Category: PromptsPage 17 of 26

Prompts are story ideas that inspire you to get writing. When you are overdrawn at the idea bank, you can always pick up some ideas from the muse. Take our ideas and run with them. Make them yours. Turn prompts into best sellers. Turn prompts into stories for fun. Browse prompts for ideas. If our collection can help you find inspiration or new ideas – then these prompts have done their job.

More Fantasy World Headlines

Fantasy World Headlines

I’ve been toying with a new project that converts real headlines into the news from fantasy world. These are some of the headlines it has produced. Headlines that…

Writing theme: Nature

We have a new theme for you – nature and the natural world. Maybe you will write about life in the wild, natural remedies, or the power of…

Writing theme: Blue

Writing theme: blue – blue things, the blues, and feeling blue. Have you written to a theme before? If not, you are in luck because this post contains…

Meme-tastic

How many meme references can you get into one discussion between characters while still moving the story forward?

Add a time limit

Put your characters under pressure by adding a time limit or a time-sensitive task. Make them race against the clock. Bonus points if they run out of time…

The Trolly Problem

A hypothetical question of ethics comes up resulting in two or more of your characters debating the “right” answer. The what now? There is a runaway trolly and…

A joke that wasn’t

Have a character make a joke only to inadvertently sate a secret truth.

They suck at this (dare)

What is your character terrible at? Make that the thing they have to do (and do well) and write about how they struggle and fail.

Everything stops for tea.

In the middle of a crisis, have your characters stop everything to have a drink. Ideally of tea.

Oh, for a needle and thread right now

Have a character tear their clothes at the least opportune moment and have to somehow avoid embarrassment but continue with a vital task.

One Word: Dragons

Get dragons in your story. Perhaps as a figurine or maybe real fire-breathing dragons. Bonus points if the setting is not a fantasy novel. Double Bonus points if…

The bad spelling dare

A simple spelling mistake leads your characters in an unrelated direction where they stumble upon facts they might never have discovered otherwise.

Add sheep

Add sheep to your story in the least likely place that sheep might ever be expected to be found.

Two wrongs (dare)

Two significant characters have a serious disagreement over how to approach something. As they argue over the specifics, it slowly becomes apparent that they are both totally wrong.

Freudian slip dare

A character says something innocent but it sounds so very dirty that everyone is shocked.

The worst luck ever

Give your character the worst run of bad luck you can possibly dream up.

A bit spooky

Your protagonist discovers an inanimate object that laughs.

Spooning (dare)

How many spoons (or references to spoons) can you get into a chapter unrelated to food or eating?

The truth comes out

A humiliating secret that your character has kept hidden most of their life becomes public knowledge.

Kleptomania dare

Have one of your characters steal something random on an impulse only for it to turn out to be significant later on.

9 objects dare

Include all of these things in one scene:

Sarcasm dare

A sarcastic comment turns out to be the perfect solution to a problem.

The Trotts

Your character eats some undercooked chicken. As a result, at the critical moment they are locked in the bathroom and decidedly unavailable to take action.