Writing prompts
Story prompts for fiction writers, sorted by genre. Pick a genre and strike the anvil for a new combination, or scroll for hand-picked lists.
Story prompt
A translator for a dying language has to deliver bad news to someone they love. It turns out to be a gift, not a threat.
Story prompts for any genre
- A translator for a dying language has to deliver bad news to someone they love. It turns out to be a gift, not a threat.
- A retired magician has to deliver bad news to someone they love. Write it as a series of text messages.
- A man who has never told a lie has to deliver bad news to someone they love. The catch: they can only tell the truth until sunrise.
- A night-shift nurse returns a lost wallet and gets far more than a thank-you. Nobody else seems to notice anything is wrong.
- A night-shift nurse returns a lost wallet and gets far more than a thank-you. The whole story takes place in one room.
- A delivery driver on her last route agrees to swap lives with a stranger for a day. Nobody else seems to notice anything is wrong.
- A man who has never told a lie is the only guest who shows up to a party. The catch: they can only tell the truth until sunrise.
- A man who has never told a lie hears their own name announced at a station they have never visited. By the last line, the reader should distrust the narrator.
Fantasy writing prompts
- A ferryman of souls wakes in a forest where the trees remember every traveller. The monster only wants to go home.
- A dragon too old to fly wakes in a forest where the trees remember every traveller. Every name in the story has power, so the hero hides theirs.
- A court bard wakes in a forest where the trees remember every traveller. Magic in this world has a strict, visible price.
- An apprentice cartographer is hired to kill a god who no longer has worshippers. Their companion is secretly the thing they are hunting.
- An apprentice cartographer is hired to kill a god who no longer has worshippers. A small kindness in the first scene saves them at the end.
- A prince raised by wolves strikes a bargain with a fae who cannot lie but loves loopholes. Their companion is secretly the thing they are hunting.
- A court bard opens a door in the palace that was bricked up for a reason. Magic in this world has a strict, visible price.
- A court bard learns that every spell costs one of their memories. Nobody in the kingdom believes in magic anymore.
Horror writing prompts
- A real-estate agent selling a "charming fixer-upper" notices the house has one more window outside than inside. The final line reframes the first.
- A hospice volunteer finds a photo of themselves sleeping, taken last night. The narrator has been the threat all along.
- A real-estate agent selling a "charming fixer-upper" hears scratching from inside a wall that has nothing behind it. Tell it through a found journal with pages missing.
- A deep-sea diver hears scratching from inside a wall that has nothing behind it. The narrator has been the threat all along.
- A farmer during a dry summer realises the neighbours all smile at exactly the same moment. It is daytime for the entire story.
- A lonely man who talks to his reflection finds a photo of themselves sleeping, taken last night. The scariest thing is never fully shown.
- A deep-sea diver realises the neighbours all smile at exactly the same moment. It is daytime for the entire story.
- A podcaster investigating a cold case is told by a stranger, "Don't let it know your name". Nothing supernatural happens, and it is still terrifying.
Romance writing prompts
- A diplomat and an interpreter are paired as partners in a cooking class. A grandparent is secretly playing matchmaker.
- Two rival food-truck owners are paired as partners in a cooking class. It takes place over a single long dinner.
- A fake couple for a family reunion are paired as partners in a cooking class. The love confession happens in the first scene, and nobody believes it.
- A florist who hates weddings get snowed in on New Year's Eve. Tell it from both points of view in alternating sections.
- A florist who hates weddings get snowed in on New Year's Eve. The grand gesture goes wrong in a useful way.
- A lifeguard in the off-season meet again ten years after a terrible first kiss. Tell it from both points of view in alternating sections.
- A fake couple for a family reunion discover they have been arguing online for years. The love confession happens in the first scene, and nobody believes it.
- A fake couple for a family reunion share an umbrella, and it becomes a ritual. They are perfect for each other on paper, and that is the problem.
Mystery writing prompts
- A locksmith finds a key in a birthday cake. Two separate crimes turn out to be one.
- A hotel housekeeper finds a key in a birthday cake. The motive is kindness.
- An insurance investigator finds a key in a birthday cake. The culprit confesses in chapter one; the mystery is why.
- A retired detective in a care home sees a missing woman on a live traffic camera. The detective is wrong, and the reader sees it first.
- A retired detective in a care home sees a missing woman on a live traffic camera. Solve it using only one overlooked everyday object.
- A crossword setter is the only witness, but was asleep. The detective is wrong, and the reader sees it first.
- An insurance investigator must solve a theft before the train reaches the next station. The culprit confesses in chapter one; the mystery is why.
- An insurance investigator finds the same stranger in three old family photos. The victim is not dead.
Science fiction writing prompts
- An astronaut returning after fifty years learns that the aliens have been here all along, and are polite. It is told through ship logs, with gaps.
- A teenager in a city with no weather discovers Earth stopped answering three years ago. It is told through ship logs, with gaps.
- A translator for first contact learns that the aliens have been here all along, and are polite. The rescue mission is not wanted.
- A robot built to care for one child receives a package from their future self. The final choice is between two good things.
- A time-travel tourist is the only person immune to the new social network. Show the world through what people throw away.
- A clone who remembers being the original finds a planet exactly like Earth, but empty. The final choice is between two good things.
- A deep-space courier must decide whether to wake the crew early. Show the world through what people throw away.
- An AI that has just learned to lie is asked to testify for a machine on trial. Show the world through what people throw away.
How to turn a prompt into a story
- Find the question. Every good prompt hides one: who sent the letter, what is in the locked room. Your story is the answer.
- Choose whose story it is. The person with the most to lose is usually the most interesting point of view.
- Start late. Begin as close to the moment of change as you can; backstory can come later, or never.
- Write badly on purpose. A timed 15-minute draft beats an hour of staring. Edit tomorrow.
Need people for your story? Try the character generator, or build a full premise with the plot generator.
Questions writers ask
What are writing prompts?
A writing prompt is a short starting point, such as a situation, question, image or first line, that removes the blank-page problem and gives you something specific to write toward.
How do I use a story prompt?
Read it once, set a timer for 15 to 20 minutes and write without editing. You do not have to follow the prompt faithfully; if it sparks a different idea, follow the spark.
How many story prompts are on this page?
The lists show a sample from each genre. The generator combines characters, situations and twists into more than 10,000 combinations per genre.
Are these fiction writing prompts free to use?
Yes, for personal writing, classrooms, writing groups and published work. The prompt is a seed; what you grow from it is yours.