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Writing Prompts

Join our ongoing contests and win up to $1,500. Flex those creative muscles with these writing prompts.

Showing 2610 prompts

Write about a character who is a reluctant expert on a topic they wish they didn’t know so much about.

– 38 stories

Write about one character’s fundamental misunderstanding of another character’s job.

– 23 stories

Write about a person trying to learn a new skill or hobby they find intimidating but want (or need) to learn anyway.

– 47 stories

And there's a twist! It actually all took place in the past.

– 32 stories

Someone in the story has a lot of hard lessons to learn.

– 35 stories

It kicks off on a yacht with the delivery of an important letter.

– 35 stories

It's a literary fiction story about growing up.

– 39 stories

It's about a photographer, who is a rookie.

– 34 stories

Write a story about an eventful evening of trick-or-treating.

– 37 stories

You go for a walk and accidentally bump into someone. They feel the bump, but the person can't seem to hear or see you.

– 52 stories

Write a story about someone who sees a black cat cross their path... for the tenth time that day.

– 40 stories

You go to visit your neighbor. When you ring the doorbell, a stranger appears and tells you that your neighbor has been dead for ten years.

– 49 stories

Write a story about someone spending the night in an old Victorian home-turned-hotel on Halloween.

– 45 stories

Write a story that features an ensemble cast of characters.

– 20 stories

Write a story that involves a mystery — it doesn't need to be crime-related, it should just include something that remains unexplained until the end.

– 79 stories

Write a story featuring a protagonist with a knack for getting to the bottom of things.

– 6 stories

Write a story about a character with a sidekick.

– 20 stories

Write a story that takes place in a small town where news travels fast.

– 50 stories

Write about the moment a child (of any age) first comes to view a parent as a three-dimensional human being, and not just a parental figure.

– 23 stories

Write about a parent who sees pieces of a family member’s (or their own) personality in their child — whether that brings them comfort, terror, or something in between.

– 20 stories

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