Menu

More apps built by Reedsy

Assemble a team of professionals

The writing app for authors

Writing courses, events and memberships

Get your book reviewed

Weekly writing prompts and contests

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Weekly Prompts Contest
Reedsy Literary Prize
Magazine
FAQ

Writing Prompts

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

Showing 2599 prompts

You overhear someone having a breakdown in a changing room.

You know a friend is hiding something and you need to find out what it is before it puts you in danger. How do you find out what their secret is?

You find a $100 bill on the street. A few blocks later, you find another. A few blocks later, another..

You fell asleep in the desert, wondering how you would survive the next day.

You are stranded on a winter hike when you come across a little cottage.

You are an explorer who's just discovered a new island.

Write a story that begins: That was the last we ever heard of him/her.

The theatre critic had spent so long critiquing plays, they'd forgotten how to enjoy them. Until now.

The curtain rose and the audience waited for the play to begin. They waited a long time.

On a cold evening, two people cheers over hot chocolate. One mug contains more than just hot chocolate.

Major downsizing meant this was the last day of your 30-year career as a mailman/mailwoman.

It's your first day in a new city where you don't speak the language.

It was so silent they not only heard it, but felt it.

It was a hell of a way to die.

It was a regular Saturday night at the speakeasy, until...

Each morning for 25 years, you and one other person waited at the same bus stop for work. This was the first time they weren't there.

Big Brother is real. And it's you.

As they rode away from their old life, they knew they'd never look back.

A writer is fighting with writer's block. They reminisce about the last time in their life they felt inspired.

A winter night in the city.

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢

Reedsy | Default — Editors with Marker | 2024-05

Bring your publishing dreams to life

The world's best editors, designers, and marketers are on Reedsy. Come meet them.