Writing prompts | Creative Writing 101

All My Writing Prompts So Far…

The long list — 111 prompts in all!

Hi there, writers!

I share a list of writing prompts every Monday, hoping to help a few sparks of inspiration come your way.

If you are doing the 💯 Story Challenge, are getting stuck on a story or chapter, or just want to increase your output of short stories or flash fiction, prompts can be really helpful. I explain more about using them here:

Now, I decided to put together a big list with all of my prompts so far. All in one place, just to make it easier for people to scroll through and pick their favorites. I also included links to a few stories where other writers have tried them out.

Enjoy!

9 animal-related prompts 🦎

I really enjoyed this! Apologies for all of the comments but they made me rather excited as my creative sparks were flying! Thanks :)

— Lynsey Wall

1. You (or your protagonist) are lying in bed, trying to sleep when you hear a scratching noise from outside the window. An intruder? No — you realize that whatever it has claws, and is making a hissing noise. Write what happens next.
2. Write an account of a person who is so besotted with their dog that they refuse to go anywhere without him/her, even to their workplace or on a date. What effect does this have on their life? This could be written as a diary entry (from their perspective or someone else’s) or a short story.
3. One person is trying to have a serious conversation, but the other keeps getting distracted by seeing/hearing a fly (or claiming to!).
4. Write about a person’s encounter with a monkey or ape (in a zoo or the wild), during which the person recognizes something about themselves.
5. A character has an obsession with a particular species of animal, from clothing to their preferred nickname. At what point does their interest become… just a bit weird? Consider a range of things that they might do, as well as how others will react.
6. Write flash fiction or scene in which a villain has one redeeming characteristic — they are very kind to an animal.
7. A junior academic has been researching snakes and is later found dead in the reptile house of a zoo. Cause of death — snake bite. But was it an accident? This could be a fictional news article or the beginning of a murder mystery.
8. Write a scene or chapter based on a character hunting an animal, with or without a team of companions. This could be a real-world animal, or you could craft a fantasy or sci-fi story. However, the hunter should discover something about themselves on the hunt and perhaps reconsider their motivations…

Find the original list here.

8 travel-related prompts 🚂

Writing prompts can be so much fun. I love travel based ideas anyway. As I told you via Twitter, I’ve always wanted to take a train cross country and just write.

— Robert Welborn

1. You are on a train journey in a compartment of a carriage. You quickly realize that at least one of the other travellers is very strange. Describe their appearance and actions.
2. Write a conversation or flash fiction story where two people plan an elaborate journey, but then ultimately decide not to go on it. Why do they do all this planning? You can decide about their motives.
3. Write a memoir-style reflection on the worst trip you have ever taken. Feel free to ‘fictionalise’ the narrator and add in a few imagined elements.
4. A character is down on their luck, and has no money for a bus/plane ticket, but they need to get home. Explain why, and write what they do to get out of this jam.
5. Describe the transport in a far-off place, as if you were writing as a travel journalist. This could be a comical piece, but try to be warm rather than overly critical.
6. An inventor has come up with something that is going to help solve one of the world’s great transportation problems. What is it? Write the scene where they go public in a presentation to the world’s press. But perhaps a jealous underling or rival tries to spoil the day — or something goes very badly wrong with a demonstration.
7. Write a panicked conversation on an airplane that’s about to crash, or onboard a spacecraft that has lost contact with mission control.
8. Go back into history, and write about a character who tries to set up the world’s first travel agency. How to people react when they try to explain that people might travel to other places just for fun?

Find the original list of prompts here, and a story that used one of the prompts below:

9 nature-related prompts 🌴

These are all great! I really like the elderly couple prompt 😂

— Ben Ulansey

1. Sometimes the old ones are the best: write a fairy tale about a child who walks into the woods…
2. A pair of travellers stop on a patch of grass to enjoy the sunshine. However, they have only been lying and chilling for a few minutes when they realise that both of them have been swarmed by hundreds of tiny beetles. Write what happens next.
3. Write about a friend from work who is obsessed with climbing. Like — obsessed. It could be a conversation in which they try to persuade you to come along on a climbing trip. Maybe they succeed despite your protests? If so, how does it go?
4. A corporation is trying to build on an ancient patch of land — you decide what type. Our plucky hero/heroine is the only thing that stands in the way. Or are they? What kind of natural creatures or supernatural spirits much cause an additional obstacle?
5. Write a flash fiction story about a highly overconfident person who wants to prove that they can cross the desert (on foot/on a vehicle? You decide). Ten miles in, they begin to have serious second thoughts. But is it too late to turn back?
6. You are on holiday in a remote cottage in the mountains. Every morning, a strange elderly couple come out and swim in the lake. One day, you decide to join them for a swim. But all is not as it seems…
7. Craft a sci-fi tale in the form of a mission report, when the crew/captain of a ship finds a planet that at first looks ideal for colonisation. However, by report number 2, something has gone horribly wrong.
8. Write a scene describing the mountain lair of a superhero or master criminal. It should have tunnels, perhaps an underground lake, and all kinds of tech that is hidden in the wilderness.
9. Take a moment to think of a time you yourself experienced a very unusual natural environment — somewhere unique, that made a really lasting impact. Now, make that place the setting of chapter 1 of a murder mystery.

Find the original list here, and a story that used one of the prompts here:

9 family-related prompts 👨‍👨‍👦

Some great prompts, I may have to include one in my 100 story challenge.

— Cathylouise

1. Craft a very awkward family meal scene, where a young adult has brought their partner to meet the parents for the first time. This could be an everyday meal, or a gathering such as Thanksgiving.
2. Write a short comic scene involving identical twins that people keep mixing up. Perhaps it could be their first day of college.
3. Two family members are also very close friends, and they decide to start running a business together. It does not go well. Write a conversation between them five years later, when they discuss their regrets.
4. A teenager is being adopted or fostered (your choice) by distant relatives. Write an account of their first day with the family.
5. A character returns home after many years on the road. But when they get back, things are now very different. Describe what they find.
6. A family is moving house, and one person insists on doing the move themselves using the family car; the rest of the family have reservations but eventually agree. Write a flash fiction scene that happens on moving day, focused on one specific item of furniture.
7. Write a brief but heartwarming scene in which someone gives a heartfelt apology for what they have done and how they hurt their family member. Feel free to draw real-life inspiration.
8. A very polite and meek son or daughter unexpectedly tells their parent to “Go f*** yourself” during an evening at the family home. Why? Write the aftermath during which their resentment becomes clear.
9. What will family life be like in the future? You could write a fictional diary entry by a child in the year 2200 to show us.

Find the original list here, and a story that used one of the prompts here:

8 weather-related prompts ☔️

When I think of the weather, I usually think about the rain or the snow. I don’t automatically think of strong winds (and typhoons), intense heat, fog, etc. So thank you for the reminder! These are great prompts.

— Sieran Lane

1. Write a spooky scene or story featuring the densest fog you can imagine.
2. Begin a scene or piece of flash fiction with the line: “The weather that morning was miserable, and things only got worse from there.”
3. Write a poem or scene about a blisteringly hot day. Try to really evoke the sounds and smells, as well as the behaviour you observe.
4. Write a flash fiction beginning with the line: “I had never seen snow before.”
5. A building is struck by lightning, and catches fire. There is something precious inside. Write what happens next.
6. Write a flash fiction story in which a character is giving an outdoor speech while the wind gets worse and worse. Do they keep their composure as debris begins to fly?
7. A couple are talking, and it turns into an argument. As the weather outside gets worse, so does their relationship…
8. In a fantasy setting, a group of adventurers are attacked by monsters (you decide what kind) in the midst of a storm. Write what happens next — but the weather conditions should play a role!

Find the list of prompts right here, and a couple of stories that used one of the prompts below:

15 crime-related prompts 🗡

Oh man, this is way too relevant. Most of the characters I play for my various roleplay games are criminals of some sort.

— Sam W.

1. Write a pair of linked scenes. The first one covers the planning of a crime or heist (e.g. a robbery), and the second shows the actual event. No doubt things won’t go entirely to plan.
2. Write a scene in which someone is killed, but there is an element of humor or absurdity. Perhaps the killer is very incompetent, or their attempts to cover up the action get increasingly surreal. ‘Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead’ could be a good comparison.
3. Money is the root of so many problems… Write a short story that begins with the reading of a will, after which grievances over the inheritance leads to a conspiracy and/or crime of your choice.
4. Write a fantasy flash fiction in which a group of characters are exploring a dungeon and find some treasure. It is a much richer haul of loot than they have ever found before, and one or more of the characters try to steal more than their fair share. Do they get away with it?
5. Give a first-person account of character who committed a crime by accident, but is being convicted nonetheless, and handed a very severe sentence. The piece could be a letter or diary written in their cell, the day before sentencing.
6. Begin a piece of flash fiction with the line: “We may be criminals, but we have values.”
7. Focus on a character who killed someone or committed another major crime in the distant past. Nobody in their life knew anything… until one day, someone shows up and starts dropping hints that they know the secret. Describe the first scene where they meet. And now, what is your character going to do?
8. Write an account or a conversation where a character has been regularly committing a crime of some kind (your choice), and thinks it’s fine to do so. The other character in the scene should persuade them otherwise.
9. A dead body is discovered. Pick a location that you know well, and choose a very unusual object as the murder weapon. For the protagonist, this is the very first time they have encountered a murder — could they become the next Hercule Poirot?
10. Is there ever a good reason for identity theft? Try writing a conversation where someone who has carried this out tries to justify their actions. Perhaps they do this over dinner on a first date…
11. For a reason of your choosing, a particular character has had enough of crime and corruption. They decide to take matters into their own hands and become a vigilante. Decide what happens next.
12. Write a short story in which a character begins a role (politics? Business?) with good ideals, but rapidly gets caught up with corruption. Perhaps you could begin with the line, “I was horrified by what I saw around me.”
13. Craft a short story where one small crime leads to another… and then another, and another! Fit in as many as you can in a chaotic chain of events.
14. Write a single scene or a short story where a young man/woman is a member of a terrorist cell, and decides to pull out (perhaps they get cold feet about an impending attack).
15. Write a flash fiction story that begins with one character stabbing another, and ends with them both laughing and becoming firm friends.

Find the original list here, and a couple of stories that used the prompts below —each part of its own series by Jann Christoph von der Pütten:

11 mood-related prompts 😭

Some very good prompts here!

— Myriah Martin

1. Introduce a character who blows up at the smallest insult or slight. Perhaps they are someone that the main character needs help from, or needs to interview about a crime. Write a scene showing how touchy this person can be.
2. Write a memoir-style passage about an afternoon when you felt nothing but joy. How the day ends is up to you…
3. Write a flash fiction story describing a character who is in some kind of service role, and stays totally calm (at least on the surface) despite near non-stop rudeness from the public.
4. Craft a fictional diary entry, explaining an encounter/conversation which led to you/the character getting massively fired up about a cause.
5. Pen a scene in which the main character is very excited and happy about some news (your choice — a new job, perhaps?) and another person tries to be enthusiastic but is secretly horrified.
6. Write a flash fiction story focusing on a first date where the red flags just keep coming, together with a sinking feeling…
7. A character has to give a speech at work — perhaps at a holiday-related party, or a retirement. They begin with: “If there’s one thing in my life I can’t stand, it’s…” Write what they say next.
8. A character has been deeply upset by the behaviour of a friend or family member. Craft an imagined response in the form of a letter or email.
9. Write a single scene or dialogue in which one person struggles to express how deeply in love they feel. Do they get there in the end?
10. Have you ever met someone really defensive? Write a flash fiction story where one person is trying to give an uber-defensive person some helpful advice or guidance. Perhaps it’s a co-worker who has made a simple mistake, for example.
11. What would it feel like to board the first spaceship sent to colonise another planet? Draft a short story (or perhaps the first chapter of a novel) on this theme!

Find the original list here, and some marvellous stories that used the prompts here, by Kathy K, Jann Christoph von der Pütten and Eko BP…

10 work-related prompts 💼

Great prompts for someone familiar with working in an office. I did that for many years and I’ve not seen the pests invade the office as in prompt #5 but I could definitely imagine scenarios

— Kathy K.

1. Introduce a character who has a cult-like obsession with their boss, or another authority figure in their life. They genuinely believe that this person is the messiah. (Prompt repeated from this list).
2. Describe a job interview that either starts well and ends badly, or vice versa. For added interest, the applicant can be a shockingly bad fit for the role.
3. Write a scene in an office Christmas party or similar event, where one person is trying their best to network and/or gain a promotion, and everyone else just wants to relax and have fun.
4. Craft a fictional journal entry for some kind of scientist or explorer. This could have a sci-fi or superhero element if you like.
5. A workplace is suddenly invaded by pests. Wasps? Rats? Llamas? It’s up to you! Describe how things play out.
6. Craft a memoir-style flash fiction piece which involves a visit to a parent’s workplace (or that of a similar carer/family member).
7. It’s the funeral of a man or woman who worked their whole life for a particular company. Decide what their job was, and then write a conversation at the wake between their closest co-worker and their manager. At least a couple of secrets should come out.
8. A character wins the lottery (decide how much they get), and spends the next day wrestling with whether they should quit work or not (decide what their day job is). Write a short story about their day.
9. Write a short story or flash fiction piece entirely in the form of emails between an employee and their boss.
10. Craft a short story about an adventurer in a fantasy or sci-fi setting who decides to settle down and run a respectable business (an inn or bar? A potion shop?). The trouble is, it’s not long before their past starts to catch up with them.

Find the list here. And once again, Jann Christoph von der Pütten didn’t let us down in terms of coming up with a story!

9 food-related prompts 🍟

So many prompts. I can’t decide which one.😅

— Elvie Lins

1. Write a flash fiction or drabble which begins and ends with reference to a foodstuff, for example a sandwich that sits untouched, a coffee that gets cold, or an apple pie that disappears during a conversation.
2. Write a very short piece of fiction or a poem that focuses in minute detail on a piece of cutlery.
3. Everything seemed normal at the family gathering, until — without warning — D. picked up a tomato, and threw it at…
4. Craft a scene or even an origin story for a sci-fi or superhero character whose abilities are strongly connected to food. Perhaps a superhero that needs to eat a lot of burgers in order to fly, for example.
5. Write a short memoir-style piece relating to an early experience with cooking.
6. Write a scene or story in which someone undertakes an ill-advised food challenge. Perhaps it could be an eating contest, for example, or vowing only to eat a certain kind of food for a month.
7. Show us a character who is obsessed with a particular kind of food, and lets this obsession get between them and an important goal.
8. Write a short story focusing on someone who starts up a cafe or restaurant of some kind. It can be a happy or sad story — your choice.
9. Craft a short story about a team of fantasy adventurers who are running out of food. Perhaps they are lost in a forest, or on the high seas.

Find the list here, and check out these wonderful responses by Cathylouise and Jann Christoph von der Pütten — each one is also a drabble!

An assortment of older prompts

I started off sharing lists of ten or so prompts in three different stories, before coming up with the idea of a weekly theme.

As such, the remaining prompts are a bit of an assortment. I also reused a few when creating the lists above, so I won’t repeat them.

The original stories can be found here, here, and here.

Thanks to Illumination for publishing them.

1. There is a family gathering, and some kind of animal interrupts proceedings. Write what happens next.
2. Write a short description of a fantastical city where things are very different from your own homeland.
3. A character firmly believes that they are the reincarnated spirit of a famous figure from history. On their first day of a new job, they can’t resist telling people about this… The scene you write could be sad, or comic.
4. Write a brief biography of a reformed character from the perspective of someone that they wronged. It could be a criminal who later devoted themselves to charity, for example. Are they forgiven?
5. Write a scene focusing on a MacGuffin — an object that everyone wants (like the stolen plans in StarWars: A New Hope). First, decide what the object is. Next, figure out who has it, and describe what they do to try to keep it out of enemy hands.
6. Describe the actions of a character quite like yourself, who for some reason has to go undercover and act as a spy.
7. Write a short scene where a character has to carry or move something large or awkward, for example a piece of furniture, a very long tool of some kind, or a cage containing a dangerous or grumpy animal.
8. Write a conversation where two people begin by talking about how much they both admire someone, and end up agreeing that they actually hate that person.
9. One day, someone stops following any rules. What happens next?
10. Describe a character’s appearance and body language in great detail as they receive the news that they’ve been fired. There. You now have a flash fiction story.
11. A character stands up to give a speech. Begin with: “My parents always told me never to…”
12. Think of someone in real life who everyone seems to love, and can’t put a foot wrong. Now, craft a fictional character who has some of the same traits. Perhaps they could be a guide or mentor for your main character.
13. Write about a situation where there is a misunderstanding. Two (or more) characters think they are on the same page and understand a shared plan. But it turns out that they had very different expectations…
14. A character’s eyes flick open. They find themselves in a damp, round room with stone walls and a trapdoor high above, out of reach. They have no recollection of how they got here, and no recent memories. How will they try to get out? And how did they get in here?
15. A character is knocked out of their usual routine when they arrive at work, only to find their workplace unexpectedly closed. Write what happens next.
16. A pair of children go to stay with distant relatives, after their parents win a holiday. The relatives live in a very old, creepy house, which they begin to explore. Describe what they find.
17. A student begins a research project, and is guided by a mysterious and aloof scientist. When the student comes into the scientist’s lab/office, they discover a secret and potentially dangerous research project underway.
18. Begin a piece of flash fiction with the line: “Everything was going so well, until…”
19. A character wakes up cold and clammy, and with a feeling that something terrible has happened. They look outside… What do they see?
20. Jack (gender can be your choice) is usually considered totally unremarkable — not particularly famous, beautiful, or talented. But yet, Sam is obsessed with Jack. Explain how Sam feels in any way you want, e.g. via a conversation or monologue.
21. Write a couple of scenes based on the following phrase: “I had never disobeyed an order in my life. At least, not until that day…”
22. Write about small, drip-drip-drip experiences of prejudice that suddenly become too much, forcing the main character to take a stand.
23. A pair of teenagers are watching a horror movie and smoking an experimental drug. As they watch, they suddenly find themselves inside the horror movie. Describe what happens next. (Prompt 23 is very LitRPG!)

Find a couple more stories that used the prompts below. Thanks to Jann again, and to Jonathon Sawyer!

And apologies if there are any stories that I missed — it can be hard to keep track of! I couldn’t find one that used one of the animal prompts, for example. But feel free to drop further (relevant) links in the comments 😅

For weekly prompts plus articles about the craft of writing, short stories, web-novel chapters, and more, get my articles by email via this link! Thank you!

And if that’s not enough, check out these articles about how to find more prompts for yourself!

And finally, one of my deepest stories about the creative process: