creative writing prompts for adults reddit

Our Top 50 Reddit Writing Prompts.

Writing can be quite a difficult endeavor on it's own, and the process becomes impossible without inspiration. For most people who have trouble sticking to a daily writing goal, it’s not a lack of self-discipline, but instead a lack of inspiration. 

Thankfully, authors and readers from all over the world have united in one place to share their creative and fun prompt ideas - Reddit. This Reddit forum, r/WritingPrompts , has amazingly grown to almost 16 million members. 

The subreddit has become a place for members to sporadically post prompt ideas, encouraging other members to comment their own spin-off stories from the prompt. It’s not uncommon to see some users receive a flood of positive feedback on their response that they proceed to write multiple follow up responses to the same prompt.

Amazingly, there have even been some users who report back years later that their prompt response inspired them to write an entire novel !

It’s no secret that r/WritingPrompts has become a gold mine for writing inspiration. So, we thought it could be useful to to compile the all-time top 50 writing prompts from the subreddit.

On days where you’re stuck and unable to think of anything to write about, check out these prompts below and give one a shot! 

The year is 1910. Adolf Hitler, a struggling artist, has fought off dozens of assassination attempts by well meaning time travelers, but this one is different. This traveller doesn't want to kill Hitler, he wants to teach him to paint. He pulls off his hood to reveal the frizzy afro of Bob Ross.

The year is 2038 and net neutrality has been dead for almost two decades. But a rebellious group managed to travel back to 2017…

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do Mr Bond. I’m going to stick you in a spacesuit with a radio, and strap you into one of my cars. Then, while mankind watches, I’ll launch you into space. The last thing you’ll hear before leaving this earth forever, will be their applause.”

You lost your sight - along with everyone else on Earth - in The Great Blinding. Two years later, without warning, your sight returns. As you look around, you realize that every available wall, floor and surface has been painted with the same message - Don't Tell Them You Can See.

When you die, you appear in a cinema with a number of other people who look like you. You find out that they are your previous reincarnations, and soon you all begin watching your next life on the big screen.

You hire a female prostitute, tell her to meet you at a fancy restaurant, and ask her to pretend to be your colleague from the bank. Hire a male prostitute, and tell him the same thing. You sit at a table next to theirs and listen to their conversation.

It's 3 AM. An official phone alert wakes you up. It says "DO NOT LOOK AT THE MOON". You have hundreds of notifications. Hundreds of random numbers are sending "It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."

Every country has ninjas but the world only knows about Japan's because theirs suck.

Humans once wielded formidable magical power but with over 7 billion of us on the planet now Mana has spread far too thinly to have any effect. When hostile aliens reduce humanity to a mere fraction the survivors discover an old power has begun to reawaken once again.

A woman has been dating guy after guy, but it never seems to work out. She’s unaware that she’s actually been dating the same guy over and over; a shapeshifter who’s fallen for her, and is certain he’s going to get it right this time.

The human lifespan is actually only one day long. To adapt, when we go to sleep each night, our mind sends us one dream deeper, where we wake up alive. When we finally die, the experience of our life flashing before our eyes is really just us waking up in each dream, one at a time.

Whenever you speak, people hear you speaking in their native language. Most people are surprised and delighted. The cashier at McDonalds you've just talked to is horrified. "Nobody's spoken that language in thousands of years."

You're Barack Obama. 4 months into your retirement, you awake to find a letter with no return address on your bedside table. It reads "I hope you've had a chance to relax Barack...but pack your bags and call the number below. It's time to start the real job." Signed simply, "JFK."

The hottest show in the afterlife for the past decade: Steve Irwin wrangling all sorts of supernatural creatures.

Your ability to see people's age in years as an invisible number above their heads has made you the perfect bouncer. One day you see a four digit number.

Following World War III, all the nations of the world agreed to 50 years of strict isolation from one another in order to prevent additional conflicts. 50 years later, the United States comes out of exile, only to learn that no one else went into isolation.

Due to your nerdy great great great great grandfather in 2017 'buying a star' and some modern legal shenanigans you are now the proud owner of a small intergalactic empire

Your entire life, you've been told you're deathly allergic to bees. You've always had people protecting you from them, be it your mother or a hired hand. Today, one slips through and lands on your shoulder. You hear a tiny voice say "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

An alien has kidnapped Matt Damon, not knowing what lengths humanity goes through to retrieve him whenever he goes missing.

All of the "#1 Dad" mugs in the world change to show the actual ranking of Dads suddenly.

A super hero fights evil by wiping memories of both the villain and everyone who knew of them so that they can be reintroduced into society safely. Today, as you were combing through old newspapers, you discovered that you were once the world's most powerful supervillain.

When you’re 28, science discovers a drug that stops all effects of aging, creating immortality. Your government decides to give the drug to all citizens under 26, but you and the rest of the “Lost Generations” are deemed too high-risk. When you’re 85, the side effects are finally discovered.

Earth is doomed in a matter of years, but you are bestowed with a mystical dagger that causes anyone killed by it to instantly resurrect on an alternate Earth that does not share the same fate. In one world you are revered as a hero, in the other the most notorious serial killer of all time.

Vampires cannot enter a house uninvited. Turns out, they invented Welcome mats to bypass this rule decades ago.

As Pride Month nears its end, the other six members of the Seven Deadly Sins begin to wonder when they'll get months dedicated to them. Pride, meanwhile, is just trying to get them to understand that he's not actually the focus of Pride Month.

You go to hell, only to find out that hell has been overturned by humans. Turns out gathering billions of the most wicked of humans, among them are several ruthless but brilliant rulers, commanders, and dictators, who can no longer die, isn't such a good idea after all.

You never kill the spiders in your home, you just whisper "today you, tomorrow me" when you set them outside. Now, in your most dire moment, an army of spiders arrives to have your back.

"Jesus take the wheel, Satan get behind me, Buddha... man the .50 cal"

One day, time just suddenly stops for a short moment for you. At first, you tried to mess around, but after the 246th time it happened, you start to realise that your power is not stopping time, but being able to move in time frozen by another person in the world.

You're a biologist who made a deal with the devil: eternity in hell after death in return for unlimited funding for your research. The funding was worth it, you discovered immortality, and the devil is not happy about this.

Your daughter has been begging you for a pony, and you told her to write a letter to Santa. On Christmas morning, you find a fire-breathing horse in your front yard, and a package by your front door. Looks like she wrote a letter to Satan, and he delivered.

Pennywise wakes up after his 27 year sleep to find that four giant turtles and a rat have taken over the sewers.

You won a lifetime supply of Oreos when you were a kid. The apocalypse and collapse of civilization was 30 years ago, yet every month the Oreos are still delivered to you, no matter where you are.

You have $86,400 in your bank and someone steals $10. You spend all the rest of your money trying to get revenge.

At the age of twelve you started randomly seeing a green line and a red line appear on the ground. You always followed the green line and have lived a successful and happy life. Ten years later you are on top of the world, but bored. Time to see where the red line leads.

We finally get men on Mars and they discover an old Soviet flag placed down decades ago. The Soviets won the space race but for whatever horrifying reason didn't say anything.

Bored with Heaven's docile wildlife, Steve Irwin rounds up a camera crew and leads an expedition to observe and study the native species of Hell.

In order to get a shot at going to Valhalla, you must die with a weapon in your hands. You just died and are now sitting in front of Odin's advisory board as they discuss whether a spatula actually counts.

After you die, you're handed a book about your life. You open it, expecting a novel. Instead you get a "Choose your own adventure" book with all of the decisions you ever made, and every outcome they could have had.

From birth, your parents have done everything they could to stop you from going out during a full moon. At the age of 16, curiosity overwhelms you and you sneak out of the house during a full moon. You take a peek at the moon, and suddenly you turn into a log cabin. You are a warehouse.

You discover a library with a biography for everyone on Earth. While reading your own, you notice that whenever someone else is mentioned, there's a footnote showing where you can find their biography. It's odd how someone who was only a sentence in your book has a whole chapter for you.

Humans are the first sentients, putting us millenia ahead of aliens. Instead of acting like an "elder" species should, we create mysterious artifacts with no actual use, crop circles and send spooky messages, like "be quiet, you are in danger" to the aliens, because we are still childish morons.

At age 15 you told the gf you were "in love" with that you'd always be there when she was in need. Aphrodite heard you and made it a reality, whenever your gf was in need you appeared at her side. Problem is, you and the girl broke up after 3 weeks but you still appear even now..10 years later

A purge comedy where two pals accidently kill someone a week before the purge and tries to fake the person's life until the night of the purge when the murder would be legal.

You are Death, but in a post-apocalyptic world. Only a few survivors remain, and you're doing everything you can to help them because if the last human dies, you die as well. The survivors can't see you, but they feel your presence and notice your effort. They started to call you Life.

When you die, you wake up in an alien world holding a bong, with other aliens saying how was the trip.

Jesus actually had 14 disciples but their behavior was deemed inappropriate by biblical scholars, so they were removed from the final versions of the Gospels. They are Brad and Chad, the Bro-ciples, and these are their stories.

The lone survivor of an Arctic exploration, you were captured generations ago by a band of tiny warriors. They’ve placed you under an enchantment to do their bidding; heading out into the world once each year as their unwilling emissary. They call you “slave,” or in their tongue, “Santa.”

You are a cat who has been taking an advantage of the recent rise of video conference trials to elevate your legal career. One day your human video filter stops working and you need to convince the judge that you are a real, human lawyer licensed to practice law in the state of Texas.

A schizophrenic man gets sick of the voice in his head and asks it to start paying rent if it wants to live there. The next morning he finds an envelope filled with cash on his desk.

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Writing Prompts: 52 Places to Find Them When You Need Inspiration

by Emily Withnall | Nov 1, 2023

If you feel like you are stuck in your writing, writing prompts might be just what you need to get out of your rut.

Whether you’re experiencing writer’s block or you’re tired of your own voice, style or subject-matter, writing prompts can give you a creative jolt to help you begin something new. 

In addition to being a writer and editor, I teach writing in public schools and in a nearby detention center. This means I regularly use writing prompts with students of all ages. 

Table of contents, what is a writing prompt .

A writing prompt is a brief image or topic that can help writers generate new ideas. Writing prompts can be a great way to inspire ideas in any genre of writing. 

They can also take a huge variety of forms. Whether you’re inspired by news headlines, objects, one-word prompts, detailed questions or reading a poem or full work of prose, writing prompts can help you explore a particular topic, engage in a “conversation” with other writers or get through writer’s block. 

Writing prompts can also help you make new or unusual connections between things. I was once asked to write an essay that incorporated a dog, a wristwatch and scuba diver. This prompt resulted in an essay that was published in a magazine.

Where to find writing prompts

Writing classes can be wonderful places to encounter interesting prompts, but the internet is also swimming with more prompts than you can ever use. 

The following list is a collection of some of the resources that can help you generate new work no matter what genre you’re working in.

While these prompts are grouped in categories, many of the websites offer prompts in multiple genres. Remember that a genre-specific prompt can often be used to generate interesting ideas or connections in other genres, too.

Here’s where to find writing prompts.

Fiction writing prompts and creative writing prompts

1. Poets & Writers: The Time is Now

Poets & Writers Magazine  publishes a new fiction prompt online every Wednesday. These prompts are typically a paragraph in length and they encourage ideas through a series of questions and suggestions.

2. Self-Publishing School: 400+ Creative Writing Prompts to Find Your Next (Best) Book Idea

These prompts are aimed at inspiring plot and character development and are meant to generate the sparks needed to fuel writing a book. Sets of prompts are grouped into genres of fiction writing such as mystery, dystopian, fantasy, and more. Each group of prompts is also accompanied by a series of tips for how to write in a particular genre.

The Write Life has teamed up with Self-Publishing School to create this presentation, “How to Write & Publish Your Book in 90 Days.” In it, you’ll learn how to finish your book in just 30 minutes per day. To sign up for this free training, click here.

3.   12 Nature-Inspired Creative Writing Prompts

Nature writing typically brings to mind nonfiction writing, but this list of prompts encourages nature- and place-based storytelling. The prompts contain detailed visual descriptions to help you jump into a particular place or scene. 

4. Writer’s Digest Creative Writing Prompts

These prompts are posted weekly and help to generate specific scenes or ideas you can expand on. Most of the prompts are a series of questions to help generate details about plot and character development.

5. 21 Writing Prompts to Help You Finish an Entire Novel This Summer

These short prompts offer a topic, scenario or structure broad enough to build a book around. Each prompt is accompanied by a gif that works as an additional prompt for people who are inspired by visual imagery.

6. Plot Prompts for Fiction: Writer Igniter

This simple but innovative website offers digital flashcards to help writers explore character, situation, prop, and setting. Four specific cards are offered to the writer and when you finish (or if you want a different idea) you can just press the “shuffle” button and get an entirely new combination to write about. 

7. Creative Writing Now: Fiction Writing Prompts

The heart of any story often involves a character’s internal or personal journey. These prompts offer a full paragraph to flesh out a particular character and the personal or relational challenges they are facing.

8. Creative Writing Now: 44 Short Story Ideas

Designed for shorter works of fictions, these short story prompts offer brief scenarios for inspiration. Each set of ideas comes with a writing challenge, and you are encouraged to mix and match ideas from each of the prompt lists. There’s even one set of prompts that helps you brainstorm personal fears and habits and helps you fictionalize them. 

9. ServiceScape Fiction Writing Prompt Generator

Scroll through a list of fiction sub-genres, such as “utopia,” “space opera,” “science fiction romance,” or many other sub-genres, to pull up a carousel of prompts. Each prompt is about a paragraph long to set the scene and situation—perfect for any fiction writer who just needs a nudge to get them off and running. 

10. Fiction Prompts on StoryADay with Julie Duffy

The prompts provided on StoryADay often ask writers to imagine a momentous moment and dive right into the action. These prompts can be great for helping writers craft plot. Each prompt is paired with a photograph, too, which can be another boon for anyone who derives inspiration from imagery. 

11. The Writer: Writing Prompts

Writers looking to combine mundane, everyday life with secrets, mysteries, or other strange twists will likely find these prompts intriguing. Paired with colorful and engaging images, these prompts are updated weekly on Fridays.

12. 40 Short Story Prompts You Can Write in a Day

If all you need is a scenario, these prompts should do the trick. Each prompt sets up the situation, and it’s up to you to provide the story! 

13. Random Story Prompt Generator

Click a button and receive a few random prompts! These work well for writers who just need a handful of objects and archetypal characters for inspiration to strike. And for even more random story prompts, check out the links to other story generators below the prompt box. 

14. Giant Golden Buddha & 364 More 5-Minute Writing Exercises

For fiction writers who need inspiration for how to begin, these prompts are detailed and focused enough to help you zero in on an opening paragraph, a brief scene, or a vivid description of a character.

Flash Fiction Prompts

15. Laurie Stone’s Flash Fiction Prompts

The prompts on this website are creative and include sentence fragments, excerpts of poems, and sentences with fill-in-the blank spots. The variety makes these prompts unusual and great for experimentation. 

16. Bookfox: 50 Flash Fiction Prompts

Designed for fiction 1,000 words or under, these prompts will likely spark ideas for short stories or even novels. The prompts are grouped by category and each prompt introduces the main character and the tension for a writer to run with. 

17. 62 of the Best Flash Fiction Story Prompts

This list of prompts is perfect for fiction writers who want to try their hand at writing flash fiction. Steph Fraser provides an overview of flash fiction and tips for how to write flash stories successfully. This introduction is followed by prompts which are grouped by sub-genres such as “horror” and “romance.” 

18. 99 Days of Flash Fiction Prompts

If you need a little more to go on than a few words, but don’t need a full paragraph, these prompts provide brief dialogue and just enough sensory detail to spark a flash story idea.

19. 100 Days of Fun Flash Fiction Prompts

These brief prompts created by Eva Deverell are designed to keep you writing every day, but can be used at random, too. As a bonus, her website offers a number of other free writing resources, too! 

Nonfiction writing prompts

20. Submittable Prompts

Writers who submit work to literary magazines are likely familiar with Submittable — but did you know their blog has an archive of writing prompts? Each blog post is accompanied by an image that relates to the theme of the prompts. There are 8-10 prompts focused on a particular idea or theme. Most of these prompts can easily be used for other genres. 

21. Poets & Writers: The Time is Now

Poets & Writers Magazine publishes a new nonfiction prompt every Thursday. Writers can also subscribe to the Time is Now weekly e-newsletter to receive prompts for nonfiction as well as fiction and poetry.

22. The New York Times Learning Network: 550 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing

Not only are these prompts grouped in easy-to-navigate categories, but each prompt is linked to background information, a brief summary of someone’s story as it pertains to the topic, and a series of questions aimed at helping a writer think through the various aspects of a particular prompt. This is a great option for writers who need more than one-word prompts!

23. Bad-Ass Writing Prompts to Kick-Start Your Creativity

Each of these prompts lays out a brief scenario and asks a question aimed at self-discovery or introspection. These would be particularly useful for  personal essayists  or memoirists who are trying to find a way into writing about their bad or regrettable behaviors. 

24. 10 Ways to Inspire Personal Writing with The New York Times

Writers with years of expertise and a keen eye for structure and tone will benefit from these advanced writing prompts. Each prompt provides loose guidelines for modeling a piece on the writing published in particular sections of The New York Times. The prompts include links to published work writers might reference as good examples.

25. Creative Nonfiction Prompts

The 50 prompts on this list are pulled from Melissa Donovan’s book, “1200 Creative Writing Prompts.” The list is made up of strings of questions that ask writers to recall various types of memories, or to engage with emotional or intellectual responses to music, art, and media. 

26. Bookfox: 50 Creative Nonfiction Prompts Guaranteed to Inspire

Most memoirists and personal essayists explore relationships in their writing and this list of prompts is bound to jog particular kinds of memories. Most of the prompts relate to childhood or family relationships, but some prompts focus on other types of relationships, too.

27. Event: 30 Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

While some people prefer a word or phrase to spark an idea, others benefit from paragraphs and series of questions, and some enjoy reading a full essay or article before beginning to write. This list of prompts offers all three options for each of the 30 ideas. Some prompts suggest a straightforward retelling, but others suggest looser associations and experimental nonfiction writing.

28. 11 Strange Fiction/Nonfiction Prompts

Derived from the quotes of renowned writers, these prompts ask writers to dig deep and consider the connections between small, detailed moments and larger themes or events. The prompts can easily be used for either fiction or nonfiction. 

29. 10 Easy Writing Prompts to Get Your Life Story Started

It can be difficult to write about your complex life story in a clear way. Each of these ten prompts provides a frame so that you can dive into one aspect of your life story that will likely illuminate larger themes as you keep writing. 

30. Writing Class Radio

Perfect for people who prefer a minimalist approach, Writing Class Radio provides daily prompts of one or two words. The website also hosts a nonfiction writing podcast that features writers sharing work and discussing craft.

31. Writing Our Lives Personal Essay Prompts

Writer Vanessa Martír posts prompts weekly. Each prompt invites writers to reflect deeply on a particular memory or set of memories and most prompts include a quote from a book or movie that connects to the topic. Many of the prompts are focused on reflection and healing. 

32. Journal Writing Prompts for Beginners: 119 Journal Prompts

You don’t have to seek publication to be a writer. Writing for yourself counts, too! People who want to journal but aren’t sure where to start or what to write each day (or week) will find this list of prompts to be helpful in sparking ideas for topics.

33. Bernadette Mayer’s List of Journal Ideas

For beginners and advanced journalers and nonfiction writers, this list is divided into categories to give you ideas for themed journals, topic ideas, and quote fragments meant to inspire. There are also longer prompts that encourage experimentation with structure, form, and collaboration.

Flash Nonfiction Prompts

34. Flash Nonfiction Lessons in Concision and Revision

As a writing instructor, Zoë Bossiere has a lot of wisdom to share about the various kinds of flash nonfiction and the elements that make flash writing different than longer types of writing. Although this is essentially a lesson plan on Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies, writers can learn a lot about the four main types of flash nonfiction, and gain inspiration for their own flash pieces from the many examples and resources that Boossiere provides. 

35. Documenting Life, Briefly: Flash Nonfiction Prompts

In each of these prompts, the writer is invited to approach the truth of the world or themselves from a different angle, whether it’s a memorable phone call or something from the news you just can’t shake. Some prompts walk you through a series of steps, and others offer just a couple of lines to help you begin. 

Poetry writing prompts

36. Poets & Writers: The Time is Now

Poets & Writers Magazine  releases a new poetry prompt once a week on Tuesdays. You can access these on the website or sign up to receive the prompts in their weekly writing prompt e-newsletter. These prompts are typically in the form of a paragraph with excerpts of poems or quotes accompanied by a series of questions or suggestions.

37. Think Written: 101 Poetry Writing Prompts

If you want to jump right into a poem, these prompts are a great way to start. Each prompt is one short sentence and the list is filled with suggestions that will evoke memories or spark your imagination. 

38. Writer’s Relief: 125 of the Best Writing Prompts for Poets

These prompts consist of two words or a short phrase or image meant to evoke life memories. The prompts are grouped in categories like “Momentous Occasions” and “Mysterious Places.”

39. Creative Writing Now: Prompts for Poetry

These short prompts are open-ended and each one might be used repeatedly to produce different kinds of poems. Many of the prompts suggest using a set of specific words. Using words you might not use ordinarily can help you stretch creatively as a writer!

40. Poetry Prompt Generator

Choose the number of words you want to appear on this page, and the number of challenges. Then decide whether you’d like to draw inspiration from an image, and press the “Get Prompt” button. Voila! You now have a set of instructions, a list of words to try to use in your poem, and an image to get your creative juices flowing. 

41. The Poetry Writing Society: Poetry Writing Prompts

Each of these prompts involves a series of instructions or steps. For poets who are feeling particularly stuck or benefit from structure, the prompts here just may do the trick. 

42. Writing Forward Poetry Prompts

The 25 prompts on this list are pulled from Melissa Donovan’s book, “1200 Creative Writing Prompts.” Books can be great resources for writing prompts and many authors make some of these printed prompts available online. Many of these prompts suggest writing poems that use a specific set of images or sounds.

43. 30 Writing Prompts for National Poetry Month

Take your shoes off, grab the nearest book, or find a recipe: Many of these prompts derive inspiration from the objects and ideas that surround you. 

44. CAConrad’s (Soma)tic Poetry Exercises

How do you feel about putting a penny under your tongue before writing? For poets or other creative writers looking for embodied experiences to inspire their writing, these exercises are more than just prompts. Each exercise calls on writers to engage in a particular activity while thinking about particular memories and ideas.  

Writing prompts on social media (including Reddit writing prompts)

45. Reddit Writing Prompts

You can find anything on Reddit — including writing prompts. Most of the prompts on Reddit are for fiction writers, but the search bar will turn up other genres, too. Reddit prompts are great for people who want to write and get feedback in an online community.

46. Tumblr Writing Prompts: Story Prompts

Tumblr is a virtual treasure trove of writing prompts of any genre and topic you can imagine. Story Prompts curates prompts from across many different Tumblr accounts, but you can also search for specific blogs or genre types.

47. Facebook Writing Prompts: Windcatchers

Windcatchers is one of many writing prompt Facebook groups and it is run by writer Michelle Labyrinth. Prompts are posted about once a week and other articles and resources for writers are posted, too. The prompts are generally targeted to nonfiction writers.

48. Twitter #Writing Prompts

Hashtags make it easier than ever to find the kind of prompts you are looking for. #writingprompts generates lots of different kinds of prompts, but there are also Twitter accounts you can follow that are devoted to particular kinds of prompts.

49. TikTok Writing Prompts

Obsessed with TikTok? You can find writing prompts there, too! Type “writing prompts” into the search feature and you will find a list of the top accounts posting writing prompts. Some accounts post multiple times a day, and others post less frequently but have an archive of prompts you can scroll through. 

50. YouTube Writing Prompts

Do you squander valuable writing time by watching too many cat videos on YouTube? Not to worry—there are tons of writing prompt videos on YouTube. Often, the key to inspiration is looking for it in the places you spend the most time.

51. Instagram #WritingPrompts

Like Twitter, you can easily find any kind of writing prompt by searching for a specific hashtag. However, Instagram is ideal for the image-oriented writer; many prompts are accompanied by an image or background that can provide additional inspiration.

52. Pinterest Writing Prompts

Pinterest is not the first place most writers would think of when searching for prompts, but like Instagram, it has a wealth of image-oriented prompts across all genres. For people who already spend time on Pinterest, this can be a great way to find writing inspiration, too.

Photo via frantic00 / Shutterstock  

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Home » Blog » 140 Creative Writing Prompts For Adults

140 Creative Writing Prompts For Adults

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Learning how to become a better writer includes knowing how to come up with a solid idea. With so many elements to consider when starting your novel, the plot itself may begin to slip away from you. Use these creative writing prompts for adults to get you started on the right path to a successful story and suffer from writer’s block for the last time.

This list of writing prompts for adults can be taken and used in any way you want. Details can be changed, and characters can be added or removed.

They are meant to be a fun way to get your creativity flowing and your next story developing. For even more writing ideas, check out the  writing prompt generator . Here, you will find 500+ prompts of all kinds that will give you some ideas.  Take control of that blank page and create something awesome. 

Dramatic Writing Prompts for Adults

Supernatural writing prompts for adults, thriller writing prompts for adults, horror writing prompts for adults, crime and mystery writing prompts for adults, science fiction writing prompts for adults, dystopian writing prompts for adults, historical writing prompts for adults, humorous creative writing prompts for adults, fantasy writing prompts for adults, dialogue-inspired writing prompts, tips that every writer should remember, how to get rid of writer’s block, write your next masterpiece with these creative writing prompts for adults, frequently asked questions.

Nothing beats some good old-fashioned drama once in a while. You can turn these writing prompts into a dramatic love story , an exciting short story, or morph them into a different genre. How you use them is up to you.

For a novel that is specifically romance, we have created an exclusive list of exciting and genre-bending romance writing prompts . Try choosing a writing prompt from the below list:

• A young boy discovers that he is the only adopted child among his four siblings. Feeling confused and betrayed, he runs away to find his birth parents. After two months on the road, he runs out of money and still hasn’t found them. Does he go home? Or does he continue his quest?
• Two couples are feuding and haven’t spoken in years. It is discovered that their two children have become best friends at school, and they want a playdate. Will this increase tension between them or lead to reconciliation?
• Identical twins are attending the same college. They switch places and take each other’s classes depending on their strengths and weaknesses. They’ve gotten away with it for two years until their observant professor of a father is transferred to the school they attend.
• Two childhood best friends stopped talking after a huge fight in high school. Five years later, they find themselves sitting next to each other on the same 16-hour international flight.
• Write about a passionate romance that crosses religions.
• He’s only been in office for a year. He is already being tempted by a corrupt group of criminals who want him to sabotage a series of public safety projects in exchange for funding his entire reelection campaign.
• Your main character is being offered a promotion from the high school principal to the district director. Sadly, she knows her replacement will cut funding for all of the art programs. How does she manage the situation?
• A high-profile general learns that the opposing army will surrender if he hands himself over. Will he prioritize his own safety or sacrifice himself for his country?
• Write about a successful businesswoman who has built herself from the ground up. The business is suddenly threatened by the son of a rich local contractor who started a similar business out of boredom.
• A successful lawyer knows that his client is guilty of the murder for which he has been charged. He is a good liar and could easily win the case. The case is getting constant media coverage and would guarantee him making a partner at his firm.
• Your main character has lived a sheltered, isolated life. When their delusional and overbearing father dies. They are thrown into the real world and unsure of how to cope.
• The doorbell rings, and your character answers it – finding nothing but an envelope with nothing on it. They open it and follow the instructions to attend a secret underground event. Afterward, they become a part of a huge resistance that the rest of the world knows nothing about.
• After a family member’s funeral, you arrive home to a stranger on your doorstep, claiming the person is not really dead. The funeral was open-casket.
• It is your character’s wedding day. While the vows are being said, someone from the crowd yells, “I object!”
• A huge storm has stopped traffic. Your character is stuck in the car with someone for an unknown amount of time. The person chooses this moment to confess their undying love. The feeling is not mutual.
• Your character finds an old, disposable camera on the ground. Feeling, they get the photos developed. What they see tells an unsettling story.
• Two old friends are reminiscing on a prominent and life-changing event. They have very different memories from that day.
• Your main character is a world-traveling nature photographer. She stumbles upon a small tribe of indigenous people who have found the cure for all cancer in a small local plant.
• A young man has been homeschooled all his life and is ready to start college. An attack on his small hometown has him being drafted into the army. He is away from home for the first time ever and is terrified. However, he becomes a key strategist due to his unique perspective and undiscovered scientific talents.
• A middle-aged man is tired of his career in a corporate office. He takes all his vacation and sick days at once for an excursion in the Appalachian Mountains. Everything is fine until a blizzard hits.
• A shy and reserved web designer thinks she has found the man of her dreams online. She is actually being catfished by a competing company that wants to get information from her.
• A man and woman work for two neighboring rival fast food companies. They always take their lunch breaks together on the bench right in the middle of the two.
• An ongoing murder investigation takes an unexpected turn when it is discovered that a prolific group of corrupt police officers is behind the whole thing.
• A television star is renowned and respected for his “method” acting. He only interviews or appears on TV in character. But this is because he doesn’t have a personality outside of his three most famous characters.
• A professional gymnast is under fire for her supposed use of performance-enhancing steroids. She leaked the story herself to draw attention away from the fact that she is the leader of a high-profile drug ring.
• An older couple on the brink of retirement keeps their life savings in the pages of the books in their home. They are just about to start looking for a retirement home to live in when a fire destroys their house and their cash.

Tips for Writing Drama

• Drama is usually character-driven , so make use of both your round and flat characters .
• Introduce the conflict right away and keep it prominent. A drama will thrive off conflict.
• Don’t let the resolution come easily.
• Don’t be afraid to kill characters and write difficult situations.
• Always show, don’t tell.

Supernatural stories are popular. The entire world is in love with vampires. Write something interesting and unique enough that you might be writing their next favorite book. Use these supernatural story starters for your basic premise. Some writing prompts related to the genre of supernatural creatures are as follows:

• On her 16th birthday, your main character miraculously survives a deadly car crash without a scratch. Later that week, she watches as a small scratch heals and disappears right before her eyes. Where did this new power come from, and what will she do with it?
• There is an elite society of high education that wants to test a new drug. They give it to highly gifted students, and it allows them to stay awake for 48 hours and record everything they see, hear, and feel in that time. Unfortunately, some unexpected side effects set in two weeks later.
• A middle-aged man is the only one in his famous and high-profile family without a superpower. The local police rely on his super-powered family to help them catch and fight crime. However, the powers are failing them during a specific investigation. Your protagonist’s “normal” perspective might just save the day.
• Your main character suffers a terrible concussion. After recovering, they cannot control the vivid nightmares about the accident. However, they can also take images from their mind and project them into the real world. Doctors think they are crazy and keep them heavily sedated.
• Write about a world where technology has given animals the ability to speak.

Tips for Writing Supernatural Stories

• Setting the story in the real world will make your supernatural species more believable.
• Create the origins of your species and supernatural characters.
• Create the physical limitations for your species and beings.
• Avoid the cliches of the genre.
• Understand your reasons for using supernatural creatures. You shouldn’t be writing them in simply due to their popularity.

Thrillers can come in many forms and can be incorporated into many genres. Regardless of the details, though, they are always meant to excite. Suspense and tension are crucial – it’s always more fun when you don’t know. Writing a good thriller requires a strong set of writing skills. These prompts will give you a good base. If you think you need to improve, try some writing exercises.

If your thriller can get hearts racing, you’ve done a good job. Some writing prompts related to the thriller genre are as follows:

• The body of your main character’s best friend is dumped on their doorstep. They make it their mission to find out who is responsible, even if it means crossing some lines and breaking some laws.
• A murderer is on the loose in your character’s hometown. For 10 weeks, they have killed one person on the same day at the same time. Your main character is the next victim. They are abducted exactly three days before the planned kill time.
• Strange things start happening around town. Your main character decides to find out for themselves what is going on. They do learn the truth, but now they aren’t allowed to leave.
• Your character suffers from a condition that causes seemingly random blackouts for varying amounts of time. The only thing they ever remember before these episodes is a yellow car with a dent on the side. One day, that car is parked outside their house. This time, there is no blackout.
• Your main character and their friends take an unsolicited mini-vacation to an off-limits island off the coast of their seaside town. Shortly after arrival, they discover the island’s inhabitants and the reason why it was off-limits.
• Your protagonist is in intensive therapy due to extremely vivid nightmares detailing someone’s gruesome death. Many have said it’s just their twisted imagination, but this new therapist seems to think it’s much more than that.
• You are legally allowed to kill someone one time in your life. You must fill out a series of paperwork, and your intended victim will be given notice of your plan.
• A brilliant serial killer has been getting away with murder for decades. His only weakness is his acute inability to tell a lie. He is finally caught and tried for all the murders. Write about how he still manages to walk free with no charges laid.
• Your character is a host at a restaurant. A couple comes in and says they have a reservation. You look it up in the system and find that the reservation was booked 40 years ago.

Tips for Writing a Thriller

• Have a story that suits a thriller. This usually involves the protagonist falling victim to someone else and being caught in impossible situations.
• Different points of view can add a lot of value to a thriller. It gives several perspectives and allows the reader to get into the heads of many characters.
• Put action as close to the beginning as possible.
• Don’t be afraid to make your characters miserable.

The horror genre has always had a cult-like following. Several fictional killers have become household names. Some horror fans will spend their whole lives chasing the adrenaline that comes with a good scare.

If you’re learning how to become a better writer to scare your readers, these writing prompts will get you started. A book writing template may be helpful in creating a true horror, as setting the stage properly is crucial. Some horror writing prompts that you can write a story are as follows:

• It’s Halloween night, and a group of rowdy teenagers break into an infamously haunted house in their town. They soon discover it is not the ghosts they have to fear, but the madman who lives upstairs is poisoning them with hallucinogenic gas.
• There is a disease outbreak at a school. It appears at first to be chicken pox, but it is actually a virus that is causing violent outbreaks in the children who begin to terrorize the town.
• Your main character attends a meditation retreat. It turns out to be a recruiting process for an extremist cult that convinces members to commit dangerous acts of terror. Your protagonist is the only one in the room who is immune.
• So overcome by his nightmares, your main character attacks anyone who comes near him. He cannot distinguish between loved ones and the monsters in his head.
• A young man has to dive 300 feet into the ocean to rescue his girlfriend caught in a broken submarine. He must cross through a genetically modified shark breeding ground.
• An old time capsule is about to be opened and the whole town is present for the celebration. When opened, the only thing found inside is a detached human hand with a threatening note in the grasp. The note is written in your character’s handwriting but dated 50 years before they were even born.

Master horror writer Stephen King reveals some of his thought processes: “So where do the ideas—the salable ideas—come from? They come from my nightmares. Not the night-time variety, as a rule, but the ones from everyday life that hide just beyond the doorway that separates the conscious from the unconscious.”

Horror doesn’t always have to be fantastical and dreamy in nature. Sometimes horror exists in the real world, within people.

Tips for Writing Horror

• Don’t be afraid to give that gruesome, bloody description.
• Aim to create extreme emotions.
• Make sure the readers care about your characters. This will make their horrible situations more impactful.
• Consider what scares you the most. Keep this in mind when writing.
• Set the stakes high.
• Some comic relief or brief periods of peace are okay – necessary even. It can help build suspense.

Stories of crime and mystery have been told for ages. There are some classic crime dramas that will never get old. Many non-fiction books have been written on this topic as well. 

Creating a proper mystery takes time and much planning. When done correctly, though, it makes for a most memorable story. Some crime and mystery writing prompts are as follows:

• Your main character discovers another woman’s clothes tucked in the back of her boyfriend’s closet. She plans an elaborate fishing trip to get him far away for a weekend so she can teach him a lesson.
• A new serial killer is on the loose, killing one person every other day within 500 feet of a museum. There must be a connection and a reason, but how will they catch him when he keeps destroying the cameras and escaping?
• A young officer is three years sober and committed to getting back on track. That is until he is called to the scene of a high-profile drug bust and is in charge of collecting evidence. Can he control himself around so many drugs?
• Abandoned cars start randomly appearing throughout the city. No license plates and nothing inside. That is until one is found to contain several dismembered human limbs.
• Your character has been receiving nasty, lifelike drawings in the mail. They ignore them at first, thinking it is some kids being silly. Until the drawings start coming to life. Since they have the drawings, they know what is going to happen next and in what order.
• Your main character and her husband awake one night in the early hours of the morning, both recalling a horrific dream from the night before. They soon learn the dream to be true as they discover a fresh, painful brand in between each of their shoulder blades.
• Your character never wakes up feeling rested, no matter how long they sleep. Medication doesn’t help. They decide to film themselves one night. The next morning, they watch as they get out of bed around midnight, smirk at the camera, and wave before disappearing out the door for hours.
• Your protagonist is a member of a small religious group. When a precious artifact goes missing, the head elder’s daughter is blamed for it. Your character knows she couldn’t be responsible because the two of them were romantically involved at the time of the theft. Such activities are strictly forbidden, and the daughter would rather go down for the theft than admit to breaking that law.
• There is a serial killer going after the children of rich and notable families in the area. Your main character is the child of one such family and is terrified every waking moment. Tired of living in fear, they decide to figure out who the killer is and stop them  
• Your character gets a DNA test just for fun. After getting the results and doing some more research, they discovered that members of their ancestry from all over the world were once all gathered in the same place. The reason is unknown.
• Your character receives a strange voicemail from an unknown number. The voicemail ends up changing the course of their entire life.
• Your character is in an accident and loses the memory of the last year of their life. There are so many things that don’t make sense. They must retrace their steps to find answers.
• The entire town has started sleepwalking together every night.  
• Your character has a short but friendly encounter with a stranger in an elevator. The next day, they are all over TV as the victim of a brutal murder.
• Your character is redecorating and takes down a painting. They notice something strange engraved on the back of the frame.
• Your character goes to their usual coffee shop and orders “the usual.” The Barista smiles, nods, and slides something entirely different across the counter. She has never made a mistake before.
• Your character opens a random book at the library when the cover page falls out. It says, “if you are reading this, you have been chosen.”
• When looking through some old family photos – going back generations – your character notices a cat in almost every photo. The very same colorful spotted cat with a single docked ear that is sitting on their lap.
• When paying for their groceries, your main character mentions to the clerk that there is a mess in aisle 11. The clerk is confused and explains that there is no aisle 11.

Tips for Writing Crime and Mystery

• This is a genre where a book writing template can come in handy. The plots are often so complex it can be overwhelming to keep it all straight.
• Draw inspiration from real-life crimes. This will make your story believable.
• Also, draw your inspiration from real-life people and give them realistic motives behind their crimes. Crime and mystery are rarely set in a fantasy world, so being realistic is important.
• Know how the mystery is solved before you start writing.
• Include a few cliffhangers – usually at the end of a chapter.

Science fiction is similar to fantasy in that you can make up a lot of stuff, which is a fun way to write.

This is a versatile genre that can be molded into anything you want.

Sometimes, it is rooted in truth with elements of real scientific and technological advances. Other times, there are many assumptions made about the future of science, and lots of make-believe takes place. Some of the best sci-fi writing prompts and a few ideas to explore in this genre are as follows:

• A spaceship that can surpass the speed of light is allowing a few humans on board to escape our solar system and its dying sun. How does the world decide who gets to survive?
• A shy, introverted tech guy develops a virus that can control human desires, impulses, and choices.
• A pet store becomes overrun with kittens and sells them off at a low price. However, these cats are actually an alien hybrid that can body jump. It begins, causing the owners of these cats to commit suicide within 24 hours of adoption.
• A live TV broadcast from the White House experiences some technical difficulties. They end up broadcasting a top-secret meeting about a pending alien invasion.
• Science has developed a brain scanning software that can read thoughts. Before they can decide what to do with it, someone has hacked the system and stolen it.
• Your character wakes up on a spaceship with no memory.
• The world has developed a genetic system that engineers everyone for a specific job in the community. Your character hates what they were created to do. This never happens.
• The world has finally reached a state of all-encompassing peace thanks to a technical system that keeps things regulated. Your character is in charge of keeping the system running. When they discover exactly how the system is kept running, they consider abandoning their post and never turning back.
• Your character accidentally traps themselves in an alternate universe that hasn’t discovered electricity or technology yet.

Tips for Writing Science Fiction

• Make your story complex, but don’t rush it. Let your audience process information before adding more.
• Keep the language simple and easy to understand even if the world isn’t. The majority of your readers will not be scientists or tech experts.
• Be consistent in terms of the universe. Physical laws, social classes, etc. Know your own world.

Dystopian stories are growing in popularity. The genre itself is growing and evolving all the time as people figure out what works and what entertains.

Dystopian is a fun genre to read and experience, but writing it can be just as enjoyable. Having fun while learning how to become a better writer is of utmost importance.

Be careful you’re not writing Dystopia just because it sells well. Make sure you have a real story to tell and that it’s one you believe in. Some dystopian writing prompts are as follows:

• A newly married couple becomes pregnant with twins. Due to growing overpopulation, they are told they must make a choice when the babies are born. Only one will live. Rather than submit to this, they plan their escape across the border.
• An amateur teen scientist accidentally discovers an impending alien attack set to destroy Earth within a month. He becomes the unwilling leader of the evacuation and defense coalition.
• A hacker discovers that the new iPhone can be remotely detonated. Many corrupt political leaders are assassinated in this way on the same day. The world breaks into chaos.
• World War III has come and gone. Governments are a thing of the past, and money is useless. Survival is the objective. Your main character also has a medical condition to keep under control.
• A horrible outbreak of disease devastated the wildlife population 100 years ago. A scientist has recently created a virus that will strengthen the immune systems of the remaining animals. It works too well, and the animals are starting to overtake the human population.
• After mental illness devastates a generation, scientists create an airborne substance that balances the levels of all people on the earth. Your character is one of the few who is immune.
• Rampant wildfires are taking over the surface of the earth. Your character is part of a group that is trying to find a rumored ocean-deep settlement. The settlement doesn’t really exist.
• Nature extremists have taken over the government. Any and all activities that are harmful to the land or plants are forbidden and outlawed.
• Natural farming is a thing of the past. All food is manufactured artificially and distributed. There is no flavor, and it’s the same thing every day. Your character takes a stress-relieving trip to the mountains. Here, they find the remnants of some real plants with a few berries on them.

Tips for Writing Dystopian Fiction

• Know what the message of the story is. What is the main character trying to achieve?
• A dystopian society is usually one that has taken the current problems of the world and projected them into the future.
• Dystopian realities are never good ones – make sure you have enough doom, gloom, and darkness for your readers to understand the state of the world.

Historical fiction can be whimsical and charming. It can be dark and spooky. It can be funny and ridiculous. Stories of history span many genres.

Historical fiction can be a combination of educational and entertaining. It tests a writer’s research skills as well as knowledge. The better depiction you can create of your desired time period, the more effective your story will be.

Learning to research is crucial to know how to become a better writer. Some historical fiction writing prompts are as follows:

• From a first-person perspective, write about the showdown between a criminal and a lion in the Roman Colosseum.
• Abraham Lincoln is famous for his top hat. Where did the top hat come from? Who was the president without it? Write a story about the infamous top hat and its life.
• The Berlin Wall has crashed to the ground, and it is love at first sight for one lucky couple – whose parents aren’t so impressed.
• Your character is a talented composer whose direct competition is Beethoven.
• Write about a dinner party where three famous historical figures are in attendance.
• Your best friend has invented the very first time-travel machine.
• Write about a well-known war, but give it a different outcome.
• Write a happy ending for Dracula.
• Your character’s husband of ten years has just confessed that he has traveled through time from the fourteenth century. He decided to stay because he fell in love with her.
• Write about the thoughts of someone who is secretly watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel.
• Your character is the only one who knows who really killed JFK. It wasn’t Oswald.
• Your character is working under William Shakespeare as his apprentice.
• Write about a pair of detectives who solve their cases by traveling back and forth in time.
• Write about the experience of someone who has just learned of the Titanic’s sinking. They had a loved one on board.
• Choose a major historical event. Write from the perspective of a witness.
• Your character wants to travel across the land. No forms of transportation have been invented yet.
• Write about someone who worked at one of the first printing presses during the printing revolution of the 15th century.

Tips for Writing Historical Fiction

• Do your research! Inaccuracies or incorrect facts about the time you are writing will break trust of your readers and decrease your credibility.
• Choose a specific time period and location. “Early twentieth century” is too broad.
• In addition to setting and facts, characters need to match the time period. This includes dress, behavior, and language.
• Small details will matter.
• Balance the historical facts with the drama and fictional elements.

Another genre that is especially fun to write, as well as read, is comedy. Nothing beats throwing your head back in full laughter.

The goal here is to make people laugh as much as possible while still balancing a good story and believable characters. Check out the best creative writing prompts with a funny twist:

• Substitute teachers are tired of not being taken seriously. They come together and form a secret society with plans to revolt.
• An Elvis impersonator is so good that many start to believe Elvis has actually come back to life. Soon, he has been recruited to lead a superstitious Elvis-loving cult.
• Three friends are out on the town for a night. Write about the most ridiculous series of events you can think of.
• Life has gotten tough, and your character is considering moving back in with their parents. Before they are able to make a decision, their parents show up at their door asking if they can move in.
• Your character wakes up one day, and everything they say rhymes. They can’t control it.
• The climate is changing, and your main character’s city gets snow for the first time in their entire life. She and her friends are recruited for clean up.
• Your main character has never had a real job before. They are starting a job at the biggest, busiest store in town on the busiest day of the year.
• Your character is set up on a blind date with their sworn enemy.
• Every morning, you have a package delivered that contains an item you end up needing that day.
• Struggling with writer’s block, an author decides to sit at a local train station for information. They get some good material.
• Your characters are holding a high-stakes rock-paper-scissors tournament.
• Your main character gets backstage at a concert. What happens back there is much more interesting than the show.
• Your protagonist decides to buy an old school bus and travel across the country. Being single without any close friends, they post an ad asking if anyone wants to join. They end up having their pick of travel partners.
• Write a story about a low-profile, insignificant, but long-unsolved crime that is finally cracked.
• Your character is a serial killer who kills anyone who hitchhikes along the mountain they live on. One day, they pick up a hitchhiker who kills whoever picks him up.
• The world’s greatest detective finally meets his match: A criminal so stupid and so careless that the detective can’t ever predict what he is going to do next.

Tips for Writing Comedy

• Test the humor on others. You might find something hilarious, but if no one else is going to laugh, it will be useless to include.
• Observe comedy. Your ability to write it will hinge on your experience with it. Watch, read, listen, and speak comedy.
• Have fun with it. Comedy is fun. If you’re not laughing at yourself along the way, you’ll never get through to the end.

Fantasy is one of the most popular genres of the time. It’s growing every day because of its creative and immersive nature. People love to preoccupy themselves with something with magical powers.

Being transported into another world for a little while – that’s what fantasy can do. Some of the best creative writing prompts for fantasy fiction are as follows:

• In a world of advanced technological and magical advancements, one group keeps their practice of ancient spells a secret. One day, they are discovered, and it leads to a fight. What is more powerful – old magic or new technology?
• A large, protected national forest is secretly home to werewolves. One summer, there is an especially bad flea epidemic, and the werewolves are greatly affected. The fleas from the werewolves infect the town’s water supply and start turning everyone into werewolves. The only ones not affected are children under 13.
• The world is overrun with vampires, and humans are dying out. Different races and factions of vampires are beginning to go to war over the limited supply of human blood.
• Your character finds a strange-looking egg in the forest. Thinking it will make a great decoration, they take it home. What hatches from that egg surpasses their wildest imagination.
• A city has spent centuries living in peace with the water-dwellers who reside in their lakes. Suddenly, the water dwellers declare war, and no one knows why.
• Your character has always been able to alter their appearance. They hide unattractive features. Suddenly, their powers stop working, and their true appearance is revealed.
• Your main character has a fascination with untouched societies – such as hidden tribes in the Amazon. She sets out to study them as a living. One day, she accidentally allows herself to be seen by one of the members. What this person does is beyond what your character ever thought to be real.
• The earth itself is dying, and all life on the planet is dying with it.
• Some people in the world have magic, others don’t. No one knows why. Your main character has magic, but his best friend doesn’t. The friend is exceptionally jealous and is growing more and more desperate to make the magic his.

Tips for Writing Fantasy

• Focus on being unique
• Don’t neglect worldbuilding. Inconsistencies will be obvious to readers. This is where a book writing software like Squibler can come in handy. It helps you stay organized and efficient.
• Create unique names.
• Don’t be afraid to make the journey long and the outcome unexpected.

Sometimes, all it takes is a small exchange or a witty one-liner to get your brain working. Take these words and start something new. Or, insert them into an existing project and see what happens. Some of the best dialogue-based creative writing prompts are as follows:

• “As she stepped onto the train, I fought every urge to jump on after her.”
• “He was expensive. Please be more considerate of my money the next time I hire an assassin to kill you.”
• “You say that like it was a struggle.”
• “I’m your conscience. That is literally my one job.”
• “Well, I wish you didn’t love me. I guess no one is getting what they want today.”
• “I guess it didn’t take.”
• “I was bored so I blew up my house.”
• “I taught you how to pick locks, and THAT is how you’re choosing to use the skill?”
• “They thought I would forget everything. I remember even more than when they started.”
• “Yes. But I don’t care.”
• “I killed my mother. Are you really questioning what I can do to you right now?”

If you want to create compelling stories with fiction writing prompts, remember the following things:

Create a Proper Writing Schedule

To succeed in the demanding task of following fiction writing prompts, treat yourself and your writing with importance. Establish and consistently adhere to a designated writing schedule. Maintaining a regular writing routine prevents the project from fading into obscurity.

It’s challenging to retain the novel’s details in your mind for quick and efficient writing. Allowing substantial intervals between writing sessions and working haphazardly only increases the difficulty and likelihood of abandoning the endeavor.

Don’t Expect Your Words to Be Perfect

Many writers start working on fiction writing prompts with excitement, but upon rereading, their work may not meet their expectations, leading to deleting it entirely. Avoid being overly critical of your writing.

Excessive self-editing can halt your progress and prevent you from writing beyond the initial pages. Instead, focus on writing and avoid scrutinizing it until you have completed the story. Rewriting is essential for crafting great novels, and most writers would not share their first drafts with others.

Relax a Little

Are you unable to follow fiction writing prompts because the thought of it overwhelms you? Start by loosening up with some free writing. Dedicate five or ten minutes to jotting down whatever pops into your mind, and don’t pause or edit.

This exercise helps remove the mental block between your thoughts and your writing. It will help you to prepare for the actual writing process, akin to stretching before a workout.

Explore Your Ideas

When you first come across your fiction writing prompts, document all your notions and ideas regarding your desired novel. Jot down even the vaguest thoughts and concepts that come to mind. Identify any compelling questions you want to delve into.

Take notes on any particular setting, historical period, or topic that captivates you. Through this free-form writing, ideas will gradually emerge and take form.

Switch Between Plotting and Writing

As you begin working on your fiction writing prompts, engage in a simultaneous process of developing the plot and crafting the actual text. Planning the plot provides structure and direction for your writing.

However, immersing yourself in the writing allows you to experience the story on a deeper level, discovering new insights and nuances. This interactive approach enhances both aspects of the creative process.

Think About Your Characters

Delve into the depths of your characters beyond their actions and names while working on writing prompts. Consider creating character profiles and mood boards with images that resonate with them. Test their limits in challenging situations to witness their reactions.

Engage in dialogue to develop their unique voices. Remember, characters in a novel should not be mere pawns in your narrative. They require motivation to drive their actions and make them more relatable and compelling.

Focus on the Structure

As you progress with your fiction writing prompts, consider the overall structure of your novel. Determine the timeline of your story. Will it cover a short period or an entire lifetime? Divide it into chapters or sections based on significant events or time periods.

Choose a narrative perspective to follow the writing prompts. Will the events be narrated by a first-person character reflecting on the past or unfold in real time? These structural decisions will provide a framework for your story and ensure it flows smoothly.

Set Some Targets

Some people prefer setting goals and deadlines while following fiction writing prompts. Consider setting writing goals that you can reasonably achieve, such as writing 3,000 words weekly or 1,000 words daily.

Alternatively, you could aim for broader deadlines, like completing a third of your first draft by the end of the year. Choose targets that feel manageable and adjust them as needed to ensure success.

Try to Use the Active Voice

To captivate readers with your fiction writing prompts, aim for page-turners that hook them from the first page to the last. Employ the active voice predominantly in your stories. Construct sentences using the clear and concise order of nouns (subject) performing an action (verb) and affecting an object. Passive voice can be useful occasionally but use it sparingly in your fictional works.

You might often encounter writer’s block while working on creative writing prompts. Here are some ways to get rid of writer’s block:

Most writers find their passion for writing through reading. To enhance your writing skills and get creative outputs for your writing prompts, revisit your literary roots by reading extensively. Focus on contemporary and acclaimed works within your specific genre or area of interest. By immersing yourself in the latest literature, you’ll gain inspiration, identify gaps in the market, and determine how you can make a unique contribution to the field.

Take Breaks

To avoid burnout while working on writing prompts, take frequent breaks. Step away for a quick coffee break when feeling stuck. If needed, take longer breaks, like an afternoon drive or even a full day off. These breaks allow your mind to relax, giving you a refreshed perspective when you return to writing.

Avoid Comparison

Even if you are skilled in writing, there will always be individuals with greater proficiency or who have been writing for longer. Each person’s writing journey and experiences are different. Is it fair to contrast your writing abilities with someone who may have gained more experience?

Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on improving your own writing. Embrace the uniqueness of your voice. By honing your skills and sharing your perspective, you will attract an audience that resonates with your writing style.

Try Different Writing Methods

Changing your writing tools can refresh your approach and overcome writer’s block. If you typically write on a computer, try writing by hand. If you have a typewriter, use it for a unique sensory experience.

If you’re still stuck, walk outside and talk your ideas into a recorder or your phone. The physical activity and verbalization can spark new creativity.

Discover Your Peak Creativity Hours

Identify if your mind is most alert for creative writing in the morning or evening. Adjust your schedule of working on writing prompts accordingly.

Explore different locations to find where you write best, whether it’s a bustling coffee shop, a serene beach, or a secluded bedroom. Choose the environment that fosters your creativity.

Eliminate distractions by turning off Wi-Fi, removing your phone from your workspace, and requesting quiet time from others. This allows you to focus and tap into your creative flow.

Whether you have a book writing templat e all filled out or you are starting from scratch, these writing prompts will get your imagination going and make your writing time more productive.

Beat the writer’s block, get your groove back, or just be inspired.  Figure out how to love writing again. Whatever you’re looking for, hopefully, these ideas have helped form the story you need to tell.

Let’s take a look at some questions and answers:

Is following fiction writing prompts difficult?

You might come across creative ideas when you get fiction writing prompts. But transforming them into captivating narratives is a complex endeavor. This is because crafting a story that resonates with readers requires more than simply assembling words and sentences until a book is completed.

What is the hardest genre of fiction writing prompts?

When it comes to following fiction writing prompts, writers often struggle with the horror genre. It necessitates a t horough comprehension of human nature and its psychological intricacies and the capacity to evoke primal fears and anxieties within readers. Moreover, following creative writing prompts for the horror genre requires proficiency in crafting believable, immersive characters and settings that resonate with the audience.

What are common literary techniques to include in creative writing prompts?

Fiction writers should choose the right literary techniques to enhance their writing. Some common types of literary devices to use include alliteration, personification, and symbolism.

What is the genre of realistic fiction for creative writing prompts?

Realism in fiction depicts events that could potentially happen in real life. The setting is believable, fostering a sense of familiarity. Characters in realistic stories behave in ways that align with human experiences, making them relatable and believable.

Can I profit from writing fiction?

Typically, authors receive a book advance and a percentage of royalties (usually between 5% and 15%) from the sale of traditionally published works. However, the actual earnings can vary significantly.

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