my eyes I wait for the light to flicker back on I wait in complete darkness I wait And wait And wait The teeth open wide I try to scream by the darkness swallows it A hear the crunch of my bones I see my blood pore down my chest But I wait in darkness for the pain I wait And wait And wait The mouth of teeth devours my lower half I wait for pain and death I wait And wait And wait The light flickers on I see no monster Only my morphed body And blood And blood And blood And so much blood The light flickers off The monster eats my arm Flickers on I wait for pain Flickers off I watch as the creature eats my limbs Flickers on I wait for death Flickers off Slowly the teeth eat my head All I see is dark I wait for it to flicker on Where is the warehouse light? Where is the only light in the room? Where is the flicker? Where am I? Where are the bloody teeth? I wait for the light to come back And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait in eternal darkness
WOW. Thank you!
This is such a helpful tool! I’ve learned a lot about my self through picking a random prompt and writing the first thing that comes to mind. I’d love to see a follow up list of possible! Definitely a recomended sight!
I agree. Very helpful.
I am new at the blogging game. You have provided some wonderful ideas for blog posts. Great ideas just to get used to writing every day. Thanks
This list is really impressive and useful for those of us who are looking for good topics to blog about. Thanks!
Thank you! That somes in handy
Very nice list. Thanks for compiling and posting it. It’s not only good for bloggers, but poets, as well.
yess im using it for my new years resolution, which is to write a poem daily!
Wow, thanks so much for all these wonderful prompts! They are lots of fun and very helpful. I love how you’ve provided 365 of them–A prompt for every day of the year! 🙂
Not if it’s a leap year…
Haha. Yea. This is great though all the same.. ;-;
Lol actually there’s 364 days in a year and 365 in a leap year so……yeah
are you fucking stupid
There are actually 366 days in a leap year so… yeah
I use this for my homeschooling-I love it! Thank you so much!! This is a wonderful list. So creative! 🙂 🙂
Thanks! I’m preparing for writing every day next year and this will come in really handy. It’s just 364 writing prompts though. 164 is missing. 😉
MiMschi is wrong 164 is there i looked
I think they meant that as a joke, 164 is called left out…
Good it is useful
no its not you nonce
You Don’t Love Me, Damn You
things left unsaid
and then some
anger strangles the baby
in its crib,
flowers wilt,
rivers dry up
harsh words clatter upon the day,
echo unfortunately
till silence smothers
in its embrace
you wish you could take it back
what’s done is done
never to be undone
though things move on
part of you remains
locked in the middle of protesting
one last thing,
mouth open,
no words emerging
why must you be misunderstood?
why must everything you say
no way of straightening things out
gestures halted mid-air
an accusatory finger
shoulders locked
in sardonic shrug
dishes smash on the floor
spray of fragments
frozen mid-air
slam the door
it doesn’t open
but in spite of yourself
you turn and look
one last time…..
(Greg Cameron, Poem, Surrey, B.C., Canada)
Love these. Thank you!
This is really amazingly deep. I love it so much. You have so much talent!!
Thanks SOOO much for the prompts but I have another suggestion!
A Recipe for disaster- write a recipe for a disastrous camping trip…
that one sounds awesome.
Haha. Reminds me of the old twin’s show.. what was it.. where the two girls switch places when they meet at camp?
Pretty sure I know what you’re talking about. The Parent Trap, right? Never seen the whole movie, but it seems funny.
and also #309, everyone should have thought of a hamster “write” away XD!
May I have permission to use this list at my next Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers meeting. Thank you for consideration.
Hi Leah, please send some more info here: https://thinkwritten.com/contact
i am using it for my homeschooling and i love it
i am using it for my homeschooling
where is prompt 165?
sorry I meant 164, my mistake.
well kay, there is a 164 AND 165. So your head is clearly ????????????
What I like most about these is how you can combine them and get really weird ideas. For example, empathy from the rooftops: what if you shouted something positive in public every day – or if everyone did so? It might be fun to try, and then write a diary about it. Online time travel: if people could live virtually in incredibly well=constructed versions of different time periods, what would the effects be on today’s society? Could it change our language or customs?
It would be cool if we could have goggles that showed places during a certain time period. Like Seattle 1989. And you could buy special plugins, like specific people you want to hang out with, famous or non.
That one about online time travel is crazy brilliant!!! And highly thought-provoking.
It is amazing what creative writing could do to you. Daily prompts have proven to be very inspiring and overtime writers develop their own style of writing depending on how passionate they are about it. I would love to write about all 3, online, space, and time travel. cheers! and Don’t stop writing!
I belong to a writing club. We seem to have a lot of prompts to use. I love stories having to do with rain. Would you join me. I am jim
Wow! Inspiration right here.
May I use this list for a speech at my Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers?
Love the inspiration
THANK YOU. THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THANK YOU.
What about a leap year? You’re missing one topic.
Wonderful! I love writing and these prompts are very helpful. Thank you very much! ♥
It’s been really useful in getting me to write again! Thank you very much!
I really love the list of writing ideas you have compiled here. I will be using it and others to get myself back into writing every single day if I can be away with it. Also, I have noticed a few problems with this list. One is a repeat topic. Those are numbers 76 and 162. And you skipped a number. And have only 364 days of writing. Still through! All these ideas are absolutely amazing and awesome ideas! I commend you for putting it all together in an easy to read format too. Thank you so very much.
I think we have the list all fixed now, but thanks for catching a couple of early mistakes!
Thank you for helping me edit Lora! I don’t always have a second pair of eyes + appreciated this to fix + update the post! I always say my readers are my best editors. 🙂
these days get brighter, mine gets darker, why does it has to be me , why not life.
Mirror, Mirror: What if you mirror started talking to you?
u r awesome man
Wonderful compilation of ideas! I will send your blog along to my many Creative Writing students. I’m enjoying reading your posts.
wow!! great tips! but how long did it take you to write that? its a lot of words!! lol great stuff though..
This is so cool! I love these prompts and will definitely recommend some to my teacher!!
The promise “I made a promise with my best friend, I said i’d never break, Our personalities really did blend, But then I lied awake, The people disappearing, Her gaze was always leering. I never thought she was serious, I always took it as a joke, But it really made me curious, When she was digging around that oak, My best friend is a serial killer, And i knew the truth, My life turned into a thriller, And eating at me took away my youth, I couldn’t take it any long living with this weight, To the police I went to tell my tale, Looking at me with eyes of hate, she smiled and said, without her I would fail. Now i sit in the prison cell, Waiting for my call My friend across the room smiling, my eyes begin to swell, My neck snapping on the, from my sides my hands fall
Although my writing style is dark, that’s the way I enjoy writing, and thank you for this list, even though I didn’t do one per day, scrolling through I was able to see keywords that formed ideas in my mind
I love this <3 It's amazing :))
These are really nice I absolutely love them.
This is very helpful and I’ve been finding a way to help improve my creative writing!!! Thank you very much!
You are such a life developer, who can virtually transform a life busy with unnecessary activities humans are posted to through internet. And who can restore the appetite of people to purchase pen and paper which have considered the last commodity in the market at the expense of that great vampire ‘social media’ that left both old and young paralyzed. Thanks to the proponent of this great idea.
These are great. The Closed door one gives me a great idea for a new story! Thank you so much!
man what the fuck is this shit! i was looking for short story writing prompts and I get stuck with shit like “write about the weather outside”. Damn this shit is disappointing.
Hi John, the weather might seem boring, but there are a lot of ways you can springboard from that – maybe you write a story about a character who despises the sunshine or melts if they get rained on or they live in a underground tunnel and the house gets flooded…You can also use it as an exercise in developing more descriptive writing that shows, not tells for the scenes in your story. Writing about the weather seems “easy and boring” but seriously challenge yourself to write about it in a way that makes it interesting – it is not so easy to avoid the cliches as you might think!
I LOVE IT SO MUCH i do not know why but my kids, they will just like come on this website every time it is time to have a little bit of video games! XD
The weather outside that day was dark.
It was a perfectly reasonable sort of darkness. The kind of darkness you might get if you wake up an hour before sunrise. But it was late in the morning.
He had to make sure of that. He checked his alarm clock, his microwave oven clock, and his cell phone.
The sun was supposed to be out. But the moonlit sky was starlit and clear.
And as he looked outside again, he saw that people were out, going about their business, as if none of this really mattered at all.
What was he missing here?
(There. Now you have a short story writing prompt..)
You know what “John” i think this website is great so fuck you.
yeah you tell him john
It depends on how you view it. That one topic for instance has given me a beautiful story telling. I am currently about to round up with it and trust me the feedback has been amazing.
That is great! I’m glad it helped inspire you!
Dude kids go on here so stop swearing “John”
Maybe you need to work on improving the quality of your writing. Your use of expletives is totally uncalled for. I see nothing wrong with “writing about the weather outside”. In fact, this is a great topic and can lead to awesome discussions.
Very useful indeed. Thank u
i think this is a good prompted
I think it’s awesome, I looked for inspiration, I found inspiration, thank you
well! i fall in love with all these ideas! i loved this page! thanks for sharing these amazing ideas!
Great stuff mat Keep up the good work
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH IT IS VERY HELPFUL BUT FOR A SUGGESTION YOU COULD DO DIARY STUFF MAYBE
When I read your comment, I thought you said “DAIRY,” not “DIARY.”
So… why not both? Write something based on a dairy farmer’s diary. Or… a dairy COW’S diary. Tell their stories, their private dreams. Or hidden shame…
That’s the way to think + use this list 🙂
Great idea!
Awesome list! Thank you!
Thanks so much! I’ve always been told I’m a great writer and should publish. I haven’t done a lot of leisure writing because I’m afraid I might realize I’m NOT a good writer. My therapist wants me to write more and these prompts are perfect!
This is fun i will keep doing this no matter what every year. I can’t stop writing either. Thanks for making this, it is very fun.
This helps so much! love these ideas
Can this website give me a write on the following topic. –
Imagine that the scientists could replace the human brains with computers or invent the computers with human feelings. What do you think would happen?Would the world become a better place to live in???
I’ve been looking for prompts to work through my creative art/collage journal for 2017…and love the ones you offer here….LOVE THEM! I like that they are more than just one word and give me something to think about before I start creating each day as a warm up to what is ahead.
I hope don’t mind, but I shared them on both Instagram and my FaceBook page in hopes to get my artist/creative friends to follow along with me in creating each day. I would like to include a link to your page in a near future blog post about my creative journal.
Thank you for posting and sharing you prompts…I’m excited to get started!
I’m on number 43 and I’ve already discovered a whole bunch about myself! These prompts are amazing and I can’t wait for the next 322 of them. I’ve recommended this to several of my friends. Totally worth several notebooks chock full of prompts and a years worth of writing 🙂
Very inspiring….
Hello! Is it alright if I add some of these to a little book I’m making for my Grandmother? She hasn’t opened a computer in her life but I know these prompts would do her a world of good. I believe in the importance of asking permission to use the creative property of another person 🙂 Cheers!
Hi Maxx, of course you may share with your grandmother – the only thing we would worry about is if you were to publish them for monetary gain. Enjoy! 🙂
This is really helpful. I’m glad I saw it first. ♥
OMG!! I’ve never been in this website before!!
Thank u so much this was so helpful. Idk how u came up with all thoughts prompts. It was very helpful. Thank u again.
For the first time in a long time it finally felt like I knew was going to happen next. I was gazing into her eyes and she was gazing back. I remember it like it was just yesterday, when she was still the one for me but never forgave me. I miss the sweet sound of her laughter and now all i hear are friends. I have tried to go back and apologize to her just to see if the answer will change but even I know that it will never change because I will never be enough for her. But if she ever decides that she wants me back she can have me because a life without love is one not worth living.
gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood
can u give me one using the prompt “normal”
Thanks for this!!!!! Will definitely help me in learning to tap into my creative writing genius 🙂
Thanks, this helped me a lot!
u have a typo!!!! 364
Thanks for pointing out, got it fixed 🙂 Sometimes my brain goes faster than the computer. 🙂
I wrote this, tell me what you think; prompt #4-dancing You see her tapping her toes, always listening to music. Although she doesn’t like the music, what she doesn’t know yet is it will be stuck in her head for the next year. She’s as graceful as a butterfly yet as strong as a fighter. Many only see a pretty face yet those close enough to the fire know the passion burning deep inside of her. At home she’s quiet, always in her room yet making loud noises through the floorboards. Her parents know what she’s up to but her little brothers don’t quite understand yet. All they know is that when she goes up there she’s listening to music and soon she will play it for the whole neighborhood to hear. They don’t know that she’s practicing, practicing for the most important day of the year. The one she’s been waiting for since she’s been a little girl. Tapping her toes at the table only stops when her parents beg her to rest. Even in her dreams she on stage, dancing like a swan. Yet deep down she’s scared of the failure that she will feel if this one day goes a bit to south. Tapping her toes to the beat of her music gives her a bit of pip in her pep when she walks down the halls. No one quite understands the stress she’s going through. Through her smile she’s worries, scared that one misstep might end it all for her. But she won’t let anyone see that she’s nervous. She’s used to getting bruises, she falls on the ground but always gets back up. Because she’s a dancer, the show must go on.
Brilliant. Loved it.
Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m working on a site in Danish about writing and I would love to translate these awesome prompts into Danish and use it on the site. Would that be OK? I’ll credit with links of course!
Hi Camilla, you cannot copy + post these on your site, but feel free to link to the article – our site is compatible with Google translate 🙂
Hi Camilla, this list cannot be republished, even if translated into another language. However, if you would like to link to our website that would be great, your readers are able to translate it into any language if they use a web browser such as Google Chrome.
My goal is to write all of these prompts before 2018
This is amazing! I am writing for fun and this is a list of amazing prompts!
Ha, Ha . I see what you did , #164 was missing and now it say write about being left out .
Thanks a ton !!!
This link has been really helpful for my blog, loved the ideas.
Thanks for not publishing my email address
You are welcome! We never publish email addresses. If you’d like to learn more about how we collect and use information you may provide us with on this website, you can read more on our privacy policy page. Hope that helps! https://thinkwritten.com/privacy/
I have another suggestion, What about “The Secret Journey to the Unknown”. I reckon it’s awesome!
I was wondering if you could please send new ideas to me, much appreciated thanks.
I love all of these so much and i try to write referring to these at least once everyday thank you so much for these!
Trust, It is a beautiful thing. You give it to others, For them to protect. They can keep it forever, Or they can destroy it.
Wow what a treasure! Am glad I have found the right place to begging my writing journey.Thanks guys
Super awesome! Thanks so much for this collection of writing prompts!!
Today is the last day of the year 2017. I’m proud to say that I was able to complete this challenge. Thank you for the inspiring prompts! 🙂
That is awesome! We might just have to think of some new ones!!
how about one with sports like the NBA
I thought my life was over when I couldn’t access this for a couple weeks. These prompts are excellent. I write two page short stories on one every day. I hope you guys never take down this site but I’m printing these for insurance because it truly was devastating. I’m very emotionally attached to this list. Thank you so much for sharing.
Yes, we did have a small glitch in our hosting services for a few days! Fortunately, it was only temporary and unexpected! {Though I’m sure it did feel like 2 weeks!} Good to hear you are using the prompts!
Very nice article. Very useful one for improving writing skills
Thank you Sid! Glad it is useful for you!
Oh my god.. This is something a different, thought provoking and a yardstick to those who cultivated passion on writing, like me, beginners. Wishes for this website. I really wanted to try this 365 days of writing. Thanks in tons.
Glad you find it helpful! I hope it keeps you inspired to keep growing as a writer!
i love writing too! i am writing a book and this website inspired me too!
i have been writing lots of things and am getting A + on writing
thxs for your time with the web
i am making a epic book. it is because of this website. you really help. i will share a link of my book once i am done with it to your awesome cool really helpful website! thank you for your time
That is great to hear Christopher! Would love to see some of your work when you are ready to share! 🙂
WOOOOOOOOW BEST SITE!
I’m going to write few marvelous essays based on ideas in your impressive list. Thanks!
Just to tell some people that 165 or 164 is not missing because some people probably can’t see but just to let u know that 164 is a prompt called “Left Out”
Dang. The second idea about writing about what it feels like to love someone who doesn’t love you back, I wrote something like that BEFORE I found this website.
You can always try writing it again, maybe from the other person’s perspective this time? That is the beauty of the open-ended writing prompts – you can always interpret them in a way to push and challenge you as a writer!
Thank you for these prompts! I enjoyed looking through them and writing them! They gave me great ideas and inspired me so much.
This is my favorite website to find inspiration to write. I had run out of ideas and i had a huge writers block but this made it all go away. Here’s something i wrote:
He is a mess She is beautiful He has tears streaming down his face She glides across the room as if it were her kingdom And she’s The reigning queen He’s curled up in a ball In the corner of the room He looks at me I wonder what he thinks I can’t take my eyes off her The way she subtly smiles when she realizes Someone is looking She seems to be happy all the time But I can see through the smile It’s my first time noticing It’s not complete That was the first time I wanted to say hi But I thought Why would he look at me? The nerd with all the answers in her head All the books in her hands And Her sleeves full of hearts She looked at me From the corner of her eye She saw me looking The boy with the tear stains She saw me His tears were no longer streaming He had finally stood up Tall and handsome As he is Eyes Bluer than the blue jay that sat outside my bedroom window She had opened a book and started reading She hadn’t changed pages for a while Safe to assume She was distracted She looked up and Without knowing I was in front of her “Hi” Her brown eyes Stared in to my soul Erased the memory of why the tears Were streaming in the first place “Hi”
I love it Cynthia, thank you for sharing and glad that it inspired you to keep writing! 🙂
Thank you for so many amazing ideas! I love the sound of mirror, mirror!
Glad you found it inspiring Ar!
read the whole thing and didn’t find anything I’d enjoy writing 🙁
What kinds of things do you like to write? We have a whole collection of additional writing prompts lists here. Sometimes challenging yourself to write something you don’t like all in its own can be a good exercise for writing. Hope that helps!
These are ingenious!
I love these prompts! They’re inspiring! I’ve chosen to challenge myself by using one of these prompts every day of this 2019 year. I posted my writings for the first prompt on my Tumblr and Facebook pages with the prompt and a link back to this article- I hope that’s alright. If not, I can take it down, or I would love to discuss a way I could continue to do this. I hope more people can see and use these prompts because I have already found joy in using the first one.
Hi Elizabeth! Glad you are enjoying the prompts! You can definitely post what you write with these prompts as long as you do not copy the entire list or claim them as your own. Linking back to our website or this post will help others find the prompts so they too can use them for writing! If you have any questions feel free to contact us anytime using our contact form. Thanks!
Amazing original prompts Thank you so much!
Good list, but you’re not supposed to mistake it’s for its. Not on a website for writers, of all places!
I appreciate your comment, especially because after triple checking the article AND having a few grammar-police personality type friends do the same we could not find any typos. All of the instances of its and it’s are the correct usage.
However, one thing we did remember is that it is very easy for the person reading to accidentally misunderstand and not interpret it the way as the writer intended.
To clarify when we should use it’s vs. its:
We use it’s when we intend the meaning as the contraction. This is a shortened way of writing it is . We use its without an apostrophe when we use it as a possessive noun. Any instances you may note here are correct for their intended meaning.
Some examples:
Prompt #141 It’s a Sign : In this case we intend it to be interpreted as IT IS a Sign , where the usage is a contraction.
Prompt #7 The Rocket Ship : In this case we intend it to be interpreted as the possessive form.
I hope that helps clear up any possible confusion for you!
Thank you soooo much! That helped me a lot!
You’re welcome Keira! Glad you enjoyed our list of writing ideas!
It is so rich in bright and thought-provoking ideas. Thank you so much. Get inspired to have more, please
Thanks for this. I love to write things like this. Some of these though, weren’t as interesting as I wanted it to be, not saying that they aren’t interesting. I like the help you’ve added in, such as being led into a dark room with only a flashlight to help so it gets us started. Great job!
Thanks Maya, I’m glad you like the prompts. Sometimes the prompts that seem boring are the best ones to help you practice your skills as a writer to make them interesting topics. Some of the best writers can make the most mundane topics fun!
Nice….I don’t think I’ll ever lack something to write on … I so appreciate your ideas ..,they are great
Thank you, glad you enjoyed them!
Thank you for providing these writing prompts! They are great!
Thank You so much, these are amazing to start of with to get the creative juices flowing
Thank you very much
Sweet! Thank you so much! I plan to use some of these for some creative writing on CourageousChristianFather.com
I’m glad they inspired you Steve! I always love seeing what everyone writes with these prompts – I really enjoyed your post about the cookie ad jingle! 🙂
Thanks so much for this list. I needed something to kickstart my writing. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I just wrote #1. WooHoo!!
Thank you for your list. This is great!
I write feature articles for our church library’s monthly newsletter. Perusing this list has helped me come up with a couple dozen ideas to consider for future issues! Thanks much for putting this together – it is being used beyond the scope of what you intended, I think!
That’s wonderful Debbie! There are so many ways to apply these prompts to any sort of project – thank you for sharing how you are using them!
Thanks for your prompts, an idea I have for a prompt is write a story based on your favorite story for example I’m writing a fantasy book based on the game dungeons and dragons…
i guss its ok
cgv hbvkd vjvhsvhivhcickbcjh
Just needed to ask: I’d like to think these prompts are for free writing with no pauses? But, does one edit and polish the piece after that? I keep reading about writing every day…like brain dumping. But, there is never a mention of what one does with the piece after that??
This article has been written with sheer intelligence. Such 365 creative writing prompts has been written here. This article is worth marking as Good. I like how you have researched and presented these exact points so clearly.
Thank you for this list! You’ve inspired me to take up the challenge, though I haven’t written anything in years!
I have even created a blog to post my ideas, and keep myself accountable. I hope this is okay, I will credit, and provide a link back to this page on each post. https://thefishhavegotitright.blogspot.com/
I love it Ariadne, I’ll definitely come check out your site! Keep at it!
This is really Helpful thanks I love it😊
I never knew how much I had to write about. This should definitely keep me busy! Thank you so much for the list.
Hi! I saw a note saying this had been updated for 2020. I was curious if there are plans to update it for 2021. If so, when would the 2021-updated list become available?
Hi Gabrielle, I am not sure when we will next update this list, but feel free to check out some of our other writing prompts lists if you’ve exhausted this one! Writing Prompts for Kids {which is for grown-ups too!} and Poetry Writing Prompts are two great ones to check out. Hope that helps!
Loved this a lot! I would like to ask permission for using these prompts for my poetry and stories page on Instagram. Kindly let me know if I can use these and let my followers write on them too.
Hi, Piyusha, I’m just a user of the site like you, so I’m not “official”. But if you hit CTRL + F in your browser, that should open the “Find” dialog. Search on “Camilla”, and that will take you to a post and response concerning your request. Have a great and productive writing day. K. B. Tidwell
very informative thank you
I have always had problems finding something to write about. My problem is solved🥰 Thank you
I love this
Oh great. Good for everyone who enjoys picking the pen and writing something readable
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How do I use writing topics in my classroom?
Do you want to inspire your students to write great narratives, essays, and reports? Check out these grade-specific writing topics organized by mode (explanatory, creative, and so on). Or search for writing topics that relate to a theme, such as “life” or “animals” or “family.”
Jump to . . .
Explanatory writing.
- A day in the rainforest
- After-school games
- An important person I know about
- At the library
- Foods I don't like
- Friendly places
- Games I play with friends
- Games we play at recess
- Good things in my neighborhood
- How plants grow
- How to make my favorite dessert
- How to make new friends
- I like spring because . . .
- I like to make . . .
- I'd like to see . . .
- Insects, insects everywhere
- Learning to ride a bike
- My favorite food
- My favorite pet
- My favorite season
- My mom's/dad's hobby
- My new friend
- My shopping list
- Our clubhouse
- The biggest bubble-gum bubble
- The funniest zoo animal
- This person makes me laugh
- What I know about . . .
- What I know about an animal
- What I know about dinosaurs
- What I know about stars
- What I know about the ocean
- What I like about math
- What makes me laugh?
- What will I share?
- Who I will be in the future
- Who's at the zoo?
- Why I like to read
- Why I love to sing
- Words I think are funny
Persuasive Writing
- Don't litter!
- Things that would make my neighborhood better
Narrative Writing
- A day at the beach
- A special birthday
- Buying something with my own money
- Cooking dinner with Mom/Dad
- Eating lunch with my friends
- Going grocery shopping
- Going to the circus
- I rode on a . . .
- I'm happy when . . .
- Losing my teeth
- My adventure
- My trip to . . .
- Noisy times and quiet times
- Playing a game with Grandma/Grandpa
- Playing with pets
- Something funny that happened to me
- The biggest thing I ever saw
- The last time I cried
- When _ was born
Response to Literature
- A book I just read
- Some of my favorite books
Creative Writing
- A story about a holiday
- A trip on a rocket ship
- Dear George Washington
- Seeing the world through the eyes of . . .
- Sometimes I wish . . .
- What if I met a . . .
- What if I were 10 years old?
- What if I were someone else?
- What if toys could talk?
- What's under my bed?
Research Writing
- I wonder why . . .
- Something I don't understand
- A bicycle I'd like to have
- A day in the desert
- A great place to go
- A great treehouse
- A place I like to visit
- A sport I'm good at
- A trip on a monorail
- Activities for indoor fun
- Activities for outdoor fun
- Amazing facts I know
- An amazing animal
- Dancing to the music
- Having fun at school
- Helping out around the house
- Magic tricks I can do
- Making my favorite food
- My favorite baby-sitter
- My favorite board game
- My favorite teacher
- My homework place
- Our classroom pet
- Some things I like about the museum
- The best house pets
- The weirdest house pets
- Things that are hard to believe
- Things to do in the snow
- Unusual fruits and vegetables
- Water balloons!
- What I like about where I live
- What makes me special
- Who is beautiful?
- Let's help the environment by . . .
- Things I'd like to change
- A cozy spot at home
- A funny time in my family
- A great day with a friend
- A helpful person I have met
- A person who means the world to me
- A walk in the woods
- Funny things my pet has done
- My best birthday
- My favorite family story
- Putting on a play
- Swimming at the pool or lake
- When everything goes wrong
- Book characters I'd like to meet
- A dark hallway
- Donuts for dinner
- Something I wish would happen
- What if there were no electricity
- All about an amazing animal
Business Writing
- A cartoon character that I like
- A song that means a lot to me
- A special photograph
- A special, secret place
- A trip in a submarine
- An important time in history
- Building a fort
- Creatures that live in the ocean
- Creepy, crawly things
- Dirt bikes and skateboards
- Do I want to be famous?
- Doing homework
- Going to the dentist
- Gone fishing!
- How to stop hiccups
- How we divide the chores at our house
- I don't understand why . . .
- I'd like to invent a machine that . . .
- If I started my own business, I'd . . .
- Instructions for a pet sitter of my pet
- Let's help the animals by . . .
- Looking at the globe
- My favorite clothes
- My favorite form of exercise
- Pizza is . . .
- Staying at a friend's house
- The first day of school is the worst/best because . . .
- The rules we follow
- Things I see when I take a walk
- What I use a computer for
- What if I were the teacher?
- What is important to me?
- What it's like to use a wheelchair
- What my dreams feel like
- When I see nature, I . . .
- Why I like/dislike playing team sports
- Why my mom and dad are the greatest
- My school really needs . . .
- A day in the life of my pet
- A visit to a friend's school
- An excellent birthday party
- Discovering a new friend
- Getting my first pair of glasses
- Grandma's attic
- I'll never eat another . . .
- My best day
- My first school memories
- My most embarrassing moment
- Rings on her fingers
- Talk about being scared!
- When I did something amazing
- When I was upside down
- When the big storm hit
- If I wrote like the author of . . .
- A really spooky story
- Summer games
- What if we suddenly had to move?
- A game that meant a lot to my childhood
- A school field trip
- A toy I've held onto all these years
- A trip to a space station
- A typical lunch hour
- Can farmers grow enough food for everyone?
- Here's what a new student needs to know
- How I can change the way I look
- How I picture myself four years from now
- How I would define the word . . .
- I would have liked to have lived during this time.
- I'm principal for the day. Here is my schedule.
- I've done something that no one else has done
- If I could be someone else, I would be . . .
- My bedroom from top to bottom
- My favorite place
- My idea of a fun weekend
- My life as a . . .
- My participation in an activity outside of school
- One thing I want to do by the time I leave 8th grade
- Overcoming health problems
- The wildest hairstyle I have ever seen
- What a family member taught me
- What a house of the future might look like
- What I broke or lost that belongs to someone else
- A big hazard on the road
- A big problem in education is . . .
- A cool store
- A dedicated teacher or coach
- Dear Senator
- Discover nature
- Finally, a good assembly
- How could TV be better?
- Let's save _ in our schools
- My best class ever
- My favorite neighbor
- My favorite singer(s)
- Rights that kids in my grade should have
- The worst food I ever ate
- This really bugs me
- What's good about hard work?
- Why I deserve a larger allowance
- Why parents should be honest with their kids
- Why school fund-raisers are important
- Why weekends need to be longer
- A memorable bus ride
- A narrow escape from trouble
- A time that was just not fair
- A visit to a relative's house
- If I lived back in history
- If only I would have listened!
- My first concert
- My first friend
- Summer in a cabin by a lake
- The most fun I've had recently
- We couldn't stop laughing!
- We got caught!
- When I was lost
- A great book made into a great movie
- My favorite character from a book
- What if a book came to life?
- What this story means to me
- How _ came to be.
- Life among the cloud people
- Long ago and far away
- Meeting myself in the future
- Traveling west in a wagon train
- When the dinosaurs returned
- A job I'd really like to have
- All about an amazing place
- The most fascinating things I learned
- The tallest, the deepest, the longest, the biggest
- When I conducted an experiment
- When science took a big leap forward
Personal Writing
- The book that got me hooked on reading
- A day I will always remember
- A friend who moved away
- A great scientific breakthrough
- A person who changed history
- A personal habit I'd like to change
- A project I am working on
- A typical evening at home
- A visit with the doctor or dentist
- An invention that transformed the world
- Causes of a huge change in the world
- Coping with brothers and sisters
- Hanging out
- How a vehicle works
- How do people cope with constant pain?
- How I express myself artistically
- How it would feel to walk in space
- I admit it: I enjoy professional wrestling.
- I take some things too seriously
- If I were a superhero, I'd be . . .
- Is pollution a necessary evil?
- Is this love?
- Morning madness
- My craziest experience in a restaurant or shopping mall
- My dream car
- My first crush
- My first encounter with a bully
- My muscles were so sore after . . .
- My Web site
- Self-esteem
- Something this school really needs is . . .
- Sometimes, adults seem . . .
- The environment: problem and solution
- The hardest thing I have ever done
- The idea hit me like a tornado.
- The next wave of social media
- The toys I'll never give up
- Tools I will need in my intended profession
- We all make mistakes
- What animals can teach people
- What different colors mean to me
- What do Americans do well?
- What do I do to break routine?
- What do I worry about?
- What if school sports were dropped?
- What invention would I like to see in my lifetime?
- What it's like where I work
- Who knows me best?
- Why are crime dramas so popular?
- Why are some people so cruel?
- "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal."
- A change that would improve school life
- Foods I love, foods I hate
- I couldn't believe that Mom/Dad volunteered me for that job
- It's a rule, so it's right . . . right?
- Let's hear it for my favorite senior citizen
- Let's push alternate forms of energy
- Putting my foot in my mouth
- The government should . . .
- What most drives me crazy is . . .
- Why appearance is not so important
- Why I deserve the job
- _ is like a boomerang
- A funny thing happened when . . .
- A meaningful gift I've given or received
- A time when I got in trouble
- An unforgettable dream
- Looking at pictures of family and friends
- My brother or sister made me so mad
- My worst vacation
- What I regret most
- When I faced my fears
- When I learned something difficult
- When I traveled to . . .
- A remarkable artist
- An all-new album from an important artist
- An amazing work of art
- Meet the characters of . . .
- The music that moves me most
- The theme of my favorite story is . . .
- Alone on a desert island
JournalBuddies.com
Journal Buddies Jill | November 2, 2022 June 7, 2021 | Creative Writing
162 Creative Writing Topics and Ideas (Updated!)
In August of 2022, this blog post went from 61 creative writing topics to a newly revised list of 162 creative writing topics .
Oh yeah! Plus… there is also a new listing of creative writing topics resources by grade level for you as well. Whoohooo.
Yes! Take a look now.
Help Students Find Inspiration in this Writing Genre
Closing thoughts.
Here you’ll find three… yes, there are now three wonderful lists for you of Creative Writing Topics, Ideas, & Prompts for Writers .
Our lists of creative writing topics and journal writing prompts below are great resources for busting writer’s block. Enjoy.
List #1 — 61 Creative Writing Topics Fun and Fabulous Prompts
- What will the world be like in 50 years?
- If you could be any superhero, who would you like to be?
- Describe your best friend using only the letters in his or her name.
- What does it mean to be part of a community?
- Do you prefer sitting in the front or the back of the classroom?
- What is your favorite emotion?
- What does it mean to be creative?
- What is your favorite kind of art?
- If you had to eat one type of food forever, what would you choose?
- What do you see when you look in the mirror?
- Would you rather watch a sunrise or a sunset?
- Have you ever watched TV online? How is it different from watching on a traditional TV?
- Write a story about a kid who lives in a land made of ice cream.
- If bears could dance, what kinds of dances would they do?
- Do you enjoy musicals? Why or why not?
- Write a poem about the way you feel when you journal.
- When did you first learn to ride a bike?
- If you were a popsicle, what flavor would you be?
- What is the craziest game you’ve ever played?
- Do you think people will ever be able to live on another planet?
- What part would you play in the circus?
- What do you like to do on the weekends?
- Write about one of your future goals. How will you achieve it?
- Why do parents dress little girls in pink and boys in blue?
- Do you like babysitting the younger kids in your family?
- What relaxes you more than anything else?
- Where do you go when you need to concentrate on your homework?
- What is your favorite thing about yourself?
- Write an alternate ending to your favorite book.
- What is your favorite thing about living in [hometown]?
- Why does the government provide public education?
- Are you close with any of your neighbors?
- Write about a symbol that represents your family.
- Do you like your first name? Does it fit your personality?
- Make a list of all the things you’ve accomplished this week. How do you feel?
- What is your favorite milkshake flavor?
- How do you feel about the Twilight books and movies? Why?
- What is your favorite thing to shop for?
- Have you ever gone to a concert? What bands did you see?
- What is the best sound in the world?
- What is the best sight in the world?
- What is the best smell in the world?
- What is the best taste in the world?
- What is the best feeling in the world?
- Write an apology to a classmate that you should have been nicer to.
- Do you listen to the radio?
- Write about something you’re looking forward to.
- If you were a Disney princess, who would you be?
- Think about some privileges you have that others don’t. How do you feel?
- What is your favorite treat at the movies?
- Does your family ever go to the library? What do you like to get there?
- What jobs do you consider to be the most important? Would you ever want to have one?
- What is the best way to make someone feel loved?
- Why is it important to learn about so many subjects at school?
- Write a poem about something you’re good at.
- If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- If you were a bird, what kind of bird would you be? A large eagle? A tiny bluebird?
- Write an alternate ending to your favorite movie.
- What is your favorite thing to do on the playground?
- Have you ever triumphed over something you initially struggled with? How did you feel?
I hope you enjoyed this listing of 61 fabulous creative writing topics and ideas.
Creative writing is an empowering activity that teaches kids how to use their imaginations. And, more importantly, it helps them to internalize the fact that their thoughts are worth sharing.
Now, you can help fuel your student’s curiosity with this next list of awesome creative writing topics and ideas for writers.
#2 — 61 of the Best Creative Writing Prompts for Young Writers
The best Creative Writing Topics and Prompts can help writers discover their own writing style and learn to love the writing process. Now, you can use our wonderful list of the best creative writing prompts to inspire the kids you teach. Take a look!
Yes, it’s true. Kids of all ages find creative writing to be an enjoyable activity, largely because they have the freedom to explore their own thoughts and share their ideas.
However, some kids need a bit of assistance when it comes to getting started, which is why it’s beneficial to have the best creative writing prompts on hand. And now, we have even more! This is why I’ve compiled for you 61 more of the best creative writing topics for kids.
- Describe yourself without using any physical descriptions.
- Write a story about your future self getting your dream job.
- If you held a world record, what would it be in?
- Write a poem that doesn’t rhyme about your family.
- What are four things that no one knows about you?
- Would you ever want to travel back in time? Where would you go?
- Have you ever overcome a fear?
- What is your biggest fear?
- Write about a silly dream you once had.
- Imagine living life in the jungle. What would you do?
- What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?
- Do you have any pet peeves?
- Would you rather go fishing or skiing?
- Do you like big parties or small groups?
- What is your favorite mood?
- What is your favorite kind of video game?
- Write a poem about yourself.
- How did you feel when you mastered cursive handwriting?
- How do you feel when you are by yourself?
- If you were a famous chef, what would you cook?
- How is the world different than it was 20 years ago?
- What is the best time of day to read a book?
- If you met an alien, what would you want to ask him or her?
- Write about something that you know is true.
- What is your favorite drink?
- What do you see when you look at your house?
- If you could visit the set of any TV show, which would you go to see?
- Write a fable about a very tall girl.
- What do you think about more than anything else?
- Who is your favorite Disney character?
- Have you ever seen a live performance of a play? Did you enjoy it?
- Who are you closer to than anyone else?
- If you were a professional athlete, what sport would you play?
- What is the best thing that’s happened this week?
- What is the craziest idea you’ve ever had?
- Have you ever persuaded someone to do the right thing? What did you say to him or her?
- Do you think horoscopes and zodiac signs are fake or do they have some truth?
- Do you think your zodiac sign represents you?
- What is your favorite song?
- If you were a household appliance, what would you be? A vacuum? Microwave? Blender?
- What is your favorite road trip game?
- If it rained food, what would you want the forecast to look like?
- Write a poem about school.
- Do you prefer popsicles or ice cream cones?
- Would you ever change your name?
- Write a story about someone who tells bad jokes.
- If you could read minds, whose mind would you read?
- Write a story in which you are a mini marshmallow in a cup of hot chocolate.
- What is the best kind of breakfast food?
- Write about your favorite sports team.
- Which Harry Potter house would you be in—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin?
- If you were a Harry Potter character, who would you be?
- What would you do if you lived on a farm?
- Have you ever done something that you regretted later?
- Write about a person you respect.
- What is something you’d like to learn more about?
- Are you especially close with anyone in your family?
- Think of a book that you didn’t like very much. How would you have made it better?
- How do you stay warm during the winter?
- What is your favorite thing on the Internet?
#3 — 40 Story Starter Creative Writing Topics for Students
Students who practice daily creative writing enjoy a number of educational and emotional benefits. With increased creativity and improved critical thinking skills, kids who journal and write regularly are equipped to tackle greater challenges both in and out of the classroom.
- Have you ever volunteered? If so, what did you do?
- If you could be an animal, which would you be, and why?
- Write a detailed excuse of why you missed school.
- Write about the most recent dream you had.
- Describe a time when you were very brave.
- Would you enjoy visiting the moon? Why or why not?
- Describe your favorite movie, television, or book character.
- What would life be like if you were 20 feet tall?
- If you were a superhero, what powers would you have?
- What would you do if you were invisible?
- If you invented a video game, what type of game would you create? Why?
- If you had $1,000 and had to give it away, who would you give the money to?
- How do you feel when you get into an argument with your friend?
- Who is your hero? Why?
- What are you afraid of?
- Describe your best friend. What are they like and why are they your best friend?
- What would your perfect job be?
- What three items would you take on a camping trip? Why?
- What is your favorite season? Why?
- Write a story about a day when everything went wrong.
- You answer a knock at the door and there’s an alien there. What does it look like and what do you do?
- What would happen if your dog started talking? Write a story about it.
- Imagine a dinosaur was at your school. What would you do?
- Write a story about an adventure on a pirate ship.
- If you could have any animal for a pet, what animal would you choose? Why?
- Describe some different ways you could make money at your age.
- Write a short story about the oldest person you know.
- Would a monkey be a great pet? Describe why or why not.
- Come up with a new food and describe it.
- What is your greatest accomplishment? Why?
- If you could change something about yourself, what would it be? Why would you change it?
- What would you like to be famous for?
- Write about one of the most important lessons you learned.
- Would you rather be able to fly like a bird or swim like a fish? Why?
- If you could meet anyone from the past, who would it be?
- If you were rich, would you change as a person?
- Should you have to take tests in school? Explain why or why not.
- Describe the most irritating commercial on TV. Why don’t you like it?
- Should you have to do homework? Why or why not?
Oh yeah, that was another fantastic list of Creative Writing Topics.
Now, let’s explore…
#4 — Creative Writing Topics by Grade Level (Don’t Miss These!)
For the younger students:
- Creative Writing Topics for Grade 2
- Creative Writing Topics for Grade 3
And for those in fourth grade, middle school, and high school, check these out:
- Creative Writing Topics for Grade 4
- Creative Writing Topics for Grade 5
- Creative Writing Topics for Grade 6
- Grade 9, 10, 11 & 12
And, for good measure see this:
- List of 40 Creative Writing Topics for Adults
Choosing the Best Creative Writing Topics for Your Students
In order for students to truly reap the benefits of regular journaling, teachers must choose great writing prompts and topics to keep their class busy. We suggest you choose a mix of writing starters that ask students to describe, explain, or reflect depending on the day. Prompts that ask students to write fictional stories will have them thinking differently than prompts that ask them to analyze experiences from their past and to write about themselves .
By having your students complete all of these types of writing and reflecting throughout the school year, you can help them become more well-rounded writers and more creative thinkers.
Even More Great Advice on Using Creative Writing Topics with Students
Before we get to the four tips on how to choose the best creative writing topics for kids, take a look at the above lists of creative writing topics and ideas.
Then, use these four simple tips outlined below to choose the very best creative writing starters for your students. There are thousands upon thousands of free writing prompts on our site and we are certain you can find the right ones to inspire your students!
4 Ways to Choose the Best Creative Writing Topics and Starters for Kids
1. Prompts Should Be Interesting, Thought-Provoking, or Engaging
If you’ve ever spent any time looking for creative writing starters, you’ve probably seen a lot of mundane questions and prompts. There’s a time and place for generic writing starters and icebreaker-type questions, but your classroom isn’t it!
Instead, look for writing prompts that will be interesting and engaging to your students—or that will push them to think about an issue that they may not have considered before. A great creative writing starter will catch a student’s attention and hold it as he or she puts the pen to the page.
2. Look for a Variety of Different Topics
It’s also important to choose writing starters on a variety of topics. Most students will respond better to daily creative writing when they are asked a unique question every day.
Look for writing prompts that offer a mix of topics and that ask your students to practice different types of writing. They’ll be more invested in their work and more likely to want to keep writing when they get to switch back and forth frequently between questions that ask their opinions, prompts that require them to reflect on their experiences, and writing starters that have them working in a particular genre.
3. Always Choose Questions That Dig Deeper
One often overlooked but incredibly essential aspect of a good creative writing starter is that is should dig deeper than a preliminary surface answer. Too many writing prompts can simply be answered with a simple “Yes,” “No,” or other one-word answer.
When you’re evaluating creative writing prompts, try to imagine some of the potential answers that your students may give. If the prompt can be answered too quickly or too easily, keep looking until you find something that goes deeper and requires students to explain the “why” behind what they think or to get more detailed with their writing.
4. Find Prompts That Promote Different Types of Writing Skills
Finally, it’s also a great idea to look for creative writing starters that promote various types of writing skills. Many students quickly grow accustomed to general journal writing and they may begin to develop a formulaic approach to their work. You can avoid this by looking for prompts that have them writing in a number of genres and answering different types of questions.
Oh, and here is a popular listing of 55 Creative Writing Story Starters for kids. If those do not suit your students, keep on looking until you find the prompts that do! With so many starters to choose from, your students are sure to find at least a few prompts that will get their creative writing juices flowing.
More Creative Writing Topics for Your Student’s Lesson Plans
In a previous blog post, we shared 65 (now 128!) creative writing prompts that you could use with students of all ages.
Best of all…
These writing prompts can be adapted in order to meet the needs of elementary students, who are just learning how to write longer and stronger sentences.
They can be expanded upon for middle school students, who are beginning to understand the basics when it comes to expanding on an idea and creating a solid plot line.
Finally, they can be adapted to fit the needs of high school students, who are taking their writing skills to the next level and preparing for those college essays.
The best creative writing prompts will not only allow writers of all ages to have fun while they are writing but they can be used as a supplement to your curriculum.
EVEN More Creative Writing Topics for You
We hope you enjoyed our listings of creative writing topics and prompts. Now…
Here are the links to more creative writing prompts for kids and a few other wonderful resources, too!
- 128 Creative Writing Prompts
- Fiction Writing Prompts Collection
- Sci-Fi writing prompt ideas for student writers
- 34 Creative Writing Prompts
- 7 Reasons Why I Love Creative Writing
- Make Creative Writing Practice Fun
- Understanding Point of View in Creative Writing
- 55 Creative Writing Story Starters
- 21 Creative Writing Story Starters for Children
Whether you’re writing poetry or looking for romance writing prompts , we have resources that you can access here at any time of the day!
Writing Ideas for a Journal Entry, for Short Stories, or for Any Subject
You can encourage your students to keep a journal in just about any subject or class.
For example…
Your math students can keep a journal in which they write their own creative story problems. In science class, your students can keep a nature journal in which they describe what they find outside — and then use those elements in a creative writing piece.
Truly, the possibilities are endless when it comes to creative writing in the classroom.
Of course…
Writing Beyond the Classroom
Creative writing does not have to be limited to classroom space.
These creative writing topics and prompts can be sent home with your students to use on the weekend in their personal journals or to practice their writing throughout the summer months.
They may be used to help kids generate story ideas they can write about or just to get their writing creative juices flowing.
With journal prompts to cover topics ranging from how climate change affected the dinosaurs or what they’d bring to a desert island to what their favorite food is and whether or not they’d share it with their best friend, you’ll find inspiration that will make putting pen to paper a regular habit.
Regardless of a child’s age or writing ability, they should be practicing their writing on a regular basis. Children should understand that writing is a skill that is nurtured over time and that is never truly perfect.
When budding writers feel empowered to write about the things that matter to them and about the topics that capture their attention, they are far more willing to stick with writing and to see the benefits of this incredibly important practice.
Which is why…
You are invited to check out our list of 40 Creative Writing Ideas for All Ages . You can find even more creative writing resources —> here .
Yay! You see, on my blog, I offer you thousands of free prompts and ideas so there’s truly something here for every writer. For now, however, let’s get to yet another list of creative writing prompts. This one is especially for young writers.
With creative writing topics and prompt lists to cover topics ranging from their favorite hobby or their dream job to the best field trip they ever went on or how high school students are influenced by social media, you’ll find a variety of resources to beat writer’s block here on Journalbuddies.com.
Whether your students — from elementary school to middle school, or high school to All ages — are writing essays, poetry, or short stories, we have a ton of ideas to get their creative juices pumping!
Until next time, write on…
If you enjoyed these Creative Writing Topics, Ideas, Creative Writing Starters for Students, please share them on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. I appreciate it!
Sincerely, Jill journalbuddies.com creator and curator
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72 Clever Creative Writing Prompts (+ 6 Brainy Bonus Tips)
by Mel Wicks
on Jan 12, 2023
I bet you just asked Google to search for creative writing prompts.
Or was it writing ideas? Short story ideas? Or maybe writer’s block?
Boy, are you stuck!
But don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if you’re halfway through writing a book, sweating over social media posts, or journaling about your own life, all writers get stuck for creative ideas sometimes.
So, it’s great to have you here.
This is your go-to source of story starters, writing prompts, and bonus writing tips guaranteed to improve your writing skills , power up your passion , and get your creative juices flowing in 2023.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Writing Prompts Q&A
- 72 Writing Prompts (Broken into Categories)
- 6 Bonus Tips (to Sharpen Your Writing Skills)
We’ll start with a few common questions and answers…
What are Writing Prompts?
A writing prompt can be a phrase, an image, or even a physical object that kick starts your imagination and motivates you to write . It provides a spark of an idea as a starting point to stimulate a natural flow of writing.
Writing prompts are ideal for any form of writing, like fiction or nonfiction, journaling, copywriting , blogging , or poetry. They usually contain two parts: an idea or a potential topic to write about, and the instructions on what you should do next.
For example, a creative writing prompt for fiction writers might be:
Your main character has a car accident and starts to hear voices while in the hospital. Write a short story about the conflict between the character and the voices and what really happened at the time of the car accident.
While journal prompts tend to focus on topics of self-awareness, such as:
Write about a turning point in your life. How different would things be now if you had made a different decision at the time?
How Do You Use Writing Prompts?
Like all muscle-building exercises, writing prompts are most effective when you make them a daily habit. Over time, with repetition, you’ll find your flow of writing becomes more natural, and your ability to write for longer strengthens.
But don’t feel you have to follow a prompt to the letter. If the prompt suggests you write about romance, but it sparks an idea for a poem, write a poem. Let your imagination guide you through the writing process.
Here are some other hot tips:
- Don’t overthink it. Just start writing.
- Don’t edit as you go.
- If it’s not working for your style of writing, move on to another prompt. Find the prompts that make you want to write.
- The creative writing prompt is a starting point. The finish is up to you. You don’t have to write a complete story, a poem, or an essay. Feel free to discard your work halfway through and move on to something else.
- Adopt the Ernest Hemingway approach: Accept that most of what you write is likely to be crap, and you’re going to toss it. This isn’t about producing ready-to-publish work for your latest freelance writing job . It’s about the practice of writing.
Now, let’s explore those creative writing prompts we promised you.
72 Writing Prompts to Help You Kickstart Your Imagination
Fiction writing prompts, fantasy writing prompts, romance writing prompts, comedy writing prompts.
- Horror Writing Prompts
Persuasive Copywriting Prompts
Poetry writing prompts, journal writing prompts, blog writing prompts, non-fiction writing prompts, random writing prompts.
- “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Use this famous opening line to start your own novel.
- Rewrite your resume as a short story, either in the first or third person.
- Open the dictionary to any page and select the first word that catches your eye. Write the opening few paragraphs of a thrilling, suspenseful story using your selected word at least three times.
- Write a synopsis of your version of the movie, Groundhog Day . What would your day look like and why?
- Write a short story using these words: Mountainous, parched, field mouse, time travel, and Black Forest Gateau.
- Sit in a café and write a short story about the person or couple at the next table. Take note of their body language and clothing, what they’re eating, or doing. And if you can eavesdrop, let their conversation inspire you too.
- Write about a person who is arrested for committing a crime, but they can’t remember anything about the night the crime occurred. What is the crime, why can’t they remember and what happens next?
- If you could come back to life as any person, animal or thing, what or who would you be and how would you live your second life?
- The world’s oceans dry up. Who or what survives?
- You open the bathroom door and find the room’s disappeared. In its place is another world. Describe what you see and hear, and what you do next?
- You’re sitting at a bar talking to a giraffe. What’s the conversation about?
- You live in a fantasy world where people communicate without talking. Write about an average day in this sci-fi, fairy tale world.
- You are the inventor of a popular video game. One day the main character from your game knocks on your front door. What does he want?
- Write about a character who has a superhuman power. The problem is, they don’t want it. Write about the conflict between the character, his or her power and the everyday life they are forced to lead.
- What is the most romantic season of the year and why?
- Write a story about love at first sight. It doesn’t have to be about young people, or even about people.
- “Last Christmas” was a song by George Michael that inspired a movie by the same name in 2019. Think of your favorite romantic song and write a film synopsis for it.
- If you are a woman, write a short love story about the most romantic experience you could imagine, as a man. If you are a man, reverse the exercise.
- The song “Summer Nights” from Grease is about the summer romance between two high school students, with their friends begging to hear more. What memory does that evoke for you about the first time you fell in love, and who did you tell?
- Next time you visit a grocery store make a note of the first person you see. What are they wearing, what are they buying, are they alone? Write a description of them as the main character for your next romantic novel.
- Your protagonist is about to marry the man she has been in love with for years. A week before the wedding she meets a stranger and falls madly and hopelessly in love. What does she do?
- You are a bartender on a quiet night, listening to man drown his sorrows as he tells you how his wife has recently left him for a neighbor. A second man enters and sits at the other end of the bar. It’s the neighbor. Describe the comedy of errors that happens next.
- What makes you laugh out loud?
- What’s the funniest joke you know? Write the backstory to the main character in the joke.
- What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you in real-life? Write it as a stand-up comedy anecdote with lots of observational humor thrown in.
- Your shopping bag rips apart, and all the contents tumble out at the feet of the girl or guy who lives in the apartment below you, who you have fancied for some time. What does your shopping reveal about you and why are you so embarrassed?
- List posts are one of the most popular forms of blogging. Write a funny list post about all the things you are not going to do in 2023.
Horror Writing Prompts?
- Write the opening chapter to a story that begins: “I stared at my beautiful, evil wife and realized the horror had only just begun.
- “Terror made me cruel” is a line from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Write about a situation where terror might make you cruel.
- You’re walking home alone late one night when you realize several cats are stalking you. Then the streetlights go out. What happens next?
- There’s a locked door at the top of the house you’re staying in. What’s behind it?
- What are you really, really scared of? Put yourself in that situation and describe how it feels.
- Write a horror story set in either a bar or a graveyard (or both). Include a blue-veined hand, a serial killer, and the phrase “all that spit and sweat.”
- Your best friend doesn’t much care for Chinese food. Write down all the reasons why they need to reconsider their opinion and join you tonight at your favorite Chinese restaurant.
- Your mother’s always nagging you to clean your room. Write an account of the last time she nagged you, but from her point of view.
- Have you ever seen a ghost, or sensed a ghostly presence? Write an account of your experience knowing it will be read by a skeptic.
- Talk the Christmas Grinch out of being a Grinch.
- A man finds a letter in a bottle while walking on the beach. Where has the bottle come from, how old is it, and what does the letter say? What does it compel the man to do?
- Think of a cliché and write an argument against it. Here are a few to start you off:
Time heals all wounds It’s better to be safe than sorry Money is the root of all evil Ignorance is bliss
- Open the dictionary at any page and select the first word that catches your eye. Set a timer for 5 minutes and write a list of rhyming words. Now write a poem using as many of those words as you can.
- Write a poem about rhythm. It might be about music, or the flow of a river, or the clattering sound of a train. Weave the rhythm you hear in your head into the tempo of your poem.
- Write a poem about a feast. Describe how it looks, smells and tastes. Use powerful imagery and include the different sensations of spices and flavors, the texture and feel of the dishes and how each one made you feel as you ate more and more.
- Write a poem about the “Thrilla in Manila.”
- Write about your plans for tomorrow and how you hope they’ll turn out.
- “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done. ” This is a famous quote about self-sacrifice from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Write an honest journal entry about how far you would be prepared to go to sacrifice your wealth, happiness, health, or safety for a person or principle.
- Write about a single day — either the first or last of your life.
- Think about the last time you woke up at 4am, in a cold sweat. What was on your mind and how did you resolve it? Did you feel differently about it in the daylight?
- Write a letter in your journal to each of your family members, telling them what your love (and/or hate) about them.
- What is your personal manifesto? What are the core principles and values that guide everything you do in life?
- Make a list of all the things you’d like to say no to, and then write down the reasons why you don’t — or can’t — say no. Is there a pattern? Is there something you can change?
- Write about the biggest challenge you have faced and how you overcame it.
- Write an open letter to a person or group of people you strongly disagree with and explain why. Use reason not emotion.
- Write about the best writing or weight loss tips you can share.
- Interview your favorite fictional character.
- Describe social media to someone who has never heard of it before. Include advice on which platform might be best for them.
- Think of the 3 most unhealthy habits you indulge in and write about how you might be able to break those habits.
- What are the top 10 style trends you would like to see make a comeback in 2023?
- Write about your views on climate change. Are you a believer or a skeptic? Is the world doing enough? What facts do you know?
- Write about a time you had to swallow your pride and do something that made you uncomfortable, either morally or physically.
- There is no such thing as a truly unselfish deed. Defend this statement.
- If you were to write an autobiography, how would it start?
- Write a fantasy story based on the last dream you had.
- Write about your favorite place and how it makes you feel. Use all the sensory language you can muster to describe the place.
- If you were a dog, what type would you be and who would own you?
- If you had the opportunity to turn back time what would you change about the course of your life and why?
- What is your favorite thing to eat and what memories does it evoke?
- Write a list of your three most prized possessions (inanimate objects, not people or animals). Imagine you are forced to discard one. Which one would it be and explain the reasons for your choice?
- Write your own eulogy as a diary entry. What would you like people to know and say about you?
- Write 500 words on what financial freedom looks like to you?
- Select a book from your bookshelf and open it to any page. Write out the last sentence of the last complete paragraph on that page and continue writing.
- Think of your favorite book or film. Now rewrite the ending to something completely different.
- If you were to buy a plane ticket today — no expense spared — where would you go and why?
There they are. A compact list of 72 creative prompts. And when you’ve worked your way through these, you might want to move on to the motherlode of creative writing prompts over at Reddit.
Reddit is part social media platform , part community, part media curator, with 520 million monthly visitors subscribing to message boards across 1.2 million sub-categories. Phew!
One of these subcategories is Writing Prompts , with over 14 million subscribers who have posted years’ worth of prompts, so you’ll never run out of inspiration again.
How Else Can I Improve My Creative Writing Skills?
Improving your skills takes lots of writing practice. And using creative writing ideas and prompts are the best ways to do just that. But it’s not the only way. Here are a few other techniques you might want to explore:
Freewriting
This is when you write about anything that pops into your head. Take a blank page, set a timer for 30 minutes, and start writing. Write whatever your brain tells you to, and don’t worry if it’s nonsensical.
This writing exercise is great for pushing through writer’s block and allowing your mind to head off in spontaneous directions.
The Adjectives Game
List 5 things you like or dislike tasting, and then list 5 adjectives for each item. For example, you might like the taste of cake. The 5 adjectives might be: sweet, gooey, yummy, nutty, and scrumptious. Now do the same for your other senses.
This builds your sensory vocabulary and ability to write with flair and color.
Perspectives
Write about a recent incident you were involved in, from the point of view of someone else who was involved. Empathy is hugely important in writing and this exercise forces you to step into the shoes of another person and understand their point of view.
Writing authentic dialogue is notoriously hard to master, so this writing exercise will help.
Write about 300 words of a conversation between two people without using ‘he said/she said’ tags. Show the difference and relationship between the two speakers only through the words they use. It’s more challenging than it sounds.
Observation
Think of a color. Now go for a walk or a ride on the bus and note down everything you see of that color. When you get home, write up what you remember (take notes as you go to make it easier).
How many different hues of the color did you see? What did the things you saw make you feel? Was there any connection between them?
Think of an anecdote you like to recount. Write it up in less than 500 words. Now rewrite the same story in 100 words. Now in 50 words. And finally, in 25 words or less, if you can achieve it.
This exercise shows how filler words, background, and context can sometimes get in the way of a good story. It will help you choose your words carefully.
If you’ve got the time and energy, here are a few more exercises to really help flex those writing muscles.
6 Bonus Writing Tips to Power Up Your Passion and Sharpen Your Skills
Before we let you go…
If you’re looking for creative writing prompts or story ideas, there’s an excellent chance you’re looking for other ways to hone your skills and improve your craft.
Here are 6 bonus writing tips to help you on your journey:
1. Make Time to Write
If you’re not setting aside time to write, you may as well ignore every other piece of advice in this post. Make your writing time sacred and block it off in your calendar. Turn off your phone. Disconnect the internet, close your door, and write.
This is the single best thing you can do if you want to be a writer.
2. Set Writing Goals
We set goals for everything in our life: losing weight, saving for a dream holiday, growing our business, and so on. So, do the same for your writing. Measure your progress.
Start with, say, a 300 or 500 word count in a daily session. Once you consistently reach this goal with ease, up the ante and shoot for more challenging targets. 1,000 words a session; 25,000 words a month, and so on. But make sure your goals are not overwhelming.
Writing goals will help you write faster and with more confidence. Over time you will recognize when you are most productive and can use this to your advantage.
3. Pack Your Writing with a Powerful Punch
Fill your writing with passion from an arsenal of power words . Or supercharge your reader’s imagination with a well-aimed metaphor .
Use these two writing devices to turbocharge your prose and watch the words burst off the page with intention.
4. Harness the Power of Grammar
Grammar reduces confusion and brings clarity and confidence to your writing. It’s a good thing and you need to learn the rules .
But grammar can sometimes get in the way of creativity and turn fluid prose into a turgid swamp of clunky awkwardness.
If you need to ignore your grammar checker and start a sentence with a conjunction that feels right, go for it. If you want to brazenly split an infinitive to avoid mangling a sentence, split away.
So, learn the grammar rules, but then learn how to break them . Effectively.
5. Copy Your Writing Heroes — Literally
Pick a writer you’ve always admired, whether it’s a New York Times best-selling author or an influencer in your blogging niche .
Now, put pen to paper and rewrite exactly what they wrote by hand. Don’t think too hard about it. Just go with it.
As you write out their words, you’ll absorb their writing style, their pace and rhythm, their grammar, their word choice, and their sentence structure.
This is one of the most effective ways to sharpen your writing skills and inspire your own writing voice.
6. Read Your Way to Writing Stardom
Every great writer is a great reader. There are no exceptions.
Read daily.
Read fiction and biographies, or read books, blogs and articles. But read in an active way. Stay alert to what grabs your attention and how the writer has crafted his words. Then consciously apply the best techniques to your own writing process.
A Final Word on Writing Prompts
The purpose of a writing prompt is to kickstart your creativity and spur you into writing something… anything.
Initially, the process may seem a little intimidating. But that’s OK. Most writers draw a blank when they first start with writing prompts.
Keep pushing through, because something thrilling will start to happen.
The more you practice using the prompts in this post, the more your creative juices will flow, and the more words and ideas will start pouring out of you.
So, let yourself go. Abandon yourself to the power of writing prompts and let the magic happen.
Happy writing!
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Written by Mel Wicks
10 thoughts on “72 clever creative writing prompts (+ 6 brainy bonus tips)”.
Hello, Thank you! What I needed to write prompts. I’m writing about mindfulness .
Thank you ,
Lori English , MA
You’re welcome, Lori. Glad they help Cheers, Mel
Thank you for your motivating words. I bookmarked this post so, I can read it daily and start writing. Thanks again.
Happy writing, Vijay
Thanks for posting such a useful information. Improving your English also helps in creative writing. Learning daily and reading newspaper helps a lot in this matter too.
Yes, good tip about reading newspapers, Jack.
Writing an open letter is surely an easy and effective strategy. You have shared the massive list of writing prompts for popular niches. Thanks!
Incredible piece of content. Smart Blogger has been my raw source of push to better my craft and take my writing to a whole new level. Thanks Mel for featuring with this powerful tips.
This is something I do daily: “Write about your plans for tomorrow and how you hope they’ll turn out.” It helps me focus and stay committed to my goals during the day. Highly recommend doing it.
Hi Mel Wicks! A very helpful list of Writing Prompts that you share. I really enjoy this post and start writing by reading these tips. Thanks for this blog, it is so beneficial for me.
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WEEKLY WRITING PROMPTS
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Write a story that formally utilizes a mathematical sequence; e.g., the fibonacci sequence could determine the number of words in each paragraph, or start with a number and work backwards. make sure the formula is made clear, either within the story, or before or after it., write a story within a story within a story within a ..., write a story of fragments. many options here: no verbs, sentence fragments, short sections, nothing but objects, etc. the fragments should relate to one another obliquely, hesitantly, subtly, ambiguously, preposterously, marvelously., write a story in which each paragraph begins or ends (or both) with the same sentence., set all or part of your story in a jam-packed storage unit., write about a dragon who doesn’t know what to do with their hoard anymore., start a story with someone saying, “it’s mine, and you can’t have it”, someone’s beloved collection is destroyed. how do they react, write a story about someone who doesn’t know how to let go., win $250 in our short story competition 🏆.
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Creative Writing Prompts
When the idea to start a weekly newsletter with writing inspiration first came to us, we decided that we wanted to do more than provide people with topics to write about. We wanted to try and help authors form a regular writing habit and also give them a place to proudly display their work. So we started the weekly Creative Writing Prompts newsletter. Since then, Prompts has grown to a community of more than 450,000 authors, complete with its own literary magazine, Prompted .
Here's how our contest works: every Friday, we send out a newsletter containing five creative writing prompts. Each week, the story ideas center around a different theme. Authors then have one week — until the following Friday — to submit a short story based on one of our prompts. A winner is picked each week to win $250 and is highlighted on our Reedsy Prompts page.
Interested in participating in our short story contest? Sign up here for more information! Or you can check out our full Terms of Use and our FAQ page .
Why we love creative writing prompts
If you've ever sat in front of a computer or notebook and felt the urge to start creating worlds, characters, and storylines — all the while finding yourself unable to do so — then you've met the author's age-old foe: writer's block. There's nothing more frustrating than finding the time but not the words to be creative. Enter our directory! If you're ready to kick writer's block to the curb and finally get started on your short story or novel, these unique story ideas might just be your ticket.
This list of 1800+ creative writing prompts has been created by the Reedsy team to help you develop a rock-solid writing routine. As all aspiring authors know, this is the #1 challenge — and solution! — for reaching your literary goals. Feel free to filter through different genres, which include...
Dramatic — If you want to make people laugh and cry within the same story, this might be your genre.
Funny — Whether satire or slapstick, this is an opportunity to write with your funny bone.
Romance — One of the most popular commercial genres out there. Check out these story ideas out if you love writing about love.
Fantasy — The beauty of this genre is that the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
Dystopian – Explore the shadowy side of human nature and contemporary technology in dark speculative fiction.
Mystery — From whodunnits to cozy mysteries, it's time to bring out your inner detective.
Thriller and Suspense — There's nothing like a page-turner that elicits a gasp of surprise at the end.
High School — Encourage teens to let their imaginations run free.
Want to submit your own story ideas to help inspire fellow writers? Send them to us here.
After you find the perfect story idea
Finding inspiration is just one piece of the puzzle. Next, you need to refine your craft skills — and then display them to the world. We've worked hard to create resources that help you do just that! Check them out:
- How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten-day course by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.
- Best Literary Magazines of 2023 — a directory of 100+ reputable magazines that accept unsolicited submissions.
- Writing Contests in 2023 — the finest contests of 2021 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays, and more.
Beyond creative writing prompts: how to build a writing routine
While writing prompts are a great tactic to spark your creative sessions, a writer generally needs a couple more tools in their toolbelt when it comes to developing a rock-solid writing routine . To that end, here are a few more additional tips for incorporating your craft into your everyday life.
- NNWT. Or, as book coach Kevin Johns calls it , “Non-Negotiable Writing Time.” This time should be scheduled into your routine, whether that’s once a day or once a week. Treat it as a serious commitment, and don’t schedule anything else during your NNWT unless it’s absolutely necessary.
- Set word count goals. And make them realistic! Don’t start out with lofty goals you’re unlikely to achieve. Give some thought to how many words you think you can write a week, and start there. If you find you’re hitting your weekly or daily goals easily, keep upping the stakes as your craft time becomes more ingrained in your routine.
- Talk to friends and family about the project you’re working on. Doing so means that those close to you are likely to check in about the status of your piece — which in turn keeps you more accountable.
Arm yourself against writer’s block. Writer’s block will inevitably come, no matter how much story ideas initially inspire you. So it’s best to be prepared with tips and tricks you can use to keep yourself on track before the block hits. You can find 20 solid tips here — including how to establish a relationship with your inner critic and apps that can help you defeat procrastination or lack of motivation.
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10 Best Creative Writing Prompts
by Joe Bunting | 53 comments
You get better at any skill through practice. Prompts are a great way to practice writing (as you might imagine, we're really into practice here), and in this post, I have ten of our best creative writing prompts.
Try a few out, and if you're ready to take the next step in your writing, check out our 100 Best Short Story Ideas .
How To Use These Creative Writing Prompts
At the end of every article on The Write Practice , we include a writing prompt so you can put what you just learned to use immediately. And we invite you to share your writing with our community so you can get feedback on your work.
The Write Practice is more than just a writing blog. It's a writing workbook , and we think it's the best one on the Internet (of course, we're a bit biased).
One of the most important parts of practice is getting feedback, and we want to help YOU get feedback on your writing. To do that, choose one of the prompts, write for 15 minutes, and then copy and paste your practice into the box at the bottom to post your practice in our forum for feedback. You'll be able to read others' practice and give feedback too.
And if you want even more prompts, you can download our workbook, 14 Prompts , for free here (it's normally, $5.99).
Our Most Popular Creative Writing Prompts
Why not try using two or three of these creative writing prompts in your writing today? Who knows, you might even begin something that becomes your next novel to write or short story. It's happened to Write Practicers before!
Enjoy the writing prompts!
My 3 Favorite Writing Prompts
Write about a time you felt out of place, awkward, and uncomfortable. Try not to focus on your feelings, but project your feelings onto the things around you.
Write about a ghost. How do they feel about the world? What do they see and hear? How did they become a ghost?
- Your characters haven’t gotten any sleep. Write about why, and how they respond to being sleepless.
1. Grandfathers
Write about a grandfather, maybe your grandfather or your character's grandfather. What memories do you/does your character associate with him?
See the prompt: Grandfathers
2. Sleepless
Your characters haven’t gotten any sleep. Write about it.
See the prompt: Sleepless
3. Out of Place
See the prompt: Out of Place
Write about longing. How does it feel to go about a normal day when your character wants something else?
See the prompt: Longing
5. Write About Yourself
Write about yourself.
See the writing prompt: Write About Yourself
See the prompt: 3 Reasons to Write About Ghosts
7. Road Trip
Write about a road trip. Is your character escaping something? Is your character looking for something? Hint at the thing without telling us while describing what the character sees.
See the writing prompt: Road Trip
Write about the morning. What are your character's morning routines? What is special about this morning?
See the prompt: Morning
9. The Beach
Write about the beach. Is your character reflecting on something important that has happened to them? Describe the memory while overlaying the sights, sounds, and smells of the beach onto them.
See the prompt: The Beach
Write about autumn. Natural surroundings can bring up old memories and odd feelings. Describe what your character sees, feels, and most of all does.
See the prompt: Autumn
Do you use writing prompts in your writing? What is your favorite prompt for ideas? Share in the comments .
For today's practice, choose one of these prompts and write for fifteen minutes . When you're finished with your practice, share it in the practice box below. Don't forget to leave feedback for three other writers.
Happy writing!
Enter your practice here:
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Joe Bunting
Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).
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400+ Writing Prompts: 16+ Genres to Start Your BEST Story
Posted on Mar 6, 2023
by Bella Rose Pope
Creative writing prompts are the missing link all writers need…whether you’re writing for fun or looking to write an amazing novel and live full time off your fiction writing like students in our Fundamentals of Fiction program .
Picture this: your imagination is a match…and you need to light it.
There are a number of different methods of setting a match ablaze to come up with story ideas . You can swipe it on the ground, against a rough surface, use your own nail, or even light it with another match that’s already burning.
But the best (and easiest) way? Striking it against the matchbox it came in. That’s what it’s for, after all.
This list is the matchbox with which you can strike your match. We have over 400 original writing prompts you can use across several different genres.
Here are the fiction writing prompts we have:
Fantasy Writing Prompts
Sci-fi writing prompts, dystopian writing prompts, contemporary writing prompts, romance writing prompts.
- Horror / Thriller Writing Prompts
Mystery Writing Prompts
Reddit writing prompts.
These are the nonfiction writing prompts:
- Morals & Values
- Health and Wellness
- Love & Relationships
- Childhood & Family
- Self-Esteem & Confidence
- Faith-Based
- Personal Journey
Save This Resource NOW for Quick Reference Later…
200+ Fiction Writing Prompts In the Most Profitable Genres
Come up with your NEXT great book idea with over 200 unique writing prompts spanning 8 different genres. Use for a story, scene, character inspo, and more!
Creative Writing Prompts are Your Matchbox
All you need is one writing prompt to light your imaginative fire and you can burn through a book idea , formulating the plot and all with just a single prompt. You can even write a powerful short story with a small prompt!
And that’s exactly what we’re here to help you with, whether you’re writing as a hobby or looking to publish a novel that’s destined to be included on every bibliophile’s gift wish list .
Real writers know that you can easily come up with bits and fragments of a story but the overarching plot can be tricky to drum up.
You know what you want to write about: life’s happenings, a tragedy in your life, a deep memoir , magic, advanced science, realistic contemporary stories, but you just can’t figure out how to go from the genre and character development to a writing a novel .
200+ Creative Writing Prompts for Fiction Book Ideas
If you’re ready to take the plunge and finally start writing a book like you’ve always talked about, we can help you get started.
Something to keep in mind is that creative writing is largely driven by tone , style, characters, and your plot .
These are 100% original, never-before-seen creative writing prompts you won’t find anywhere else.
But if you’re ready to start right now , here are a few to set the creative wheel of your imagination in motion so you can find your writing style and master your craft.
Fantasy is all about magic, creatures, and abilities. The possibilities with a fantasy world are nearly endless.
You can literally make up anything you want. This is why fantasy is my preferred genre to write in.
Here are 30 original fantasy writing prompts:
- Write about a characer who has a dream they got a certain magical power or gift…only to discover later that day that they DO now actually have it.
- Write about a fantasy creature who has searched the universe for its special bond: your main character.
- Write about a species of magical people who can conjure fire, control it, and thrive in it. Unfortunately, they’re world is headed toward an ice age…which could mean their extinction if they don’t learn to make peace with their water-wielding nemesis.
- Write a story where magic is abundant, everywhere, and used as currency. Your main character…lacks any magical powers—or maybe just the obvious ones.
- Write about a portal to another world, that is exactly like this one, except magic has been allowed to flourish instead of having been killed off thousands of years ago. Your main character ends up there by accident…and can’t go home.
- Write about a character who researches untouched societies as a living. While deep in the jungle on an assignment, they accidentally allow themselves to be seen by someone from the society, a big no-no. What that person is capable of is beyond the world your character knew existed.
- Write about a character whose world is dying. The actual earth is sick and killing all the plants and probably life as they know it.
- Write about a kingdom overrun by magical beasts who spit a toxin that makes you forget everything…from forever. Your main character wakes up on the ground in the middle of nowhere, not knowing a thing about themselves. They wander to the nearest town, where everybody seems to completely despise them.
- Your character and their brother have always been best friends. They know practically everything about each other. Until they catch him do something they never thought possible.
- Write a book about an ancient society where your character hears a voice within their own mind. Shunned by their village, they spend their life as a near-slave, waiting on others, doing the hardest work, and granted little freedom. Well, they did, anyway, until they uncovered who the voice belonged to.
- Your character boards a ship to sail across to a newly discovered land. What they find when they get there are undiscovered species – both animal and humanoid.
- Non-magic people are outlawed. Your character has no magic and their older sibling has been ensuring nobody knows since your character was born. One missed moment might ruin everything.
- Write about a character who needs a miracle, and they meet one too! Who knew miracles were actually beings and not just something that happens? Your character makes a bad first impression when their miracle shows up to help them out.
- Write a story about how all types of magic exists in your character’s world. While drinking liquid happiness (magic drink) from a local tavern, they’re hit with a vision that overpowered every drop of happiness consumed. They’ve never had visions before, either.
- Your character has always believed magic exists. They just didn’t know how close it really was .
- Write a book about how after an accident that killed your character’s father, they uncover secrets they can’t even understand. Then their father’s friend shows up out of nowhere and explains all of it.
- Write about how your character teaches children magic. When one kid proves to be way more than expected, they have to help them understand exactly what they can do – and stop them from doing something that could be dangerous.
- Write a story about your character and while awaiting test results in the hospital, they encounter an… odd person who teaches them about a world beyond their own – and better than their own.
- Write about a character who embarks on a quest to locate a special type of rock that lights fires almost instantly – something their settlement needs. What they didn’t expect to find, however, was a mermaid-like species living in the cave that houses most of that rock.
- Write a fantasy story about a character who wakes up every day feeling the same thing: that something in their life is just… missing . When they realize their frequent nightmares are actually memories, it all becomes clear.
- Emotions can be controlled. Thoughts can be stolen. In the world your character lives in, holding on to your own sanity is the difference between destruction and thriving. They must learn to push out anyone who tries to alter their perception of reality.
- Write about your character, who gets caught in the middle of an ancient feud between two families as a result of one of their failures. In order to make things right, they have to dive head first into a world they’d rather not know even existed.
- Your character is short on food, shelter, and even patience. When they (literally) run into someone from their past, their reality starts to make sense. If only that person could undo what’s been done to them.
- Magic is the currency. Your character is a rare breed who was born without it. When they find themselves in a dangerous challenge to prove their worth to the settlement, magic would’ve come in handy.
- Write a book about a character who can teleport – but only to places they’ve been before. Their dream? To backpack across each of your world’s countries in order to acquire the most locations. The only thing stopping them is a past that’s sprinting to catch up to them.
- Your character’s country is the best…until a new ruler steals the throne by force…of magic. The most shocking part? Nobody from that country knows magic exists…and everybody with magic didn’t know those without it exist.
- Write about a character who wants to do everything on their “bucket list.” But when they’re kidnapped and shipped off to the unknown, there’s only one thing left on their list: survive. It just so happens the place they end up stuck is one of dreams.
- Your character hears a language they’ve never heard uttered before that day…yet they understood every single word. Turns out, they’re not really from where they think.
- Your character is a compulsive liar, unable to stop themselves from spinning tales that make them the envy of everyone around them. Then they wake up one day to discover that their lies have all come true…
- Write about a character who goes looking for magic out of curiosity. They find more than magic in their family history.
How to Write Fantasy Stories Fantasy is a wildly popular genre. There are countless fantasy worlds out there and that means you really have to focus on being unique within your world. Here are a few ideas to do these writing prompts justice when writing your fantasy novel : Create 100% unique cultures Avoid these worldbuilding mistakes Develop slang for your world based on what’s popular/trending/makes sense with the time it takes place Do not use common phrases like “train of thought” if trains don’t exist in your world Use unique names Don’t forget about diversity! Opt for an unexpected and different journey and outcome (many fantasy novels follow a similar formula) Write what you want to read! Schedule your writing time and follow your deadlines if you really want to finish
Here are 30 Sci-Fi Creative Writing Prompts :
- Write about a character who wakes up in a space pod alone…next to a ship so massive it’s actually carrying a planet beneath it. Your character has no memory from before they wake.
- Write a story about a character who lives in a world where every single person’s DNA is carefully genetically designed for something to help the community. Your main character despises what they were created for. This has never happened before.
- Write about how your character lives on a planet other than Earth. In fact, they don’t even know Earth exists. Well, they didn’t until some sort of advanced, technical probe crash-landed in their settlement, exposing the fact that they’re not alone. Now they have to decide what’s best for their settlement.
- Write a book about how the world used to be plagued with war and famine and inhumanity. But after years and years of developing a technical system that is the center of and controls everything, it’s almost completely peaceful. Your character is the engineer keeping the system running and when they uncover how it works, they contemplate abandoning everything they know.
- Write about the newest advancement in virtual reality that adds a physical sense. Now your characters can even hook up with people through your phone, all while staying at home. But when a glitch alters the mechanisms, what was once pleasure becomes pain and the user gets trapped in a VR state.
- Write a story about how others have been keeping your character alive for over 300 years because of a secret they know. When someone new finally learns the truth, reality becomes…confusing. Now, with only a short adulthood left to live, your character must ensure nobody else learns of this secret. But…well, news spreads fast.
- Write about how they didn’t mean to, but in an attempt to build a time traveling machine, your character actually discovered alternate universes – and then accidentally trapped themselves there. Oh, and this alternate universe hasn’t discovered electricity yet.
- Write a story about a character who lives in an ancient society. When a shiny, unnatural looking contraption touches down and creatures emerge, everything they once knew changes.
- Write about how the only reason your character is alive is because of a test device implanted around their heart. It wasn’t supposed to work and now, they’re not only healed, but they’re also changing . Just what exactly was that device made out of?
- Write about a character who wakes up in a dark, hot room dressed in hardly anything. Their memory is foggy but clearing up, and they have some sort of technical device securing their hands together. They stumble over to a tiny window that gives them a clear view of a world far below them.
- Write about your character’s sister who is discovered dead and the cause of death ruled an overdose. Your character knows better. She was the only person in the family who never had an issue with drugs. In fact, she was developing a cure for cancer in the most advanced research center in the world. Your character finds that…suspicious.
- Write a story about how computers are outlawed. Having access to technology is punishable by life in prison. Your character runs an underground cyber center that gets crashed by local law enforcement. But during interrogation, they get hired instead of prosecuted…because something unworldly has touched down.
- Write about a character who accidentally created a virtual reality software that taps into the user’s psyche and creates their ultimate dream reality. They were on track to become a billionaire until some users became addicted and unable to free themselves from its hold.
- Write a story about how the world your character currently lives on is nearing its breaking point. While the rest of the world rushes to evacuate everyone to a space pod with a destination of a livable planet, your character remains behind bars, left to die with the rest of the world’s prisoners. The kicker? They’re wrongfully convicted.
- Write about how disease is finally eradicated. Cancer is nothing more than an old nightmare. Your character spent years working his way into a lab dedicated to making sure it stays that way. Their secret? They’re a hardcore believer in natural selection. He decides to take Darwinism into his own hands.
- Write a book about a city that’s the first to implement an entirely technological government. It’s under strict surveillance from the outside in order to determine if this is the future of your country…and the world. Your character stumbles into trouble when they discover that technology isn’t in charge at all – a group of people they’ve never seen or heard of are.
- Write about hot time altering is possible, but fatally illegal. In this world, characters can bend, pause, rewind, and even fast forward time…but at the risk of their lives. Your character, in a midst of panic, accidentally alters time…by going 300 years into the past.
- Write a story about how the outdoors is plagued with radioactive particles created by a new technology once thought to eradicate airborne diseases. People are confined to the indoors unless they use a special, very expensive suit. Citizens who can’t afford them are driven mad by confinement. Your character wants to find a way for everyone to have a suit – no matter what law enforcement says.
- Write about a character who invents airborne particles with the intent to eradicate diseases. Unfortunately, they become radioactive, toxic, and severely deadly to anyone who breathes in even a tiny amount.
- Scientists have created a man-made atmosphere around the planet of Mars in order to make it completely livable. Your character is one of the lucky few who are chosen to be among the first to inhabit the planet. What they don’t know is that there is no atmosphere…and others already inhabit it.
- Write about your character who lives in a world where the outdoors is plagued with natural disasters daily. Venturing outside is dangerous and rarely done. When they’re forced to leave their home to rush to the aid of someone struggling outside, they learn that those “natural” disasters are completely fabricated. Their new life mission is to find out why.
- Write a story about how in your character’s world, identity is implanted into your forearm at birth. It’s scannable and contains any information someone would ever need to know, including age, overall health, risk for diseases, and more. Your character, having spent their life in a type of foster care, applies for a job only to realize that now, at the age of 18, their identity is showing two different sets of information.
- Your character’s job is to lead the mission of colonizing new planets – even if there’s life present. When the truth of how they manage to find habitable planets surfaces, a new recruit shows them just how wrong it really is. Your characters new goal? To stop it.
- Write about how oceanic cities have been built for the rich. They float atop the ocean, traveling hundreds of miles a day, all while its citizens go about their everyday life. Unfortunately, your character discovers a superstorm developing below the ocean’s surface, something that has never happened before – something they are wildly unprepared for.
- Your character develops a new device you implant in your ear that reads the minds of those they focus on. After light testing, they accidentally discover that the local baker has a massive, dangerous, potentially even deadly secret .
- Write about how in the distant future, magic is discovered as being real…at least for the humanoid creatures inhabiting an Earth-like planet. Your main character is among the few chosen to venture to the planet and study them. They just never expected to discover the source of the magic like they did in the process.
- Write a story about how oxygen levels on Earth have been plummeting for centuries. Now, with the population dwindling due to suffocation and disease, your main character has to find a way off the dying planet without attracting too much attention from the Keeps, also known as the highly deadly enforcement force tasked with making sure only certain individuals leave.
- Write a story about how centuries ago, a solar flare damaged the Earth’s atmosphere in the opposite way expected; it actually made it stronger. But now the sun’s rays have difficulty penetrating it and the world is slowly growing colder. Your character is among the many determined to find a way to fix it.
- Happiness is an illusion, as are every other emotion. In your futuristic society, humans are bred in a lab without them as a means of creating equality. The only problem is that your main character was born the natural way…with every emotion intact. If this is discovered, they’ll have to fend for their life.
- Write about how your main character was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tasked with delivering something seemingly unimportant, they witness something they shouldn’t have and are pulled into a world of secrecy, dangerous weapon manufacturing, and a virtual war the public is blind to.
How to Write Science Fiction This genre is another very popular one, and for good reason. You can imagine a realistic, yet very different future than what we currently have. Here are a few guidelines when creating your science fiction world from these writing prompts: Decide if the story will take place in this world or a completely unique one Create realistic advanced technology that your characters would actually use Avoid modern-day slang unless the story takes place here Create your own slang. A great example of this is in Jenna Moreci’s sci-fi novel, EVE: The Awakening pictured below) “Dynamic” is the slang the author created in this instance. It fits with the sci-fi world and further creates a sense of realism and it pulls the reader deeper into the world.
As this genre gains more and more popularity, you may find yourself wondering what a certain post-apocalyptic world might look like.
Why not write about it?
Here are 30 dystopian creative writing prompts:
- Write about a character who finds an odd-looking egg in the forest. When they take it home, they never could have predicted what was inside it.
- Write a story about how natural farming doesn’t exist anymore. Due to climate change, all food has to be manufactured in bulk and distributed. There is no flavor and is the same every day. Your character, who has spent their entire life in this world, takes a trip to the mountains far away from their home. There, they discover real plants , and on them, berries.
- Write about nature extremists taking over the government, stopping at nothing to ensure all man-made harm on the planet is eradicated. Your character ends up in their clutches, forced to do their bidding.
- Write a story about how, due to climate change, wildfires have engulfed the large majority of living land. Your character is one of many attempting to board a ship set for a new in-ocean settlement. The problem? That settlement doesn’t actually exist.
- Write about how after a devastating illness that rocked only the wildlife population over 200 years ago, a scientist created a virus that strengthens animal’s immune systems with the purpose of creating balance and stabilizing the wildlife population once again. The problem is that it worked too well and the wildlife has exceeded (and reduced) the world’s population
- Write a book about how after a devastating storm that encompassed the entire world, the population has thinned significantly and your character, who lost all of their family but their youngest sibling, has to go up against the new “government” with a group of allies as they attempt to gain control over the living population of the world – in the worst way.
- Write about how over the course of a few hundred years, cases of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses caused the death and destruction of generations. Then an airborne substance was created to balance all levels of each person so they’re created 100% equal in every way. Turns out, your character is immune to the substance.
- Write about how the third World War is done and over with for many years now. It was the downfall of the world’s economic system. Now your main character must navigate a world where governments no longer exist, money is useless, and survival is the only objective. Oh, and they have a debilitating medical condition to look after, too
- Write a story about how two thousand years after a massive wave of a fatal illness swept over the entire world, your character navigates a life of poverty and hardship, struggling to feed their very young twin siblings and alcoholic father. That is, until a new form of choosing a leader is proposed. Now they can finally compete to rule over their settlement.
- Write about how books have nearly been abolished. Your country is separated into three main regions with a dangerous “neutral” zone in the center. With a rumor of a way out located in the midst of the neutral zone, your main character must venture through two other regions to get there.
- Write a book about a character who is fortunate to have been born into a powerful family after the downfall of the world. They have everything they would ever hope to have…except for a clue as to what happens outside their very large, protective walls. Once they find out, they can’t help but need to change it.
- Write about a single tower that powers what’s left of the country’s population. When an outsider tampers with its mechanisms, the tower breaks down, leaving your main character and everyone else struggling to survive.
- Write about how the birthrate has dropped significantly. So much so that children are now worth millions. Your main character, a very poor woman, just found out she’s pregnant – and won’t be able to hide it for long. Kidnapping and worse await her if anyone finds out that she can reproduce, and will soon have a child up for “grabs.” In order to save herself – and her child – she must confess her pregnancy to the father, a very wealthy man in politics.
- Write a story about a character who ventures away from the only town they’ve ever known, despite warnings and many attempts to make them stay. What they find is emptiness…for miles and miles and miles.
- Write a story about a hidden temple is the only thing standing in the way of your character becoming the next ruler of a post-apocalyptic, off-the-grid society. When a newcomer ventures into their land, their chance of finding the temple becomes dangerous…maybe even impossible.
- Write a book about how they really thought they were helping by creating a single drug with the power to eradicate diseases, illnesses, and even cancer. What they didn’t anticipate was the massive super virus 100% resistant to the drug. Your main character seems to be the only one who can’t catch it…that they know of.
- Write about how society has collapsed over hundreds of years, not with war or a single event like they always thought would happen. Your main character discovers a voice message from 700 years prior detailing the downfall’s construction. The 300 years it took to destroy society was completely planned. But why?
- Since the manmade radioactive superstorm that destroyed most of life as they knew it, extreme measures have been taken to document every move of every person. Your main character scans a chip when they eat, sleep, travel, and even when they have sex. When offered a way out, your main character takes it without question…which might be their biggest mistake.
- Write a story about how the government was taken over by the rich nearly 50 years ago. Your main character was lucky enough to be born into the wealthiest family. What they never thought of, though, was the fact that one day, the could be kidnapped and used as leverage.
- Write about a character who, after witnessing horrors of rising crime and drug rates, ran away at the age of 12 to live on their own in a secluded wooded area. Now, after 10 years of solitude, people start filing into their neck of the woods covered in wounds, tattered clothing, and bruises.
- Write about a super tsunami that’s demolished the eastern portion of the United States. But contrary to what was expected, the water is actually creeping inland, not back out to sea. Your main character’s home is a victim of the ocean.
- Write a story about how electricity is scarce…and very expensive . Your main character walks home one night to discover a brand-new electric car sitting idle in behind a forest tree line. They follow its tire tracks to find a massive house lit up and blasting music. A stranger waves at them to come in.
- Write a book about how at the height of your character’s career – and life as a whole – an attack destroys their city, kills their spouse, and forces them into poverty…and maybe even war. With new laws, new standards, and new rulers in place, their life obtains a whole new purpose.
- Write a story about how a little boy is running toward your main character, a look of absolute joy lighting up their face. Then they freeze, their joy turning to anger, rage. Your character cocks their head, confused, and then the truth hits them. He must be one of the Ruin Children, born from the people affected by the Great Tragedy.
- Write about a trial being the only way your character can ever hope to rise above their current abysmal ranking. Your world’s current society is one bred for advancement. Anyone who can’t meet the standards is done for. Your character needs a near miracle to pass their trial.
- Due to an error made by someone in the distant future when time traveling, the world’s societal (and time) structure has collapsed. Each day may produce a completely different reality than the one before. Survival isn’t guaranteed and strangers could have been your best friend – or more – only yesterday.
- Your character’s world is what happens when an experimental chemical compound intended to sustain plant life is pumped into the atmosphere. Now trees have overgrown, plants are squeezing into homes, and the Earth’s oxygen levels are (if you can believe it) too high.
- Tagged, chipped, and shuffled into line. That’s your character’s everyday reality. They’re herded like cattle…to be used in the same way as cattle. Then a single guard takes pity on your character and offers them a way out.
- Write a story about a main character who’s read all about the warning signs of a solar flare and the flipping of the Earth’s magnetic field. They’ve scoured through studies and research papers depicting what would happen. Since both occurred within the same year over a century ago, they’re stuck to live in the aftermath.
- Peace. The world is ruled by one person dedicated to keeping the peace. There’s been no war or poverty or famine in centuries. Your main character is newly employed to be the ruler’s personal assistant. When they discover how the world is kept at peace, their life changes forever.
How to write Dystopian books Dystopian novels are one of the biggest trends sweeping the literary world. With books like The Handmaid’s Tale stirring more post-apocalyptic stories, it’s easy to get stuck in the same mindset as many other dystopian novelists. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to write dystopian using these writing prompts: Think way outside of the box Use literary elements from your story’s past to form their present Paint a very clear picture of everyday life for your character from the very first page Get creative with the laws, culture, and customs Don’t just “go with the flow”: The Handmaid’s Tale is so popular largely due to the fact that it’s unique. Not many people would have thought of a world that was overrun by a religion – and that’s what makes it so tantalizing; it’s unexpected.
Some people don’t necessarily want to escape from this world. In fact, they just want to escape from their own life for a little bit but prefer to read something realistic, something they can relate to.
Contemporary writing is all about forming connections with readers.
Here are 28 contemporary writing prompts:
- Write about a character who’s done everything they’re told. They just graduated high school and are off to a very good college to get their degree in something reliable. But when they get there, they realize there’s a whole world of opportunity they never knew existed. Now they have to maintain the façade of going to college even though they decided to pursue a different endeavor.
- Write a story involving a character who answers the door to nothing but an intricate envelope on the ground; an invitation. After attending the secret underground event, they become a part of the biggest activist group out there…and nobody even knows who they are.
- Write about how, while on a hike with friends, your main character discovers a small tower buried beneath the ground. After some digging, they realize it’s filled with scrolls they can hardly make out. What they contain will change your character’s view of life forever.
- Write a book about how a character has been living a very sheltered, very dangerous life. After the death of their overbearing father, they’re thrust into the real world – only to realize just how different their life really is from those around them.
- Write a book about how your main character gets called out of school/work by someone they don’t know for something they are clueless about. But for some reason, the person addressing them thinks they already know everything about it.
- Write a story about how, as an artist, your main character has it well. But when everything they’ve worked for is burned in a tragic fire, they have to start all over with nothing to their name and a roommate determined to hold them back.
- Write about how life for your main character has never been easy. After venturing in and out of foster homes, they’re finally an adult and on their own. When their birth mother reaches out to reconnect, they never could’ve predicted what’s kept her away for so long. Now your character has to decide between getting involved with their real mother or cutting ties forever.
- Write about how death is a natural part of life. Your main character has been feared it or been affected by it. But when their best friend goes missing and their body shows up in front of their house, your character makes it their mission to find out who’s responsible – even if it means breaking the law…a lot of laws.
- Write a story about a character who’s in an accident that leaves them blind. When they meet a stranger who shows them how to enjoy life again, everything seems to be perfect. Until tragedy strikes that stranger.
- A strange person approaches your character claiming to be their long-lost parent. But your character isn’t adopted…so they think. Now they have to make sense of a new reality and an identity that’s shocking.
- Write about how a half-eaten apple flies through the air and smacks your character on the head. There’s nobody around and no way for anyone to hide. Then it happens again the next day. They do some digging and discover the source…a small child with rags for clothes and hollow cheeks.
- Your character’s identity is stolen, racking up thousands of dollars in debt. They were just fired, and to top it all off, their long-term significant other just broke up with them for their friend. And they said your twenties would be the best years of your life.
- Your character was adopted from foster care when she was 5. Their memories of their time in that foster home are almost non-existent. All they can remember is feeling scared and a distinct song that gets stuck in their head from time to time. As they’re walking to class one day, they hear that familiar song in the distance.
- Write a story about how your character woke up in a stranger’s home with a gaping, painful wound on their leg. They have no idea where they are, how they go there, or who the strange man in the corner of the room watching them is.
- Write about how your character had been studying their whole life. With everyone in their family having gone to an ivy league school, your main character feels the pressure to get in and get A’s. They even stoop to low levels to do so.
- Your character embarks on a mission to prove that the key to happiness is doing whatever they want, whenever they want. But that mentality quickly lands them in serious trouble with drugs, new “friends,” and decisions they can’t undo.
- Write a story about a dimly lit street at 3 am. Your character strolls by like they have many nights before after a long shift at the bar. A building they’ve never noticed before flashing an “OPEN” sign catches their attention. Once inside, the direction of their entire life changes.
- Write about how nothing has ever really been difficult for your main character. They’ve been able to coast through life, get a good job, make good friends, and are happy. Then a social worker shows up at their door with a six-year-old child – the same child that was adopted six years prior. Turns out, raising a six-year-old is very, very difficult.
- Your main character has worked their entire life to make their dreams of curing cancer a reality. But when it seems like a cure is within reach, a suspicious fire burns all of their research…or so it seemed.
- Write about a character who survived an accident that killed one of their siblings. When they thought life couldn’t get any harder, a scary diagnosis rocks their already unstable boat. Dealing with grief, your family blaming you for a sibling’s death, and a debilitating disease isn’t easy. Thank goodness they make a new friend.
- Write about purple glasses. Black hair. Polka dot shoes. Your main character has seen this person on the subway every day for two years. When they notice their absence for a week straight, they decide to find out who they are. Turns out, your character shouldn’t have gone snooping.
- Your character lines up at the bank very early in the morning, dreading another day of mind-numbing work ahead at their corporate job. A gentleman in a grey suit with white hair greets them and engages in some small talk. Then, out of nowhere, he hands your character a gun, takes a few steps back, and fires a couple of rounds into the ceiling.
- Write about how fire is your main character’s solace – their addiction. Their home is littered with candles, a lighter is never more than a foot from them, and bonfires are a nightly occurrence. Addiction of any kind can be a very dangerous thing.
- Write a story about how your character sees balloons – hundreds of them – floating toward the sky from miles away. They go to investigate the cause and end up really regretting that decision. They get pulled into something that could change their life forever.
- It’s been two years since your character has actually had a steady job. After growing increasingly desperate, they answer an ad for a personal assistant position. They just didn’t expect it to be for a major drug cartel leader.
- Hospitals have never been your character’s favorite. They think they smell…weird. Unnatural. But they work there now and will have to get used to it. They throw on their white coat and enter the building. Ugh . The psychiatric ward always smells the worst; like wet stone and rotting wood mixed with subpar antiseptics.
- Your main character starts to hear voices shortly after experiencing a trauma. Now they’re in therapy, fighting with their own mind in order to sort out what really happened that day and why they can’t stop hearing another voice.
- Write about how children are the future. They have the power to right our wrongs and start anew. Your main character befriends an orphaned child and learns more from them than they realized was possible.
How to Write in the Contemporary genre I personally believe contemporary can be one of the hardest genres to write because you have the least wiggle room when it comes to creativity. Everything has to be realistic in today’s society. Here are a few tips to remember for writing contemporary from the very talented author of Little Birds and Writing Youtuber , Hannah Lee Kidder: “Realistic dialogue is important. All the characters should sound different from one another, their vernacular should make sense for their background, and the writer should read it out loud.” “Tiny details are hella dope in descriptions. It should be so specific and vivid that when the reader finishes the story, they feel like they’ve lost a bit of reality.” “Imagining characters complexly is also important. Work on understanding real people. If you understand people and why they do what they do, you can understand characters and what they do” Create a conflict many can relate to or sympathize with Spend a lot of time on the character arc as many contemporary novels are primarily character-driven
Contemporary Writing Exercise From Hannah Lee Kidder: Sit in public and pick a random person, then write a completely made-up story about them.
Here are 30 romance writing prompts:
- Write about how your character has gone through life believing that love is a choice. Their decision? To never get involved because love can only lead to pain and hardship. But after an argument with a stranger, their view of love, and life itself, is changed.
- Write a story about how marriage is just what happens when you’ve been with someone forever. For your main character, that seems obvious. But when they’re months away from their wedding and an old friend barges into their life unannounced, a wedding seems like the furthest thing from their desires.
- Write about a character who is up for a big promotion within their company. They’ve put everything on hold for it – including their love life. But when an outsider is hired instead, they lose it, focusing all their energy on bringing this newcomer down. They just didn’t think about the fact that they might end up liking them.
- Write a book about how a character and their significant other have been together since childhood. After a war between their people rips them away from each other, they’ll have to fight, manipulate, and fool in order to get each other back.
- Write about how a package is mailed to your main character. It’s filled with what seems like hundreds of letters all to a single person. Memories and confessions of love are penned within those letters. Your main character feels drawn to the person on the other end and sets out to find them – and the letter’s true destination.
- Write a story about how arranged marriages are the standard. In fact, nobody marries for love. Love doesn’t even exist in your character’s world. But when they’re drawn to someone who’s already spoken for, they start to question everything they know about love.
- Write about how your main character lives in a society of slavery. If you’re not born in a certain family, you’re shipped off and sold. When your character is sold for the 8th time in their short 20 years, then end up at one of the top houses – and become a personal servant to the next leader of their settlement. Soon, they’re enthralled in a romance that could get them both killed…because he’s already promised to another…a very dangerous other.
- Write a story about how cheating is wrong. Your character’s society puts emphasis on loyalty above anything else. In fact, cheating and betrayal of any kind in any relationship are punishable by life in prison (and even death in extreme cases). So why does something that’s been illegal for as long as they can remember feel so right when your character meets someone new? Avoiding jail just became the most difficult part of your character’s life.
- Write about how your character started going blind at the age of six. Fifteen years later, they meet someone who makes their life better in ways they couldn’t have imagined. Then they realize that they’ve actually met that person before.
- Your main character has seen the same person at the bus stop every day for what seems like over a year. They also bump into them frequently at coffee shops, grocery stores, and even restaurants. Finally, they decide to introduce themselves to the person who Fate seems to be pushing their way.
- It had been 10 years since your character last saw their biggest crush. How they both ended up in the same city away from their hometowns makes no sense to them. It’s got to be more than a coincidence, right?
- A waft of something flowery washes over your main character as they jog down the street. They turn and follow the scent to someone dancing in the middle of the street to no music while reading a book.
- Write a book. about how your character runs away from their tribe in the dead of night. After an injury leaves them exposed, an unlikely ally of a rivaling clan saves their life.
- Reading minds might seem like an advantage in the dating world. But when your character can hear every single thought someone has about them, it quickly reduces their chances at finding love.
- Write a. story about how a treehouse in the deep woods is your character’s favorite place to relax. But when they get interrupted by the weird kid at school, they have to set some ground rules for its use. Sharing a treehouse with the weirdo might just be the best thing they’ve ever done.
- Write about how it’s rare to find true love as a child. Your main character did – and they grew up to marry their childhood sweetheart. But after an unexpected death, your character is forced to live without their true love. Oh…and they have a one-year-old to take care of on top of it.
- Write a book about how your character waited two weeks for their date to call. What seemed like a perfect evening must’ve not been all that great for them. Then their date’s sibling called…to tell them they had died. But they did leave a few notes with your character’s name on them before it happened.
- Her brother’s friends are off limits. Her dad’s friends are off limits. She knows those rules. But when a new coworker of her dad’s enters the picture, she’ll have to find a way around her father’s rules.
- Write a story about how many memories of love and loss come to your character’s mind when they’re invited to an all-adult summer camp. They decide to go for it and spend 6 weeks in paradise with complete strangers.
- Write a romance story about how you don’t know unconditional love until you’ve ever felt it at your core. And once you do, you can never settle for anything less ever again.
- “Marry your best friend,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said. But when your best friend turns out to be the complete opposite of how you thought, a relationship can get tricky. Your character is on the lookout for a new best friend.
- Write a romance about how your character is basically a “starving artist,” an art student just barely getting by. Their roommate, another art student and your character’s crush, opens a gallery featuring breathtaking paintings of your character. It’s everything your character could want…and then they meet the person who pays thousands for their portrait. Now their roommate is hardly on their mind.
- In an ancient world, your character is getting ready for a life partner ceremony. Their partner – someone they’ve known their whole life – is already chosen and it’s time to secure the bond. But when someone your character has never met before steps up to challenge your supposed-to-be life partner, they’re forced to be with a stranger.
- Write about how two old bicycles are embedded in a tree – grown into it from years of being chained to it. Upon further inspection, your character finds a bottle in one of the baskets and in that bottle, a letter. They attempt to return the letter to its owner to find someone else entirely.
- Write a story about how in order to marry in your character’s society, suitors have to fight a person’s entire family for their hand. On the same day your character challenges their love’s family of 8, someone else challenges theirs – a family of only 3.
- “All’s fair in love and war.” Does this still ring true when your character is fighting a war for love ? Some say they’ll move mountains to get to the love of their life. Others will move kingdoms.
- Write a romance about how falling in love is dangerous – especially for your character, who must stay focused if they want to rule someday. But when their mother’s friend brings her daughter to their palace, their entire focus changes. If only she would notice your character.
- Write about what happens when your very particular character meets the least likely person to ever be a good match for them.
- Falling in love is never easy. It’s even more difficult, however, when you find out the person you’re head over heels for is a torturer. And worse…they enjoy it.
- Write about a character who decides to take a vacation for themselves to a secluded little town in order to figure out what to do with their life after college. Little did they know that this small town could house so much of what they’re really looking for in life – including a hottie with a less-than-favorable reputation.
How to Write Romance Even though romance is an extremely popular genre doesn’t mean you can be lazy when it comes to the actual romance and creative writing prompts isn’t always enough to help you develop a full-blown romance. People read romance to be invested, to feel something real. Consider these additional tips when writing romance: NEVER romanticize abuse as “love” (AKA, a jealous boyfriend should never be praised for “loving your character more” because this is harmful to readers) Create real chemistry by giving your characters qualities that would actually foster a connection Avoid “insta-love” by giving your characters time to bond and get to know each other Look out for serious romance cliches and overused plot lines like love triangles, forbidden romances (these can be great if done uniquely! ), and crazy exes Continuously up the stakes whenever the reader gets comfortable with the relationship
Horror and Thriller Writing Prompts
Because being terrified is entertaining to some people, horror and thriller books exist and are quite popular!
The great thing about this genre is that you can get really creative and really dark .
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Here are 30 horror and thriller writing prompts:
- Write a book about how your main character is home alone, just like most nights. This time, however, a new neighbor pays them a visit. And it wasn’t for the last time.
- Write a story about how eight murders have taken place in your character’s town in the past 8 weeks. Once a week, on the same day, at the same time. When your character gets abducted after being out past the town’s new curfew, they have only 48 hours to discover why this is happening and how to get free…all while being tortured by the murderer.
- Write a horror story about how it’s a day of celebration in your character’s hometown! A 100-year-old time capsule is about to be opened, so of course, they go, just like most of the town. When a deceased human hand with a sinister note attached to it is the only thing in the capsule, questions start to buzz. The first being, who is the person who wrote the note? Oddly enough, the note is written in your main character’s handwriting…with their signature…dated 82 years before they were even born.
- Write about how your main character suffers from a condition that gives them periodic blackouts for seemingly no reason. The only thing they can seem to remember from before each blackout is a bike. A red bike with a white basket and muddy tires. One day, they see that very bike leaning up against their house but this time, they don’t blackout.
- Write a thriller about how odd and unexplainable events are said to happen in a certain seaside town. Your main character takes it upon themselves to visit in an effort to see just how accurate the sightings are. What they find is beyond anything they imagined. But now they can’t seem to escape the town.
- Write a story about how your main character and a couple of friends take a boat trip to a tiny, vacant, off-limits island for a night of celebration. When the sun goes down, they realize just how occupied the island actually is…and there’s a reason it’s off-limits.
- Write a book about a character who’s in therapy because whenever they close their eyes at night, they see (very vividly) someone’s tragic death. Some say it’s just their twisted imagination, their new therapist thinks it is something much, much different…and dangerous.
- Write a story about how your main character gets into an accident. While they make a seemingly full recovery, something has just been off inside their head since the crash. When they wake up next to a mutilated body in an unrecognizable place, they start to worry.
- A new town, a new job, a new life. Your character moved away to start over and become someone they’ve always wanted to be. The problem? They just can’t seem to stop killing people.
- The lure of a mysterious person will never get old. Their dark hat, sly smirk, and inquisitive eyes pull your main character in…until they can’t get out.
- Write about a dare. That’s how it all started, like all those horror movies your main character loves. They venture into that basement from the outside with confidence…only to discover two kids and a decaying body chained up. Now they have to make sure they don’t get caught. The hidden camera on the basement stairs doesn’t help with that.
- Write a horror about how your character gets a new job in a restaurant as a waiter. The tight-knit family running the place welcomes them with open arms…and then invites them to take part in what really happens when they close at night.
- Your character’s significant other has always talked in their sleep; it’s nothing new. But when their voice changes and their words take a dark turn, your character can’t help but do some digging into why that is…and they don’t like what they find.
- Your character thinks they must be the last person left on Earth. After a devastating disease swept over the entire world, they wander aimlessly. Then they come across a town that seems unchanged, inhabiting seemingly normal people. They learn that’s far from the truth.
- Write about how after wandering into a brand-new book store, your character thoroughly enjoys the last few books they’ve read. When they go to buy another, the owner recommends a very specific book. They start reading only to realize it’s about that very town, 50 years earlier, about a book shop owner who preys on customers.
- Your character is walking home midday when they hear an usual sound coming from an ordinary house in the suburbs. They soon forget about it for the rest of the day. Then, when they’re falling asleep, they hear that same sound outside their window.
- A boot, a broken glass bottle, and a scuba diving mask show up on your character’s front lawn after a city-wide festival. Thinking nothing of it, they toss them in the garbage…only for them to reappear the next morning.
- Write a story involving a character who officially meets the person they’ve been bumping into all over town. After hitting it off, they go out on a date that ends very poorly for one of them.
- Write about how the painting that’s been in your character’s home for over 50 years starts screaming.
- They said not to visit the museum at night. They said strange things might happen. Your character never imagined just how much they should’ve listened.
- Your character’s best friend just got back from some intense rehab. They seem better than ever…until your character discovers their method of staying clean; a new addiction has taken its place.
- Write a thriller novel about how your character wakes up to a door slamming. They rush to their toddler’s room only for them to be missing. A single gardening glove is in their place on the bed.
- Your character’s mom is caught sneaking into their house in the middle of the night…a trail of mud patterning the floor in the shape of her heels. She’s in a trance and won’t answer to her name.
- Write about how your character gets up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and is alarmed to see their dad standing in the hallway. After shaking it off, they ask him what he’s doing. Without a word, his eyes start to bleed.
- Write a book about a character who’s known the neighbor across the street for years. But after witnessing them limping into their home, covered in something dark at 4 am, your character has questions. Getting close to them might be the only way to find out their secret.
- Write about how all the pictures of your character and their sister go missing from their home…one by one.
- Your character wakes up one morning and all the candles in their house are lit. They haven’t lit them for weeks.
- Witnessing someone’s descent into madness is something your character never thought they’d experience. It soon becomes increasingly clear that they might not witness it in its entirety.
- Write about how the school gym is filled. It’s a day of celebration. Your main character graduates today and when it’s their time to take the stage, a scream is released from someone in the stands.
- Write a horror book about how there have been attacks in your character’s town as of late. Instead of physical injury or even death…the victims are injected with heroin over and over and over until they’re completely addicted. Then they’re released.
How to Write Horror and Thriller Genre Scaring people so much so that they sweat while simply reading is a difficult task. You really have to focus on the structure of your writing in order to create that reaction. Here are a few tips for writing horror and thriller genre : Building anticipation will be your #1 focus Readers need to feel surprised and scared so dig deep and get twisted Plot twists are a must; never let your characters or readers see what’s coming Continuously up the stakes Focus on building deep sympathy for your character from the very beginning. This will make the stakes seem even higher and increase tension, just as Stephen King does in his infamous novel, IT, pictured below.
Human curiosity is what makes this genre so incredibly popular. We always want to figure out what happened. Mystery books are natural page-turners because we just aren’t satisfied until we find out what happened.
But that can be difficult to create from nothing.
Here are 30 mystery writing prompts:
- Write a mystery about how your character is 16 and just learned they were the last person to see their crush the night they were murdered. But when they come forward with these details, they become the new main suspect. They’re determined to solve their crushes murder or risk going to jail for something they didn’t do.
- Write a story about how recently, there’s been a number of abandoned cars scattered throughout the city. Nobody knows where they’re coming from and there’s not a single personal item in them. That is, until one is discovered with a freshly removed human scalp on the dashboard.
- Write about how for the past month, your character has received a number of disturbing and detailed drawings in their mailbox. After chalking it up to immature kid stunts, they try to forget about it. But when the drawings come to life in brutal, horrific ways, they’re the only person who knows of the drawings and therefore, knows what one will come next.
- Write about a character who gets a DNA test for fun – just to see where they really come from. After becoming obsessed with one little detail, they soon discover a number of their ancestors from all over the world were once located in a single, unpopulated place; a gathering of sorts.
- Write a mystery about how your character’s spouse nearly falls through the door, beaten nearly to requiring hospitalization. When an unknown but distinct brand marking is discovered between their shoulder blades, your character has to find out who they are and why they did it.
- Write about a single member of each noble family who has been murdered every week for the past two months. Your character is of a very noble household and can barely sleep each night. So they decide to find out who is responsible.
- Write a story about a character whose religion has a talisman as old as the religion itself. After it goes missing, all fingers point to the chief’s oldest child of 19 years, engaged to the healer’s oldest child. But they never could’ve done it. They were (romantically involved) with your main character when the theft occurred.
- Write about how your main character wakes up every morning feeling as though they didn’t get more than a couple of hours of sleep. After sleep studies, medications, and trying everything available, nothing seems to work. They decide to videotape a night of sleep to determine if maybe they’re sleepwalking. Turns out, they are. Except they seem completely conscious. In fact, in the video, they approach the camera, smirk, and walk away with a wave before disappearing for nearly the entire night.
- Write about how your main character is a key witness for a murder case. Video footage of them at the scene during the murder shows that clearly. The only problem? They can’t remember anything from that night.
- Write a story about a character living in an average sized town. As of late, a very large number of people have been going missing. They leave no trace. There’s nothing connecting them. It’s as if they all vanish in the middle of the day.
- Two years after your character’s significant other goes missing, presumed dead, they start getting messages that could only be from them.
- Your character is going about their normal day when suddenly, a low sound blares outside and doesn’t stop. For weeks. Nobody knows what’s causing it.
- During a follow-up set of interviews, your character conducts around a certain mob member, long thought to have put an end to that very mob, they find out that the mob member has been lying – for 30 years…about everything.
- Write about how, to make some extra money, your character puts their spare room on Airbnb. The first few people seem fine and the extra income is great. Then someone comes to stay for a week and very… odd events keep taking place in that room.
- Your character is a professional photographer. When processing images from a recent event, they notice a single person on the outskirts of every photo …and it’s not a coincidence.
- Your character opens an old sketchbook to try their hand at it again after years of being too busy with their corporate job. When they open it, their half-finished pieces are completed…and it wasn’t their doing.
- All the plants in and around houses in your character’s town are dying even though all other foliage is left untouched. It started happening after the last meteor shower.
- In your character’s world, crime is nonexistent. Everyone lives in harmony with each other. That’s why the murdered child found in the street sets the town into complete and utter chaos.
- Write a mystery about how when the Internet was first invented, warnings of sharing your personal information were everywhere. Now your character knows why. Cyber information is being used to frame innocents in extreme crime cases.
- Write a book about how a crack in the window was all the thief needed to secure the right position that allowed them access to the town’s most famous piece of history. Your character is the one who was supposed to keep it safe.
- Your character’s people believe a certain boulder is sacred. It’s the heart of their civilization and religion. One day the town wakes to find it pulverized, reduced to nothing but dust and sand.
- Write about how there’s a house at a dead end that’s not abandoned, but hardly anyone has even caught sight of who lives there. Your character decides to pay them a visit and discovers why nobody has seen them.
- Your character is introduced to someone that seems perfect for them. After digging into their past, a string of crimes has followed them but your character can’t necessarily prove it was them. So they decide to ask about them.
- Someone left their bag on the bus. Your character, being the good person they naturally are, grabs it and rushes after the person. They never turn around and your character is left with a bag full disturbing ransom notes.
- All the statues in your character’s entire town go missing. They were carefully removed from building, monuments, and schools. Nobody knows how or where they are now.
- Write about how your character moves to a new town with hopes of finally settling into real adult life. But they soon realize that nobody remembers who they are day after day, despite making very clear and memorable introductions.
- The leaves on all the trees have turned black but refuse to fall off the branches. It’s the middle of spring.
- A number of dead bodies are uncovered when your character decides to participate in the upkeep of the city’s public garden. No wonder the food has been so great – it’s been freshly fertilized.
- Write a story about how your character wakes up to a little girl’s screams outside. They rush to her but she’s not hurt. She just has no idea who she is, where she’s from, or how she got there.
- Write about how your character receives a number of letters in the mail to a name they don’t recognize. After weeks of letters piling up, they finally decide to read one. The first letter contains nothing more than a set of coordinates…so do the rest.
How to Write Mystery Mystery is a very difficult genre to write. You have to ensure that you don’t give away too much information so the readers don’t figure it out. These are some of our tips for writing a mystery novel: Make readers think they know what will happen by planting false foreshadowing along with real hints Make the antagonist very likable Juxtapose tense scenes with mellow ones to increase tension Keep the story moving forward always
Reddit is home to many different things—including writing prompts that you’d never find anywhere else.
Oftentimes, people go ahead and create threads expanding on writing prompts they read.
Here Are 15 of the Best Reddit Writing Prompts:
#1 – “You have a machine that tells you the effect of an action you are thinking about making, but you can only activate/use it once.”
#2 – “Well…you never asked.”
#3 – And to top it all off, they give you a medal for it.
#4 – Every Christmas, Santa delivers gifts to the children who have been ‘nice’. But there’s a lesser-known brother Santa who every five years takes gifts away from children who have been ‘naughty’ even once. You just don’t know when…
#5 – You are casually walking down a deserted road when you fall into an open manhole.
#6 – You weren’t sure which was real.
#7 – People thought society would be better if we killed the worst 1% every year. Today is the hundredth anniversary, and the notion of the “worst” is getting really tricky.
#8 – Absolutely everything that makes you uncomfortable is beneficial for you. Weakened viruses train your immune system, small muscle tears make you stronger…and small bullets make you more resistant to larger bullets. Turns out, the government is awfully interested in your unusual ability.
#9 – Before you, the villain holds your sidekick and love interest over a cliff, taunting you to choose one to save. You take one (1) second to think about it. You then shoot them both, to the shock and horror of your archenemisis.
#10 – You’re a man/woman happily married with kids but in severe financial difficulty. A genie gives you the chance to irreversibly rewind time back to the date of your tenth birthday and you accept, hoping to make your current life better with the knowledge you have…
#11 – Every time you die, you are reincarnated into a new body. Unfortunately, the first few times, you failed to act as a normal child after being reborn. You are now a known factor for world powers, crazy nutjobs, major religions, and people who would give anything for the immortality you possess.
#12 – You have a name in your contacts that isn’t in any language you know, you delete it but the next day the number appears again. And that’s when life becomes a little weirder.
#13 – You get to heaven only to find that the judgement is entirely based on how many promises you’ve broken.
#14 – Before you became apprentice, nobody told you learning a new spell is the easiest part of your studies. The real challenge is learning to survive the diverse and alien consequences of casting a spell.
#15 – A war-thirsty species is finally defeated after rampaging through the galaxy for decades, and their remains are exiled to a far away and dangerous planet. Everyone panics when, millennia later, Humanity comes out of that planet asking where is everybody.
Non-Fiction Writing Prompts
I bet I know you.
You’re the type of person who has dreamed of writing a book for however many years, only held back by the lack of ideas – or good ideas, rather.
Or maybe you’re the type who has tons of ideas but aren’t sure if they’re worth pursuing .
It’s hard. I get it. A book is a big commitment and one you might actually want to go through with. But without having a clear idea of what to write about , that dream can seem too far out of reach.
But I’m telling you, it’s not.
In fact, using writing prompts can help you free your mind from its current constraints so you can explore ideas you might not have otherwise thought of yourself – in addition to a number of other benefits.
It’s one thing to use a writing prompt, it’s another to ensure that idea is actually a good one.
If you’re writing a nonfiction book , we have great ideas for you to focus on.
While reading these, note which ones cause you to pause and think – if only for a moment longer than the rest.
Those are the ideas to ponder and create a mind map for.
Here are a few writing prompts for a number of different broader categories that have proven to be prosperous.
Writing Prompts about Morals and Values
This is one of the top book ideas right now. Writing about your personal beliefs, how you came to them, and how they steer your life is something almost everyone can relate to.
And in a time where morality is being questioned time and time again by the media, it’s the best time to write on this topic.
Here are 25 Writing Prompts about Morals and Values :
- Write about a time when you were wrong and didn’t realize it for maybe years.
- Consider morals and how one discovers what truly matters to them.
- Portray the biggest value in your life.
- Dissect the biggest problems in the world and how it impacts us every day.
- Write about hidden problems in the world nobody is paying attention to.
- Consider a time your morals were compromised and how it affected your life.
- Write about a time your values were challenged and you had to face it.
- Compare and the difference between a value and a moral.
- Weigh societal values that actually negatively impact our lives.
- Write about morals that have inadvertently negative impacts.
- Spotlight an inner struggle between what’s morally right and what feels right.
- Write about how to find what you value in life.
- Write about what life would look life if morals were not in place.
- Present ideas of values affecting your morals in life.
- Expose popular moral dilemmas in the world.
- Write about how morals and values differ within different cultures and regions.
- Conflict arising from out a time when you had to debate morals and values.
- Write about your idea of the best combination of morals and values.
- Conflict you once endured because of mismatched morals.
- Overcome doubting your morals and beliefs.
- Write about how morals and values shape happiness in life.
- The importance of matching morals and values in relationships.
- Write about how to share your morals with others.
- Open discussion on ways in which one can develop new morals and values.
- Write about how our morals and values change as we grow up.
Tips for Expanding on these Morals and Values: Be honest but don’t force your ideas on someone else Use research and facts to back up your statements Give real-life accounts of your experiences Avoid adopting a “know-it-all” voice
Writing Prompts about Health and Wellness
This is another book topic that has seen a rise in sales and engagement over the past few years. Society is starting to focus on health and well-being more so than many other important life ventures and now is the time to write about it!
Here are 25 Health and Wellness Writing Prompts:
- Your struggle with an addiction of some kind and how you overcame it.
- Write a book about your journey to become healthy.
- What being healthy inside and out means to you.
- How others can overcome unhealthy habits.
- Create a book about the importance of mental health and wellness.
- Write about how to form healthy habits.
- How to find the best exercise type for your needs.
- A book about the idea of self-care and what it means to you.
- How to find health through personal reflection.
- Write about the technicalities of being “healthy.”
- The different ways in which someone can find health and wellness.
- How others can affect your health.
- Write about the impact of mental health on your physical health.
- A specific form of exercise you’ve grown to love and why.
- What it means to have overall life wellness.
- The impact of who you surround yourself with on your mental health.
- How learning can impact your health.
- Dietary needs and how they affect your mental health.
- Write about how to break unhealthy habits that drag you down.
- How negativity can greatly impact your health.
- Write about your ideal health and wellness system for long-term success.
- A time when you had to overcome super unhealthy ways.
- What you’ve learned about yourself through pursuing wellness.
- How professional athletes approach health and wellness.
- Societal standards of health and wellness.
Tips for Expanding on Health and Wellness Writing Prompts: Always use facts and research with something as sensitive as health Talk about what has worked for you personally and why Feature advice from experts in the field Include actionable steps others can learn from
Writing Prompts about Love and Relationships
This can be a tricky topic to write about because love is different for everyone.
Each relationship has different needs and trying to tell someone what their relationship needs can often cause issues if it’s not actually what their specific relationship can benefit from.
That being said, keeping your message broad enough to impact a lot of people while also hitting specific key points can make it easier.
Here are 25 Relationships and Love Writing Prompts:
- Tell a story about how you see love.
- Write about what’s most important in a relationship.
- How to enjoy your relationship in every phase of life.
- Your idea of a successful relationship.
- What it really takes to have a successful relationship.
- Write about how your friendships play a part in your relationships.
- How self-doubt can affect your search for love.
- Write about how to love someone else in a way they need.
- How to find what you truly enjoy in a life partner.
- Becoming open-minded in your pursuit of love.
- The importance of loving yourself before loving someone else.
- Your journey to find love and what it’s meant for you.
- Write about a time you thought you found love but were very wrong.
- How finding love has changed the way you care for others.
- How to develop healthy and nurturing relationships.
- Friendships and how they play a role in your happiness.
- Creating relationships that lift you up and not drag you down.
- Write about what it means to truly love unconditionally.
- How intimacy can help your self-esteem.
- Ways in which you can improve your sex life.
- Write about ways in which you can improve your romantic relationship.
- Ways in which you can improve your platonic relationships.
- Loving yourself and what that fully means.
- Building strong relationship foundations in a family.
- Write about how to communicate in relationships.
Tips for Expanding on Relationship and Love Writing Prompts: Never assume every single person loves and wants love the same way Tell personal, real-life stories to build relatability Keep your advice open-ended and always encourage communication
Writing Prompts about Childhood and Family
We all had a childhood and we all have a family – even if we’ve decided to adopt friends to be a part of our family.
That means everyone can relate to being a child and having a family.
That being said, it’s hard to decide on which direction you can take when writing about your childhood or family.
Here are 25 Writing Prompts About Childhood and Family :
- Write to your parents about all they’ve taught you about life, love, and happiness.
- Family about what they mean to you.
- Parenthood and how it’s changed you.
- Your parents and what they taught you.
- What your parents didn’t teach you and how it affected your life.
- Write about how not having parents impacted your life.
- Your childhood and how it shaped you.
- Write about what the definition of family truly means to you.
- Finding family in the least expected places.
- Discovering who you are within your family.
- The lessons you didn’t realize you learned as a child.
- How your childhood friends affected your adult life.
- Whether or not your family can truly impact who you are as an adult.
- How to have healthy communication in your family.
- Trials and tribulations of a blended family.
- Your journey as an adopted child.
- Write about whether or not emotional closeness with family affects your life.
- Your vision as a child and whether or not you lived up to it.
- Write about childhood pains that have followed you into adulthood.
- How to let go of a crappy childhood to find happiness as an adult.
- How your family doesn’t define you.
- Write about letting go of toxic family members to find happiness.
- How you’d change your childhood if given the chance.
- The journey of parenting and what it’s taught you about yourself.
- Write about how to make your own family when you can’t rely on your own.
Tips for Expanding on Childhood and Family Writing Prompts: Family can be a sensitive subject so avoid hard “facts” about “all” families Make sure to include details about differences Tell stories others can easily relate to at the beginning
Writing Prompts about Happiness
Happiness is very subjective. We all have very different ideas about what true happiness is and how it comes about.
What you have to remember, though, is that everybody wants to be happy .
Here are 26 Writing Prompts about Happiness:
- Write about the idea of wants versus needs in life.
- Work and finding happiness in your career.
- Not being happy in your career and how to conquer it.
- Write about finding success in your career.
- Finding success in every aspect of your life.
- Building a successful love life, family life, and career.
- Write about balancing a career and family life.
- Being open-minded in life.
- Write about what rewards you can reap from being kind.
- What you can gain from being open-minded in every aspect of life.
- Goals in life and how to accomplish them.
- What living a happy life is defined as according to you.
- Write about a time you had very little happiness and how you found it again.
- The ups and downs of life and how to get through them.
- What truly contributes to happiness in life.
- Write about the true measures of happiness in life.
- How success ties into happiness and how to define them separately.
- The difference between how you view happiness now versus when you were a kid.
- The biggest life lessons one can learn through finding happiness.
- What people should focus on instead of happiness in life.
- The difference between self-fulfillment and happiness.
- The biggest problem in today’s society revolving around happiness.
- The idea of NOT looking for happiness in order to find it.
- How self-reflection can increase happiness.
- What you expected happiness to be versus how it truly is.
- How to include the people in your life when finding happiness.
Tips for expanding on these writing prompts: Remember that your happiness is not what makes everyone else happy Focus on helping others find what makes them happy Talk about times you were unhappy frequently to drive the point home
Writing Prompts about Self-Esteem and Confidence
No matter who you are, you’ll experience moments of self-doubt and a lack of confidence.
Yes, even Beyonce has felt down about herself occasionally (though probably not often!).
The point is, writing about a lack of self-esteem and how to gain it is something everyone has experienced and therefore, everyone can relate to.
Here are 25 writing Prompts about Confidence :
- Write about accepting who you truly are and how it can change your life.
- How to ignore societal expectations when they clash with who you are.
- How to change your overall outlook to be more positive.
- What it’s like to go from disliking yourself to truly loving yourself.
- Write about what it truly means to have complete confidence in yourself.
- How to conquer inner demons in order to love yourself.
- Your journey to accepting your flaws and seeing them as strengths.
- Daily habits that will lead to overall confidence.
- How bettering your health can increase the way you view yourself.
- Write about how physical appearance actually has little to do with confidence.
- How journaling can relieve negative thoughts about yourself.
- Write about your journey with therapy and the quest to gain confidence.
- Alternative methods one can use to gain confidence.
- How using certain essential oils daily can help with your mood and self-esteem.
- Write about the internal effects of a negative opinion of yourself.
- Create a workbook dedicated to making someone feel positive about themselves.
- The negative impact toxic friends/family have on your self-esteem.
- How toxic relationships can alter your self-esteem for the worse.
- Write about how to overcome a learned toxic thought-process when thinking about yourself.
- How to introduce self-love into your life.
- The difference your life can have if you have self-confidence.
- Struggling with self-esteem and how it can affect relationships.
- How to know if you actually do love yourself or not.
- Write about how to use your passions to increase your confidence.
- How to help someone else learn to how themselves.
Tips for Expanding on these Writing Prompts: Be honest, real, and raw when writing about your experiences Offer different solutions even if they didn’t work for you personally Interview a psychology expert in order to further the book’s credibility
Faith-Based Writing Prompts
Faith writing is a very personal journey for people. Whether you’ve been a lifelong believer or have recently stumbled into something that has changed your life, others have been there.
And they’ll want to read about it.
Here are 25 writing prompts about faith:
- Write about your faith and how you discovered its meaning.
- How your faith changed your life.
- How you learned to love yourself through your faith.
- Your journey from not having any faith to where you are now.
- A message to anybody who doesn’t think they have something to believe in.
- Write a book to the person who helped you discover your faith.
- How your faith shapes your family.
- Write about overcoming questioning your faith.
- Unexpected realities of having strong faith.
- How your faith can steer your career and life.
- How much others can gain from pursuing faith.
- Your own struggles with faith and how you maneuvered them.
- Juggling faith, family, friends, and love.
- Write about how school impacted your faith negatively or positively.
- Common struggles with faith and how to overcome them.
- Write a memoir about your life’s journey to accepting faith.
- Write about being part of a family with split faith
- Friends or family not understanding your faith.
- How there’s more to life than JUST your faith and how to avoid blinding yourself to it.
- Different faiths and how to separate differences.
- What faith means to you and how you express it daily.
- How-to guide for finding something to believe in.
- Write a guide for how to discover what’s truly meaningful to you with your faith.
- How faith can give you a whole new family and a sense of belonging.
- The differences in your life since believing in something bigger than you.
Tips for expanding on faith-based writing prompts: This is a great time to be open and specific about your beliefs Avoid shaming others in an attempt to get your message across Tell deeply personal stories so others can relate
Writing Prompts about Personal Journeys
Everyone has a personal journey. No matter what you’ve been through, there is a lesson hidden within it.
You can use these creative writing prompts to not only discover more about yourself, but perhaps light the way for others to see and understand as well.
Here are 25 writing prompts about personal journey:
- Write about a moment in your life that changed the way you saw the world.
- Don’t censor yourself and write about what you believe the meaning of life is.
- Biggest struggle you’ve faced in life.
- Your journey to finding yourself and all you’ve learned.
- Life lessons you believe everyone should learn.
- How you got to where you are in life and where you’ll go from here.
- A tragedy you, unfortunately, lived through and how it has shaped you.
- An internal struggle of yours and how you were able to solve it.
- Your pet/s and what they mean to you.
- How you were able to accomplish so much by a young age.
- Your life and what lessons you learned that others should know.
- What you’ve gained from networking throughout your life.
- Your top life values and how they contribute to happiness and success.
- Learning to live with something difficult or painful every day.
- Write a memoir about your unique life.
- A story to your younger self about life, love, and happiness.
- Write about conflict in your life and how you managed to get through it.
- Your life’s expectations versus its reality.
- Art and how it can show you a lot about yourself.
- A time when you thought all was lost.
- Looking for the light in life instead of succumbing to darkness.
- Your journey to understand what it means to truly be alive.
- Write about how to conquer toxic desires.
- Your journey through sports and how they shaped you.
- Write about your journey to write and publish a book 🙂
Tips for expanding on personal journey writing prompts: Don’t censor yourself Talk to a therapist or psychologist to better understand your own journey Bring your real-life experiences into play
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End of Personal and Feelings Creative Writing Prompts
6. Famous People Creative Writing Prompts and Journal Ideas
- Who is a person that is alive today that you would most like to meet and talk to? Why? What would you like to ask this person?
- Who is a person from history that you would most like to meet and talk to? Why? What would you like to ask this famous person?
- If you could change places with anyone, who would it be and why?
- What TV or movie star would you like to invite to your birthday party?
- If you could take 3 famous people with you on a trip around the world, who would you take and why?
- Pretend that you won a contest to go on a concert tour with your favorite music singer. Write a story about your adventure.
- You have won a contest to go out to dinner with your favorite movie star. Which movie star will you select and which restaurant will you choose?
- Imagine that you are a talk-show host and getting ready to interview a famous person. Prepare for the interview by writing some questions that will help you learn useful and interesting information about your guest.
End of Famous People Creative Writing Prompts
7. Animals Creative Writing Prompts and Journal Ideas
- What kind of pet would you most like to have? Why? What responsibilities would you have in order to take care of this pet?
- What kind of pet do you have? Describe this pet. If you don't have any, what kind of pet would you like to have?
- Write a description on an extinct species and what would have happened if it were still alive.
- If you were an animal, what kind would you be and why?
- Invent a new animal. Describe what it looks like, what it sounds like, how it moves, and what it eats.
- If you were stranded on a deserted island and could take one animal to accompany you, what animal would you take with you?
- What would happen if you could talk to animals? What would you ask them?
- What would it be like to have a pet dinosaur?
- What would it be like if you were a bird and you could fly?
- What if cows gave root beer instead of milk?
- What would happen if it really did rain cats and dogs?
End of Animals Creative Writing Prompts
8. Create or Invent Creative Writing Prompts and Journal Ideas
- Think about an invention that you'd like to have or make. Write about what this new device would do and why you'd like to use it.
- If you could create a new T.V. show, what would it be about?
- You have been chosen to create a movie based on your favorite book. Which book would you choose? Which actors would you choose to play the lead roles?
- You've designed a new video game for kids. What is it like?
- If you could create your own website on any topic at all, what would it be? Write about why you chose this topic, what the website would contain, and who else you think might be interested in going to your site.
- If you could open a business of your own, what kind of business would it be?
- If you could build the world's greatest playground, what would be in it?
- Create an imaginary country and describe its rivers, mountains, exports, customs, holidays, money, climate, history, and politics.
- You have invented a time machine. Which time in the past will you visit first?
- Create a new planet. Describe the important features of the landscape, what the climate is like, and if there are any life forms on this planet.
- Create a new holiday. What would this holiday celebrate? How would you celebrate it? Would there be any special food or symbols for your holiday?
- Invent a new animal and describe what it looks like, what it sounds like, how it moves, and what it eats.
- Sometimes we eat something that we think tastes disgusting. Think of a food that you do not like and create a new recipe for it that you think would improve the flavor of it.
- Create a new car for the future. What special features would this car have that cars do not have today?
End of Create or Invent Creative Writing Prompts
9. What If... Things That Could Possibly Happen: Creative Writing Prompts and Journal Ideas
- What would you do if you won the lottery?
- What would you do if you had a million dollars to donate to a person or a charity?
- What would happen if you found gold in your backyard?
- Describe a "fantasy" day in your life. If you could design a whole day to do anything and everything you wanted, what would you choose to do?
- If you could take lessons to learn how to do something new, what would you choose to learn?
- If you could learn to speak a new language fluently, which language would you choose and why?
- When you get to school, there's a sign on the door stating, "School is Closed." What would you want during this day?
- If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
- What would you do if you woke up in another country and no one could understand you?
- If you were stranded on a deserted island and could send out one message in a bottle, what would you write in your message?
- If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island and could take three items with you, what three items would you take and why?
- What would you do if you were the President?
- What would happen if there were no television? Why would this be good or bad? Why?
- If you could be a new character on your favorite T.V. show, who would you be?
- Describe your favorite T.V. show and your new role in it.
- If you could participate in an Olympic event, which event would you choose and why?
- If you could break the Guiness Book of Records, what would it would be for?
- Imagine that there were no telephones, cell phones, or computers. Write about the different ways that you would communicate with people in different places.
End of What If Creative Writing Prompts
10. What If... Using Your Imagination Creative Writing Prompts and Journal Ideas
- If you could choose one superpower to have for a day, which superpower would you select? Describe your day as a superhero.
- What would happen if you could fly whenever you wanted? When would you use this ability?
- What would you do if you were the tallest person in the world?
- What would you do if you were one inch tall?
- What would happen if one morning you woke up and realized that you were invisible? Describe what happens.
- What would you do if you found a magic carpet?
- What would you do if you found a magic wand?
- A flying saucer has been sighted over your town.
- Aliens have abducted you as you were walking to school. Write a letter to your best friend on Earth telling him or her about this experience.
- If you could make it rain anything except water, what would it rain? How would this rain affect people and the environment?
- If you had a robot, how would the robot help you with your daily life?
- If you could talk with Mother Nature, what questions would you ask her?
- Describe an imaginary place that you'd like to visit.
- If I could visit any planet in the solar system, I would go to...
- Describe what it would be like if you lived on the moon.
- What would happen if everyone lived in space? What type of houses would they live in? What type of clothing would they wear? What type of food would they eat? How would they travel?
- What if all the streets were rivers? What would be different?
- One morning you wake up and look out the window and discover that a huge castle has appeared next door overnight.
End of Using Your Imagination Creative Writing Prompts
11. Story Starters Creative Writing Prompts and Journal Ideas
- Why do zebras have stripes?
- This was the strangest zoo in the world ...
- Newsflash: A _____ has escaped from the zoo!
- I woke up and found a dinosaur in my back yard.
- As I was walking through the forest, I stumbled upon a gigantic egg.
- On my Africa safari, I suddenly came upon some poachers with a gun and they were about to shoot a ...
- You don't normally see a ____ (animal) in/at a _____ (place)!
- Something brushed up against my foot and my surprise turned to horror as I looked down and saw ...
- Dear Teacher, I couldn't do my homework last night because ... (create an idea that a teacher has likely never heard of before)
- The championship game was tied and there was one minute left in the game. I was suddenly passed the ball and ...
- I had made it to the semifinals of American Idol and tonight ...
- My dream came true and I was finally going to ...
- Today I am attempting to break the world record for ...
- I woke up, and could not remember my name or where I was. Then ...
- It was an ordinary day, except for ...
- It was obviously going to be an unusual day when my mom came into my bedroom and said ...
- I opened my closet door, walked in, and suddenly I was in ...
- My bed moved and I looked under my bed and saw ...
- Late one night there was a knock on my front door ...
- The elevator stopped suddenly, and I was stuck inside the elevator with ...
- Everyone avoided the big old mansion. It was believed to have ...
- It was not the birthday gift I was expecting.
- As I looked in the mirror, I saw my hair turn ...
- It happened so quickly I had no time to think, only react.
- I was not expecting what was waiting for me just as I rounded the corner.
- This was the worst place imaginable to run out of gas in my car!
- My life as a pirate ...
- My scuba diving adventure ...
- My magical roller blades take me on exciting adventures.
- I was the lead detective on a very difficult case to solve.
- Moving to Antarctica ...
- Inside the ancient Egyptian pyramid I discovered ...
- After the king gave his orders, we all picked up our helmets, swords, and shields.
- While sailing with Ponce De Leon, I helped him find the Fountain of Youth.
- 5 ...4 ...3 ...2 ...1 ...BLAST OFF!
End of Story Starters Creative Writing Prompts
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Choose Your Test
Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 105 creative writing prompts to try out.
General Education
The most common advice out there for being a writer is, "if you want to write, write." While this is true (and good advice), it's not always that easy, particularly if you're not writing regularly.
Whether you're looking for help getting started on your next project, or just want to spend 20 minutes being creative, writing prompts are great ways to rev up your imagination. Read on for our list of over 100 creative writing prompts!
feature image credit: r. nial bradshaw /Flickr
10 Short Writing Prompts
If you're looking for a quick boost to get yourself going, these 10 short writing prompts will do the trick.
#1 : Write a scene starting with a regular family ritual that goes awry.
#2 : Describe exactly what you see/smell/hear/etc, right now. Include objects, people, and anything else in your immediate environment.
#3 : Suggest eight possible ways to get a ping pong ball out of a vertical pipe.
#4 : A shoe falls out of the sky. Justify why.
#5 : If your brain were a tangible, physical place, what would it be like?
#6 : Begin your writing with the phrase, "The stage was set."
#7 : You have been asked to write a history of "The Summer of [this past year]." Your publisher wants a table of contents. What events will you submit?
#8 : Write a sympathetic story from the point of view of the "bad guy." (Think fractured fairy tales like Wicked or The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! , although the story doesn't have to be a fairy tale.)
#9 : Look at everyday objects in a new way and write about the stories one of these objects contains.
#10 : One person meets a stranger on a mode of transportation. Write the story that ensues.
11 Writing Prompts for Kids
Any of these prompts can be used by writers of any age, but we chose the following 11 prompts as ones that would be particularly fun for kids to write about. (Most of them I used myself as a young writer, so I can vouch for their working!)
#1 : Include something falling in your writing.
#2 : Write a short poem (or story) with the title, "We don't know when it will be fixed."
#3 : Write from the perspective of someone of a different gender than you.
#4 : Write a dumb internet quiz.
#5 : Finish this thought: "A perfect day in my imagination begins like this:"
#6 : Write a character's inner monologue (what they are thinking as they go about their day).
#7 : Think of a character. Write a paragraph each about:
- An important childhood experience that character had.
- The character's living situation.
- Two hobbies or things the character likes to do.
- The room where the character sleeps.
- An ambition of the character.
- Two physical characteristics of the character.
- What happens when a second person and this character meet.
- Two important defining personal traits of this character.
#8 : Start a story with a quote from a song.
#9 : Begin a story with, "It was the summer of ______ when ______"
#10 : Pretend everyday objects have no names. Think about what you would name them based on what they do, what you can use them for, and what they look like.
#11 : Start a story with the phrases "My grandparents are/were," "My parents are/were," or "My mother/father/parent is/was."
15 Cool Writing Prompts
#1 : List five issues that you're passionate about. Write about them from the opposite point of view (or from the perspective of a character with the opposite point of view).
#2 : Walk around and write down a phrase you hear (or read). Make a story out of it.
#3 : Write using no adjectives or adverbs.
#4 : Write a character's inner dialogue between different aspects of a character's self (rather than an inner monologue).
#5 : Write a true story from your past that involves light or darkness in some way.
#6 : "Saying goodbye awakens us to the true nature of things." Write something in which someone has to say goodbye and has a realization.
#7 : Begin by writing the end of the story.
#8 : Write a recipe for an intangible thing.
#9 : Write a horror story about an ordinary situation (e.g., buying groceries, going to the bank, listening to music).
#10 : Write a story from within a bubble.
#11 : Write down 2-3 short character descriptions and then write the characters in conversation with one another.
#12 : Write a story in second person.
#13 : Write a story that keeps contradicting itself.
#14 : Write about a character with at least three big problems.
#15 : Write something that takes place on a Friday, the 13th (of any month).
15 Funny Writing Prompts
#1 : Write a story which starts with someone eating a pickle and potato sandwich.
#2 : Write a short script where the plot has to do with evil dolls trying to take over something.
#3 : Write about writers' block.
#4 : List five election issues that would be ridiculous to includes as part of your election platform (e.g. outlawing mechanical pencils and clicky pens, mandating every person over the age of 30 must own an emergency last rites kit). Choose one of the ridiculous issues and write a speech in favor of it.
#5 : Write a children's story that is insanely inappropriate but can't use graphic language, curses, or violence.
#6 : List five careers. Write about someone with one of those careers who wants to quit it.
#7 : Write down a list of murder methods. Choose one at random from the list to use in a story.
#8 : Write a romance story in which the hero must have a last name corresponding with a physical characteristic (e.g. Jacques Hairyback or Flora Dimple).
#9 : Come up with 10 different ways to:
- order a pizza
- congratulate someone on a job well done
- return to the store something that's broken
#10 : Search for "random Renaissance painting" (or any other inspirational image search text you can think of) on any online internet image search engine. Picking one image, write half a page each of:
- Statements about this image (e.g. "I meant bring me the BREAD of John the Baptist").
- Questions about this image (e.g. "How many of those cherubs look like their necks are broken?").
- Explanations of this image (e.g. "The painter ran out of blue paint halfway through and had to improvise for the color of the sky").
- Commands said by people in this image or about this image (e.g. "Stop telling me to smile!" or "Bring me some gasoline!").
#11 : Write starting with a word that sounds like "chute" (e.g. "chute," "shoot," "shooed").
#12 : Write about a character named X "The [article of clothing]" Y (e.g. Julie "The Yellow Darted Skirt" Whyte) or simply referred to by their clothing (e.g. "the man in the brown suit" or "the woman in black").
#13 : Write down a paragraph each describing two wildly different settings. Write a story involving both settings.
#14 : Think of a fictional holiday based around some natural event (e.g. the Earth being at its farthest point from the sun, in memory of a volcanic eruption, that time a cloud looked like a rabbit riding a bicycle). Write about how this holiday is celebrated.
#15 : Write a "Just-So" type story about a fictional creature (e.g. "how the dragon got its firebreath" or "how the mudkip got its cheek gills").
54 Other Writing Prompt Ideas
#1 : Borrow a character from some other form of media (or create your own). Write from that character's perspective.
#2 : Write for and against a non-consequential controversy (e.g., salt vs. pepper, Mac vs. PC, best kind of door).
#3 : Choose an ancestor or a person from the past to write about or to.
#4 : Write a pirate story with a twist.
#5 : Have a character talk about another character and their feelings about that other character.
#6 : Pick a season and think about an event in your life that occurred in that season. Write a creative nonfiction piece about that event and that season.
#7 : Think of something very complicated and long. Write a page about it using short sentences.
#8 : Write a story as a dream.
#9 : Describe around a food without ever directly naming it.
#10 : Write a monologue (one character, talking to the audience/reader) (*not* an inner monologue).
#11 : Begin a story with the phrase, "It only took five seconds to..."
#12 : List five strong emotions. Choosing one, write about a character experiencing that emotion, but only use the character's actions to convey how they are feeling (no outright statements).
#13 : Write a chapter of the memoir of your life.
#14 : Look through the (physical) things you're currently carrying with you or wearing. Write about the memories or emotions tied with each of them.
#15 : Go be in nature. Write drawing your story from your surroundings (both physical, social, and mental/emotional).
#16 : Write from the perspective of a bubble (or bubble-like creature).
#17 : A person is jogging along an asphalt road. Write a story.
#18 : Title your story (or poem, or play, etc) "Anti-_____". Fill in the blank and write the story.
#19 : Write something that must include an animal, a mineral, and a vegetable.
#20 : Begin your writing with the phrase, "6 weeks later..."
#21 : List 5-10 office jobs. Pick one of them and describe a person working in that job as if you were a commentator on an Olympic sporting event.
#22 : Practice your poetic imagery: overwrite a description of a character's breakfast routine.
#23 : Write about a character (or group of characters) trying to convince another character to try something they're scared of.
#24 : Keep an eye out in your environment for examples of greengrocer's apostrophes and rogue quotation marks. Pick an example and write about what the misplaced punctuation implies (e.g., we have the "best" meat or we have the best "meat" ).
#25 : Fill in the blank with the first word that comes to mind: "_______ Riot!" Write a newspaper-style article describing the events that that took place.
#26 : Write from the point of view of your most-loved possession. What does it think of you?
#27 : Think of five common sayings (e.g., "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"). Write a horror story whose plot is one of those common sayings.
#28 : Write a scene in which two characters are finally hashing out a long-standing misunderstanding or disagreement.
#29 : You start receiving text messages from an unknown number. Tell the story of what happens next.
#30 : Write one character bragging to another about the story behind their new tattoo.
#31 : Superheroes save the world...but they also leave a lot of destruction in their wake. Write about a normal person in a superhero's world.
#32 : Sometimes, family is who we are related to; sometimes, family is a group of people we gather around ourselves. Write a story about (some of) a character's found family and relatives meeting for the first time.
#33 : Write a story that begins in the middle of the plot's action ( en media res ).
#34 : Everyone says you can never have too much of a good thing. Write a story where that isn't true.
#35 : What do ghosts do when they're not creating mischief? Write about the secret lives of ghosts.
#36 : Every year, you dread the last week of April. Write a story about why.
#37 : Write a story about what it would be like to have an animal sidekick in real life.
#38 : Heists don't just have to be black-clad thieves stealing into vaults to steal rare art or money. Write about a group of people (adults or children) who commit a heist for something of seemingly little monetary value.
#39 : "Life is like a chooseable-path adventure, except you don't get to see what would have happened if you chose differently." Think of a choice you've made and write about a world where you made a different choice.
#40 : Write a story about a secret room.
#41 : You find a message in a bottle with very specific directions. Write a story about the adventure you embark upon.
#42 : "You'll always be okay as long as you know where your _______ is." Fill in the blank and write a story (either fictional or from your life) illustrating this statement.
#43 : Forcing people into prolonged proximity can change and deepen relationships. Write about characters on a road trip together.
#44 : In music, sonata form includes three main parts: exposition, development, and recapitulation. Write a short story that follows this format.
#45 : Begin writing with a character saying, "I'm afraid this simply can't wait."
#46 : Write a story with a happy ending (either happily-ever-after or happy-for-now).
#47 : Write about a character before and after a tragedy in that character's life.
#48 : Choose an object or concept you encounter in everyday life (e.g. tables, the feeling of hot or cold, oxygen) and write an infomercial about it.
#49 : "Life is a series of quests, whether important or mundane." Write about a quest you've gone on (or would like to go on, or will have to go on).
#50 : List 10 different ways to learn. Choose one (or more) and write a story where a character learns something using that one (or more) method.
#51 : You've been called to the principal's office for bad behavior. You know what you did. Explain and justify yourself.
#52 : A character discovers their sibling owns a cursed object. Write about what happens next.
#53 : Write a character description by writing a list of items that would be on a scavenger hunt about them.
#54 : The slogan for a product or service you're advertising is, "Kid-tested, _____." Fill in the blank and write the copy for a radio or podcast advertisement for your product.
How to Use Creative Writing Prompts
There's no wrong way to use a creative writing prompt (unless it's to harass and hurt someone)—the point of them is to get you writing and your imagination flowing.
To help you get the most out of these writing prompts, however, we've come up with the six tips below. Try them out!
#1: DON'T Limit Yourself to Prose
Unless you're writing for a particular assignment, there's no reason everything you write in response to a writing prompt has to be prose fiction . Instead of writing your response to a prompt as a story, try writing a poem, nonfiction essay, play, screenplay, or some other format entirely.
#2: DON'T Edit as You Write
The purposes of writing prompts is to get you writing, typos and weird grammar and all. Editing comes later, once you've finished writing and have some space from it to come back to what you wrote.
It's OK to fix things that will make it difficult to read what you've written (e.g., a weird autocorrect that changes the meaning of a sentence), but don't worry too much about typos or perfect grammar when you're writing; those are easy enough to fix in edits . You also can always insert asterisks or a short note as you're writing to remind yourself to go back to fix something (for instance, if as you're writing it seems like you want to move around the order of your paragraphs or insert something earlier).
#3: DO Interpret the Prompt Broadly
The point of using a writing prompt is not to write something that best exemplifies the prompt, but something that sparks your own creativity. Again, unless you're writing in response to an assignment with specific directions, feel free to interpret writing prompts as broadly or as narrowly as you want.
For instance, if your prompt is to write a story that begins with "The stage was set," you could write about anything from someone preparing to put a plan into motion to a literal theatre stage constructed out of pieces of old sets (or something else entirely).
If you're using a writing prompt, it doesn't have to be the first sentence of your story or poem, either; you can also use the prompt as a goal to work towards in your writing.
#4: DO Try Switching Up Your Writing Methods
If it's a possibility for you, see if you write differently in different media. Do you write the same kind of stories by hand as you would typing at a computer? What about if you dictate a story and then transcribe it? Or text it to a friend? Varying the method you use to write can affect the stories you're able to tell.
For example, you may find that it's easier for you to tell stories about your life to a voice recorder than to try to write out a personal essay. Or maybe you have trouble writing poetry, but can easily text yourself or a friend a poem. You might even find you like a writing method you've not tried before better than what you've been doing!
#5: DO Mix and Match Prompt Ideas
If you need more inspiration, feel free to combine multiple prompts (but don't overwhelm yourself with too much to write about).
You can also try switching genres from what might be suggested in the prompt. For instance, try writing a prompt that seems funny in a serious and sad way, or finding the humor in something that otherwise seems humorless. The categories we've organized the prompts into are by no means limiters on what you're allowed to write about.
#6: DO Try to Write Regularly
The more regularly you write, the easier it will be to write (with or without writing prompts).
For some people, this means writing daily; for others, it means setting aside time to write each weekend or each month. Set yourself an achievable goal (write 2x a week, write 1000 words a month) and stick to it. You can always start small and then ramp your wordcount or frequency up.
If you do better when you have something outside yourself prompting to write, you may also want to try something like morning pages , which encourages you to write at least 750 words every day, in any format (story, diary entry, social media postings, etc).
What's Next?
Thinking about attending college or grad school for creative writing? Our articles on whether or not you should major in creative writing and the best creative writing programs are there for you! Plus, if you're a high schooler, you should check out these top writing contests .
Creative writing doesn't necessarily have to be fiction. Check out these three examples of narrative writing and our tips for how to write your own narrative stories and essays .
Just as writing prompts can help give form to amorphous creative energy, using specific writing structures or devices can be great starting points for your next story. Read through our discussion of the top 20 poetic devices to know and see if you can work at least one new one into your next writing session.
Still looking for more writing ideas? Try repurposing our 100+ easy drawing ideas for characters, settings, or plot points in your writing.
Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.
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