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Best Short Story Writing Prompts

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

Showing 284 prompts reset

This week's contest:
Win $250

What We Carry

90 contest entries /
40 stories

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Closes at 23:59 - Aug 28 EST

Write a story that includes the line “Better late than never.”

– 37 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a witch, spirit, or corpse.

– 121 stories

Write a story where a creature turns up in an unexpected way.

– 84 stories

Write a story that includes the line “Fate is resourceful.”

– 72 stories

Your character is invited to a secret meeting. Who invited them, and what do they encounter?

– 38 stories

Write a story in the form of diary/journal entries about a secret or confession.

– 66 stories

Write a story in which the narrator or a character says "Did you hear that?"

– 79 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a ghost, vampire, or werewolf.

– 131 stories

Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

– 109 stories

Two strangers discover they have a hidden connection that alters their understanding of each other and themselves.

– 66 stories

A chance encounter brings together two old friends who have changed in surprising or strange ways.

– 45 stories

Set your story in a kitchen, either early in the day or late at night.

– 77 stories

Write a story in the form of a recipe.

– 77 stories

Center your story around a character’s attempt to escape a bad situation that inadvertently leads them back to the source of their problems.

– 45 stories

Start a story with someone receiving a message from their past self, warning them of the consequences of their actions.

– 32 stories

A character’s life of deceit unravels as their past catches up with their present. What are the consequences?

– 37 stories

Write a story about someone seeking forgiveness for their past actions.

– 88 stories

Your character gets everything they ever wanted — only to realize the true cost.

– 68 stories

Your character wants something very badly — will they get it?

– 56 stories

There’s been an accident — what happens next?

– 64 stories

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