600+ Writing Prompts by Genre: From Blank Page to Book Idea

TL;DR

Writing prompts are short story starters that help writers beat writer's block, discover book ideas, and practice new genres. The best writing prompts are specific enough to spark a direction but open enough to let your own creativity take over. This page collects 600+ prompts across fiction and nonfiction genres, organized so you can find the right one fast and start writing today.

Writing prompts are powerful vessels for jumpstarting your creativity, and planting the seed for your next book idea. 

Dealing with writer’s block or self-doubt as a writer? Experiencing a creative rut? Looking to improve your writing development? Experimenting with a new genre? Stuck on finding a book idea? Looking for your author voice?

No matter which of those situations you are struggling with as a writer, you might find your answer in some creative writing prompts.

These original writing prompts can be categorized in nonfiction and fiction groups. There's a long list of genres you could write within. And here, you'll find creative writing prompt topics for nearly all of them!

What are writing prompts?

Writing prompts are brief story starters or scenario-based ideas that give a writer a starting point. They eliminate the blank-page problem so you can focus on writing, not hunting for an idea.

They are used by students learning to write, novelists fighting writer's block, and first-time authors figuring out what their book should be about. A good writing prompt doesn't write your story for you, it hands you the first domino and gets out of the way.

At selfpublishing.com, we've worked with thousands of authors to turn early writing exercises into published books. What we've learned: most writers don't lack the ability to write. They lack a starting point. Writing prompts solve that.

Why use writing prompts?

Writing prompts remove the hardest barrier in writing (starting) and replace it with a specific scene, scenario, or question to react to.

Here's what they actually do for writers:

Fight writer's block. When you're staring at a blank document and nothing is coming, a prompt gives you a concrete "what if" to react to. You stop trying to invent from nothing.

Discover what you actually want to write. Many writers don't know their genre, voice, or subject until they spend 15 minutes with a prompt that unexpectedly won't let go of them. That pull is data. Follow it.

Identify a book idea. We've watched writers at selfpublishing.com pick up a single memoir prompt and realize within one writing session that they had a full book in them.

Improve craft. Working outside your comfort genre forces you to practice showing rather than telling, building tension, handling dialogue, and developing voice - skills that make your primary project stronger.

Build a writing habit. A timed 15-minute prompt session is a low-stakes, low-resistance way to write every day. Consistency matters more than inspiration.

How to use creative writing prompts

The process of using a writing prompt is loose, as they are designed to be used in a way that benefits you as the writer most. 

You can be as structured, or as flexible as you choose when using one of our writing prompts. That means you can start with a writing prompt, think of your own premise for the story, and get to writing your own detailed account. Or, you can use all of the details given in the writing prompt, and answer the prompt exactly as you see fit. It’s up to you!

However, if you’re not sure where to start, and need some beginner’s guidelines, there are a few tips we can provide. 

Here’s how to use creative writing prompts: 

• Use pen and paper. If you’re struggling with writing block, I encourage you to use pen and paper to really get your creative juices flowing.
  
• Choose a writing prompt. Read through some possible creative writing prompts, taking note of any that spark your imagination. Then, you can choose which one calls out to you most. Alternatively, if you’re having trouble deciding, you can choose a random writing prompt and challenge yourself to write about 
  
• Pick and choose your own details. Some writing prompts include specific details to incorporate in your story. Don’t feel boxed in by your writing prompt; if you want to omit certain details or events and replace them with your own creative idea, feel free to do so. 
  
• Time your writing. Once you have a prompt chosen, set a timer for 15-20 minutes and challenge yourself to not stop writing until the timer goes off. This will prevent you from overthinking the prompt, and will ensure you stay focused. 
  
• Expand your own ideas. Use the writing prompt as a seed for your story, but develop it in your own creative way. The key to successfully using a creative writing prompt is to help your own brainstorming process, so it’s okay if you veer off from the writing prompt and take a different direction with your story and characters. You can even use character bio templates to expand your own ideas.
  
• Use prompts to unstick a work-in-progress, not just to start fresh. If you're 20,000 words into a novel and you've hit a wall, try picking a prompt in your genre and writing a scene from your character's perspective using that scenario. It can break the paralysis.
  
  Already feeling the pull toward a full book? If a prompt sparks something bigger, our free training on how to write and publish your book shows you the exact path from idea to published author.

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Nonfiction Writing Prompts

If you're on the hunt for the best nonfiction writing prompts to exercise your creativity and help you brainstorm some book ideas to write a nonfiction book, then start with this category.

Here, you'll find a variety of nonfiction topics, from business and self-help, to relationships, wellness, and memoir topics.

Business Writing Prompts 

1. Write about the biggest lesson you’ve learned in business.
2. Write about how you have failed in business, and how you overcame that failure.
3. Write about the biggest mistake you made in your industry, and what you learned about it.
4. Write about how your industry can impact lives across the world.
5. Write about the top authorities in your industry and what you can learn from them.
6. Write about how you got started in your industry, and how others can learn from your process.
7. Write about industry secrets that can help other people grow their authority.
8. Write about how businesses in your industry can maximize their profits.
9. Write about what you’ve learned in your industry, and educate readers on how to
10. Write about opportunities for innovation in your industry.
11. Write about the top qualities an authority in your industry must have to succeed.
12. Write about the top issues in your industry, and how readers can avoid them.
13. Write about how to empower others in your industry, and why it’s important.
14. Write about the future of your industry, and how readers can adapt to the changes.
15. Write about the history of your industry, and how it has shaped the present and how it will shape the future.
16. Write about a major time period in your industry’s progression, and the lessons from that time that can be learned and applied today.
17. Write about common fears in your industry, and how others can overcome them.
18. Write about the common stressors in your industry, and how others can manage this.
19. Write about a time when you had to start over in your career, and the lessons you learned that can help readers.
20. Write about how to generate ideas in your industry.
21. Write about how to be a better leader in the workplace.
22. Write about the importance of company culture, especially in our digital age.
23. Write about the secrets to sustainability in your industry.
24. Write about decision making in your industry, and how others can make better decisions.
25. Write about the habits of authority figures in your industry, and what others can learn from them.
26. Write about the failures of authority figures in your industry, and what others can learn from them.
27. Write about the successes of authority figures in your industry, and what others can learn from them.
28. Write about the key to productivity in your industry.
29. Write about the key to creativity in your industry.
30. Write about the key to working smarter in your industry.
31. Write about how to think big, and when to think small, in your industry.
32. Write about what you wish you knew now when you first started in your career.
33. Write about setting up a successful atmosphere to thrive in your industry.
34. Write about something big you accomplished in your career, and share your blueprint for success.
35. Write about developing a team, and how to successfully work with others.

Self-Help Writing Prompts  

Want to know how to write a self-help book? Start with these prompts:

1. Write about a time when you had to start over in your life, and what you learned from that.
2. Write about why it’s important to break the rules in life sometimes.
3. Write about how to generate creative ideas.
4. Write about the secrets to gaining unshakeable self-confidence.
5. Write about the secrets to gaining lasting happiness.
6. Write about the secrets to developing laser-focus in work and life.
7. Write about the secrets to living a regret-free life.
8. Write about the secrets to creating lasting love.
9. Write about the power of forgiveness, and how others can tap into this.
10. Write about the power of gratitude, and how to apply it to daily life.
11. Write about critical thinking, and strategies for improving critical thinking skills.
12. Write about how to reduce everyday stress and anxiety with practical tips.
13. Write about effective communication, and how others can communicate more clearly.
14. Write about your creativity process, and include strategies for how to be more creative.
15. Write about the secrets to a successful relationship, and how anyone can be a better partner.
16. Write about how to stay disciplined, and why most people fail at self-discipline.
17. Write about society’s hustle culture, and why working hard is good or bad.
18. Write about your favorite country or travel destination, and what you’ve learned from the people and culture.
19. Write about the key to being a more productive person, and how it can transform others’ lives.
20. Write about finding your passion, and how others can discover their purpose.
21. Write about the power of positive self talk, and how others can implement it in their daily life.
22. Write about dealing with anxiety.
23. Write about dealing with change.
24. Write about creating an atmosphere of peace.
25. Write about controlling the controllables for happiness.
26. Write about controlling the controllables for peace.
27. Write about something a big goal you’ve accomplished, and share your blueprint for success.
28. Write about finding inspiration, and teach others how they can find it, too.
29. Write about how to better understand the people in your life.
30. Write about the art of simplicity in life, and how others can benefit from it.
31. Write about decision-making and the best practices for making big and small decisions in life.
32. Write about the power of tapping into your imagination, and why it’s so important for people, including adults.
33. Write about the importance of truth, and how others can be more honest with themselves and the people in their life.
34. Write about dealing with life transitions, and strategies to improve adaptability when things change and its out of your control.
35. Write about how to regain control in your life, and what to do when you’ve hit rock bottom.
36. Write about finding your identity, and how people in your niche can discover themselves again.
37. Write about the purpose of life.
38. Write about how an individual can increase their confidence.
39. Write about how the fear of rejection has been holding you back and what action you can take consistently everyday to break this fear.
40. Write about 7 daily habits that can increase your self esteem and make you feel unbreakable.
41. Write about a time when you were wrong and didn’t realize it for maybe years.
42. Consider morals and how one discovers what truly matters to them.
43. Portray the biggest value in your life.
44. Dissect the biggest problems in the world and how it impacts us every day.
45. Write about hidden problems in the world nobody is paying attention to.
46. Consider a time your morals were compromised and how it affected your life.
47. Write about a time your values were challenged and you had to face it.
48. Compare and the difference between a value and a moral.
49. Weigh societal values that actually negatively impact our lives.
50. Write about morals that have inadvertently negative impacts.
51. Spotlight an inner struggle between what’s morally right and what feels right.
52. Write about how to find what you value in life.
53. Write about what life would look life if morals were not in place.
54. Present ideas of values affecting your morals in life.
55. Expose popular moral dilemmas in the world.
56. Write about how morals and values differ within different cultures and regions.
57. Conflict arising from out a time when you had to debate morals and values.
58. Write about your idea of the best combination of morals and values.
59. Conflict you once endured because of mismatched morals.
60. Overcome doubting your morals and beliefs.
61. Write about how morals and values shape happiness in life.
62. The importance of matching morals and values in relationships.
63. Write about how to share your morals with others.
64. Open discussion on ways in which one can develop new morals and values.
65. Write about how our morals and values change as we grow up.
66. Write about the idea of wants versus needs in life.
67. Work and finding happiness in your career.
68. Not being happy in your career and how to conquer it.
69. Write about finding success in your career.
70. Finding success in every aspect of your life.
71. Building a successful love life, family life, and career.
72. Write about balancing a career and family life.
73. Being open-minded in life.
74. Write about what rewards you can reap from being kind.
75. What you can gain from being open-minded in every aspect of life.
76. Goals in life and how to accomplish them.
77. What living a happy life is defined as according to you.
78. Write about a time you had very little happiness and how you found it again.
79. The ups and downs of life and how to get through them.
80. What truly contributes to happiness in life.
81. Write about the true measures of happiness in life.
82. How success ties into happiness and how to define them separately.
83. The difference between how you view happiness now versus when you were a kid.
84. The biggest life lessons one can learn through finding happiness.
85. What people should focus on instead of happiness in life.
86. The difference between self-fulfillment and happiness.
87. The biggest problem in today’s society revolving around happiness.
88. The idea of NOT looking for happiness in order to find it.
89. How self-reflection can increase happiness.
90. What you expected happiness to be versus how it truly is.
91. How to include the people in your life when finding happiness.
92. Write about accepting who you truly are and how it can change your life.
93. How to ignore societal expectations when they clash with who you are.
94. How to change your overall outlook to be more positive.
95. What it’s like to go from disliking yourself to truly loving yourself.
96. Write about what it truly means to have complete confidence in yourself.
97. How to conquer inner demons in order to love yourself.
98. Your journey to accepting your flaws and seeing them as strengths.
99. Daily habits that will lead to overall confidence.
100. How bettering your health can increase the way you view yourself.
101. Write about how physical appearance actually has little to do with confidence.
102. How journaling can relieve negative thoughts about yourself.
103. Write about your journey with therapy and the quest to gain confidence.
104. Alternative methods one can use to gain confidence.
105. How using certain essential oils daily can help with your mood and self-esteem.
106. Write about the internal effects of a negative opinion of yourself.
107. Create a workbook dedicated to making someone feel positive about themselves.
108. The negative impact toxic friends/family have on your self-esteem.
109. How toxic relationships can alter your self-esteem for the worse.
110. Write about how to overcome a learned toxic thought-process when thinking about yourself.
111. How to introduce self-love into your life.
112. The difference your life can have if you have self-confidence.
113. Struggling with self-esteem and how it can affect relationships.
114. How to know if you actually do love yourself or not.
115. Write about how to use your passions to increase your confidence.
116. How to help someone else learn to how themselves.

Memoir Prompts 

1. Write about a big goal you’ve accomplished, and share your blueprint for success.
2. Write about a major time when you had to start over in your life, and what you learned from that.
3. Write about the greatest lesson you’ve learned so far in life, and how others can learn from your life.
4. Write about one of your biggest regrets, and teach others going through the same thing how to deal with it.
5. Write about the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make, and what you’ve learned from that process.
6. Write about a traumatic experience in your life, and how you have dealt with it.
7. Write about a time you failed, and how you were able to rise up.
8. Write about a major event in your childhood, and how that shaped you as an adult.
9. Write about the saddest time in your life, and encourage others who are going through similar situations.
10. Write about the happiest time in your life, and the greatest thing that moment has taught you.
11. Write about the most influential people in your life, and how they helped shape the person you have become.
12. Write about how you have developed self-love, and why it’s important to have a relationship with yourself first.
13. Write about your journey towards self-discovery, and share tips with others who are lost.
14. Write about a time you lost your way in life, and what helped you find your path again.
15. Write about your spirituality and beliefs, and how you can share your message with others.
16. Write about the biggest heartbreak you experienced, and what it’s taught you about love and life.
17. Write about the time you broke someone else’s heart, and what it’s taught you about loving others.
18. Write about a time you experienced compassion, and share how others can be more compassionate in their own life.
19. Write about the biggest self-defining moment in your life thus far, and how you’ve developed from the experience.
20. Write about your biggest accomplishment, and how its helped you banish self-defeating thoughts and behavior.
21. Write about a toxic relationship you had, and how you were able to overcome it.
22. Write about an influential travel experience in your life, and what it taught you about yourself and others.
23. Write about the town you grew up in, and how it’s shaped your perspective on life.
24. Write about how you were raised, and what you learned from the people that raised you.
25. Write about a significant historical event you lived through, and what others can learn from your experience.
26. Write about your life’s journey from where you were ten years ago to how you arrived to this point today, and, the most important lesson you have learned on the way.
27. Write about five life lessons you believe everyone should practice/follow.
28. There is an experience from your past that has always held you back from thriving in life. Write about what this experience is, and if you were to overcome your trauma, how could you lead the life you've been dreaming of?
29. There is a saying: “You are the sum of the five people you spend most of your time with.” Write about the people you spend your time with and how they influence your life on a day to day basis.
30. Write about your faith and how you discovered its meaning.
31. How your faith changed your life.
32. How you learned to love yourself through your faith.
33. Your journey from not having any faith to where you are now.
34. A message to anybody who doesn’t think they have something to believe in.
35. Write a book to the person who helped you discover your faith.
36. How your faith shapes your family.
37. Write about overcoming questioning your faith.
38. Unexpected realities of having strong faith.
39. How your faith can steer your career and life.
40. How much others can gain from pursuing faith.
41. Your own struggles with faith and how you maneuvered them.
42. Juggling faith, family, friends, and love.
43. Write about how school impacted your faith negatively or positively.
44. Common struggles with faith and how to overcome them.
45. Write a memoir about your life’s journey to accepting faith.
46. Write about being part of a family with split faith
47. Friends or family not understanding your faith.
48. How there’s more to life than JUST your faith and how to avoid blinding yourself to it.
49. Different faiths and how to separate differences.
50. What faith means to you and how you express it daily.
51. How-to guide for finding something to believe in.
52. Write a guide for how to discover what’s truly meaningful to you with your faith.
53. How faith can give you a whole new family and a sense of belonging.
54. The differences in your life since believing in something bigger than you.
55. Write about a moment in your life that changed the way you saw the world.
56. Don’t censor yourself and write about what you believe the meaning of life is.
57. Biggest struggle you’ve faced in life.
58. Your journey to finding yourself and all you’ve learned.
59. How you got to where you are in life and where you’ll go from here.
60. A tragedy you, unfortunately, lived through and how it has shaped you.
61. An internal struggle of yours and how you were able to solve it.
62. Your pet/s and what they mean to you.
63. How you were able to accomplish so much by a young age.
64. Your life and what lessons you learned that others should know.
65. What you’ve gained from networking throughout your life.
66. Your top life values and how they contribute to happiness and success.
67. Learning to live with something difficult or painful every day.
68. Write a memoir about your unique life.
69. A story to your younger self about life, love, and happiness.
70. Write about conflict in your life and how you managed to get through it.
71. Your life’s expectations versus its reality.
72. Art and how it can show you a lot about yourself.
73. A time when you thought all was lost.
74. Looking for the light in life instead of succumbing to darkness.
75. Your journey to understand what it means to truly be alive.
76. Write about how to conquer toxic desires.
77. Your journey through sports and how they shaped you.
78. Write about your journey to write and publish a book

Health & Fitness Prompts

1. Write about emotional health: what it means, why it’s important, and how.
2. Write about a time you were very unhealthy, and how you were able to transform yourself.
3. Write about the secrets to dieting.
4. Write about diet culture fads, and why they do or do not work.
5. Write about the idea of health, and how people can shift their priorities to be more healthy both mentally and physically.
6. Write about the taboo around mental health, and how we can change this mindset as a society.
7. Write about your struggles with mental health, and help others with what you’ve learned.
8. Write about your struggles with physical health, and help others struggling with the same thing.
9. Write about what health and wellness means to you, and share your perspectives with others.
10. Write about the power of superfoods, and how they can positively affect health.
11. Write about the health practices in a different country.
12. Write about an ancient health practice, and what we can learn from it today.
13. Write about the medicinal properties of certain foods and plants.
14. Write about how to break free from unhealthy habits.
15. Write about food production practices, and how they affect the quality of what we eat.
16. Write about health in children, and how to raise health-conscious individuals.
17. Write about raising a healthy family while balancing a busy life
18. Write about a time your health was impacted, and how the experience transformed your life
19. Write about a time someone you love experienced health issues, and how the experience changed that person’s life, as well as your own
20. Write about a time you felt unhappy with your health. What did you do to change your mindset?
21. Write about body acceptance, and how societal expectations affects our mindset.
22. Write about the influence of culture on health, and how it affects a group of people differently.
23. Write about a harmful everyday practice, how it affects our health, and what we can do to change it.
24. Write about dealing with mental health on an everyday basis, and help others understand how to be more compassionate.
25. Write about the idea of health, and what contributing factors affect our perspectives.
26. Identify a distraction that is wasting your time and causing you to be very unproductive. Write about your plan to eliminate this distraction from your life, and the positive impact it will have.
27. Internal dialogue is powerful in developing positivity. Identify your negative internal dialogue and write out your new, positive dialogue to communicate to yourself.
28. Write out seven ways you can practice self care and why this is important to you.
29. Write about how vulnerability is keeping you scared. Then, write down an action step to overcome this fear.
30. Your struggle with an addiction of some kind and how you overcame it.
31. Write a book about your journey to become healthy.
32. What being healthy inside and out means to you.
33. Create a book about the importance of mental health and wellness.
34. Write about how to form healthy habits.
35. How to find the best exercise type for your needs.
36. A book about the idea of self-care and what it means to you.
37. How to find health through personal reflection.
38. Write about the technicalities of being “healthy.”
39. The different ways in which someone can find health and wellness.
40. How others can affect your health.
41. Write about the impact of mental health on your physical health.
42. A specific form of exercise you’ve grown to love and why.
43. What it means to have overall life wellness.
44. The impact of who you surround yourself with on your mental health.
45. How learning can impact your health.
46. Dietary needs and how they affect your mental health.
47. How negativity can greatly impact your health.
48. Write about your ideal health and wellness system for long-term success.
49. A time when you had to overcome super unhealthy ways.
50. What you’ve learned about yourself through pursuing wellness.
51. How professional athletes approach health and wellness.
52. Societal standards of health and wellness.

40 Family & Relationships 

1. Write about how to build character in your children. 
2. Write about teaching children how to practice self-love. 
3. Write about strategies parents can use to instill healthy habits in their children.
4. Write about the secrets to balancing discipline and friendship as a parent
5. Write about the concept of soulmates, and why the idea is helpful or harmful in our society.
6. Write about how to find friends as an adult.
7. Write about the importance of having a support group.
8. Write about the dangers of toxic parenthood.
9. Write about the dangers of toxic relationships.
10. Write about the dangers of toxic friendships.
11. Write about the power of compassion in marriage.
12. Write about the importance of compromise in relationships.
13. Write about dealing with heartbreak and starting over.
14. Write about the idea of dating in the digital age.
15. Write about co-dependence and why its toxic.
16. Write about breaking up with a friend, and why it’s necessary sometimes.
17. Write about disciplining children in a positive way.
18. Write about instilling a positive mindset in the youth.
19. Write about developing your child’s uniqueness.
20. Write about the struggles in parenthood and how to stay sane.
21. Write about the beauty in parenthood and how to make it last, even when your children are being difficult. 
22. Write about sibling rivalry and how to cultivate a healthier sibling relationship.
23. Write about how to be a better parent.
24. Write about how to be a better daughter/son to an aging parent.
25. Write about how to be a better friend.
26. Write about dealing with the loss of a loved one.
27. Write about your journey to find love and what you’ve discovered along the way.
28. Write about developing healthy and nurturing relationships.
29. Write about the importance of self-confidence in finding love.
30. Write about the importance of self-esteem in developing healthy relationships.
31. Write about the importance of mindset on the search for love.
32. Write about the role self-awareness plays in being a better parent.
33. Write about the importance of communication in relationships.
34. Write about the red flags in a failing relationship, and how to save it before it’s too late.
35. Write about the idea of being single, and how to embrace it in a society that does not.
36. Write about the idea of finding the perfect partner, and how this perspective can affect our ability to find someone.
37. Write about falling in love, and how to keep the fire alive in a relationship.
38. Write about the importance of expectations in relationships.
39. Write about disagreements in friendships, and how to overcome and learn from them.
40. Write about different styles of parenting, and how to identify which type you are.
41. Tell a story about how you see love.
42. Write about what’s most important in a relationship.
43. How to enjoy your relationship in every phase of life.
44. Your idea of a successful relationship.
45. What it really takes to have a successful relationship.
46. Write about how your friendships play a part in your relationships.
47. How self-doubt can affect your search for love.
48. Write about how to love someone else in a way they need.
49. How to find what you truly enjoy in a life partner.
50. Becoming open-minded in your pursuit of love.
51. The importance of loving yourself before loving someone else.
52. Write about a time you thought you found love but were very wrong.
53. How finding love has changed the way you care for others.
54. Friendships and how they play a role in your happiness.
55. Creating relationships that lift you up and not drag you down.
56. Write about what it means to truly love unconditionally.
57. How intimacy can help your self-esteem.
58. Ways in which you can improve your sex life.
59. Write about ways in which you can improve your romantic relationship.
60. Ways in which you can improve your platonic relationships.
61. Loving yourself and what that fully means.
62. Building strong relationship foundations in a family.
63. Write to your parents about all they’ve taught you about life, love, and happiness.
64. Family about what they mean to you.
65. Parenthood and how it’s changed you.
66. Your parents and what they taught you.
67. What your parents didn’t teach you and how it affected your life.
68. Write about how not having parents impacted your life.
69. Your childhood and how it shaped you.
70. Write about what the definition of family truly means to you.
71. Finding family in the least expected places.
72. Discovering who you are within your family.
73. The lessons you didn’t realize you learned as a child.
74. How your childhood friends affected your adult life.
75. Whether or not your family can truly impact who you are as an adult.
76. How to have healthy communication in your family.
77. Trials and tribulations of a blended family.
78. Your journey as an adopted child.
79. Write about whether or not emotional closeness with family affects your life.
80. Your vision as a child and whether or not you lived up to it.
81. Write about childhood pains that have followed you into adulthood.
82. How to let go of a crappy childhood to find happiness as an adult.
83. How your family doesn’t define you.
84. Write about letting go of toxic family members to find happiness.
85. How you’d change your childhood if given the chance.
86. The journey of parenting and what it’s taught you about yourself.
87. Write about how to make your own family when you can’t rely on your own.

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Fiction Creative Writing Prompts

Now it's time for the creative fun. Use these fiction creative writing prompts to explore new genres, practice your creative writing development using literary device examples, and get inspired to venture off into a new fiction story.

These fiction writing prompts are categorized based on genre, so you'll find topics for horror or thriller stories, romance writing prompts, historical fiction topics, Sci-Fi and fantasy prompts, and story starters.

While we provide the prompts, it's up to you to expand on your own ideas, create exciting plot twists, and fully develop your elements of setting and characters.

Horror/Thriller Prompts

1. Write about your last nightmare.
2. A couple is awoken at the witching hour (3 AM) by three forceful bangs at their front door. When they call aloud to see who's there, no one answers, but a demonic snarl can be heard from outside. 
3. Waking up from a slumber with eyes still closed, your character stretches their arms out, only to hit a cold body next to them. They live alone. 
4. You made a late night trip to the gas station, and it’s pouring down rain as you stand outside in the empty parking lot, holding the nozzle to pump gas. Suddenly, a hearse pulls up slowly next to your car, and when you glance over, all you can see is bright red eyes glaring at you from the driver’s seat. 
5. Your character just finished the night shift at work. As they walk through the empty parking lot towards their car, its eerily silent and they can’t help but feel like someone is watching them. The hairs on your character’s arms start to stand up, even though it’s a relatively warm night. Your character quickly jumps into their car, starts the engine, and begins to drive home. As they look up into the rearview mirror, a sinister, smiling face appears behind them.
6. Two kids venture off into the woods behind their neighborhood, scouting for a place to build their tree house. Before long, they see the streetlights of their neighborhood come on in the distance, which is a sign that it's time to head back home. As they gather their belongings to make the trek back home, they hear a twig snap behind them, and a guttural voice whisper, “You can’t leave yet - the fun’s only just begun.”  
7. Ten thousand dollars to own a 3 bedroom cabin? It was a once-in-a-lifetime deal, that you, as a new real estate investor, just couldn’t pass up. But in order to secure your purchase quickly, you had to skip the house tour. Now that the home was purchased by you, it was time to start the renovations. But first, you had to do an in-depth survey of the house to see exactly what work needed to be done. As you enter the creaky, old home, a rancid smell fills your nostrils and in the dark, dusty corner of the entryway, you notice a large, fat rat chewing boldly on a piece of bloody flesh.  
8. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house. There was a creature stirring, but it wasn’t a mouse...Write about a holiday visitor who isn’t jolly or nice, and who brings gifts nobody would ever dare to ask for. 
9. A young family on vacation joins an excursion to a beautiful, remote beach. As they run into the ocean to splash around, they notice something dark lurks in the water, and it doesn’t look like a creature that belongs on Earth. 
10. Choose a scary story that you were told as a child, and add your own frightening twist. 
11. After a lifetime of waiting, your character has finally found the love of their life. But things turn sinister when one night, your character discovers that their new-found love must eat raw human flesh in order to stay alive.
12. Her mind was racing, but she knew she had to conceal her fear. As she turned to face him, she noticed his eyes. They were colorless, and taunted her without saying a word. 
13. They weren’t raised to believe in ghosts, ghouls, or demons, but the darkness that began to possess their once-loving father couldn’t be explained any other way. It all happened after he brought home the newest novelty for his antique collection: an 18th century wooden cross, said to belong to a woman that was tortured and hung for committing witchcraft. 
14. Vampires, werewolves, and witches. He knew they were the stuff of fiction, or at least, he thought he knew, until tonight.
15. It’s time to put your nine-year-old to bed. As you tuck the child in, pulling the blankets over her shoulders, you can’t help but notice the fear in her eyes. Concerned, you ask her what’s going on.  “She visits me every time I fall asleep. Can’t you make her stop?” she whispered in fear. When you probe your child for more details on who this woman is, and what she looks like, your blood turns to ice. She sounds exactly like the woman from the nightmares that plagued your own childhood.
16. It was love at first sight - for her, anyway. After years of being single, and sought after by all the eligible bachelors in town, everyone was surprised when Mr. Ezra came in, seemingly out of nowhere, to swoop her off her feet. He was tall, dark, and handsome, and everything she always dreamed of finding in a man. After a brief two weeks of dating, she announced that they had wed in secret. Not only that, but she would be leaving town with him, to start a new life. Little did they know that they would never see her again. Little did she know that the man of her dreams would soon become the man of her nightmares. And he was dead set on making her wish she’d never been born. 
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. Your character is walking home midday when they hear an unusual 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. Write about how the painting that’s been in your character’s home for over 50 years starts screaming.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. 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 its place on the bed.
39. 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.
40. 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.
41. 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.
42. Write about how all the pictures of your character and their sister go missing from their home…one by one.
43. Your character wakes up one morning and all the candles in their house are lit. They haven’t lit them for weeks.
44. 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.
45. 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.
46. 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.

Romance Creative Prompts

1. An exchange student goes to a foreign country to live for a year abroad, with high goals to learn the language and culture. Little does she know, she’s actually there to learn a lesson on love, from none other than a foreign classmate who has a strong distaste for outsiders like her.
2. Your character is widowed, left to raise two young children on his/her own. When it’s least expected, someone from the past comes back into their life. But things aren’t all that they seem, and falling in love again is the last thing on her to-do list.  
3. A restless man going through a midlife crisis. A free-spirited woman ready to embrace graceful aging. They butt heads often, but can’t seem to leave each other alone for good. Can they survive through something that threatens to tear them apart forever? 
4. They were childhood friends that hardly left their small hometown, and now they are distant strangers that live in two opposite parts of the world. When a tragedy calls them back home, they feel like they never left each other. How do they hold on to one another when they live two very separate lives?
5. It’s the day before their second marriage anniversary. As he’s making plans to celebrate, he gets a call from his doctor with news that will change their lives forever. 
6. Years of heartbreak and relationship failures have left her disillusioned with the idea of love. But one chance meeting with someone new makes her question her ideology forever. 
7. He’s a serial dater that enjoys the chase. She’s a serious achiever with a distaste for men like him. What happens when their two worlds collide? 
8. She’s carefully designed her life’s milestones, and is dead set on sticking to her plan. When she meets the man of her dreams and marries him after two years of maintaining a long distance relationship, she’s in for an earth-shattering awakening that not even she could prepare for. 
9. She’s a successful powerhouse business owner. He’s a humble trades worker who’s never been to college (and has no desire to ever do so). What started out as a temporary fling for fun has turned into a passionate love affair. But what happens when things settle down, and their everyday lives go on? 
10. As the caretaker of their ailing parent, who has no one else in the world to rely on, your character has put their life aspirations on hold to uphold their family duty. So what happens when love comes knocking on their door unexpectedly?
11. They were childhood sweethearts that grew up together, and have been inseparable ever since. Now that they have entered the next chapter as adults, their family and friends have urged them to get married. But the night before the wedding, the couple suddenly realizes that they are no longer in love. Where do they go from here?
12. Rich man, poor girl. It’s a story as old as time, but what happens when there’s a modern twist to it?
13. A young couple is ready to welcome their first child into the world, when a violent war suddenly ravages their town. The young man is forced away to defend his country, and the pregnant young woman is left to face the harsh winter alone. How can they keep their love alive? 
14. She’s never been in love, but she’s plagued by vivid memories and dreams of a man who seems so familiar, only she’s never met him. Could she have a lover from a past life that haunts her from another dimension?
15. Think of a famous love story that’s always intrigued you. It could be from history, or from your own experience. Now imagine a new ending for it, and write your own version of the story with a twist. 
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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?
27. 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.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. “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.
37. 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.
38. 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.
39. 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.
40. 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.
41. “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.
42. 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.
43. Write about what happens when your very particular character meets the least likely person to ever be a good match for them.
44. 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.
45. 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.

Mystery Prompts

1. The crystal clear blue waters. The bright green foliage. The black sand beach. This would be the last thing she saw before she died, and no one would ever know. 
2. He went missing twelve years ago. He was just a boy, then. After years of searching for him to no avail, his parents - now in their old age - have succumbed to hopelessness and heartbreak. That is, until a visitor arrives on their doorstep in the pouring rain one stormy night. The visitor looks like their son, but something is very, very different…
3. Your character goes for an evening stroll every night after dinner. She passes by each of her neighbors homes down the quiet street, until she gets to a fork in the road and turns back around. Only tonight, she goes on her usual walk, and decides to take a left at the fork instead of turning around. What she discovers is sure to wake the sleepy small town from their slumber. 
4. A high profile lawyer on the hunt for justice, he’s adamant about defending his client, accused of committing a crime no mother could ever commit. Or can she? 
5. She’s an experienced detective with years under belt, solving the city’s most horrific crimes. As she digs deep on the trail of one of the most sinister serial killers she’s ever dealt with, she begins uncovering some details that brings the case too close to home. 
6. Research your favorite unexplained mystery, then re-write the story with your own twist and turn of events. 
7. Your character is on a mission to discover the truth about his/her birth parents, two people s/he has been shielded from ever knowing any details about. On a quest to self-discovery, your character learns the truth, and it can be summed up in three words: Murder, lust, and greed. Write about your character’s journey towards discovering where they came from, and the shocking truth they learn along the way. 
8. Today is your birthday. You wake up, ready to celebrate with your family and friends, but things get weird when you discover that the year you thought it was, doesn’t seem to be right.
9. You are house sitting for your best friend, who you’ve known your entire life. One quiet evening, you rummage through the library in search of a good book. Instead, you find a chest of photos that piques your interest. The chest is full of old photographs featuring your best friend, dressed in old attire and surrounded by people from long, long ago. 
10. While driving home in the pouring rain one night, you spot a young girl, dressed in all white, on the side of the deserted highway. You pull over to give her a ride home, but she doesn’t know who she is, why she’s here, or where’s she going.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. Two years after your character’s significant other goes missing, presumed dead, they start getting messages that could only be from them.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. The leaves on all the trees have turned black but refuse to fall off the branches. It’s the middle of spring.
38. 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.
39. 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.
40. 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.

Sci-Fi Creative Writing Prompts

1. Earth is dissolving, and it’s up to you to get all of the remaining human children to the new “home” for humans - a newly inhabited planet that mimics Earth’s environment. The issue? The planet is twice as small as Earth, which means there is only room for half of the children in the spacecraft you’ve been given. 
2. Your character is a scientist for NASA, and is on the edge of developing a cutting-edge breakthrough technology that will allow humans to be transported to space in half the time. The only problem is, the process ages humans twice as fast…
3. The sun burns too bright, causing people to go blind the moment they catch a glimpse of the sun’s rays. This means that humans have learned to avoid the sun, living out their days in protective pods to shield them from the sun. But now, there’s a plague that’s quickly spreading amongst the population, and there seems to be only one cure: a look at the sun. 
4. You live in a futuristic world, almost 300 years from present day. Technology has taken its toll on evolution, and the only way to communicate with other humans is through a digital screen. 
5. The world as we know it is over, and you’re the leader of this new era. Decide how you want to rule society, and what type of world you will create. 
6. Your character starts the day off like any other day. She wakes up, brushes her teeth, then walks into her closet to get dressed for work. Only today, she opens her closet door to find a wide-eyed woman standing there, dripping wet as if she has been rained on. She says her planet is at war, and she has been sent to bring you back home with her, for you are the only one with the power to save her people. 
7. Research one of Earth’s unknown mysteries or conspiracy theories. Now, re-write it through the lens of someone who knows all the answers, and has a powerful reason for keeping it all a secret…
8. Virtual reality meets the real world. You live in a society where there’s a fine line between who is actually a real person, and who is not. 
9. Your character is an expert researcher that’s been chosen to lead a submarine journey to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. Uninhabitable by humans, the team witnesses sea life that’s never before been seen by man. But things take a turn for the worst when they realize a massive creature has claimed a death grip on their submarine vessel. 
10. You’ve been given the task to create the perfect species, but in your effort to do so through multiple experiments, you’ve given life to an army of children who are far from perfect. 
11. You’re exiled to a new planet, and you can only take 3 people with you. Who do you take and why?
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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?
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. 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 the midst of panic, accidentally alters time…by going 300 years into the past.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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 character’s new goal? To stop it.
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. 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.
39. 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.
40. Happiness is an illusion, as is 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.
41. 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.

12 Fantasy Writing Prompts

1. An expert diver, your character takes a trip to a remote island to explore all the underwater sights he’s read all about in books and documentaries. When he takes a diving excursion to a cave known for its colorful color, exotic fish schools, and vivid sea foliage, he stumbles upon a secret cave door. What it leads to is a bustling seaworld that’s quite literally, straight out of a storybook.
2. A device has been invented that can solve any of mankind’s problems - big or small. The catch is, that along with a solution, comes an even bigger problem…
3. You wake up one day to discover that you have been transported to the world from your favorite book. But you quickly discover that things aren’t all that they seem…
4. You come from a long line of witches, dating back to the 12th century. But a modern day witch hunt is now in full effect, and to save your life, you must find a way to give up all of your powers. 
5. Your character suddenly finds themself in an alternate dimension, where everything is backwards. How can they make sense of this new world, to find their way back to the dimension they actually belong in? 
6. Think of your favorite superhuman. Now, imagine that they use their powers for evil. Write a story featuring the dark side of your superhuman’s character.
7. Every morning, your alarm sounds off at 6 a.m. Only this morning, instead of the usual beep beep beep to wake you, a voice comes over the alarm and announces, “Today is the day you will say goodbye to everyone.”
8. Time no longer exists, and the worlds of the past, present, and future have collided, meshing them all into one. Write a fantasy story about this new world that exists - and the pitfalls that come with not having any boundaries within time. 
9. Your character unexpectedly gives birth to a healthy baby boy. What’s strange is that your character was only pregnant for two weeks, and she didn’t even realize it. As the baby grows, she starts to notice that she has quite an extraordinary child on her hands, and she must protect him from those who know he exists.
10. A dream-like world where everything seems to go your character’s way. He’s happy, peaceful, and surrounded by those he loves. But one day, he discovers that this isn’t in fact the world that he belongs in...and those that really love him desperately need him to return.
11. You’re given the chance to build your own character taking five of the best traits from people you know. What traits do you take from whom?
12. Your memory is erased and you have to start learning from scratch. (You can still feed and clothe yourself.) What is the first thing you want to learn and why?
13. Write about a character 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.
14. Write about a fantasy creature who has searched the universe for its special bond: your main character.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. Your character has always believed magic exists. They just didn’t know how close it really was.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. 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.
39. 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.
40. 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.
41. 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…
42. Write about a character who goes looking for magic out of curiosity. They find more than magic in their family history.

Dystopian writing prompts

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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?
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts

1. Write about a specific folklore tale from your cultural background, but add a special twist. 
2. Imagine your modern-day character suddenly finds themself in the past. Not only that, but they are the neighbor to a famous historical figure. Write about a significant event in the historical figures life with a modern day twist. 
3. Your character is caught between love and war. A passionate crusader with a prominent position in a revolutionary war, they fall in love with someone across the enemy lines. Do they give up their fight in a cause they stand so strongly for, or say goodbye to the one person they would give up their life for?
4. Research a significant event from your favorite time period. Then, create a character who was there to witness it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Write a story from this character’s point of view, sharing how the event changed their lives forever. 
5. You’re given the opportunity to travel back and time to a significant moment in history. Write about where you go, what you see, and who you meet. 
6. Your character is a factory worked living in Victorian London
7. Think of a time period you would never wish to live in. Now, imagine you suddenly wake up living in that era. Write about your experience from the perspective of someone who is actually living the reality you have no wish to be part of. 
8. Write about a character that was born a slave, and is the mastermind behind a dangerous mission to lead others to freedom. 
9. Research a historical figure who is considered a real-life villain. Then, write a story from their lover, or spouse's perspective. 
10. Research the history of your favorite place (city, country, etc.), then write a story from the perspective of a character who witnessed how the place as you know it came to be. 

Sentence Starter Prompts

1. The unrelenting sun beat down on his forearms, and all he could think about was how cold he felt inside.
2. A sick feeling caused by strong alcohol on an empty stomach, mixed with unsettling anxiety, caused her to crouch over in discomfort. But she couldn’t stop now. 
3. The clock struck three, and it was as if the entire world turned upside down. 
4. Whoosh whoosh whoosh. The dryer violently spun the wet clothes around, and 
5. He wasn’t sure what the crying creature was, but he knew it couldn’t be human.  
6. He stared at her, staring at him. And in the blink of an eye, an insatiable fury seemed to paint the sky blood red. 
7. The spacecraft zinged through the blackened bubble, and as she looked outside the window, she couldn’t help but feel the gravity of her eternal loneliness. 
8. No one knew him more than she did, but there were things she simply could not look past. 
9. This place was home - it always had been, so why did it feel so strange? 
10. The tapping of the keyboard was all she could hear in the empty office, and the room seemed to start spinning around her. 
11. A fast heartbeat, thumping uncontrollably inside his chest, was all he could to react; after all, this was the greatest moment of his life. 
12. “This is your moment, and you can either rise to the occasion, or crumble to your shortcomings,” the speaker said over the intercom. 
13. They were the only ones who knew the truth, and try as they might, they couldn’t forget that fateful day, even when they desperately wanted to. 
14. Despite the enchantment, her intuition gnawed at her core, warning her that this was a very, very bad idea.
15. Today is the day you realize your entire life is going to change forever because…
16. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her eyes widened in horror; how could she have let herself say such a thing? 
17. The storm raged on outside the window, and the world in all its chaos was truly coming to an end, just like they had warned. 
18. The sun looked blood orange as it lifted off the horizon, and she knew the time had come. 
19. “Your heart belongs to me,” said the stranger in a hushed, yet familiar tone. 
20. Ding dong. He ran to get the door, and when he looked through the eyehole, as was his habit before unlocking it, he couldn’t believe his eyes. 

What to do after you find your idea

A writing prompt that won't let go of you isn't a coincidence. It's a signal.

At selfpublishing.com, we've helped thousands of writers go from that first spark (a prompt, a memory, a scene they couldn't stop thinking about) to a finished, published book. The path is more direct than most people believe. You don't need years of experience. You don't need an MFA. You need a process.

If a prompt on this page lit something up for you, the next step isn't more prompts. It's starting the book.

Join our free training and learn the exact process for going from idea to published author →

Frequently asked questions about writing prompts

What is a writing prompt? A writing prompt is a short scenario, question, sentence starter, or situation designed to give a writer a starting point. It eliminates the blank-page problem by providing an idea you can react to, expand, or deviate from entirely.

Are writing prompts only for beginners? No. Professional authors, including many bestselling selfpublishing.com community members, use prompts regularly to break through writer's block, experiment with new genres, and develop voice. Prompts are a craft tool, not a remedial one.

How long should I write from a prompt? Start with 15–20 minutes, uninterrupted. The goal is to write without stopping, not to produce something polished. If the idea still has energy after the timer ends, keep going.

Can a writing prompt become a full book? Yes, and it happens more than you might expect. A prompt gives you a scene, a character, or a situation, and sometimes that's all you need to find the story you've been carrying. Many published memoirs, novels, and self-help books started as a single writing exercise.

What's the difference between fiction and nonfiction writing prompts? Fiction prompts ask you to imagine a scenario involving characters who are not you. Nonfiction and memoir prompts ask you to reach into your own life, expertise, or observations. Both types can lead to a published book, the path just looks different.

What if I don't like any of the prompts on this page? Pick the closest one and change every detail that doesn't fit. The prompt is a starting structure, not a script. Your job is to make it yours.