20 writing prompts

I need to be honest with you. Watch out with writing prompts. Why? Because choosing a writing prompt to write an entire novel or short story around is dangerous if you’re not keeping the one question in mind:

Why does this matter to you?

If the writing prompt or the story that springs from it has no meaning to you, it will be very difficult to write the story. So, choose wisely! And don’t be afraid to abandon the story idea if you notice that it doesn’t work for you.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that writing prompts are always bad and that you can’t use them to get the creative juices flowing. To help you out, I have made a selection of a few of my favourites:

5 fantasy writing prompts

1. Write a story set in a (dystopian) world where the currency isn’t money, but your blood or days of your life.

2. Write a story about a family who has magical powers, except the youngest child.

3. For hundreds of years, it’s been believed that all of the land has been discovered. You’re the one who proves the theory wrong (by accident).

4. You’re a published author whose thriller stories have become reality.

5. You have the power to create alternative universa and you use it against your enemies, making them come for you.

5 romance writing prompts

1. A teacher goes home after the school year’s over and they come across the newly hired and hot English teacher who is going to be their close colleague next year.

2. Two solo travellers keep on bumping into each other. When do they start saying anything about it?

3. Two lovers need a way to prove their love or loose their lives.

4. Two people decide to fool everyone into thinking that they’re dating. The real reason why they tolerate each other is to win a competition. But one of them catches feelings…

5. You come back from a night out and you see that your house is on fire, with your partner still inside. You manage to save them, but they will never be as before. How do you cope?

5 mystery writing prompts

1. The door, that you surely locked, is wide open.

2. Someone broke in at your bakery. The only thing they stole is a very secret and highly valuable recipe.

3. Your character wishes they could just disappear and then they do. Are they ever seen again?

4. Your characters are warned not to go into the woods. They throw caution to the wind and enter. Only to find out that the forest doesn’t really exist…

5. In your home, there’s a secret room no one of your family members knew anything about. What do you find in there?

5 thriller writing prompts

1. As your flight take off, you discover a warning note stating that you boarded a plane that goes to a horrible place.

2. You have an imaginary best friend, and now you’re afraid you’ll need to make them disappear again to seem fit into society.

3. You wake up in a forest, keeping warm with a bonfire burning on (human) bones.

4. Your voice has the ability to murder others, and people don’t stop annoying you, forcing you to speak up…

5. A mysterious package arrives at your house, only you didn’t order anything. At first glance, the package is empty, but when you look closer, you become aware that it’s filled with stolen dreams.

I got inspired by the writing prompts on the Reedsy website. Take a look if you want even more writing ideas! Let me know in the comments under this blog which one you chose.

Too many ideas all at once? I'll make a blog post about how to choose the right idea for you. Stay tuned!

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