creative writing prompts for business

61 Blog Writing Prompts for your Next Business Blog Post

61 Writing Prompts That’ll Lead You to Your Next Business Blog Post Topic

Aaron Agius

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You’re on board the content train. You’ve got profiles on the hottest social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter), and a beautifully designed and optimized website . You provide a steady flow of various types of content including case studies, infographics, whitepapers, articles, interviews, videos…

And blog posts. Sometimes those content campaigns fail , and sometimes they succeed, but you keep at it because you know it’s a long game.

A quality blog is the keystone for most strategies. That’s part of the problem. It’s a long game. You need plenty of ideas and topics to write about if you want to keep the content creature fed. It can be exhausting and frustrating.

From CMI’s annual report for 2017 on B2B and B2C content marketing:

89% (with 52% of non-users planning to start in the next 12 months) of B2B marketers and 86% (51% of the non-users plan to begin) of B2C marketers are currently using content marketing.
75% of B2C marketers use blogs as part of their average seven tactics, and over half of them (51%) believe blogs to be most important to their success.
80% of B2B marketers use blogs as part of their average eight tactics, and 52% of them believe blogs to be most important to their marketing success.
Top goals (in order) include brand awareness, engagement, and lead generation for B2C, and lead generation, brand awareness, and engagement for B2B…all of which are directly influenced by a consistent, well crafted blog.

Eventually, the well goes dry for everyone. The ideas simply aren’t bubbling up to the surface like they used to, and you’re stuck staring at a blank computer screen. All the while, that damn blinking cursor is mocking you.

But fear not. I’m here to help. A simple writing prompt can be your ticket back to business blog bliss.

Here are 61 to guide you home.

What is your most inspiring customer success story? How did your product/service impact them?
Write about the events leading up to and the moment you decided to launch your business/website/product.
What is your biggest regret as relates to your business? If you could go back and do one thing differently, what would it be?
Write a behind-the-scenes post about your typical day. Write other posts about a day in the life of your business partner, or your sales team, or your programmer, or whomever else makes your business run smoothly.
Describe the evolution of your product or service. What was the inspiration? How has it evolved since the early days?
What’s the biggest controversy in your industry these days? Reflect and present your opinion on the issue.
Who is or was your business mentor? What lessons did you learn from them? What advice sticks out the most?
Roundup links to your favorite posts on topic X. Briefly comment on each one.
What books do you think should be on every business owner’s bookshelf? Why?
What’s the worst mistake you’ve made with your business? What biases or misinformation led to it?
Become a fortune teller. What predictions do you have for your industry? How are you working to keep up?
What Twitter profiles do you think every entrepreneur should follow? Why?
What blogs do you think every entrepreneur should read? Why?
Discuss your marketing strategy. What tactics, channels, and tools do you employ? What are the pros and cons of each?
Write about the business tools you use every day. What 3, or 4, or 5, or 10 could you not live without?
Reflect on the biggest problem or struggle that your business has faced. How did you overcome it?
Interview an expert in your industry or niche.
What are your top business priorities for the next 12 months?
Do a weekly link roundup of the most popular posts in your industry (use a tool like Buzzsumo to help).
Share and comment on an excerpt from your latest whitepaper, ebook, or case study. Invite readers to download the full version.
Ruminate on your experience at a recent conference or industry event. What did you do? What takeaways did you leave with?
Conduct a simple poll on Twitter or a more complex survey using SurveyMonkey and present the findings to your readers.
Present key findings from recent research in your industry. Do you agree or disagree with them? What’s your take?
What are the common misconceptions about you, your brand, your niche, or your industry?
Write a Top One List. Top Ten lists are very popular, but opt instead to create a post that presents only ONE idea, tool, or suggestion in detail.
Share an epiphany you’ve had about either your personal or professional life.
Create an “example post” such as 6 Brands Killing It On Social Media , or How 10 Industries Are Using Big Data to Win Big .
What causes or issues are important to you and your business? Write a passionate plea for others to get involved and care.
Craft a user-friendly how-to guide for something your readers have trouble with or don’t always understand.
Write a “stop post” like How to Stop Worrying , or 12 Ways to Stop Wasting Time in Meetings . (Readers love these posts because we’re all looking for ways to stop bad habits)
Do you have a brand name and/or logo? Write about the story behind its creation.
Answer a question you frequently get from your readers, fans, followers, and customers.
What’s your unique selling proposition ? What’s makes you and your brand better than the competition? Write about it.
Launching a new product or service? Give a sneak peek and reveal a bit about its development and your goals for it.
Check your analytics solution to see what keywords and queries are bringing people to your website. Write a post about those that you haven’t yet targeted (or aren’t targeting enough).
How do you maintain your work/life balance?
Reflect on the beginning of your business. At what point did you know that you’d “made it”? How did it impact how you conducted business moving forward?
What fascinates you about your industry? What appealed to you most about it when you were deciding what to do with your life?
Interview a long-time customer.
Argue against a commonly held belief or industry truism.
Write a series. Create a series of explainer posts about your area(s) of expertise (Google Analytics, sales in the modern world, digital marketing, or whatever). Not only does this fill several spots on your content calendar, but it’s a great way to get subscribers who don’t want to miss the next installment.
Do you have any exciting company news to share, such as new hires, milestones, partnerships, acquisitions, anniversaries, awards, or locations?
Highlight some of your charitable work, donations, or sponsorship.
Discuss your business eco-friendly initiatives and plans for reducing your environmental impact.
What are some of the unusual and less common ways people use your products/services?
Are they any insider tips and tricks you can share so your customers can get more out of your product(s)?
What’s the one thing you wish people knew about you, your business, or your products/services?
Interview an employee.
Reveal an industry secret. This does not mean give away your secret recipe for finger lickin’ good chicken, but is there something that no one outside your industry knows that people might find interesting, intriguing, unusual, fascinating, adorable, or even shocking?
What’s the one thing you already know that your target audience should know? Write a post about that.
Share a few of your favorite quotes and connect them to you and your business.
Write a “template post” such as X Ways to [Overcome a Problem] , or What X Means for [the customer, your business, the industry] , or This Simple Tweak Helped Me X , or What is X, Anyway? , or The Truth About X , or What You Need To Know If You’re About to X .
What business advice didn’t work for you?
Write your business manifesto .
What’s the one thing you hate most about your job, business, or industry?
Where do you see your brand in five years? Ten years? Twenty years?
If you weren’t in your current job or industry, what would you be doing instead? Why?
What would you like to improve about yourself or your business?
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in your industry or niche? Or what advice would you give to your younger self?
Write a review of a product or service (but not necessarily one that’s in direct competition with you and yours) that your readers would probably find useful.
What are your top productivity tips, tools, and tricks?

Let’s stop there. That’s a solid two month’s worth of prompts to get the creative juices flowing, and you can always google more prompts and ideas later. Or download Problogger’s colossal six months of post ideas templates.

Business blogging is a major commitment. You don’t want to start all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed only to give up a few months from now when it starts getting a bit harder. Go in with your eyes open : it’s not easy, it’s not fast, but it is absolutely worth it.

Get blogging. No more excuses. Your customers – and your bottom line – will thank you.

Any powerful prompts you’d add to the list?

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365 Creative Writing Prompts

Here are 365 Creative Writing Prompts to help inspire you to write every single day! Use them for journaling, story starters, poetry, and more!

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If you want to become a better writer, the best thing you can do is practice writing every single day. Writing prompts are useful because we know sometimes it can be hard to think of what to write about!

To help you brainstorm, we put together this list of 365 creative writing prompts to give you something to write about daily.

Want to Download these prompts? I am super excited to announce due to popular demand we now have an ad-free printable version of this list of writing prompts available for just $5. The printable version includes a PDF as a list AND print-ready prompt cards. {And all the design source files you could ever need to customize any way you would like!}

Here are 365 Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire:

Whether you write short stories, poems, or like to keep a journal – these will stretch your imagination and give you some ideas for topics to write about!

1. Outside the Window : What’s the weather outside your window doing right now? If that’s not inspiring, what’s the weather like somewhere you wish you could be?

2. The Unrequited love poem: How do you feel when you love someone who does not love you back?

3. The Vessel: Write about a ship or other vehicle that can take you somewhere different from where you are now.

4. Dancing: Who’s dancing and why are they tapping those toes?

5. Food: What’s for breakfast? Dinner? Lunch? Or maybe you could write a poem about that time you met a friend at a cafe.

6. Eye Contact: Write about two people seeing each other for the first time.

7. The Rocket-ship: Write about a rocket-ship on its way to the moon or a distant galaxy far, far, away.

8. Dream-catcher : Write something inspired by a recent dream you had.

9. Animals: Choose an animal. Write about it!

10. Friendship: Write about being friends with someone.

11. Dragon : Envision a dragon. Do you battle him? Or is the dragon friendly? Use descriptive language.

12. Greeting : Write a story or poem that starts with the word “hello” or another greeting.

13. The Letter: Write a poem or story using words from a famous letter or inspired by a letter someone sent you.

14. The Found Poem : Read a book and circle some words on a page. Use those words to craft a poem. Alternatively, you can cut out words and phrases from magazines.

15. Eavesdropper : Create a poem, short story, or journal entry about a conversation you’ve overheard.

16. Addict: Everyone’s addicted to something in some shape or form. What are things you can’t go without?

17. Dictionary Definition : Open up a dictionary to a random word. Define what that word means to you.

18. Cleaning: Hey, even writers and creative artists have to do housework sometimes. Write about doing laundry, dishes, and other cleaning activities.

19. Great Minds: Write about someone you admire and you thought to have had a beautiful mind.

20. Missed Connections: If you go to Craigslist, there is a “Missed Connections” section where you can find some interesting storylines to inspire your writing.

21. Foreclosure : Write a poem or short story about someone who has lost or is about to lose their home.

22. Smoke, Fog, and Haze: Write about not being able to see ahead of you.

23. Sugar: Write something so sweet, it makes your teeth hurt.

24. Numbers: Write a poem or journal entry about numbers that have special meaning to you.

25. Dread: Write about doing something you don’t want to do.

26. Fear: What scares you a little? What do you feel when scared? How do you react?

27. Closed Doors: What’s behind the door? Why is it closed?

28. Shadow: Imagine you are someone’s shadow for a day.

29. Good Vibes: What makes you smile? What makes you happy?

30. Shopping: Write about your shopping wishlist and how you like to spend money.

31. The Professor: Write about a teacher that has influenced you.

32. Rewrite : Take any poem or short story you enjoy. Rewrite it in your own words.

33. Jewelry: Write about a piece of jewelry. Who does it belong to?

34. Sounds : Sit outside for about an hour. Write down the sounds you hear.

35. War and Peace: Write about a recent conflict that you dealt with in your life.

36. Frame It: Write a poem or some phrases that would make for good wall art in your home.

37. Puzzle: Write about putting together the pieces of puzzles.

38. Fire-starters: Write about building a fire.

39. Coffee & Tea: Surely you drink one or the other or know someone who does- write about it!

40. Car Keys: Write about someone getting their driver’s license for the first time.

41. What You Don’t Know: Write about a secret you’ve kept from someone else or how you feel when you know someone is keeping a secret from you.

42. Warehouse : Write about being inside an old abandoned warehouse.

43. The Sound of Silence: Write about staying quiet when you feel like shouting.

44. Insult: Write about being insulted. How do you feel? Why do you think the other person insulted you?

45. Mirror, Mirror: What if you mirror started talking to you? What might the mirror say?

46. Dirty: Write a poem about getting covered in mud.

47. Light Switch : Write about coming out of the dark and seeing the light.

48. The Stars : Take inspiration from a night sky. Or, write about a time when “the stars aligned” in your horoscope.

49. Joke Poem : What did the wall say to the other wall? Meet you at the corner! Write something inspired by a favorite joke.

50. Just Say No : Write about the power you felt when you told someone no.

51: Sunrise/Sunset : The sun comes up, the sun goes down. It goes round and round. Write something inspiring about the sunrise or sunset.

52. Memory Lane : What does Memory Lane look like? How do you get there?

53. Tear-Jerker : Watch a movie that makes you cry. Write about that scene in the movie.

54. Dear Diary: Write a poem or short story about a diary entry you’ve read or imagined.

55. Holding Hands : The first time you held someone’s hand.

56. Photograph : Write a story or journal entry influenced by a photograph you see online or in a magazine.

57. Alarm Clock: Write about waking up.

58. Darkness: Write a poem or journal entry inspired by what you can’t see.

59. Refreshed: Write a poem about a time you really felt refreshed and renewed. Maybe it was a dip into a pool on a hot summer day, a drink of lemonade, or other situation that helped you relax and start again.

60. Handle With Care : Write about a very fragile or delicate object.

61. Drama: Write about a time when you got stuck in between two parties fighting with each other.

62. Slip Up: Write about making mistakes.

63. Spice: Write about flavors and tastes or a favorite spice of yours.

64. Sing a New Song: Take a popular song off the radio and rewrite it as a poem in your own words.

65. Telephone: Write about a phone call you recently received.

66. Name: Write a poem or short story using your name in some way or form.

67. Dollhouse: Write a poem or short story from the viewpoint of someone living in a doll house.

68. Random Wikipedia Article : Go to Wikipedia and click on Random Article . Write about whatever the page you get.

69. Silly Sports: Write about an extreme or silly sport. If none inspire you, make up the rules for your own game.

70. Recipe : Write about a recipe for something abstract, such as a feeling.

71. Famous Artwork: Choose a famous painting and write about it.

72. Where That Place Used to Be : Think of a place you went to when you were younger but it now no longer there or is something else. Capture your feelings about this in your writing.

73. Last Person You Talked to: Write a quick little poem or story about the last person you spoke with.

74. Caught Red-Handed: Write about being caught doing something embarrassing.

75. Interview: Write a list of questions you have for someone you would like to interview, real or fictional.

76. Missing You: Write about someone you miss dearly.

77. Geography: Pick a state or country you’ve never visited. Write about why you would or would not like to visit that place.

78. Random Song: Turn on the radio, use the shuffle feature on your music collection or your favorite streaming music service. Write something inspired by the first song you hear.

79. Hero: Write a tribute to someone you regard as a hero.

80. Ode to Strangers: Go people watching and write an ode to a stranger you see on the street.

81. Advertisement: Advertisements are everywhere, aren’t they? Write using the slogan or line from an ad.

82. Book Inspired: Think of your favorite book. Now write a poem that sums up the entire story in 10 lines.

83. Magic : Imagine you have a touch of magic, and can make impossible things happen. What would you do?

84. Fanciest Pen: Get out your favorite pen, pencils, or even colored markers and write using them!

85. A Day in the Life: Write about your daily habits and routine.

86. Your Muse: Write about your muse – what do they look like? What does your muse do to inspire you?

87. Convenience Store : Write about an experience you’ve had at a gas station or convenience store.

88. Natural Wonders of the World: Choose one of the natural wonders of the world. Write about it.

89. Status Update: Write a poem using the words from your latest status update or a friend’s status update. If you don’t use sites like Facebook or Twitter, you can often search online for some funny ones to use as inspiration.

90. Green Thumb: Write about growing something.

91. Family Heirloom: Write about an object that’s been passed through the generations in your family.

92. Bug Catcher: Write about insects.

93. Potion: Write about a magic potion. What is it made of? What does it do? What is the antidote?

94. Swinging & Sliding: Write something inspired by a playground or treehouse.

95. Adjectives: Make a list of the first 5 adjectives that pop into your head. Use these 5 words in your story, poem, or journal entry.

96. Fairy Tales: Rewrite a fairy tale. Give it a new ending or make it modern or write as a poem.

97. Whispers: Write about someone who has to whisper a secret to someone else.

98. Smile: Write a poem about the things that make you smile.

99. Seasonal: Write about your favorite season.

100. Normal: What does normal mean to you? Is it good or bad to be normal?

101. Recycle : Take something you’ve written in the past and rewrite it into a completely different piece.

102. Wardrobe: Write about a fashion model or what’s currently in your closet or drawers.

103. Secret Message : Write something with a secret message hidden in between the words. For example, you could make an acrostic poem using the last letters of the word or use secret code words in the poem.

104. Vacation: Write about a vacation you took.

105. Heat: Write about being overheated and sweltering.

106. Spellbinding: Write a magic spell.

107. Collection : Write about collecting something, such as salt shakers, sea shells, or stamps.

108. Taking Chances: Everyone takes a risk at some point in their life. Write about a time when you took a chance and what the result was.

109. Carnival: Write a poem or story or journal entry inspired by a carnival or street fair.

110. Country Mouse: Write about someone who grew up in the country visiting the city for the first time.

111: Questions: Write about questions you have for the universe. Optional: include an answer key.

112. Rushing: Write about moving quickly and doing things fast.

113. Staircase : Use a photo of a staircase or the stairs in your home or a building you love to inspire you.

114. Neighbors: Make up a story or poem about your next door neighbor.

115. Black and Blue: Write about a time you’ve been physically hurt.

116. All Saints: Choose a saint and create a poem about his or her life.

117. Beach Inspired: What’s not to write about the beach?

118. Shoes: What kind of shoes do you wear? Where do they lead your feet?

119. The Ex: Write a poem to someone who is estranged from you.

120. My Point of View: Write in the first person point of view.

121. Stray Animal: Think of the life of a stray cat or dog and write about that.

122. Stop and Stare : Create a poem or story about something you could watch forever.

123. Your Bed: Describe where you sleep each night.

124. Fireworks : Do they inspire you or do you not like the noise and commotion? Write about it.

125. Frozen: Write about a moment in your life you wish you could freeze and preserve.

126. Alone : Do you like to be alone or do you like having company?

127. Know-it-all: Write about something you are very knowledgeable about, for example a favorite hobby or passion of yours.

128. The Promise: Write about a promise you’ve made to someone. Did you keep that promise?

129. Commotion: Write about being overstimulated by a lot of chaos.

130. Read the News Today : Construct a poem or story using a news headline for your first line.

131. Macro: Write a description of an object close-up.

132. Transportation : Write about taking your favorite (or least-favorite) form of transportation.

133. Gadgets: If you could invent a gadget, what would it do? Are there any gadgets that make your life easier?

134: Bring on the Cheese: Write a tacky love poem that is so cheesy, it belongs on top of a pizza.

135. Ladders: Write a story or poem that uses ladders as a symbol.

136. Bizarre Holiday : There is a bizarre holiday for any date! Look up a holiday for today’s date and create a poem in greeting card fashion or write a short story about the holiday to celebrate.

137. Blog-o-sphere : Visit your favorite blog or your feedreader and craft a story, journal entry, or poem based on the latest blog post you read.

138. Mailbox: Create a poem, short story, or journal entry based on a recent item of mail you’ve received.

139. Sharing : Write about sharing something with someone else.

140. Cactus: Write from the viewpoint of a cactus. What’s it like to live in the desert or have a prickly personality?

141. It’s a Sign : Have you seen any interesting road signs lately?

142. Furniture: Write about a piece of furniture in your home.

143. Failure: Write about a time you failed at something. Did you try again or give up completely?

144. Mystical Creatures: Angels or other mystical creatures – use them as inspiration.

145. Flying: Write about having wings and what you would do.

146. Clear and Transparent: Write a poem about being able to see-through something.

147. Break the Silence : Record yourself speaking, then write down what you spoke and revise into a short story or poem.

148. Beat: Listen to music with a strong rhythm or listen to drum loops. Write something that goes along with the beat you feel and hear.

149. Color Palette: Search online for color palettes and be inspired to write by one you resonate with.

150. Magazine: Randomly flip to a page in a magazine and write using the first few words you see as an opening line.

151. The Grass is Greener : Write about switching the place with someone or going to where it seems the “grass is greener”.

152. Mind & Body: Write something that would motivate others to workout and exercise.

153. Shaping Up : Write something that makes a shape on the page…ie: a circle, a heart, a square, etc.

154. Twenty-One: Write about your 21st birthday.

155. Aromatherapy: Write about scents you just absolutely love.

156. Swish, Buzz, Pop : Create a poem that uses Onomatopoeia .

157. What Time is It? Write about the time of day it is right now. What are people doing? What do you usually do at this time each day?

158. Party Animal: Have you ever gone to a party you didn’t want to leave? Or do you hate parties? Write about it!

159: Miss Manners : Use the words “please” and “thank you” in your writing.

160. Cliche: Choose a common cliche, then write something that says the same thing but without using the catch phrase.

161. Eco-friendly : Write about going green or an environmental concern you have.

162. Missing You: Write about someone you miss.

163. Set it Free: Think of a time when you had to let someone or something go to be free…did they come back?

164: Left Out : Write about a time when you’ve felt left out or you’ve noticed someone else feeling as if they didn’t belong.

165. Suitcase: Write about packing for a trip or unpacking from when you arrive home.

166. Fantasy : Write about fairies, gnomes, elves, or other mythical creatures.

167. Give and Receive : Write about giving and receiving.

168. Baker’s Dozen: Imagine the scents and sights of a bakery and write.

169. Treehouse: Write about your own secret treehouse hideaway.

170. Risk: Write about taking a gamble on something.

171. Acrostic : Choose a word and write an acrostic poem where every line starts with a letter from the word.

172. Crossword Puzzle: Open up the newspaper or find a crossword puzzle online and choose one of the clues to use as inspiration for your writing.

173. Silver Lining : Write about the good that happens in a bad situation.

174. Gloves: Write about a pair of gloves – what kind of gloves are they? Who wears them and why?

175. All that Glitters: Write about a shiny object.

176. Jealousy: Write with a theme of envy and jealousy.

177. How Does Your Garden Grow? Write about a flower that grows in an unusual place.

178. Jury Duty : Write a short story or poem that takes place in a courtroom.

179. Gifts: Write about a gift you have given or received.

180. Running: Write about running away from someone or something.

181. Discovery: Think of something you’ve recently discovered and use it as inspiration.

182. Complain: Write about your complaints about something.

183. Gratitude: Write a poem or journal entry that is all about things you are thankful for.

184. Chemistry: Choose an element and write a poem or story that uses that word in one of the lines.

185. Applause: Write about giving someone a standing ovation.

186. Old Endings Into New Beginnings: Take an old poem, story, or journal entry of yours and use the last line and make it the first line of your writing today.

187. Longing: Write about something you very much want to do.

188. I Am: Write a motivational poem or journal entry about positive traits that make you who you are.

189. Rainbow : What is at the end of a rainbow? Or, take a cue from Kermit the Frog, and ask yourself, why are there so many songs about rainbows?

190. Museum: Take some time to visit a nearby museum with your journal. Write about one of the pieces that speaks to you.

191. Cartoon: Think of your favorite cartoon or comic. Write a poem or story that takes place in that setting.

192. Copycat: Borrow a line from a famous public domain poem to craft your own.

193. From the Roof-tops: Imagine you could stand on a rooftop and broadcast a message to everyone below – what would you say?

194. Time Travel: If there was a time period you could visit for a day, where would you go? Write about traveling back in time to that day.

195. Changing Places: Imagine living the day as someone else.

196. Neighborhood: Write about your favorite place in your neighborhood to visit and hang out at.

197. Pirates: Write about a pirate ship.

198. Interview : Write based on a recent interview you’ve read or seen on TV or heard on the radio.

199. Hiding Spaces : Write about places you like to hide things at. What was a favorite hiding spot for you as a child playing hide-and-seek?

200. Extreme Makeover: Imagine how life might be different if you could change your hair color or clothing into something completely opposite from your current style.

201. Empathy: Write about your feelings of empathy or compassion for another person.

202. Opposites: Write a poem or story that ties in together two opposites.

203. Boredom: Write about being bored or make a list of different ways to entertain yourself.

204. Strength : Think of a time when you’ve been physically or emotionally strong and use that as inspiration.

205. Hunger: Write from the perspective of someone with no money to buy food.

206. Greed: Write about someone who always wants more – whether it be money, power, etc. etc.

207. Volcano: Write about an eruption of a volcano.

208. Video Inspiration : Go to Vimeo.com or YouTube.com and watch one of the videos featured on the homepage. Write something based on what you watch.

209. Sneeze: Write about things that make you sneeze.

210. Footsteps on the Moon: Write about the possibility of life in outer-space.

211: Star-crossed: Write a short modern version of the story of Romeo and Juliet or think of real-life examples of lovers who are not allowed to be together to use as inspiration for your writing.

212. Font-tastic: Choose a unique font and type out a poem, story or journal entry using that font.

213. Schedule: Take a look at your calendar and use the schedule for inspiration in writing.

214. Grandparents: Write about a moment in your grandparent’s life.

215. Collage: Go through a magazine and cut out words that grab your attention. Use these words to construct a poem or as a story starter or inspiration for your journal.

216. Oh so Lonely: Write a poem about what you do when you are alone – do you feel lonely or do you enjoy your own company?

217. Waterfall: Think of a waterfall you’ve seen in person or spend some time browsing photos of waterfalls online. Write about the movement, flow, and energy.

218. First Kiss: Write about your first kiss.

219. So Ironic: Write about an ironic situation you’ve been in throughout your life.

220. Limerick: Write a limerick today.

221. Grocery Shopping: Write about an experience at the grocery store.

222. Fashion : Go through a fashion magazine or browse fashion websites online and write about a style you love.

223. So Close: Write about coming close to reaching a goal.

224. Drinks on Me: Write a poem or short story that takes place at a bar.

225. Online Friends: Write an ode to someone online you’ve met and become friends with.

226. Admiration: Is there someone you admire? Write about those feelings.

227. Trash Day: Write from the perspective of a garbage collector.

228. Mailbox: Open your mailbox and write something inspired by one of the pieces of mail you received.

229. Fresh & Clean: Write about how you feel after you take a shower.

230. Energized: Write about how you feel when you’re either at a high or low energy level for the day.

231. Rhyme & No Reason: Make up a silly rhyming poem using made up words.

232. Tech Support: Use computers or a conversation with tech support you’ve had as inspiration.

233. Hotel: Write from the perspective of someone who works at a hotel or staying at a hotel.

234. Underwater: Write about sea creatures and under water life. What’s under the surface of the ocean? What adventures might be waiting?

235. Breathing: Take a few minutes to do some deep breathing relaxation techniques. Once your mind is clear, just write the first few things that you think of.

236. Liar, Liar: Make up a poem or story of complete lies about yourself or someone else.

237. Obituaries: Look at the recent obituaries online or in the newspaper and imagine the life of someone and write about that person.

238. Pocket: Rummage through your pockets and write about what you keep or find in your pockets.

239. Cinquain: Write a cinquain poem, which consists of 5 lines that do not rhyme.

240. Alphabetical: Write a poem that has every letter of the alphabet in it.

241. Comedy Club: Write something inspired by a comedian.

242. Cheater: Write about someone who is unfaithful.

243. Sestina: Give a try to writing a sestina poem.

244. Fight: Write about witnessing two people get in an argument with each other.

245. Social Network : Visit your favorite Social Networking website (ie: Facebook, Pinterest, Google, Twitter, etc.) and write a about a post you see there.

246. Peaceful: Write about something peaceful and serene.

247. In the Clouds: Go cloud watching for the day and write about what you imagine in the clouds.

248. At the Park: Take some time to sit on a park bench and write about the sights, scenes, and senses and emotions you experience.

249. Sonnet: Write a sonnet today.

250. Should, Would, And Could: Write a poem or story using the words should, would, and could.

251. How to: Write directions on how to do something.

252. Alliteration: Use alliteration in your poem or in a sentence in a story.

253. Poker Face: Write about playing a card game.

254. Timer: Set a timer for 5 minutes and just write. Don’t worry about it making sense or being perfect.

255. Dance: Write about a dancer or a time you remember dancing.

256. Write for a Cause: Write a poem or essay that raises awareness for a cause you support.

257. Magic : Write about a magician or magic trick.

258. Out of the Box: Imagine finding a box. Write about opening it and what’s inside.

259. Under the Influence: What is something has impacted you positively in your life?

260. Forgotten Toy : Write from the perspective a forgotten or lost toy.

261. Rocks and Gems: Write about a rock or gemstone meaning.

262. Remote Control: Imagine you can fast forward and rewind your life with a remote control.

263. Symbolism: Think of objects, animals, etc. that have symbolic meaning to you. Write about it.

264. Light at the End of the Tunnel: Write about a time when you saw hope when it seemed like a hopeless situation.

265. Smoke and Fire : “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Use this saying as inspiration to write!

266. Railroad: Write about a train and its cargo or passengers.

267. Clipboard: Write about words you imagine on an office clipboard.

268. Shipwrecked: Write about being stranded somewhere – an island, a bus stop, etc.

269. Quotable: Use a popular quote from a speaker and use it as inspiration for your writing.

270. Mind Map it Out: Create a mind map of words, phrases, and ideas that pop into your head or spend some time browsing the many mind maps online. Write a poem, story, or journal entry inspired by the mind map.

271. Patterns : Write about repeating patterns that occur in life.

272. Scrapbook : Write about finding a scrapbook and the memories it contains.

273. Cure: Write about finding a cure for an illness.

274. Email Subject Lines: Read your email today and look for subject lines that may be good starters for writing inspiration.

275. Wishful Thinking: Write about a wish you have.

276. Doodle : Spend some time today doodling for about 5-10 minutes. Write about the thoughts you had while doodling or create something inspired by your finished doodle.

277. Chalkboard: Imagine you are in a classroom. What does it say on the chalkboard?

278. Sticky: Imagine a situation that’s very sticky, maybe even covered in maple syrup, tape or glue. Write about it!

279. Flashlight : Imagine going somewhere very dark with only a flashlight to guide you.

280. A Far Away Place : Envision yourself traveling to a fictional place, what do you experience in your imaginary journey?

281. On the Farm : Write about being in a country or rural setting.

282. Promise to Yourself: Write about a promise you want to make to yourself and keep.

283. Brick Wall : Write a poem that is about a brick wall – whether literal or figurative.

284. Making a Choice: Write about a time when you had to make a difficult choice.

285. Repeat: Write about a time when you’ve had to repeat yourself or a time when it felt like no one was listening.

286. Outcast : Write about someone who is not accepted by their peers. (for example, the Ugly Ducking)

287. Scary Monsters: Write about a scary (or not-so-scary) monster in your closet or under the bed.

288. Sacrifice: Write about something you’ve sacrificed doing to do something else or help another person.

289. Imperfection: Create a poem that highlights the beauty in being flawed.

290. Birthday Poem: Write a poem inspired by birthdays.

291. Title First : Make a list of potential poem or story titles and choose one to write from.

292. Job Interview : Write about going on a job interview.

293. Get Well : Write a poem that will help someone who is sick feel better quick!

294. Lost in the Crowd: Write about feeling lost in the crowd.

295. Apple a Day: Write about a health topic that interests you.

296. Cravings: Write about craving something.

297. Phobia: Research some common phobias, choose one, and write about it.

298. In the Moment: Write about living in the present moment.

299. Concrete : Write about walking down a sidewalk and what you see and experience.

300. Battle: Write about an epic battle, whether real, fictional or figurative.

301. This Old House : Write about an old house that is abandoned or being renovated.

302. Clutter: Is there a cluttered spot in your home? Go through some of that clutter today and write about what you find or the process of organizing.

303. Go Fly a Kite: Write about flying a kite.

304. On the TV: Flip to a random TV channel and write about the first thing that comes on – even if it is an infomercial!

305. Fruit: Write an ode to your favorite fruit.

306. Long Distance Love: Write about a couple that is separated by distance.

307. Glasses: Write about a pair of eyeglasses or someone wearing glasses.

308. Robotic : Write about a robot.

309. Cute as a Button: Write about something you think is just adorable.

310. Movie Conversation: Use a memorable conversation from a favorite movie to inspire your writing.

311. Easy-Peasy : Write about doing something effortlessly.

312. Idiom: Choose from a list of idioms one that speaks to you and create a poem around that saying or phrase. (Ie: It is raining cats and dogs)

313. Playground: Whether it is the swings or the sandbox or the sliding boards, write about your memories of being on a playground.

314. Romance: Write about romantic things partners can do for each other.

315. Rock Star: Imagine you are a famous rock star. Write about the experience.

316. Come to Life: Imagine ordinary objects have come to life. Write about what they do and say.

317. Airplane: Write about meeting someone on an airplane and a conversation you might have.

318. Health & Beauty: Take some time to peruse your medicine cabinet or the health and beauty aisles at a local store. Write a poem, short story, or journal entry inspired by a product label.

319. Determination: Write about not giving up.

320. Instrumental Inspiration: Listen to some instrumental music and write a poem that matches the mood, beat, and style of the music.

321. Wait Your Turn: Write about having to wait in line.

322. Personality Type : Do you know your personality type? (There are many free quizzes online) – write about what type of personality traits you have.

323. Decade: Choose a favorite decade and write about it. (IE: 1980’s or 1950’s for example)

324. I Believe: Write your personal credo of things you believe in.

325. Lost and Found: Write about a lost object.

326. Say it: Write a poem or story that uses dialogue between two people.

327. The Unsent Letter: Write about a letter that never made it to its recipient.

328. The Windows of the Soul: Write a poem about the story that is told through someone’s eyes.

329. Trial and Error: Write about something you learned the hard way.

330. Escape : Write about where you like to go to escape from it all.

331. What’s Cooking: Write something inspired a favorite food or recipe.

332. Records : Go through your file box and pull out old receipts or records…write something inspired by what you find!

333. Banking: Write about visiting the bank.

334. Sweet Talk: Write about trying to convince someone of something.

335. Serendipity: Write about something that happened by chance in a positive way.

336. Distractions: Write about how it feels when you can’t focus.

337. Corporation: Write about big business.

338. Word of the Day: Go to a dictionary website that has a word of the day and use it in a poem, story or journal entry you write.

339. Pick Me Up: What do you do when you need a pick me up?

340. Unfinished: Write about a project you started but never completed.

341. Forgiveness: Write about a time when someone forgave you or you forgave someone.

342. Weakness: Write about your greatest weakness.

343. Starting: Write about starting a project.

344. Mechanical: Think of gears, moving parts, machines.

345. Random Act of Kindness : Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone or someone has done for you, no matter how small or insignificant it may have seemed.

346. Underground: Imagine living in a home underground and use that as inspiration for writing.

347. Classic Rock: Pick a classic rock love ballad and rewrite it into a story or poem with a similar theme.

348. Night Owl : Write about staying up late at night.

349. Magnetic : Write about attraction to something or someone.

350. Teamwork: Write about working with a team towards a common goal.

351. Roller-coaster : Write about the ups and downs in life.

352. Motivational Poster: Look at some motivational posters online and write a poem or journal entry inspired by your favorite one.

353. Games: Write about the games people play – figuratively or literally.

354. Turning Point: Write about a point in life where things turned for the better or worse.

355. Spellbound: Write about a witch’s spell.

356. Anniversary: Write about the anniversary of a special date.

357. Gamble: Be inspired by a casino or lottery ticket.

358. Picnic: Write about going on a picnic.

359. Garage: Write about some random item you might find in a garage.

360. Review: Review your week, month, or year in a journal entry or poem format.

361. Detective: Write about a detective searching for clues or solving a mystery.

362. Camera: Take your camera for a walk and write based on one of the photographs you take.

363. Visiting : Write about visiting a family member or friend.

364. Trust: Write about putting trust in someone.

365. Congratulations : Did you write a poem, short story, or journal entry every day for a whole year? Write about what you’ve learned and celebrate your achievement!

We hope you enjoy these creative writing prompts! And of course, if you write anything using these prompts, we’d love to know about it! Tell us how you’ll use these everyday creative writing prompts in the comments section below!

And of course, if you’d like the printable ad-free version of these prompts to reference again and again or to use in your classroom, you can find them at our Etsy shop !

Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.

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191 comments.

I have been on a reading binge since being on vacation from school. By rereading Little House, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women among others, one wonders about writing a book. I stumbled across this while looking up unit supplements for my kiddos, and thought, hey, write a page a day and see what happens! Thank you for this collection of prompts! I’ve linked back to this page several times so others can try their hand at writing. Thank you again!

The Flicker, The Teeth, and A Warehouse in the Dark (the warehouse prompt)

I am in a large abandoned warehouse with a flickering light The only light in the whole room. It flickered leaving me in temporal darkness It flickered again and as it was dark I swore I saw something glowing It looked like glowing teeth The lights return and I see nothing Flickers on Flickers off I see the teeth closer Flickers on I see nothing Flickers off The teeth so close Flickers on An empty warehouse Flickers off The glowing teeth are inchings away bright red blood drips from their tips Flickers on Panic rises in my chest but nothing is there Turns off The mouth of bloody teeth is before my eyes I wait for the light to flicker back on I wait in complete darkness I wait And wait And wait The teeth open wide I try to scream by the darkness swallows it A hear the crunch of my bones I see my blood pore down my chest But I wait in darkness for the pain I wait And wait And wait The mouth of teeth devours my lower half I wait for pain and death I wait And wait And wait The light flickers on I see no monster Only my morphed body And blood And blood And blood And so much blood The light flickers off The monster eats my arm Flickers on I wait for pain Flickers off I watch as the creature eats my limbs Flickers on I wait for death Flickers off Slowly the teeth eat my head All I see is dark I wait for it to flicker on Where is the warehouse light? Where is the only light in the room? Where is the flicker? Where am I? Where are the bloody teeth? I wait for the light to come back And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait in eternal darkness

WOW. Thank you!

This is such a helpful tool! I’ve learned a lot about my self through picking a random prompt and writing the first thing that comes to mind. I’d love to see a follow up list of possible! Definitely a recomended sight!

I agree. Very helpful.

I am new at the blogging game. You have provided some wonderful ideas for blog posts. Great ideas just to get used to writing every day. Thanks

This list is really impressive and useful for those of us who are looking for good topics to blog about. Thanks!

Thank you! That somes in handy

Very nice list. Thanks for compiling and posting it. It’s not only good for bloggers, but poets, as well.

yess im using it for my new years resolution, which is to write a poem daily!

Wow, thanks so much for all these wonderful prompts! They are lots of fun and very helpful. I love how you’ve provided 365 of them–A prompt for every day of the year! 🙂

Not if it’s a leap year…

Haha. Yea. This is great though all the same.. ;-;

Lol actually there’s 364 days in a year and 365 in a leap year so……yeah

are you fucking stupid

There are actually 366 days in a leap year so… yeah

I use this for my homeschooling-I love it! Thank you so much!! This is a wonderful list. So creative! 🙂 🙂

Thanks! I’m preparing for writing every day next year and this will come in really handy. It’s just 364 writing prompts though. 164 is missing. 😉

MiMschi is wrong 164 is there i looked

I think they meant that as a joke, 164 is called left out…

Good it is useful

no its not you nonce

You Don’t Love Me, Damn You

things left unsaid

and then some

anger strangles the baby

in its crib,

flowers wilt,

rivers dry up

harsh words clatter upon the day,

echo unfortunately

till silence smothers

in its embrace

you wish you could take it back

what’s done is done

never to be undone

though things move on

part of you remains

locked in the middle of protesting

one last thing,

mouth open,

no words emerging

why must you be misunderstood?

why must everything you say

no way of straightening things out

gestures halted mid-air

an accusatory finger

shoulders locked

in sardonic shrug

dishes smash on the floor

spray of fragments

frozen mid-air

slam the door

it doesn’t open

but in spite of yourself

you turn and look

one last time…..

(Greg Cameron, Poem, Surrey, B.C., Canada)

Love these. Thank you!

This is really amazingly deep. I love it so much. You have so much talent!!

Thanks SOOO much for the prompts but I have another suggestion!

A Recipe for disaster- write a recipe for a disastrous camping trip…

that one sounds awesome.

Haha. Reminds me of the old twin’s show.. what was it.. where the two girls switch places when they meet at camp?

Pretty sure I know what you’re talking about. The Parent Trap, right? Never seen the whole movie, but it seems funny.

and also #309, everyone should have thought of a hamster “write” away XD!

May I have permission to use this list at my next Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers meeting. Thank you for consideration.

Hi Leah, please send some more info here: https://thinkwritten.com/contact

i am using it for my homeschooling and i love it

i am using it for my homeschooling

where is prompt 165?

sorry I meant 164, my mistake.

well kay, there is a 164 AND 165. So your head is clearly ????????????

What I like most about these is how you can combine them and get really weird ideas. For example, empathy from the rooftops: what if you shouted something positive in public every day – or if everyone did so? It might be fun to try, and then write a diary about it. Online time travel: if people could live virtually in incredibly well=constructed versions of different time periods, what would the effects be on today’s society? Could it change our language or customs?

It would be cool if we could have goggles that showed places during a certain time period. Like Seattle 1989. And you could buy special plugins, like specific people you want to hang out with, famous or non.

That one about online time travel is crazy brilliant!!! And highly thought-provoking.

It is amazing what creative writing could do to you. Daily prompts have proven to be very inspiring and overtime writers develop their own style of writing depending on how passionate they are about it. I would love to write about all 3, online, space, and time travel. cheers! and Don’t stop writing!

I belong to a writing club. We seem to have a lot of prompts to use. I love stories having to do with rain. Would you join me. I am jim

Wow! Inspiration right here.

May I use this list for a speech at my Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers?

Love the inspiration

THANK YOU. THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THANK YOU.

What about a leap year? You’re missing one topic.

Wonderful! I love writing and these prompts are very helpful. Thank you very much! ♥

It’s been really useful in getting me to write again! Thank you very much!

I really love the list of writing ideas you have compiled here. I will be using it and others to get myself back into writing every single day if I can be away with it. Also, I have noticed a few problems with this list. One is a repeat topic. Those are numbers 76 and 162. And you skipped a number. And have only 364 days of writing. Still through! All these ideas are absolutely amazing and awesome ideas! I commend you for putting it all together in an easy to read format too. Thank you so very much.

I think we have the list all fixed now, but thanks for catching a couple of early mistakes!

Thank you for helping me edit Lora! I don’t always have a second pair of eyes + appreciated this to fix + update the post! I always say my readers are my best editors. 🙂

these days get brighter, mine gets darker, why does it has to be me , why not life.

Mirror, Mirror: What if you mirror started talking to you?

u r awesome man

Wonderful compilation of ideas! I will send your blog along to my many Creative Writing students. I’m enjoying reading your posts.

wow!! great tips! but how long did it take you to write that? its a lot of words!! lol great stuff though..

This is so cool! I love these prompts and will definitely recommend some to my teacher!!

The promise “I made a promise with my best friend, I said i’d never break, Our personalities really did blend, But then I lied awake, The people disappearing, Her gaze was always leering. I never thought she was serious, I always took it as a joke, But it really made me curious, When she was digging around that oak, My best friend is a serial killer, And i knew the truth, My life turned into a thriller, And eating at me took away my youth, I couldn’t take it any long living with this weight, To the police I went to tell my tale, Looking at me with eyes of hate, she smiled and said, without her I would fail. Now i sit in the prison cell, Waiting for my call My friend across the room smiling, my eyes begin to swell, My neck snapping on the, from my sides my hands fall

Although my writing style is dark, that’s the way I enjoy writing, and thank you for this list, even though I didn’t do one per day, scrolling through I was able to see keywords that formed ideas in my mind

I love this <3 It's amazing :))

These are really nice I absolutely love them.

This is very helpful and I’ve been finding a way to help improve my creative writing!!! Thank you very much!

You are such a life developer, who can virtually transform a life busy with unnecessary activities humans are posted to through internet. And who can restore the appetite of people to purchase pen and paper which have considered the last commodity in the market at the expense of that great vampire ‘social media’ that left both old and young paralyzed. Thanks to the proponent of this great idea.

These are great. The Closed door one gives me a great idea for a new story! Thank you so much!

man what the fuck is this shit! i was looking for short story writing prompts and I get stuck with shit like “write about the weather outside”. Damn this shit is disappointing.

Hi John, the weather might seem boring, but there are a lot of ways you can springboard from that – maybe you write a story about a character who despises the sunshine or melts if they get rained on or they live in a underground tunnel and the house gets flooded…You can also use it as an exercise in developing more descriptive writing that shows, not tells for the scenes in your story. Writing about the weather seems “easy and boring” but seriously challenge yourself to write about it in a way that makes it interesting – it is not so easy to avoid the cliches as you might think!

I LOVE IT SO MUCH i do not know why but my kids, they will just like come on this website every time it is time to have a little bit of video games! XD

The weather outside that day was dark.

It was a perfectly reasonable sort of darkness. The kind of darkness you might get if you wake up an hour before sunrise. But it was late in the morning.

He had to make sure of that. He checked his alarm clock, his microwave oven clock, and his cell phone.

The sun was supposed to be out. But the moonlit sky was starlit and clear.

And as he looked outside again, he saw that people were out, going about their business, as if none of this really mattered at all.

What was he missing here?

(There. Now you have a short story writing prompt..)

You know what “John” i think this website is great so fuck you.

yeah you tell him john

It depends on how you view it. That one topic for instance has given me a beautiful story telling. I am currently about to round up with it and trust me the feedback has been amazing.

That is great! I’m glad it helped inspire you!

Dude kids go on here so stop swearing “John”

Maybe you need to work on improving the quality of your writing. Your use of expletives is totally uncalled for. I see nothing wrong with “writing about the weather outside”. In fact, this is a great topic and can lead to awesome discussions.

Very useful indeed. Thank u

i think this is a good prompted

I think it’s awesome, I looked for inspiration, I found inspiration, thank you

well! i fall in love with all these ideas! i loved this page! thanks for sharing these amazing ideas!

Great stuff mat Keep up the good work

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH IT IS VERY HELPFUL BUT FOR A SUGGESTION YOU COULD DO DIARY STUFF MAYBE

When I read your comment, I thought you said “DAIRY,” not “DIARY.”

So… why not both? Write something based on a dairy farmer’s diary. Or… a dairy COW’S diary. Tell their stories, their private dreams. Or hidden shame…

That’s the way to think + use this list 🙂

Great idea!

Awesome list! Thank you!

Thanks so much! I’ve always been told I’m a great writer and should publish. I haven’t done a lot of leisure writing because I’m afraid I might realize I’m NOT a good writer. My therapist wants me to write more and these prompts are perfect!

This is fun i will keep doing this no matter what every year. I can’t stop writing either. Thanks for making this, it is very fun.

This helps so much! love these ideas

Can this website give me a write on the following topic. –

Imagine that the scientists could replace the human brains with computers or invent the computers with human feelings. What do you think would happen?Would the world become a better place to live in???

I’ve been looking for prompts to work through my creative art/collage journal for 2017…and love the ones you offer here….LOVE THEM! I like that they are more than just one word and give me something to think about before I start creating each day as a warm up to what is ahead.

I hope don’t mind, but I shared them on both Instagram and my FaceBook page in hopes to get my artist/creative friends to follow along with me in creating each day. I would like to include a link to your page in a near future blog post about my creative journal.

Thank you for posting and sharing you prompts…I’m excited to get started!

I’m on number 43 and I’ve already discovered a whole bunch about myself! These prompts are amazing and I can’t wait for the next 322 of them. I’ve recommended this to several of my friends. Totally worth several notebooks chock full of prompts and a years worth of writing 🙂

Very inspiring….

Hello! Is it alright if I add some of these to a little book I’m making for my Grandmother? She hasn’t opened a computer in her life but I know these prompts would do her a world of good. I believe in the importance of asking permission to use the creative property of another person 🙂 Cheers!

Hi Maxx, of course you may share with your grandmother – the only thing we would worry about is if you were to publish them for monetary gain. Enjoy! 🙂

This is really helpful. I’m glad I saw it first. ♥

OMG!! I’ve never been in this website before!!

Thank u so much this was so helpful. Idk how u came up with all thoughts prompts. It was very helpful. Thank u again.

For the first time in a long time it finally felt like I knew was going to happen next. I was gazing into her eyes and she was gazing back. I remember it like it was just yesterday, when she was still the one for me but never forgave me. I miss the sweet sound of her laughter and now all i hear are friends. I have tried to go back and apologize to her just to see if the answer will change but even I know that it will never change because I will never be enough for her. But if she ever decides that she wants me back she can have me because a life without love is one not worth living.

gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood

can u give me one using the prompt “normal”

Thanks for this!!!!! Will definitely help me in learning to tap into my creative writing genius 🙂

Thanks, this helped me a lot!

u have a typo!!!! 364

Thanks for pointing out, got it fixed 🙂 Sometimes my brain goes faster than the computer. 🙂

I wrote this, tell me what you think; prompt #4-dancing You see her tapping her toes, always listening to music. Although she doesn’t like the music, what she doesn’t know yet is it will be stuck in her head for the next year. She’s as graceful as a butterfly yet as strong as a fighter. Many only see a pretty face yet those close enough to the fire know the passion burning deep inside of her. At home she’s quiet, always in her room yet making loud noises through the floorboards. Her parents know what she’s up to but her little brothers don’t quite understand yet. All they know is that when she goes up there she’s listening to music and soon she will play it for the whole neighborhood to hear. They don’t know that she’s practicing, practicing for the most important day of the year. The one she’s been waiting for since she’s been a little girl. Tapping her toes at the table only stops when her parents beg her to rest. Even in her dreams she on stage, dancing like a swan. Yet deep down she’s scared of the failure that she will feel if this one day goes a bit to south. Tapping her toes to the beat of her music gives her a bit of pip in her pep when she walks down the halls. No one quite understands the stress she’s going through. Through her smile she’s worries, scared that one misstep might end it all for her. But she won’t let anyone see that she’s nervous. She’s used to getting bruises, she falls on the ground but always gets back up. Because she’s a dancer, the show must go on.

Brilliant. Loved it.

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m working on a site in Danish about writing and I would love to translate these awesome prompts into Danish and use it on the site. Would that be OK? I’ll credit with links of course!

Hi Camilla, you cannot copy + post these on your site, but feel free to link to the article – our site is compatible with Google translate 🙂

Hi Camilla, this list cannot be republished, even if translated into another language. However, if you would like to link to our website that would be great, your readers are able to translate it into any language if they use a web browser such as Google Chrome.

My goal is to write all of these prompts before 2018

This is amazing! I am writing for fun and this is a list of amazing prompts!

Ha, Ha . I see what you did , #164 was missing and now it say write about being left out .

Thanks a ton !!!

This link has been really helpful for my blog, loved the ideas.

Thanks for not publishing my email address

You are welcome! We never publish email addresses. If you’d like to learn more about how we collect and use information you may provide us with on this website, you can read more on our privacy policy page. Hope that helps! https://thinkwritten.com/privacy/

I have another suggestion, What about “The Secret Journey to the Unknown”. I reckon it’s awesome!

I was wondering if you could please send new ideas to me, much appreciated thanks.

I love all of these so much and i try to write referring to these at least once everyday thank you so much for these!

Trust, It is a beautiful thing. You give it to others, For them to protect. They can keep it forever, Or they can destroy it.

Wow what a treasure! Am glad I have found the right place to begging my writing journey.Thanks guys

Super awesome! Thanks so much for this collection of writing prompts!!

Today is the last day of the year 2017. I’m proud to say that I was able to complete this challenge. Thank you for the inspiring prompts! 🙂

That is awesome! We might just have to think of some new ones!!

how about one with sports like the NBA

I thought my life was over when I couldn’t access this for a couple weeks. These prompts are excellent. I write two page short stories on one every day. I hope you guys never take down this site but I’m printing these for insurance because it truly was devastating. I’m very emotionally attached to this list. Thank you so much for sharing.

Yes, we did have a small glitch in our hosting services for a few days! Fortunately, it was only temporary and unexpected! {Though I’m sure it did feel like 2 weeks!} Good to hear you are using the prompts!

Very nice article. Very useful one for improving writing skills

Thank you Sid! Glad it is useful for you!

Oh my god.. This is something a different, thought provoking and a yardstick to those who cultivated passion on writing, like me, beginners. Wishes for this website. I really wanted to try this 365 days of writing. Thanks in tons.

Glad you find it helpful! I hope it keeps you inspired to keep growing as a writer!

i love writing too! i am writing a book and this website inspired me too!

i have been writing lots of things and am getting A + on writing

thxs for your time with the web

i am making a epic book. it is because of this website. you really help. i will share a link of my book once i am done with it to your awesome cool really helpful website! thank you for your time

That is great to hear Christopher! Would love to see some of your work when you are ready to share! 🙂

WOOOOOOOOW BEST SITE!

I’m going to write few marvelous essays based on ideas in your impressive list. Thanks!

Just to tell some people that 165 or 164 is not missing because some people probably can’t see but just to let u know that 164 is a prompt called “Left Out”

Dang. The second idea about writing about what it feels like to love someone who doesn’t love you back, I wrote something like that BEFORE I found this website.

You can always try writing it again, maybe from the other person’s perspective this time? That is the beauty of the open-ended writing prompts – you can always interpret them in a way to push and challenge you as a writer!

Thank you for these prompts! I enjoyed looking through them and writing them! They gave me great ideas and inspired me so much.

This is my favorite website to find inspiration to write. I had run out of ideas and i had a huge writers block but this made it all go away. Here’s something i wrote:

He is a mess She is beautiful He has tears streaming down his face She glides across the room as if it were her kingdom And she’s The reigning queen He’s curled up in a ball In the corner of the room He looks at me I wonder what he thinks I can’t take my eyes off her The way she subtly smiles when she realizes Someone is looking She seems to be happy all the time But I can see through the smile It’s my first time noticing It’s not complete That was the first time I wanted to say hi But I thought Why would he look at me? The nerd with all the answers in her head All the books in her hands And Her sleeves full of hearts She looked at me From the corner of her eye She saw me looking The boy with the tear stains She saw me His tears were no longer streaming He had finally stood up Tall and handsome As he is Eyes Bluer than the blue jay that sat outside my bedroom window She had opened a book and started reading She hadn’t changed pages for a while Safe to assume She was distracted She looked up and Without knowing I was in front of her “Hi” Her brown eyes Stared in to my soul Erased the memory of why the tears Were streaming in the first place “Hi”

I love it Cynthia, thank you for sharing and glad that it inspired you to keep writing! 🙂

Thank you for so many amazing ideas! I love the sound of mirror, mirror!

Glad you found it inspiring Ar!

read the whole thing and didn’t find anything I’d enjoy writing 🙁

What kinds of things do you like to write? We have a whole collection of additional writing prompts lists here. Sometimes challenging yourself to write something you don’t like all in its own can be a good exercise for writing. Hope that helps!

These are ingenious!

I love these prompts! They’re inspiring! I’ve chosen to challenge myself by using one of these prompts every day of this 2019 year. I posted my writings for the first prompt on my Tumblr and Facebook pages with the prompt and a link back to this article- I hope that’s alright. If not, I can take it down, or I would love to discuss a way I could continue to do this. I hope more people can see and use these prompts because I have already found joy in using the first one.

Hi Elizabeth! Glad you are enjoying the prompts! You can definitely post what you write with these prompts as long as you do not copy the entire list or claim them as your own. Linking back to our website or this post will help others find the prompts so they too can use them for writing! If you have any questions feel free to contact us anytime using our contact form. Thanks!

Amazing original prompts Thank you so much!

Good list, but you’re not supposed to mistake it’s for its. Not on a website for writers, of all places!

I appreciate your comment, especially because after triple checking the article AND having a few grammar-police personality type friends do the same we could not find any typos. All of the instances of its and it’s are the correct usage.

However, one thing we did remember is that it is very easy for the person reading to accidentally misunderstand and not interpret it the way as the writer intended.

To clarify when we should use it’s vs. its:

We use it’s when we intend the meaning as the contraction. This is a shortened way of writing it is . We use its without an apostrophe when we use it as a possessive noun. Any instances you may note here are correct for their intended meaning.

Some examples:

Prompt #141 It’s a Sign : In this case we intend it to be interpreted as IT IS a Sign , where the usage is a contraction.

Prompt #7 The Rocket Ship : In this case we intend it to be interpreted as the possessive form.

I hope that helps clear up any possible confusion for you!

Thank you soooo much! That helped me a lot!

You’re welcome Keira! Glad you enjoyed our list of writing ideas!

It is so rich in bright and thought-provoking ideas. Thank you so much. Get inspired to have more, please

Thanks for this. I love to write things like this. Some of these though, weren’t as interesting as I wanted it to be, not saying that they aren’t interesting. I like the help you’ve added in, such as being led into a dark room with only a flashlight to help so it gets us started. Great job!

Thanks Maya, I’m glad you like the prompts. Sometimes the prompts that seem boring are the best ones to help you practice your skills as a writer to make them interesting topics. Some of the best writers can make the most mundane topics fun!

Nice….I don’t think I’ll ever lack something to write on … I so appreciate your ideas ..,they are great

Thank you, glad you enjoyed them!

Thank you for providing these writing prompts! They are great!

Thank You so much, these are amazing to start of with to get the creative juices flowing

Thank you very much

Sweet! Thank you so much! I plan to use some of these for some creative writing on CourageousChristianFather.com

I’m glad they inspired you Steve! I always love seeing what everyone writes with these prompts – I really enjoyed your post about the cookie ad jingle! 🙂

Thanks so much for this list. I needed something to kickstart my writing. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I just wrote #1. WooHoo!!

Thank you for your list. This is great!

I write feature articles for our church library’s monthly newsletter. Perusing this list has helped me come up with a couple dozen ideas to consider for future issues! Thanks much for putting this together – it is being used beyond the scope of what you intended, I think!

That’s wonderful Debbie! There are so many ways to apply these prompts to any sort of project – thank you for sharing how you are using them!

Thanks for your prompts, an idea I have for a prompt is write a story based on your favorite story for example I’m writing a fantasy book based on the game dungeons and dragons…

i guss its ok

cgv hbvkd vjvhsvhivhcickbcjh

Just needed to ask: I’d like to think these prompts are for free writing with no pauses? But, does one edit and polish the piece after that? I keep reading about writing every day…like brain dumping. But, there is never a mention of what one does with the piece after that??

This article has been written with sheer intelligence. Such 365 creative writing prompts has been written here. This article is worth marking as Good. I like how you have researched and presented these exact points so clearly.

Thank you for this list! You’ve inspired me to take up the challenge, though I haven’t written anything in years!

I have even created a blog to post my ideas, and keep myself accountable. I hope this is okay, I will credit, and provide a link back to this page on each post. https://thefishhavegotitright.blogspot.com/

I love it Ariadne, I’ll definitely come check out your site! Keep at it!

This is really Helpful thanks I love it😊

I never knew how much I had to write about. This should definitely keep me busy! Thank you so much for the list.

Hi! I saw a note saying this had been updated for 2020. I was curious if there are plans to update it for 2021. If so, when would the 2021-updated list become available?

Hi Gabrielle, I am not sure when we will next update this list, but feel free to check out some of our other writing prompts lists if you’ve exhausted this one! Writing Prompts for Kids {which is for grown-ups too!} and Poetry Writing Prompts are two great ones to check out. Hope that helps!

Loved this a lot! I would like to ask permission for using these prompts for my poetry and stories page on Instagram. Kindly let me know if I can use these and let my followers write on them too.

Hi, Piyusha, I’m just a user of the site like you, so I’m not “official”. But if you hit CTRL + F in your browser, that should open the “Find” dialog. Search on “Camilla”, and that will take you to a post and response concerning your request. Have a great and productive writing day. K. B. Tidwell

very informative thank you

I have always had problems finding something to write about. My problem is solved🥰 Thank you

I love this

Oh great. Good for everyone who enjoys picking the pen and writing something readable

100 Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Writing

With this list, you’ll never run out of story ideas again!

By Natasha Khullar Relph

Starting a new project feels like stepping into a world of endless possibilities, yet it can also be like staring into the abyss of the unknown. While the battle between a writer and their blank page is well documented, you don’t have to go to war with your creative self just to get some words on a page.

Creative writing prompts can be the answer to a blocked writer’s prayers, offering story starters and writing ideas to jumpstart your creative thinking. To aid in your efforts, we’ve put together a curated collection of 100 creative writing prompts. From thought-provoking scenarios to whimsical adventures, these prompts are guaranteed to jumpstart your writing, transport you to new worlds, and breathe life into your stories.

What is a writing prompt?

A writing prompt is a specific, often short, phrase, question, or statement designed to stimulate and inspire creative writing. Writing prompts can help you overcome writer’s block , generate new ideas, or simply get your creative juices flowing. You can use them in various forms of writing, including fiction, poetry, journaling, and essay writing, and they vary widely in their content and purpose. Some prompts are open-ended, encouraging writers to explore their thoughts and emotions freely, while others may be more specific, asking you to write about a particular topic or scenario.

Writing prompts serve as creative triggers, helping you to explore new story ideas , develop characters, or practice different writing styles. They can be a valuable tool for both beginners who need writing inspiration and more experienced writers looking to build a writing habit or become better writers through a regular writing practice .

100 creative writing prompts for writers

Fiction writing prompts.

Whether you’re writing adult novels or children’s books, these fiction and short story writing prompts will inspire new worlds and scenarios for your characters to play in as you write your first draft .

Write a modern-day fairy tale set in a bustling metropolis . Your story should feature a main character who stumbles upon a hidden, magical world within the city. Explore how this discovery changes their life and the challenges they face as they navigate between the ordinary and the extraordinary in the heart of the urban jungle.
Write a story in which the main character discovers a superpower , but it comes with a mysterious and unexpected side effect. Explore the challenges they face in harnessing their newfound ability while dealing with the consequences of the side effect. How do they adapt and ultimately use their power for good or ill?
Imagine you stumble upon an ancient, dusty time traveler’s journal in an antique shop. As you flip through its pages, you realize it contains detailed accounts of the past, present, and future. Write a story about the discoveries you make within the journal and how they shape your life and decisions.
In a post-apocalyptic society, a group of survivors discover a hidden library containing books from every era. Describe their journey to preserve knowledge, as they grapple not only with the challenge of safeguarding these precious texts but also with the moral dilemmas and conflicts that arise when they must decide who has access to this invaluable resource in a world defined by scarcity.
In a world where people’s dreams become real, a person with chronic nightmares suddenly possesses unimaginable power , forcing them to confront the fine line between their inner demons and the extraordinary possibilities that now lie at their fingertips.
Write a story set in a future where civilians can take vacations to outer space . Describe the adventures, challenges, and experiences of a family or group of friends as they embark on a journey beyond the earth’s atmosphere for the first time.
Craft a science fiction tale set in a world where technology has reached unimaginable heights , but human emotions and relationships remain unchanged. Explore how advanced AI, virtual reality, and futuristic inventions impact the characters’ lives, love, and the essence of what it means to be human.
Write a story that begins with a group of childhood friends building a secret treehouse in the woods. Years later, they reunite as adults to discover that their beloved hideaway holds a mysterious and enchanting secret that will change their lives forever.
Write a story set in a small American town during the 1950s, capturing the essence of post-war America and the lives of its diverse residents as they navigate love, ambition, and the pursuit of the American Dream.
Imagine a future where Earth faces an impending catastrophic event, and humanity has initiated a mission to colonize a distant planet . Write a story from the perspective of one astronaut on this interstellar journey, capturing the emotions, challenges, and sense of hope as they leave behind their home planet and embark on a journey into the unknown.
Your favorite book has always been a cherished escape, but one day, as you open its pages, you find yourself transported into the world within . Write a story about your adventures in the world of your favorite book, exploring the characters, places, and challenges you encounter along the way.
Imagine a world where everyone knows the exact date of their last day on Earth . Write a story about a person living through their last day, exploring how they choose to spend it and the emotions, reflections, and last moments they experience as they prepare to say their farewells.
Set your story in a future where a society of advanced learners, equipped with a unique ability to acquire new skills and knowledge rapidly , faces a mysterious threat. Write about their quest to unravel the enigma, the extraordinary challenges they encounter, and how their insatiable thirst for learning becomes their greatest asset in this high-stakes adventure.
Write a story in which each chapter shifts between the first-person point of view of two characters who have drastically different perspectives on the same events. Explore how their contrasting viewpoints shape the narrative and challenge the reader’s understanding of the story’s central conflict.
Imagine a world where gods exist but are not all-powerful . Write a story about a god who, despite their divine status, faces a unique and formidable challenge that forces them to confront their limitations and question the very nature of godhood.
Write a story set in a world where time travel is possible but limited to a single day . Describe the adventures and dilemmas of a character who can only revisit or change events in their life within the confines of that single day. What choices do they make, and how does it impact their future and the world around them?
In a near-future world, video games have evolved to become the primary form of communication and competition . Write a story where a skilled gamer is recruited for a high-stakes mission within a virtual reality game, blurring the lines between the digital and physical worlds. Explore the challenges, alliances, and ethical dilemmas they face as they navigate this immersive and unpredictable gaming landscape.
Imagine a writer who discovers an ancient, enchanted book that can bring its characters to life and grant them free will. Write a new story in which the writer and the characters they create must work together to navigate the challenges and consequences of their shared existence, blurring the lines between creator and creation.
Imagine a character whose favorite things are slowly disappearing from their life one by one . Write a story about their journey to hold on to the essence of what they love most, the challenges they face in preserving their cherished favorites, and the unexpected discoveries they make along the way.
Two strangers find themselves washed ashore on a deserted island after a shipwreck . They have no memory of their past lives and must work together to survive. Write a story about their journey of discovery, resilience, and the bond that forms as they navigate the challenges of the deserted island.
Your favorite holiday has always been a time of joy and celebration, but this year, it’s under threat of cancellation. Write a story about the determined efforts of a group of individuals who come together to save and rekindle the spirit of their favorite holiday , facing unexpected challenges and finding new meaning in the process.
Write a story set in a quaint English village, where an eccentric resident claims to have discovered a hidden portal to another dimension in their garden shed . As rumors spread and curiosity grows, explore the adventures and mysteries that unfold when the villagers decide to investigate this bizarre claim and step into the unknown.
Your favorite Tumblr blog suddenly starts posting cryptic messages that seem to predict events in your life . Write a story about the growing intrigue and obsession as you try to uncover the identity of the blog’s enigmatic author and the source of their uncanny knowledge.
Your favorite season has always been winter, but this year, it never ends . Write a story about the challenges, wonders, and unexpected consequences that arise as your world becomes perpetually blanketed in snow and ice, and you must navigate the eternal winter that now defines your life.
Write a story about a high school student who stumbles upon a mysterious diary hidden in the school library . The diary seems to contain entries from a former student who experienced extraordinary and supernatural events during their time at the school. As the current student reads the diary, they begin to notice strange occurrences happening around them, blurring the line between reality and the paranormal.

Nonfiction writing prompts

Here’s a selection of nonfiction writing prompts to help you delve into your own experiences , share your expertise, and craft powerful narratives rooted in the world around us.

Explore the concept of “utopia” and “dystopia.” Write an analytical essay comparing and contrasting two fictional utopian or dystopian worlds from literature, film, or popular culture, and discuss their societal ideals, flaws, and relevance to contemporary society.
Consider a unique or unusual skill or hobby you possess , such as extreme knitting or competitive tree climbing. Write a how-to guide or tutorial that explains the fundamentals and intricacies of this skill, offering practical advice and personal anecdotes to inspire others to explore it.
Take a nature walk or visit a local park, and choose a specific tree as your subject . Write a detailed and poetic nature essay that describes the tree’s appearance, its role in the ecosystem, and the stories it could tell if it could speak.
Choose an everyday object that holds special significance to you , such as a childhood toy or a family heirloom. Write a detailed essay exploring the memories, emotions, and stories connected to this object, and how it has shaped your identity.
Imagine you have the opportunity to interview your future self 10 years from now . Draft a list of thought-provoking questions you would ask to gain insights into your future experiences, decisions, and reflections.
Select a word from a language other than your own that encapsulates a feeling or concept you find intriguing but that has no direct translation in your language. Write an essay exploring the word’s meaning, cultural context, and the emotions it evokes, reflecting on the beauty of language and its ability to convey complex ideas.
Imagine you are given the chance to host a dinner party with five historical figures , living or deceased, from any time period. Create a detailed guest list, describe the menu, and write an essay outlining the topics of conversation you would explore with your eclectic group of guests.
Write a personal essay about a specific sound or noise that holds deep meaning to you . Explain why this sound resonates with you, its significance in your life, and the emotions or memories it triggers.
Consider a peculiar or unusual museum exhibit you’ve encountered or would like to visit . Write an engaging review or critique of the exhibit, examining its historical, artistic, or cultural value, and sharing your insights and reactions as a visitor.
Think about an unsolved mystery, conspiracy theory, or urban legend that has always intrigued you . Write an investigative essay delving into the facts, theories, and speculations surrounding this enigma, presenting your own analysis and conclusions.
Explore the concept of “lost cities” or “hidden civilizations.” Write an investigative essay about a real or legendary lost city, such as Atlantis, discussing the historical evidence, theories, and mysteries surrounding its existence and disappearance.
Imagine you have the ability to witness and document a day in the life of a famous historical figure or celebrity of your choice. Write a detailed and immersive diary entry that captures their experiences, thoughts, and emotions on this hypothetical day.
Reflect on the idea of “space tourism” becoming a reality in the near future . Write an opinion piece discussing the ethical, environmental, and cultural implications of commercial space travel and colonization.
Select an everyday object or phenomenon, such as rain, a traffic light, or a pencil , and write an in-depth exploration of its history, evolution, and societal impact. Share surprising facts and anecdotes that shed new light on this seemingly ordinary subject.
Write an i n-depth profile of a local unsung hero or community leader who has made a significant impact on your town or neighborhood. Share their story, accomplishments, and the lasting effects of their work.
Explore the concept of “found family.” Write a personal essay reflecting on the importance of the friendships and relationships you’ve built with individuals who may not be biologically related but have become like family to you.
Consider the phenomenon of life hacks and practical tips shared on the internet. Write a guide or compilation of your favorite life hacks, along with personal anecdotes of how they’ve improved your daily life.
Reflect on the concept of digital nostalgia. Write an essay about the emotional connections people form with digital content, such as video games, social media, or online communities, and how it shapes their sense of identity and belonging.
Explore the world of extreme sports or unconventional hobbies. Write a feature article about individuals who engage in activities like base jumping, extreme ironing, or underwater pumpkin carving, and delve into their motivations and experiences.
Imagine you have the opportunity to curate an art exhibition featuring the work of artists from different time periods and backgrounds . Describe the themes, connections, and narratives that tie these diverse artworks together.
Write a reflective essay about your personal journey with mental health , highlighting a specific turning point or moment of insight that led to a deeper understanding of your own well-being. Discuss the strategies, resources, or support systems that have helped you on this path and how your experience might offer inspiration or guidance to others facing similar challenges.
Explore the cultural and personal significance of your favorite food . Write an essay that delves into the history, traditions, and memories associated with this dish, and how it has become a symbol of comfort, celebration, or connection in your life.
Create a comprehensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document for your own life , highlighting the questions people often ask you about your experiences, beliefs, or expertise. Write detailed and thoughtful responses to these questions, providing insights into your unique perspective and experiences. Reflect on how compiling this FAQ helps you understand the common themes and curiosities that surround your life and the impact they have on your relationships and identity.
Explore the concept of “first days” in human history . Write a historical analysis that delves into the pivotal first days of significant events, discoveries, or eras, such as the first day humans walked on the moon, the first day of the Industrial Revolution, or the first day a groundbreaking scientific theory was proposed.
Imagine you have the ability to observe and document the everyday life of an individual from a completely different culture or time period. Write a descriptive essay that vividly portrays the daily rituals, customs, and experiences of this person, highlighting the contrasts and similarities between their everyday life and your own.

Journal prompts

These prompts are designed to encourage self-discovery, mindfulness, and the art of capturing the essence of your life’s moments on paper. Use them for directed journaling or as part of your Morning Pages practice .

Choose an object in your immediate environment, such as a book, a plant, or a piece of artwork. Write a journal entry from the perspective of that object , describing its history, observations, and the emotions it might feel as it silently witnesses your life.
Create a gratitude journal entry in the form of a letter to your past self, expressing appreciation for the experiences, challenges, and lessons that have shaped you into the person you are today. Reflect on how these past moments have contributed to your growth.
Imagine you’re given the opportunity to have a conversation with your future self 20 years from now . Write a journal entry in which you ask your future self three questions about your life, dreams, and accomplishments, and then respond as you believe your future self would.
Imagine you have a “time capsule” journal in which you can write messages to your future descendants . Write a journal entry addressing your great-great-grandchildren, sharing personal stories, values, and advice you would want them to know about your life and the world you lived in.
Write a journal entry as if you were a detective or investigator documenting your own life’s mysteries and unsolved questions . Explore the enigmas, unanswered questions, or unresolved situations you’ve encountered, and brainstorm potential solutions or paths for exploration.
Create a reverse bucket list in your journal —a list of experiences, achievements, and moments from your life that you’re proud of and grateful for. Reflect on each item and the significance it holds for you.
Write a journal entry as if you were a traveler from the future, visiting the present day . Describe your observations of contemporary life, technology, culture, and the changes that have occurred since your time.
Imagine you possess a magic journal that can answer any question you pose to it . Write a series of questions about life, the universe, or personal dilemmas, and then provide detailed answers as if the journal responded.
Select a word from a foreign language that has no direct translation in your native language. Write a journal entry exploring the word’s meaning, cultural context, and the emotions or concepts it represents. Reflect on how this word might enrich your understanding of life.
Create a journal entry capturing your ideal day from start to finish . Describe the perfect morning routine, activities, interactions, and moments of joy you would like to experience. Reflect on what elements of this ideal day you can incorporate into your current life.
Imagine you have a “memory map” in your mind that marks the locations of significant moments from your life . Write a journal entry where you choose a location on this map and describe the memories associated with it, delving into the emotions, people, and events that make it special.
Write a journal entry from the perspective of your favorite fictional character . Imagine their thoughts, experiences, and feelings in a specific moment from their story, and explore how their perspective might differ from your own.
Create a “ soundtrack of your life” journal entry . List songs or pieces of music that have been significant at different stages of your life, and describe the memories and emotions each song evokes.
Imagine you have the ability to visit parallel universes and experience different versions of your life . Write a journal entry about a day in the life of an alternate “you” in a parallel universe, describing the choices and outcomes that diverged from your current reality.
Reflect on the idea of “unfinished stories” in your life —those moments or relationships that you wish you could revisit or complete. Write a journal entry exploring these unfinished stories and consider what closure or resolution might mean to you.
Reflect on a cherished memory with your best friend that you haven’t shared before . Write a journal entry describing the moment—the sights, sounds, and emotions that made it special. Consider how this memory has shaped your friendship and what it reveals about the unique bond you share.
Choose a family member whose life story or experiences you find intriguing . Write a journal entry where you explore their perspective, challenges, and defining moments from their point of view. Consider how understanding their journey can deepen your connection and appreciation for the complexities of family dynamics.
Imagine your favorite place, whether it’s a bustling city square, a tranquil beach, or a cozy corner of your home . Write a journal entry that transports yourself and your readers to this cherished spot. Describe the sights, sounds, and sensations that make it your favorite place, and reflect on why it holds such a special space in your heart.
Select a random word from a dictionary and let it guide your journal entry today. Write about the first memories, emotions, or thoughts that come to mind when you encounter this word. Explore its connections to your life, experiences, or the world around you, and see where this unexpected word takes your reflections.
Recall your earliest memory, no matter how faint or fragmentary it may be. Write a journal entry that delves into the details of this memory—what you saw, felt, or experienced. Reflect on how this seemingly distant moment may have shaped your perceptions, fears, or interests as you grew older, and consider what hidden treasures might lie within your earliest recollections.
Think about your favorite story from childhood , whether it’s a fairy tale, a classic novel, or a bedtime fable. Write a journal entry that explores why this particular story resonated with you so deeply and how its themes, characters, or lessons continue to influence your life and perspective.
Imagine planning the ultimate road trip of a lifetime with no constraints or limitations. Write a journal entry detailing the destinations you would visit, the people you’d travel with (or not), and the experiences you’d seek along the way.
Describe a recent dream or vivid daydream in detail. Dive into the symbolism, emotions, and hidden meanings behind the dream’s elements. Consider how this dream might relate to your current thoughts, fears, or aspirations.
Reflect on a memorable encounter with a stranger that left a lasting impression on you . Write a journal entry describing the details of this encounter, the emotions it stirred, and any insights or lessons you gained from the brief connection.
Create a life garden in your journal, where each flower or plant represents a person, experience, or aspect of your life . Write a journal entry about the state of your life garden—which plants are thriving, which need nurturing, and the symbolic meaning behind each one.

Fun writing prompts

Here are some fun writing prompts that will take you on whimsical journeys, tickle your funny bone, and remind you that writing can be as joyful as it is expressive.

Write a story where the characters have the ability to swap bodies with one another, but they can only do it for one day. Explore the humorous and chaotic situations that arise as they navigate each other’s lives and personalities.
Imagine a world where all forms of transportation, from bicycles to rocket ships, are powered by something unexpected , like laughter, music, or compliments. Write a whimsical tale set in this world, where the power of positive emotions fuels extraordinary journeys.
Write a dialogue between a superhero and their arch-nemesis as they meet for coffee on their day off. Explore the dynamics of their relationship when they’re not in the midst of battling each other and consider the unexpected topics they might discuss.
Create a story set in a magical library where the books come to life at night . Write about the adventures of the librarian and their bookish companions as they go on quests within the pages of the books, encountering characters and worlds from classic literature.
Imagine a future where humans can communicate with animals through a universal translator . Write a humorous narrative from the perspective of a pet who has overheard some surprising conversations and secrets among their human family members.
Write a story set in a world where time moves backward for one hour each day . Explore the consequences and comedic situations that arise as people try to navigate a daily rewind hour.
Imagine a future where robots have taken over mundane household tasks, but they’ve also developed quirky personalities . Write a series of humorous vignettes about the misadventures of a family and their eccentric robot helpers.
Create a story where the characters discover a magical paintbrush that brings anything they draw to life . Explore the imaginative creations and unexpected challenges that arise as they wield this extraordinary tool.
Write a dialogue between a famous historical figure and a modern-day teenager who accidentally time-traveled to the past. Explore the clash of perspectives, cultural differences, and humorous misunderstandings that occur during their conversation.
Imagine a world where dreams are physical objects that can be collected, traded, and even stolen. Write a thrilling heist story where a group of dream thieves plans to steal the most valuable dream ever recorded.
Write a story in which the main character has a time-traveling pet —a dog or cat that can transport them to different time periods by touching specific objects. Explore the adventures and challenges they face together as they navigate history.
Imagine a world where everyone’s dreams become real, but only for 24 hours. Write about the chaos and hilarity that ensue as people try to make the most of their dream days. What unusual dreams and desires come to life?
Create a story set in a town where every resident has a superpower, but each power comes with an unusual and often comical drawback . Explore the everyday challenges and humorous situations that arise in this extraordinary community.
Write a tale about a character who discovers a magic book that allows them to rewrite one event from their past. Explore the consequences, both intended and unintended, of altering a pivotal moment in their life.
Imagine a reality where technology allows people to swap personalities for a day. Write a story about two individuals who decide to exchange lives, exploring the comedic and thought-provoking results of their temporary personality swap.
Write a story set in a world where every time someone tells a lie, a colorful tattoo appears on their skin, revealing the nature of the falsehood. Explore the adventures and misadventures of a charismatic con artist in this truth-telling society.
Imagine a reality where people can communicate with objects, from talking to their toaster to negotiating with their car. Write a humorous tale about the challenges and comedic situations that arise when inanimate objects have opinions and demands.
Create a story about a group of time-traveling tourists who accidentally land in a pivotal historical event. How do they handle being unexpected witnesses to history, and what comical twists and turns result from their presence?
Write a narrative in which a group of misfit superheroes forms a support group to discuss their quirky and seemingly useless powers. Explore their camaraderie and how they come together to solve a surprisingly mundane problem.
Imagine a town where each day is themed differently , from “Pirate Day” to “Outer Space Day.” Write a day-in-the-life story of a resident navigating the zany challenges and adventures that come with living in a town of perpetual themed days.
Write a story in which a middle school’s annual talent show becomes a time-traveling extravaganza . Students’ talents inadvertently transport them to different historical eras. Describe the hilarious and surprising adventures as they try to make their way back to the present, using their unique talents to navigate history.
Imagine attending a summer camp where everything is topsy-turvy! Campers become the counselors, and counselors become campers. Write a story about the humorous and unexpected challenges, pranks, and adventures that unfold when kids are in charge of running the camp, from organizing activities to dealing with the chaos that ensues.
Create a story about an unusual camping trip where the characters discover their campsite is a portal to a fantasy realm . Write about the magical creatures, enchanted forests, and unexpected challenges they encounter while trying to enjoy a traditional camping experience with a fantastical twist.
Write a story about a quirky character who believes they have the power to predict when things will happen for the last time . Explore the humorous and imaginative ways in which they navigate everyday life, from savoring last time moments like the last scoop of ice cream in the tub to the last raindrop before a storm.
Imagine a world where the word “finish” holds the power to complete any task or goal instantly. Write a story about a protagonist who stumbles upon this word’s magical ability and the humorous and unexpected situations that unfold as they navigate life with the ultimate shortcut at their disposal.

(You can also download this prompts list as a printable pdf sheet and sign up to the Wordling’s weekly newsletter for more writing and publishing tips.)

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 105 creative writing prompts to try out.

General Education

The most common advice out there for being a writer is, "if you want to write, write." While this is true (and good advice), it's not always that easy, particularly if you're not writing regularly.

Whether you're looking for help getting started on your next project, or just want to spend 20 minutes being creative, writing prompts are great ways to rev up your imagination. Read on for our list of over 100 creative writing prompts!

feature image credit: r. nial bradshaw /Flickr

10 Short Writing Prompts

If you're looking for a quick boost to get yourself going, these 10 short writing prompts will do the trick.

#1 : Write a scene starting with a regular family ritual that goes awry.

#2 : Describe exactly what you see/smell/hear/etc, right now. Include objects, people, and anything else in your immediate environment.

#3 : Suggest eight possible ways to get a ping pong ball out of a vertical pipe.

#4 : A shoe falls out of the sky. Justify why.

#5 : If your brain were a tangible, physical place, what would it be like?

#6 : Begin your writing with the phrase, "The stage was set."

#7 : You have been asked to write a history of "The Summer of [this past year]." Your publisher wants a table of contents. What events will you submit?

#8 : Write a sympathetic story from the point of view of the "bad guy." (Think fractured fairy tales like Wicked or The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! , although the story doesn't have to be a fairy tale.)

#9 : Look at everyday objects in a new way and write about the stories one of these objects contains.

#10 : One person meets a stranger on a mode of transportation. Write the story that ensues.

11 Writing Prompts for Kids

Any of these prompts can be used by writers of any age, but we chose the following 11 prompts as ones that would be particularly fun for kids to write about. (Most of them I used myself as a young writer, so I can vouch for their working!)

#1 : Include something falling in your writing.

#2 : Write a short poem (or story) with the title, "We don't know when it will be fixed."

#3 : Write from the perspective of someone of a different gender than you.

#4 : Write a dumb internet quiz.

#5 : Finish this thought: "A perfect day in my imagination begins like this:"

#6 : Write a character's inner monologue (what they are thinking as they go about their day).

#7 : Think of a character. Write a paragraph each about:

An important childhood experience that character had.
The character's living situation.
Two hobbies or things the character likes to do.
The room where the character sleeps.
An ambition of the character.
Two physical characteristics of the character.
What happens when a second person and this character meet.
Two important defining personal traits of this character.

#8 : Start a story with a quote from a song.

#9 : Begin a story with, "It was the summer of ______ when ______"

#10 : Pretend everyday objects have no names. Think about what you would name them based on what they do, what you can use them for, and what they look like.

#11 : Start a story with the phrases "My grandparents are/were," "My parents are/were," or "My mother/father/parent is/was."

15 Cool Writing Prompts

#1 : List five issues that you're passionate about. Write about them from the opposite point of view (or from the perspective of a character with the opposite point of view).

#2 : Walk around and write down a phrase you hear (or read). Make a story out of it.

#3 : Write using no adjectives or adverbs.

#4 : Write a character's inner dialogue between different aspects of a character's self (rather than an inner monologue).

#5 : Write a true story from your past that involves light or darkness in some way.

#6 : "Saying goodbye awakens us to the true nature of things." Write something in which someone has to say goodbye and has a realization.

#7 : Begin by writing the end of the story.

#8 : Write a recipe for an intangible thing.

#9 : Write a horror story about an ordinary situation (e.g., buying groceries, going to the bank, listening to music).

#10 : Write a story from within a bubble.

#11 : Write down 2-3 short character descriptions and then write the characters in conversation with one another.

#12 : Write a story in second person.

#13 : Write a story that keeps contradicting itself.

#14 : Write about a character with at least three big problems.

#15 : Write something that takes place on a Friday, the 13th (of any month).

15 Funny Writing Prompts

#1 : Write a story which starts with someone eating a pickle and potato sandwich.

#2 : Write a short script where the plot has to do with evil dolls trying to take over something.

#3 : Write about writers' block.

#4 : List five election issues that would be ridiculous to includes as part of your election platform (e.g. outlawing mechanical pencils and clicky pens, mandating every person over the age of 30 must own an emergency last rites kit). Choose one of the ridiculous issues and write a speech in favor of it.

#5 : Write a children's story that is insanely inappropriate but can't use graphic language, curses, or violence.

#6 : List five careers. Write about someone with one of those careers who wants to quit it.

#7 : Write down a list of murder methods. Choose one at random from the list to use in a story.

#8 : Write a romance story in which the hero must have a last name corresponding with a physical characteristic (e.g. Jacques Hairyback or Flora Dimple).

#9 : Come up with 10 different ways to:

order a pizza
congratulate someone on a job well done
return to the store something that's broken

#10 : Search for "random Renaissance painting" (or any other inspirational image search text you can think of) on any online internet image search engine. Picking one image, write half a page each of:

Statements about this image (e.g. "I meant bring me the BREAD of John the Baptist").
Questions about this image (e.g. "How many of those cherubs look like their necks are broken?").
Explanations of this image (e.g. "The painter ran out of blue paint halfway through and had to improvise for the color of the sky").
Commands said by people in this image or about this image (e.g. "Stop telling me to smile!" or "Bring me some gasoline!").

#11 : Write starting with a word that sounds like "chute" (e.g. "chute," "shoot," "shooed").

#12 : Write about a character named X "The [article of clothing]" Y (e.g. Julie "The Yellow Darted Skirt" Whyte) or simply referred to by their clothing (e.g. "the man in the brown suit" or "the woman in black").

#13 : Write down a paragraph each describing two wildly different settings. Write a story involving both settings.

#14 : Think of a fictional holiday based around some natural event (e.g. the Earth being at its farthest point from the sun, in memory of a volcanic eruption, that time a cloud looked like a rabbit riding a bicycle). Write about how this holiday is celebrated.

#15 : Write a "Just-So" type story about a fictional creature (e.g. "how the dragon got its firebreath" or "how the mudkip got its cheek gills").

54 Other Writing Prompt Ideas

#1 : Borrow a character from some other form of media (or create your own). Write from that character's perspective.

#2 : Write for and against a non-consequential controversy (e.g., salt vs. pepper, Mac vs. PC, best kind of door).

#3 : Choose an ancestor or a person from the past to write about or to.

#4 : Write a pirate story with a twist.

#5 : Have a character talk about another character and their feelings about that other character.

#6 : Pick a season and think about an event in your life that occurred in that season. Write a creative nonfiction piece about that event and that season.

#7 : Think of something very complicated and long. Write a page about it using short sentences.

#8 : Write a story as a dream.

#9 : Describe around a food without ever directly naming it.

#10 : Write a monologue (one character, talking to the audience/reader) (*not* an inner monologue).

#11 : Begin a story with the phrase, "It only took five seconds to..."

#12 : List five strong emotions. Choosing one, write about a character experiencing that emotion, but only use the character's actions to convey how they are feeling (no outright statements).

#13 : Write a chapter of the memoir of your life.

#14 : Look through the (physical) things you're currently carrying with you or wearing. Write about the memories or emotions tied with each of them.

#15 : Go be in nature. Write drawing your story from your surroundings (both physical, social, and mental/emotional).

#16 : Write from the perspective of a bubble (or bubble-like creature).

#17 : A person is jogging along an asphalt road. Write a story.

#18 : Title your story (or poem, or play, etc) "Anti-_____". Fill in the blank and write the story.

#19 : Write something that must include an animal, a mineral, and a vegetable.

#20 : Begin your writing with the phrase, "6 weeks later..."

#21 : List 5-10 office jobs. Pick one of them and describe a person working in that job as if you were a commentator on an Olympic sporting event.

#22 : Practice your poetic imagery: overwrite a description of a character's breakfast routine.

#23 : Write about a character (or group of characters) trying to convince another character to try something they're scared of.

#24 : Keep an eye out in your environment for examples of greengrocer's apostrophes and rogue quotation marks. Pick an example and write about what the misplaced punctuation implies (e.g., we have the "best" meat or we have the best "meat" ).

#25 : Fill in the blank with the first word that comes to mind: "_______ Riot!" Write a newspaper-style article describing the events that that took place.

#26 : Write from the point of view of your most-loved possession. What does it think of you?

#27 : Think of five common sayings (e.g., "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"). Write a horror story whose plot is one of those common sayings.

#28 : Write a scene in which two characters are finally hashing out a long-standing misunderstanding or disagreement.

#29 : You start receiving text messages from an unknown number. Tell the story of what happens next.

#30 : Write one character bragging to another about the story behind their new tattoo.

#31 : Superheroes save the world...but they also leave a lot of destruction in their wake. Write about a normal person in a superhero's world.

#32 : Sometimes, family is who we are related to; sometimes, family is a group of people we gather around ourselves. Write a story about (some of) a character's found family and relatives meeting for the first time.

#33 : Write a story that begins in the middle of the plot's action ( en media res ).

#34 : Everyone says you can never have too much of a good thing. Write a story where that isn't true.

#35 : What do ghosts do when they're not creating mischief? Write about the secret lives of ghosts.

#36 : Every year, you dread the last week of April. Write a story about why.

#37 : Write a story about what it would be like to have an animal sidekick in real life.

#38 : Heists don't just have to be black-clad thieves stealing into vaults to steal rare art or money. Write about a group of people (adults or children) who commit a heist for something of seemingly little monetary value.

#39 : "Life is like a chooseable-path adventure, except you don't get to see what would have happened if you chose differently." Think of a choice you've made and write about a world where you made a different choice.

#40 : Write a story about a secret room.

#41 : You find a message in a bottle with very specific directions. Write a story about the adventure you embark upon.

#42 : "You'll always be okay as long as you know where your _______ is." Fill in the blank and write a story (either fictional or from your life) illustrating this statement.

#43 : Forcing people into prolonged proximity can change and deepen relationships. Write about characters on a road trip together.

#44 : In music, sonata form includes three main parts: exposition, development, and recapitulation. Write a short story that follows this format.

#45 : Begin writing with a character saying, "I'm afraid this simply can't wait."

#46 : Write a story with a happy ending (either happily-ever-after or happy-for-now).

#47 : Write about a character before and after a tragedy in that character's life.

#48 : Choose an object or concept you encounter in everyday life (e.g. tables, the feeling of hot or cold, oxygen) and write an infomercial about it.

#49 : "Life is a series of quests, whether important or mundane." Write about a quest you've gone on (or would like to go on, or will have to go on).

#50 : List 10 different ways to learn. Choose one (or more) and write a story where a character learns something using that one (or more) method.

#51 : You've been called to the principal's office for bad behavior. You know what you did. Explain and justify yourself.

#52 : A character discovers their sibling owns a cursed object. Write about what happens next.

#53 : Write a character description by writing a list of items that would be on a scavenger hunt about them.

#54 : The slogan for a product or service you're advertising is, "Kid-tested, _____." Fill in the blank and write the copy for a radio or podcast advertisement for your product.

How to Use Creative Writing Prompts

There's no wrong way to use a creative writing prompt (unless it's to harass and hurt someone)—the point of them is to get you writing and your imagination flowing.

To help you get the most out of these writing prompts, however, we've come up with the six tips below. Try them out!

#1: DON'T Limit Yourself to Prose

Unless you're writing for a particular assignment, there's no reason everything you write in response to a writing prompt has to be prose fiction . Instead of writing your response to a prompt as a story, try writing a poem, nonfiction essay, play, screenplay, or some other format entirely.

#2: DON'T Edit as You Write

The purposes of writing prompts is to get you writing, typos and weird grammar and all. Editing comes later, once you've finished writing and have some space from it to come back to what you wrote.

It's OK to fix things that will make it difficult to read what you've written (e.g., a weird autocorrect that changes the meaning of a sentence), but don't worry too much about typos or perfect grammar when you're writing; those are easy enough to fix in edits . You also can always insert asterisks or a short note as you're writing to remind yourself to go back to fix something (for instance, if as you're writing it seems like you want to move around the order of your paragraphs or insert something earlier).

#3: DO Interpret the Prompt Broadly

The point of using a writing prompt is not to write something that best exemplifies the prompt, but something that sparks your own creativity. Again, unless you're writing in response to an assignment with specific directions, feel free to interpret writing prompts as broadly or as narrowly as you want.

For instance, if your prompt is to write a story that begins with "The stage was set," you could write about anything from someone preparing to put a plan into motion to a literal theatre stage constructed out of pieces of old sets (or something else entirely).

If you're using a writing prompt, it doesn't have to be the first sentence of your story or poem, either; you can also use the prompt as a goal to work towards in your writing.

#4: DO Try Switching Up Your Writing Methods

If it's a possibility for you, see if you write differently in different media. Do you write the same kind of stories by hand as you would typing at a computer? What about if you dictate a story and then transcribe it? Or text it to a friend? Varying the method you use to write can affect the stories you're able to tell.

For example, you may find that it's easier for you to tell stories about your life to a voice recorder than to try to write out a personal essay. Or maybe you have trouble writing poetry, but can easily text yourself or a friend a poem. You might even find you like a writing method you've not tried before better than what you've been doing!

#5: DO Mix and Match Prompt Ideas

If you need more inspiration, feel free to combine multiple prompts (but don't overwhelm yourself with too much to write about).

You can also try switching genres from what might be suggested in the prompt. For instance, try writing a prompt that seems funny in a serious and sad way, or finding the humor in something that otherwise seems humorless. The categories we've organized the prompts into are by no means limiters on what you're allowed to write about.

#6: DO Try to Write Regularly

The more regularly you write, the easier it will be to write (with or without writing prompts).

For some people, this means writing daily; for others, it means setting aside time to write each weekend or each month. Set yourself an achievable goal (write 2x a week, write 1000 words a month) and stick to it. You can always start small and then ramp your wordcount or frequency up.

If you do better when you have something outside yourself prompting to write, you may also want to try something like morning pages , which encourages you to write at least 750 words every day, in any format (story, diary entry, social media postings, etc).

What's Next?

Thinking about attending college or grad school for creative writing? Our articles on whether or not you should major in creative writing and the best creative writing programs are there for you! Plus, if you're a high schooler, you should check out these top writing contests .

Creative writing doesn't necessarily have to be fiction. Check out these three examples of narrative writing and our tips for how to write your own narrative stories and essays .

Just as writing prompts can help give form to amorphous creative energy, using specific writing structures or devices can be great starting points for your next story. Read through our discussion of the top 20 poetic devices to know and see if you can work at least one new one into your next writing session.

Still looking for more writing ideas? Try repurposing our 100+ easy drawing ideas for characters, settings, or plot points in your writing.

Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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70 Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire You to Write

by Tom Corson-Knowles | 11 comments

Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire You to Write image

Writing prompts are a useful tool and resource for any writer, from beginners to published authors. A good prompt can give you the inspiration you need to craft a paragraph, a book, or an entire series.

You can also use them just for writing practice and to get your creative juices flowing. See where these ideas take you.

Fantasy Writing Prompts

In your character’s world, only strong magic–users are allowed to survive past their 13th birthday. Your character has no magical ability—but even at 11 years old, they’ve discovered a way to fake it.
Your character is granted one day in the land of the dead to retrieve their deceased beloved, only to discover that their one true love faked death to escape marriage.
A mysterious statue appears in the forest that makes perfect duplicates of any human being that touches it. Your character is one such duplicate—and your “sponsor-body” is wanted for murder.
Your character is a witch-hunter, tasked to track down and slay a powerful target—who is currently pregnant with your character’s child.
A monster emerges from the forest and forces your character to care for its newborn offspring, which begins to look more human the longer your character cares for it.
Your character is one of a species of sea creatures that inhabit the very deepest part of the ocean. This species has created an advanced civilization—and they’re getting ready to break the surface and take their rightful place as Earth’s rulers, with your character at the helm.
Your character discovers that a certain mythical being is real—and they’re about to go extinct.
Your character falls in love with a magical being. To keep their love alive, your character has to fight not only their family, but their entire race.

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts

Your character is the daughter of a poor clergyman in mid-19th-century England. Without a dowry, she has little chance for marriage. Without a husband, she’s doomed to a spinster’s life as a governess or servant. In 1854 she joins Florence Nightingale’s group of female nurses bound for the Crimean Peninsula, where she discovers that the hell of war extends into the hospital at Scutari.
Your character is an artisan in 12th-century Ireland at Clonmacnoise, a monastery that anchored a wealthy community of art, learning, and craftsmanship on the Shannon River. Medieval life is good in this beautiful town … until the Vikings arrive.
England, 1776: A young astronomer has receives the job of a lifetime: traveling with the famous Captain Cook on his voyage to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. After the rigorous journey takes the crew from Tahiti to Siberia, damage to the ship’s mast forces a stop for repairs in Hawaii. Turns out the natives aren’t as friendly as they thought.
Your character is one of the hundreds of thousands of craftsman tasked with creating the terracotta army in ancient China. He molds each soldier’s face after someone he knows: his father, his grandfather, a friend from his village, etc., and thinks about their lives and legacies as he works.
Research the history of your own city or town. Imagine you lived there 50, 100, or even 200 years ago. What would your life have been like?

Horror/Thriller Writing Prompts

Your character has a stalker with the ability to stop time. The stalker uses this ability to manipulate your character—and their efforts are escalating.
Your character’s lover died in a horrible accident—but one day they simply return, and nobody but your character remembers that they died.
Your character and their college friends attend their first off-campus party, and discover too late that the fraternity throwing the bash is a cult—and very serious about the concept of brotherhood.
Your character is marooned on a tiny desert island. One morning, an idol appears outside their shelter’s front door. It’s stone—except for the real human head on top.
Your character’s family moves into a new house with an in-ground pool that the previous owners paved over. At night, your character can hear something screaming beneath the concrete—something that isn’t human.
Your character’s neighbor is an older man who mostly keeps to himself; your character often sees him taking walks or puttering around his garden. But when your character knocks on the old man’s door to invite him to a block party, things take a turn for the sinister.
Your character is a mobile phone. The phone has just been purchased by a woman who turns out to be a criminal mastermind.
Your character is a regular office clerk who just discovered that your company is brainwashing its employees. The goal of the company is menacing.
Your character is on their way to work when they get stuck in a massive traffic jam. Suddenly, in the distance, there is a huge explosion.
Your character is a serial killer, confessing to his crimes.
Your character is at a Halloween party at a bar. Everyone is in costume when a man suddenly drops dead.
Your character is out for a jog early in the morning, trips, and loses consciousness. When they wake up, they are in a morgue surrounded by dead and dissected bodies.

Mystery Writing Prompts

A powerful pharmaceutical company recently released a new drug to market that dampens the arousal response in human beings. Your character is a private detective brought in to solve an unusual murder. The weapon? A lethal dose of this new drug, which was previously thought to be harmless.
Your character’s child has been bringing home peculiar drawings from school for the past two weeks. Your character thinks nothing of it, until they realize that each drawing corresponds to one in a series of brutal murders that have plagued their tiny town.
A marine zoologist is vacationing on a beach in a foreign country when they read about a local political figure who was killed in a shark attack. But from the photos, your character realizes that no shark made those puncture marks on the victim’s stomach—and that the accident may have, in fact, been murder most foul.
A young police detective must find the kidnapped daughter of a powerful city planner. The hitch? She was at a Star Trek convention when she was kidnapped, and the only description of the culprit is that he “looked like Mr. Spock.”
After taking a DNA test, your character discovers that their genetic material was altered in the womb. But your character was adopted, and has no records of who their birth parents are, or where they were born.
Your character has been happily married to their partner for 25 years. But one day, a mysterious stranger shows up claiming to be your partner’s spouse and demanding to know what your character is doing in this stranger’s home.
Your character is a retired military officer who is ready to leave his past behind him. One day, you accidentally walk in on a bank robbery in progress—and these aren’t ordinary criminals.
Your character finds out that their deceased twin had multiple passports IDs with different names and faces. To find out more, your character must assume these identities in his place.
Your character, an important New York businessperson, wakes up naked and alone in a strange, foreign land, with no recollection of how you got there. The native people take you in, but you don’t speak their language and know nothing about the culture. You must learn to communicate in order to get home.

Romance Writing Prompts

After moving into a new house, your character begins to receive love letters addressed to the previous occupant. The letters have no return address, but they are so beautifully written that your character begins to fall in love with the writer, despite never having met the author.
Your character is the first person in history to fall in love. They cannot describe the feeling to anybody else, especially not the person for whom they’ve fallen head over heels.
Your characters have been married for over 700 years; when they die, they are reincarnated with all their memories, and simply find each other again.
When your character’s country loses a long war, your character is tasked with negotiating the surrender. The person across the table holds the fate of both countries in their hands … and they’re pretty darn cute, too.
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. The catch? Their parents are engaged to be married!
Your character is a teenager who writes short, fictional romance stories and posts them to a blog that they believe no one reads. One day, a fan starts responding to the stories, and your character connects with the fan on many levels, creating their own idealized, fictional romance story online. Now, they must decide whether they’re willing to let go of their “perfect” love story to meet the real (and inevitably, imperfect) person on the other side of the screen.
Your character was born deaf and your character’s spouse was just involved in an accident that made them blind. After being together for six years, they must re-learn how to navigate the world together.
Your character has a mental condition that landed them in a rehab facility. There, your character meets a recovering addict, and they connect instantly and begin to find healing in each other.
Your character dreams of a person they’ve never met and wakes up convinced it is their true love.
Your character shows up for an interview for their dream job, and discovers that their could-be boss is also their ex.

Science Fiction Writing Prompts

Your character wakes up on a slab in a high-tech medical facility, hooked up to strange machines and occupying a body you don’t recognize. Before the doctors arrive, you hear a voice in your head: it’s your new body’s original owner, and they want it back.
The aliens that land in your backyard strike a deal with your character: Murder one innocent person on the planet, and they will spare the earth. Refuse, or reveal the aliens’ existence to the world, and the planet is doomed.
Your character is captain of a long-distance spaceship taking thousands of Earthling colonists to a new planet. One day, completely by accident, you discover what this spaceship uses for fuel, and are faced with a terrible moral dilemma of how to handle this information.
Your main character is the warden of a virtual-reality prison. One day, a notorious murderer attempts to orchestrate a “breakout.”
Your character is a child whose stuffed toy comes equipped with a nanny-cam and primitive AI. One day, the toy decides to take your character’s safety into its own mitten-like hands.
Your character is an average college student. Somehow, your character discovers that everything they’re doing—every movement they make and every word they say, even in private—is being tracked and recorded. Now they must figure out who is recording and why—without the recorder knowing what they’re doing.
Your character washes up on a remote island that has never been visited by an outsider before. Turns out, there’s a whole civilization there—but these “people” have been isolated for so long, they’ve evolved differently than people in the rest of the world.
Your character is a troubled teenager who discovers that he has the power to see people’s futures by touching them. When you accidentally bump into a man on the subway, you see the man piloting a spaceship—and it’s moving towards your city. Now, you must find the man—and convince everyone else that the danger is real.

Comedy Writing Prompts

Over Christmas, your character’s parents decide to take the family to the Caribbean. The first day there, both of your parents get sunburned and decide to spend the rest of the vacation indoors, leaving you and your little brother to your own devices.
Your character is a reality TV judge, but not one of the judges that appears on TV—you’re one of the judges that decides which contestants even get to be on TV. After being subjected to a string of terrible singers, your character finally discovers someone great, and finds themselves strangely invested in the success of this contestant.
Your character is a superfan of a popular musician. They wait in line to get front row seats to every show, spend outrageous amounts of money on paraphernalia on eBay, and have plastered nearly every wall of their apartment with posters and ticket stubs. One day, your character finally gets a chance to meet the musician—and he’s not what anyone expected.
Your character is a schoolteacher who is watching two kids argue over a toy in the sandbox when suddenly, an alien creature rises out of the sand. The students decide to make it the class pet.
Your character’s life is extremely mundane, until a stray dog starts showing up on their front porch every day.

Memoir/Nonfiction Writing Prompts

Describe a time when you wanted to experience a spiritual moment or looked for spiritual guidance. Why were you in this situation? What were you hoping to get from it?
Tell the story of your life in inverted chronological order.
What was the happiest moment of your life? What made it the happiest?
Write about an addiction. Include as much detail as possible, including how it started and your journey to overcoming it.
Write about an experience that made you feel ashamed or guilty. How did it impact you? What have you done to move on?
Think about the ways in which you’ve changed over the years. Can you identify any turning points? Be specific and describe those moments.
Write about a job or career move that changed your life.
Write about how you met your current partner or spouse. Do you think it was fate? What events led to you two meeting?
Write about a person who has had a profound impact on your life—either positive or negative. How have you changed because of them? What have they done to cause your life to change?
Write a biography of someone in your family who immigrated from one country to another.
Create a cookbook in which every recipe is tied to a specific person or moment in your life.
Describe something you’ve done that you’re proud of. How did you get to that moment? How can others learn from your experience?
Tell the story of how the seed of faith was planted in your life. When did your spiritual journey began, who influenced and guided you in discovering your faith, and at what point did you realize you needed to change your life?
Write about a memory of your favorite pet. What can animals teach us about ourselves?
Think about a time when you learned a new skill. What made you want to learn it? Who did you learn from? How did you practice? How did you improve?

Creative Writing Prompts Can Boost Your Writing Skills

Using writing prompts can boost your creativity and improve your writing skills in a number of ways by:

Helping to overcome writer’s block
Exercising your imagination
Increasing your rate of practice
Teaching you more about yourself

If you’re still not sure using a writing prompt would be good for you, that’s great! If you feel you are against using writing prompts, then you have reason enough to explore it.

As they say, the opposite of love is not hate—it’s apathy. Strong feelings mean strong opinions and emotions, and writing with strong emotions can be incredibly productive and healing.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

If you liked this post, you might also like:

72 Journal Prompts to Boost Your Creative Writing Skills

Writing Motivation: 7 Tips for Staying Productive

46 Apps and Sites to Improve Your Writing Skills

75 Quotes About Writing for When You Feel Like Putting the Pen Down

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of TCK Publishing, and the bestselling author of 27 books including Secrets of the Six-Figure author. He is also the host of the Publishing Profits Podcast show where we interview successful authors and publishing industry experts to share their tips for creating a successful writing career.

11 Comments

Nice prompts! Can you do more on fantasy?

I love this. So helpful

thanks, so glad you found the prompts helpful! :)

Is there a way I can like this blog? I wish it was on Playstore so I could a rate it a 5. Good work, people.

Thank you, Mercy! We’re happy to have you here :)

Thank you for these. I will use some of them for my writing group.

You’re very welcome, we’re glad you liked them! :)

It is very useful for me as a beginner writer. Thankyou for your hard work.

we’re so glad you found these prompts helpful! :)

A useful tool for beginning and continuing writers. Thank you for the endeavor.

Glad you found the prompts helpful, Bernard! :) Let us know how they work for you!

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Enchanting Marketing

Writing advice for small business

Stuck in a Blogging Rut? Try These 17 Ideas to Spark a Wave of Creativity

by Henneke | 70 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)

17 Blog Writing Prompts to Spark Your Creativity

Sure, he could write another comprehensive guide.

Or he could write another list with tips.

But frankly speaking, the idea makes him want to puke.

It’s not that lists and guides aren’t useful. His readers seem to read and love his posts.

But Hunter wants to write something different. Something fresh. Something original. Something more valuable than usual. Something that makes his readers deliriously happy.

What the heck can he write for his blog?

Even the most experienced bloggers get stuck in a rut sometimes. They may have been churning out valuable post after valuable post. But at some point, their brains start creaking and the words stop flowing. Their writing machine has come to a complete standstill.

Feeling stuck in a blogging rut, too?

In this post, you’ll find 17 blog writing prompts. These aren’t creative prompts for personal journal folks. These writing prompts are for business bloggers, and they work in any industry or niche.

Even more importantly, these ideas are proven to work, delighting readers and generating ridiculous numbers of social shares.

Sound good?

Read on and pick your favorite idea for your next blog post …

1. The antithesis of the list post

Writing lists with tips is great. We know they’re popular and get loads of shares.

But which reader doesn’t feel overwhelmed with everything he’s supposed to do?

If I’d follow all the 101 ways to promote my business on Pinterest and the 99 ways for sharing my blog posts, I’d never get another blog post written.

So, for a change, write the antithesis of the list post: Share only your best ever tip and inspire your readers to implement it.

For example, the post My Single Best SEO Tip for Improved Web Traffic by Cyrus Shepard was the third most popular post on Moz.com last year, generating 9.3k social shares.

What is your single best tip? What’s the easiest way to solve a problem for your blog readers and improve their life?

2. A science-backed guide

In this “post-truth” world of fake news, how often do you wonder, “is this true?”

Many bloggers simply regurgitate other people’s ideas. So a simple way to stand out is to dig into the science behind your topic. Which research can you share? What are the newest findings?

For example, the article A Science-Backed Guide to Taking Truly Restful Breaks by Christian Jarrett was the sixth most popular post on 99U last year, generating over 4.1k shares.

Integrating science into my writing isn’t my strongest point, so it’s something I’d like to try to do more this year. What about you? How can you integrate research into your content?

3. A series of examples

Have you noticed I’m including examples for each of these blogging prompts?

Readers love examples because they show how advice can be implemented. Examples inspire and motivate. They spark creativity.

For instance, my post with headline examples was my second most popular post last year, and this beautiful post with 15 Examples of How Street Art Can Transform The Place was the fifth most shared post on Demilked, generating over 24.7 social shares.

Can you inspire your readers with a series of examples or case studies, too?

4. A personal story

A post about yourself doesn’t need to be a self-absorbed rant or whine.

Instead, view your story as a case study to inspire your audience, an example of a universal lesson.

The article How I Built an Online T-Shirt Business and Made $1,248.90 in 3 Weeks , for instance, was the most shared post on Shopify in 2015, generating 9.6k social shares. My post How I Learned to Be Me (Finally, at 47 Years Old) generated the most comments in 2016.

Which problem have you recently overcome? Can your lessons inspire your readers, too?

5. A rallying cry

What do you feel passionate about?

How would you love to change your readers’ lives?

An open letter is an opportunity to help readers overcome one of their biggest hurdles.

For example, An Open Letter to Those Who Have Lost Their Motivation by Marc Chernoff was the most shared post on MarcandAngel.com, generating 53.8k social shares.

Perhaps I should write An Open Letter to Those Who Think Their Writing Isn’t Good Enough . What do you think?

6. The most inspirational quotes

Quotes are hugely popular, because they summarize profound wisdom in only a few words. Quotes can comfort readers, or make them stop and think.

Quotes are also great for creating visual articles. The collection of 100 Inspirational Quotes That Summarize the Wisdom About Life , for instance, was Lifehack.org’s most shared post in 2016, generating a staggering 3.1 million shares.

I’ve started working on a hand-illustrated collection of quotes about writing (follow my progress on Instagram ).

7. A definitive doable guide

Are your readers looking for the most comprehensive and definitive guide on your topic?

According to research at Moz.com , none of their readers wants another ultimate guide. So, what can you write instead?

Write a doable guide. For instance, challenge your readers to write a business plan in 4 hours, grow their Twitter following in 5 minutes a day, or get fit before Easter. To write a doable guide:

Define what your readers would like to achieve
Think about how much time they’d like to spend on achieving this
Limit your advice to what can be achieved in the given time frame

The article How to Knit a Huge Blanket in 4 Hours was the tenth most popular post on TipHero in 2016, generating a crazy 135k shares.

Be careful, make your time-frame realistic as you don’t want to disappoint your readers. I’m not planning to write an article about How to Write an Epic Blog Post in Under 30 Minutes . 😉

8. Quit a bad habit

Which bad habit is bugging your readers?

And how have you beaten your own bad habits?

Research has shown we all struggle with keeping to our new year resolutions. So how did you manage to stop smoking, kick your Facebook addiction, or quit eating sugar?

Michael Hyatt’s post Why I Stopped Watching Television News was his second most popular in 2016, generating 2.1k shares.

Which bad habit did you beat last year? Or which bad habit are you planning to beat this year? Can you record your story?

9. The “stop” guide

If you don’t like to share your own story, you can write a “stop” guide instead.

For instance, How to Stop Losing Your Temper With Your Kids was the most shared post on the Kids Activities Blog, generating over 58k social shares.

10. A provocative question

Want to stir up a little controversy?

Or bust a myth? Or share an uncomfortable truth?

A few examples of popular posts raising provocative questions in 2016:

Is Social Media Making Us Dumb? ( Copyblogger , 2.1k shares)
Is Your Kindness Viewed as Weakness? ( MarieForleo , 1k shares)
Are You a Leader, or Just Pretending to Be One? ( Harvard Business Review , 37.6k shares)

The provocative question I might write about: Is Your Writer’s Block Just a Bad Excuse?

How about you?

11. A burning question

How often do you google a question?

Answering burning questions on your blog is a smart strategy. Firstly, your answer helps readers. Secondly, your post can generate a ton of search traffic because people google questions all the time.

Moz.com uses this strategy regularly. Their most popular question in 2016 was: Can SEOs Stop Worrying About Keywords and Just Focus on Topics? , generating over 7.1k social shares.

The online Guardian newspaper even has dedicated a weekly column to answering “ life’s most difficult questions ” based on Google searches. Recently answered questions include:

Am I a bad mother?
If I have cancer will I die?
Can technology replace teachers?
Why don’t I enjoy life?
Why is Frozen so popular?

Lisa Gabbert has written an excellent guide on finding questions to drive SEO traffic for WordStream.

12. Jack the news

What’s new in your industry?

Or how does the world news effect your business?

David Meerman Scott coined the term newsjacking as a way to grab attention of your audience by taking attention of breaking news. But you don’t even need to piggyback on breaking news to write a popular post, and you don’t even have to comment on politics.

For instance, Aaron Orendorff created an in-depth analysis of the online marketing campaigns of Clinton vs Trump. His post Clinton vs. Trump: A Presidential Marketing Campaigns Teardown was the most popular post on Unbounce in 2016, generating over 7.1k shares.

13. A bookmark-worthy list of ideas

Want to spark your reader’s creativity?

A list with ideas is a bookmark-worthy resource. Readers don’t have to implement all your ideas in one go; they can dip back into your list when they need a fresh dose of inspiration.

For instance, 15 Indoor Garden Ideas for Wannabe Gardeners in Small Spaces was the second most shared post on Apartment Therapy, generating over 100k shares. Note how specific this post is. It’s not a general list with garden ideas, but a list specifically for wannabe gardeners who don’t have a lot of space.

Which ideas could inspire your readers?

14. A checklist

Who doesn’t like a good checklist?

Checklists are valuable content because everyone is afraid to miss important tasks when completing a project. Also, checklists can help beginners get to grips with a task they’re unfamiliar with.

Unbounce’s third most popular blog post in 2016 was A 34-Point Checklist for Creating a Case Study that Converts (by Ayelet Weisz) which generated over 3.1k social shares. My 61-Point Website Checklist is one of my all-time most shared posts.

What checklist would be helpful to your readers?

15. Take away the “but”

What stops people from implementing your advice?

We all have objections to doing things. Perhaps we want to talk about politics at work but are afraid to alienate people , or we’d love to work remotely but are afraid to lose motivation , or you want to keep writing but feel like a fraud .

One of the most popular posts on Prevention.com was How to Do Squats And Lunges Without Killing Your Knees , generating over 12.1k shares.

How can you overcome the “but” in your readers’ mind?

16. Tiny topic

The tiny topic is one of favorite blogging techniques.

Tiny topics are great for readers because they get actionable and specific advice. And for bloggers it’s relatively easy to generate an endless stream of tiny topic ideas.

Many of the most popular posts on KISSmetrics follow the tiny topic approach:

Stop Neglecting Analytics in Your Customer Engagement Strategy (Their most popular post with 4.8k shares)
How Email Segmentation Sustains Customer Loyalty (3rd most popular, 2.8k shares)
How to Retain Your Customer’s Attention Throughout the Onboarding Process (5th most popular, 2.6k shares)

To generate ideas for tiny topics, break a general question down in more detailed questions ( see here ). Then use my tiny topic approach to write a valuable post ( see here ).

17. Peer into the future

Posts with predictions tend to be popular.

But how can you make such a post interesting and avoid writing the same post as everyone else?

Sonja Jefferson at Valuable Content dreams up fascinating questions to gain diverse answers from various experts. Last year, she asked: If you could wave a magic wand when it comes to your clients’ marketing what’s the one thing you’d hope to see change this year? (Read the answers here.)

You don’t have to wait until the end of the year to publish your predictions. 99U published The Future of Design (and how to prepare for it) in July 2016, and the post became their third most popular of the year (4.9k shares).

Perhaps I could write a post about the future of online writing.

And you? What will you write about next?

Write about what fascinates you

When you pick an idea for your next blog post, first think about your readers: Would the article be helpful to them?

Then ask yourself: Do I feel excited about writing this post?

Most writers write their best content when they feel enthusiastic. So write for your readers. But also, write for yourself.

Follow your curiosity.

PS I used BuzzSumo to research this post. As I did most of my research in the past week, the figures quoted include social shares in January 2017. Also, I might have missed a popular post if it was published early January 2016 as BuzzSumo’s figures go back for one year only.

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment and join the conversation cancel reply.

May 10, 2021 at 12:55 am

Hi, Henneke! I’m very inspired by your posts. I’m 60 years old and just starting my writing journey. I’m in the content mills at the moment to work on my speed and try a few different niches. (Don’t worry — I don’t plan to stay there!) Thanks for all your wonderful advice.

May 10, 2021 at 9:54 am

Hi Leasa! Thank you so much for your comment. It makes me happy to know you feel inspired by my writing. (And yes, happy to know, too, that you’re not planning to stay in the content mills). Enjoy your writing journey!

August 9, 2019 at 2:51 pm

I get so excited to write when I read your articles, Henneke. This one is particularly inspiring because of all the examples and data.

But my hope vanishes like a soap bubble when I ask myself: what would my readers like? I don’t know who my readers are or who I would want as a reader. I think I want to help those who treat trauma and trauma survivors to get together and share healing ideas. Is that good enough?

August 9, 2019 at 6:55 pm

Yes, start with what you know and explore / evolve from there. You’re already well on your way with a blog mission: “I want to help both trauma survivors and those who treat trauma to share healing ideas so they can …” (heal faster? find stronger support? feel valued?)

Writing for both for trauma survivors and for professionals treating trauma may prove a little tricky. If in doubt, make the trauma survivor your ideal reader because what you write for them will be interesting for trauma professionals, too. While if you write for professionals, you risk more jargon sneaking into your copy which might create a disconnect with the trauma survivors.

Does that help get you going?

August 3, 2019 at 6:32 pm

Another massively helpful article. I’ve had to start a file folder just for your materials. The information you share so good. You’re one of a handful of writers whose blog is regularly follow because the advice is so practical and actionable.

August 5, 2019 at 10:10 am

Thank you for the lovely compliment, Patricia. I appreciate it 🙂

February 28, 2018 at 10:54 pm

Thanks, Henneke. Your articles tips are fantastic help for all interested in refining and enlightening their writing.

Thanks for your help, keep coming.

March 1, 2018 at 2:17 pm

I’m glad you’re finding my blog posts useful, Jorge. Happy writing!

July 2, 2017 at 7:54 pm

I smiled that “The antithesis of the list post” was the first idea in a list. 🙂 In all seriousness, I appreciate the ideas to break out of the mold a little bit.

July 4, 2017 at 4:31 pm

Ha yes! This, of course, IS a list post rather than it’s anthithesis.

Happy blogging, Jimmy, and thank you for your comment 🙂

May 11, 2017 at 7:05 pm

Hi Henneke, how are you? Just finished my latest post and was thinking about what to write about next. This post of you looks very handy to get new ideas. About integrating research in a new post, maybe you should try CORE search engine. You can find there all kind of research papers, maybe you will find there something to use in your new post. I also use now Quora, where people share knowledgement and questions. It’s also very useful to find out what people in your niche are looking for. It will give you new ideas when you are a bit stuck on a new subject. Anyway nice post and thanks again for the insights. Best regards, Robert

February 22, 2017 at 11:07 am

Hey Henneke

Thanks for a great post! After a busy project of working crazy hours, our blog has not been getting much attention. Now that we have finished, we plan to pump out a whole lot of blog posts with valuable resources for our readers. So this post has come at the perfect time. So many ideas…

February 22, 2017 at 11:27 am

That’s lovely to read. Thank you, Anuradha.

Happy blogging! 🙂

February 20, 2017 at 1:08 pm

You’ve given me so much to digest here! I’ve only just started my blog so I’m yet to really implement any of this but it’s at least going to help get me going in the right direction! I’ve bookmarked this article so I can keep coming back to it. Thanks!

February 21, 2017 at 11:39 am

Great! I’m glad to hear that, Gia. Happy blogging!

February 14, 2017 at 3:59 pm

“Do I feel excited about writing this post?” This is a great question. Usually, when I’m not passionate about topic, my writing tends to be pretty boring.

Thanks for a great post! Love your blog!

February 14, 2017 at 7:35 pm

I feel exactly the same. If I’m not excited about a topic, it’s hard to put energy into my writing.

Thank you for your lovely comment, Jessica.

February 7, 2017 at 5:42 pm

I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well written!

February 7, 2017 at 8:29 pm

Thank you, Kristen!

February 6, 2017 at 10:40 pm

Hands down the best post I’ve read in 2017 so far.

I love your point #1 with that list post thing. I’m definitely going to try that. It seems that might work because 101 ways to do anything is very overwhelming and most people will not implement any one of those tips.

Wow. I’m really blown by this. And the part about doable guide instead of definitive ones is very smart. If people see a time frame linked to something that automatically steers their thinking to ‘I can do that too’.

Loved this post.

February 7, 2017 at 8:32 pm

I’m so glad you liked this post. I did my best to come up with fresh, non-mainstream ideas so there’s something new for everyone, but I still wanted ideas that have been proven to work.

I’m glad you found two ideas to implement. 🙂 Happy blogging, Andrew!

January 28, 2017 at 5:25 am

Hi Henneke, I am fan of your blogs such a all blogs are too good.Your blogs wording are very understandable. Your ideas are awesome. Thanks for sharing these amazing and informational ideas.

January 28, 2017 at 3:06 pm

Thank you, Josephine. Happy blogging!

January 26, 2017 at 4:31 am

Aw, Henneke, another post I must bookmark! I cannot thank you enough for this one! It’s going to make a tremendous difference. When I read the letter you sent, I wondered. But you were right, this is PROVEN. These will make the difference. I cannot wait to write a new one! How on earth do you keep doing this?! <3 K

January 26, 2017 at 10:08 am

Yes, I don’t use the word “proven” often, but I found it okay to use here as I saw that these types of posts were doing well, not just on one blog but on more than one blog.

I keep doing this because I love doing this, and also because I keep learning myself 🙂

Happy blogging, Katharine!

January 25, 2017 at 9:25 pm

Fantastic, it amazes me how you never run out of “juice.” Better still, you share it in a way that it makes it sound so easy and doable.

You are a oner.

Please do the open letter, that would be splendid. Please *10^23. Also, integrating research into content is a great pointer.

Thanks for making me more detail-oriented. Bless you, Henneke

January 26, 2017 at 10:05 am

I do run out of juice sometimes. That’s why I took a break from my blog in December. But I always bounce back. There’s still so many things that fascinate me about writing and that I can share.

I hope this is not a silly question, but … what does *10^23 mean?

Thank you for your lovely comment, Bernice. I appreciate it!

January 25, 2017 at 5:43 pm

Thank you Henneke!

Your posts are always so timely and well thought out. I got really excited reading these writing prompts. Can’t wait to start writing. You rock!

January 25, 2017 at 8:58 pm

Hi Tomie – great to read that you’re getting excited about these prompts. Happy blogging!

January 25, 2017 at 4:46 am

The best catalog of options to choose from! I’ve printed a list of these 17 and it’s going up on the wall in front of my desk. We’d love to read your open letter you mentioned at #5 🙂 Thank you!

January 25, 2017 at 7:27 pm

Thank you, Syed. What a lovely comment. Happy blogging in 2017!

And thank you for your vote on the open letter 🙂

January 25, 2017 at 4:35 am

Wow! Thanks, Henneke, I got very excited reading these lists and can’t wait to implement some of them. What a great start to 2017 – keep ’em coming. ♡

January 25, 2017 at 7:26 pm

Yay! That sounds good, Joan. Happy blogging! 🙂

January 25, 2017 at 2:43 am

Hey Henneke – I loved these! Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting more with the “backed by science” prompt and have really enjoyed it.

I’ve been digging into books that have lots of scientific data to prove a point (i.e. Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant style have always loved this format), and I’m pleased with both the reception and even my enjoyment level with it.

I’m making note of a few other of these examples to try out as well. 🙂

I’ve seen quite a few headlines with either the phrase “backed by science” at the end or the phrase “Science says” at the start of the headline. It does seem to be quite popular.

Happy blogging, Sonia! And thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your thoughts here 🙂

January 25, 2017 at 12:20 am

I think you’ve given me more than enough fodder for the year.

I’m enchanted and inspired as improving my writing is one of my main goals for this year.

Thanks Henneke for these actionable options.

Btw, you’ve done a fabulous job incorporating your own advice.

January 25, 2017 at 7:24 pm

Yay! That sounds great, Shelly-Ann. Happy blogging! And thank you for stopping by 🙂

January 24, 2017 at 7:32 pm

Wow ! This is so timely.

Thanks for such a wonderful post, Henneke!

You’ve given me lots of ideas.

January 24, 2017 at 9:05 pm

Yay! Happy blogging, Sola! 🙂

January 24, 2017 at 6:00 pm

Thanks for this, Henneke!

This post will come in very handy because I’ve dedicated to write every day to my site.

Hopefully, I can report back to you soon on how it’s helped!

Cheers, David

I’m glad you find it useful, David. I appreciate your comment.

Happy blogging!

January 24, 2017 at 5:46 pm

This is brilliant. Well done Henneke – enough to get anyone out of ‘foggy bottom’! Thanks for the mention too.

January 24, 2017 at 9:04 pm

Yes, we do need to get out of “foggy bottom.” 😉

Thank you for stopping by, Sonja. Happy blogging!

January 24, 2017 at 5:10 pm

Great post-Henneke.

Looking forward to your article for those who think their writing is not sufficient enough.

One thing I have found that helps is to write every day. In my case, it’s a newsletter.

Recently, I had an experience where the words just came to me and were typed out; the response to the post was remarkable.

I wish I could somehow do this on demand, but it does not seem to work that way.

Onwards and upwards.

January 24, 2017 at 9:03 pm

I think a regular schedule makes a huge difference. I’ve never been able to write really every day, but posting at least once a week keeps my writing muscles quite lean. For a while, I tried writing every other week and it just didn’t feel right. I got rusty.

I’d say, over time it becomes easier to write on demand.

January 24, 2017 at 4:14 pm

Such a great list for brainstorming new ideas. Perfect timing for me. Thanks for sharing so many “doable” ideas.

January 24, 2017 at 9:00 pm

Great! I’m get it came at the right time. Happy blogging, Stephanie!

January 24, 2017 at 3:52 pm

Oooh! So many wonderful ideas to get a jump start on in time for the new course/coaching offering.

Excited? Me?

I just kept refreshing my email all morning thinking the registration began TODAY. 😀

So this post is a nice snack to tide me over for the ACTUAL registration on Thursday.

Haha! You ARE excited and enthusiastic 🙂

Thank you for stopping by, Lori.

January 24, 2017 at 3:39 pm

What a resource Henneke. You spent many hours creating this and each of your readers now has many hours they can spend delving into each of these ideas and following the links to all the research you did. Brilliant! A great way to start the new year. Maybe it is a list post, but certainly a much more creative and useful one! I can always count on you to have a new approach and not follow the herd mentality.

January 24, 2017 at 8:59 pm

What a lovely comment, Janet. And yes, it was a lot of work to create this post, but I really enjoyed it! If I hadn’t enjoyed it, I probably wouldn’t have written this article – or at least kept it a lot shorter. 😉

Good to see you again! 🙂

January 24, 2017 at 3:16 pm

Great article. I like it.

January 24, 2017 at 8:52 pm

Thank you. Happy blogging!

January 24, 2017 at 3:15 pm

Thank you! This arrived at precisely the right time for me – as so many of your blog posts seem to do.

January 24, 2017 at 7:52 pm

Yay! I’m happy to read that, Mary Sue. Happy blogging

January 24, 2017 at 1:12 pm

Thanks, Henneke. That was really helpful for everyone especially for a beginner who just started.

Thanks for writing such a beautiful and informative post. Ideas really helpful.

January 24, 2017 at 7:51 pm

I’m glad you’re finding these ideas helpful, Dmitry. Happy blogging!

January 24, 2017 at 12:45 pm

Thanks for a great list Henneke. One of my goals this year is to write every day. Having a list of prompts is really helpful. I have a collection of these now and dip into them for ideas when I don’t have anything specific planned.

These are all valuable and doable ideas. I’m setting my sights on the rallying cry as it fits with a theme I have going. Best from rainy California…

January 24, 2017 at 7:50 pm

That sounds great. I’m already curious to see what you’re rallying cry will be about!

Thank you for stopping by again, Chris. I appreciate it 🙂

January 24, 2017 at 12:29 pm

This couldn’t come at a better time for me. All the resources in this post are incredible. And yes, you should write an open letter. 🙂 As well as everything else you’ve suggested. Your drawings on Instagram are an absolute joy.

Thank you so much, Kathy. I’ll write that open letter some time 😉

January 24, 2017 at 12:24 pm

Hi Henneke, Terrific post! This has probably something for everyone no matter what niche you are on, no matter how big their blog is.

Most of the prompts you have discussed here work very awesome. My one question to you:

Don’t you think this is all for the big players? No matter how definitive a guide you write, what effort you put it, how meaty you make it, it will only grow as bi your audience is? I don’t want to sound negative but I am asking what I am seeing on my blog.

For example, I have written this 4000+ word guide on on page SEO ( https://www.digitalgyd.com/on-page-seo-techniques/ feel free to remove the link if that’s not okay) and I have not seen half the success or even 1/1oth the success these big players get for publishing a mediocre article on the subject. Yes I am pointing out t publishing houses like Forbes that do not have good content, updated content and still outrank us deserving bloggers?

Since it doesn’t rank, we don’t have readers as much and so small amount of social shares too.

My point of raising this question was to get solution and get pointed out if I am missing anything of the secret sauce that I should be using. I’d be very glad if it gets solved.

Thanks so much -Swadhin

January 24, 2017 at 7:49 pm

I’m not really an SEO expert, so I find it hard to advice what you should do in your situation.

One option is to actively ask for links to your content. This is what Brian Dean advocates with his Skyscraper approach. This is something I’ve never done for my blog posts as I rather write articles than cold emails.

So what I do is primarily write for my readers, not for SEO.

I still get a ton of search traffic, because I’ve got some good links from my guest posts and some of my readers regularly link to my site. Enchanting Marketing is also an extremely focused blog and I write a lot of in-depth posts about tiny topics (or long tail key phrases as some might say) which not many people cover. I also have good internal linking. This approach has worked well for me.

Still, I also see mediocre content ranking above my articles, too. Often these sites have been around for a much longer period and are simply benefiting from the quality perception they’ve built up over time. But with some more time, I’m sure I can outrank them for more and more key phrases.

The tips above aren’t just for the big players. My approach is to write valuable content for my readers. In the end, that’s what Google wants us to do. I also make sure that I don’t write more posts about the same topic twice, so my own blog posts don’t compete with each other (my guest post do compete with my own blog posts in Google).

January 27, 2017 at 4:51 am

Hi Henneke, Thanks for being kind and replying to my query. It was haunting me from quite a while and you just relieved me off it. Getting links is really important, even I feel so. With links you can prove Google that you are an authority. I’ll try to gather more links via guest posting maybe?

Writing for readers is the key I guess. I’ll try to do that. I try to solve questions that most of my readers/audience face and will keep doing that. Target ting long tail keywords is also a great tip, thanks!

Thank you again, I always ask my queries and you are there to help me!

January 24, 2017 at 11:57 am

This is a timely post because I have ‘plan more newsletter topics’ on my To Do list this week. And I hate massive list posts and the like, find them an utter turn-off to write even though I know they often get s lot of social shares!

So while #14 is my least favourite item in this post, I love your suggestions about ‘my top tip’; the doable checklist; the tiny blog post and the ‘use science ‘ tip.

I also like the encouragement to write about things I am passionate about… that helps me generate the energy I need to stay consistent with blogging.

Thanks Henneke, this post must have taken a lot of research time. It’s a valuable one for me.

January 24, 2017 at 7:30 pm

Yes, definitely go for what you feel passionate about. If you don’t like checklists, then don’t write them. Enough other posts to write! 🙂

And yep, you’re right this took a lot of research time. To be honest, the research was quite interesting – I lost track of time, so I didn’t mind it. It gave me some new ideas, too.

Thank you for stopping by again, Alison. Always good to see you!

January 24, 2017 at 11:49 am

Hi Henneke,

Your posts are always enchanting. This post along with headline examples post are really epic.

I have never been able to ignore your email or post without reading it a couple of times. Just reading your blog, your snackable course and your ebook from kindle have helped me to improve my writing.

What I have learnt is that improving my writing is a constant process.

Initially, I used to dread the blank page and my keyboard felt like a typewriter. But now after reading your post after post, I am able to get better.

I will share my work with you over email.

Thank you for helping me to write better.

Regards, Amit Patel

January 24, 2017 at 7:28 pm

What a lovely comment. Thank you, Amit.

I’m happy to read my content is helping you become a better writer!

Cheers, Henneke

January 24, 2017 at 11:41 am

Henneke thanks for this brilliant tips no wonder Jon Morrow post on his new blog unstoppable.me broke the banks. Telling our story can be terrific way of connecting with people

Thanks for inspiring us

January 24, 2017 at 7:27 pm

Yep, stories are a great way to connect. It, of course, also helps that Jon Morrow had a pretty big email list when he started his new blog 😉

Thank you for stopping by, Peter!

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22nd Feb 2024

Creative Writing Prompts for Writers: 80 Ideas Will Inspire You

Don’t Have Time to Read? Listen to this Article Instead!

Key Takeaways: Creative Writing Prompts

Writing prompts are designed to spark creativity and help overcome writer’s block. They serve as a starting point for storytelling by providing a scenario, question, as well as theme to explore.
Prompts can vary widely, from single words or phrases to sentences, questions, or even images. They are versatile tools that can be tailored to any genre, theme, or writing style.
Effective prompts should balance specificity and openness, spark curiosity, encourage imagination, evoke an emotional response, and sometimes utilize visual stimuli to inspire creativity.
The guide provides examples of prompts for various genres, including mystery and thriller, romance, science fiction, fantasy and paranormal, general fiction, travel and adventure, horror, and young adult.
Beyond the initial prompt, developing a story involves character development, setting the scene, as well as creating conflict and plot twists to drive the narrative forward.
Regular writing practice using prompts can boost creativity, improve discipline, and enhance one’s writing skills over time.
Books, online communities, and daily prompt apps are valuable resources for finding new writing prompts and engaging with a community of writers for feedback and inspiration.

Craft Your Book Using Writing Prompts

Write your next ebook with us. Authors Breeze use creative writing prompts to create compelling narratives that captivate your readers.

Introduction to Creative Writing Prompts

Ever found yourself staring at a blank page, blinking your eyes as you try to summon words that seem to have taken a vacation? You’re not alone. Every writer, at some point, faces writer’s block. But fear not! Creative writing prompts and writing ideas are here to rescue you from the lack of creativity. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore creative writing prompts. They can ignite your imagination, help you weave compelling stories, and significantly improve your writing craft.

Feeling stuck when you want to write is something many of us experience. It can be really tough to come up with ideas or even know where to start. This challenge is something even professional writers face, especially before their work reaches bookshelves or sells books on Amazon . But there’s a helpful solution for when you feel like you’re hitting a dead end: writing prompts. So, these prompts can kickstart your creativity and help you get your writing and publishing going.

What is a Writing Prompt?

At its core, a writing prompt is a starting point to get your creativity flowing. But what does prompt mean in writing? A prompt is 1 to 3 sentences that raise an issue or ask a question that fuels your writing ideas.

No matter if it is a single word, a phrase, a sentence, or even a picture, a writing prompt can open doors to untold stories waiting to be told. So, if you learn how to write a prompt, you can enhance its effectiveness in sparking creativity.

However, what makes prompts for writing so magical? Well, they come with built-in writing challenges: to conjure up a unique story based on a predefined starting point. This constraint, surprisingly, liberates rather than confines creativity. It is a paradox of the creative process. Boundaries often lead to the most boundless imagination.

How to Write a Writing Prompt?

Crafting effective writer prompts is an art in itself. Your goal should be to strike a delicate balance between specificity and openness. In addition, you need to provide just enough detail to guide the writer, but not so much that it stifles their creativity. Here are some tips to consider:

Spark Curiosity

An excellent prompt should pique interest. It could be something as simple as:

“The clock struck thirteen,” prompting the question, “Why thirteen?”

This could serve as a fantastic mystery and thriller writing prompt.

Encourage Imagination

Allow room for interpretation. A prompt like the following opens up endless narrative possibilities:

“In a world where dreams are currency.”

It is perfect for science fiction writing prompts or even dystopian writing prompts.

Emotional Connect

Try to evoke an emotional response. Prompts that relate to universal feelings, love, fear, and joy, can be particularly compelling.

Visual Stimulus

Sometimes, a picture can be worth a thousand words. For example, a mysterious photograph or a bizarre painting. It can serve as a powerful prompt.

The beauty of writing prompts lies in their versatility. You can tailor them for any genre, theme, or writing style . It makes them invaluable tools for writers of all stripes.

Pro Writing Tip: Incorporate direct quotations, summaries, and rephrased content from the provided material to bolster your opinions and insights. It’s crucial to demonstrate to your audience that you are actively interacting with the author’s ideas and the content they’ve shared. For instance, if you find yourself at odds with a recommendation in the material, refer to a specific section and articulate your reasons for disagreement. This approach will aid in convincing others to understand and possibly align with your perspective.

How to Start a Writing Prompt?

Staring down a prompt can be as intimidating as the blank page itself. Here’s how to leap over that initial hurdle:

Allow yourself to write without judgment or editing . Let the prompt lead you wherever it may, even if it initially seems nonsensical.

Ask Questions

Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? These questions can help you unpack the prompt and start weaving a narrative web.

Play with Perspectives

If the prompt is a sentence, try writing from the perspective of different characters or objects within that scenario.

Mix and Match

Combine the prompt with another idea you’ve been toying with. The intersection of two ideas can often be where the magic happens.

Genre-Specific Creative Writing Book Prompts

Let’s look at some writing prompt examples that will help you with more writing prompt ideas:

Mystery and Thriller Writing Prompts

Everyone loves a good mystery or a heart-pounding thriller. These genres keep readers on the edge, eager to turn the page. So, here are a few prompts for mysterious writings:

While renovating your grandmother’s attic, you discover a diary belonging to a relative you never knew existed. The entries hint at a family secret buried for decades.
You receive a series of anonymous letters, each with a clue that leads you closer to uncovering the identity of a person who claims to have changed your life forever.
A renowned magician disappears during a live performance. However, this time, it is not part of the act.
A detective receives a series of cryptic letters. They seem to be linked to unsolved cases from decades ago.
You witness a crime that hasn’t happened yet. Can you be able to prevent it, or will you become part of it?
A journalist stumbles upon a conspiracy tied to a secret society that has influenced historical events.
An ordinary book contains a secret message. It leads to a dangerous treasure hunt across the city.
A family heirloom is stolen on the eve of a meaningful ceremony. It reveals long-buried family secrets.
Someone is following you, always a step behind. However, when you turn around, there’s never anyone there.
A small town is gripped by fear as residents receive anonymous threats predicting their deaths.

Pro Writing Tip: Always start with a relatable scenario but add a twist that invites curiosity. For example , instead of presenting a generic setting like “ walking in a park, ” twist it into something unexpected like “ walking in a park where every bench tells a story of a lost civilization. ” This approach not only grabs the reader’s attention but also provides a fertile ground for their imagination to take off. It encourages them to think beyond the ordinary and dive into the creative process with enthusiasm.

Romance Writing Prompts

Love fuels countless stories, from the tragic to the transcendent. Therefore, with the help of romantic writing prompts, you can explore the complexities of relationships and the human heart. In addition, you can try these creative writing prompts for romance novels :

Two former lovers unexpectedly reunite in a small coffee shop after years apart. What led to their separation? Moreover, what secrets have they held onto?
A love letter meant for someone else lands in your hands. It leads you on a quest to find the intended recipient and, perhaps, a love of your own.
Messages in bottles wash up on the shore. They are penned by a lovelorn sailor from the past.
A scientist discovers a way to time travel, only to fall in love with someone from a different era.
Two rival dance champions are forced to partner up, finding love in their quest for the title.
An astronomer and a poet, sharing a love for the stars, find their paths intertwined under a celestial event.
Two strangers exchange notes daily in a coffee shop’s suggestion box, leading to an unexpected romance.
A musician rediscovers a love song written by their late partner. It leads them to a new beginning.
Two people meet on a cross-country train ride. They form a connection that challenges their destinations.
Longtime friends make a pact to marry if they’re both single at 30. Then, as the deadline approaches, real feelings emerge.

Science Fiction Writing Prompts

The future is a playground for the imagination. It offers endless possibilities for exploration. Moreover, science fiction writing prompts can take you on journeys through time, space, and the depths of the human mind. Here are some short fiction ideas:

You discover the last remaining library in the future where all books are banned. What will you do to protect it?
In a world where memories can be bought and sold, you wake up one day with no recollection of your past. The quest for your identity leads you to dark and unexpected places.
Earth’s sun is dying. Humanity’s last hope rests on a crew sent to reignite it with untested technology.
A new technology allows people to swap consciousnesses. However, one person discovers they can’t switch back.
An ancient alien artifact is unearthed. It holds the key to unlimited energy and the potential for interstellar war.
A scientist accidentally opens a portal to a parallel dimension where history turns dark.
There is a world where memoirs can be engineered. One person uncovers a conspiracy to manipulate the human race.
AI servants start to develop consciousness. It leads to a society-wide debate on rights and existence.
On a distant space colony, sabotage reveals deep-seated corruption and a fight for survival.
A time capsule meant to be opened in a thousand years is accidentally triggered early. It reveals the unforeseen future of humanity.

Fantasy and Paranormal Writing Prompts

Get into worlds where magic is real and the paranormal is just another part of life. These prompts invite you to explore good story starters:

You stumble upon a forest that everyone in your village avoids. Inside, you find a world that is teemed with creatures and magic you never believed possible.
A ghost bound to an ancient mansion seeks your help to solve the mystery of their death. They reveal secrets that will change the history of the place.
A librarian discovers their library is alive, with books that can transport readers into their stories.
There is a discovery of the last dragon egg. It threatens to ignite a war between humans and dragonkin.
A person makes a deal with a ghost to solve their unfinished business, entangling their fates.
A royal heir finds their destiny intertwined with a crown that grants immense power and a deadly curse.
Magic is banned in a world where a young mage discovers a hidden truth about their power.
A keeper of magical portals between worlds faces a dilemma when a forbidden love crosses boundaries.
An unlikely hero is chosen as the apprentice to the last witch in the world, tasked with saving magic.
A mysterious carnival appears in town overnight, offering fantastical wonders and hidden dangers.

Pro Writing Tip : When crafting a fantasy or paranormal novel, the key to captivating your audience is to blend the familiar with the extraordinary. Simple Writing Prompt : Imagine a world where everyone has a magical talent that manifests on their 16th birthday. Your protagonist, however, wakes up on their 16th birthday to discover they have no talent. Explore their journey as they navigate a world where they feel out of place, only to uncover a hidden power within themselves that transcends the known talents. Creative Writing Prompt : In a city where the night brings out not just stars but also portals to other dimensions, your main character is a night courier, delivering packages to these alternate realms. One night, they receive a mysterious package that is not to be delivered to another dimension, but to a being that hasn’t been seen in centuries. This delivery leads them on an adventure through various dimensions, uncovering secrets about the city, its night-time wonders, and themselves.

General Fiction Writing Prompts

Sometimes, the most compelling stories to write are those that reflect our own world, warts and all. General fiction story ideas and prompts offer a canvas for the human condition:

You find a phone with one unread message that changes your perspective on life.
At a pivotal moment in your life, you meet a stranger. He offers you advice that could change everything.
Once a year, a lottery gives one person the chance to change their life completely—but at what cost?
An artist discovers they can paint pictures that make others relive memories. It alters their perception of the past.
A café sits at the crossroads of reality. The customers of the café find themselves confronted with life-changing decisions.
A box of unsent letters was found in an attic. They tell the story of a family’s hidden history.
The last bookstore in a world dominated by digital media. It becomes the center of a community’s struggle to remember its humanity.
A watchmaker creates a watch that can stop time for everyone but the wearer, exploring the consequences of isolation.
A series of balcony gardens across a city weaves together the lives of its residents in unexpected ways.
Two childhood friends make a promise to achieve their dreams. However, life takes them on very different paths.

Travel and Adventure Writing Prompts

For the wanderlust-driven soul, travel and adventure prompts whisk you away to far-off lands and thrilling escapades:

You get an old map that leads to a place not found on any modern map. What do you discover at the end of the journey?
After a storm at sea, you wash up on the shores of an island. It hides a civilization untouched by the outside world.
A map is marked with unknown names. It leads to a journey uncovering hidden histories and forgotten places.
In the heart of the desert, a mirage reveals a hidden oasis with secrets of its own.
An expedition to an uncharted island reveals a civilization thought to be a myth.
A trip to see the Northern Lights uncovers a phenomenon more magical. But it is more dangerous than ever expected.
A hidden path in an ancient forest leads to a world untouched by time.
An urban explorer discovers an underground city beneath the streets of a bustling metropolis.
A mysterious castle appears in the sky. It is accessible only to those who dare to find a way up.
A traveller returns from an otherworldly journey with tales. They challenge the limits of belief.

Horror Writing Prompts

Horror writing prompts are a great resource for vampire romance books and other horror-related genres. So, tap into the depths of fear with horror story prompts that are sure to send shivers down your spine:

A painting you acquire at an estate sale changes each time you look at it. Eventually, it reveals something horrifying.
A person discovers their reflection. It has a mind of its own. In addition, it reveals dark truths.
The woods near your house are said to be haunted. One night, you hear your name whispered among the trees.
You hear about a melody that haunts a town. It drives its listeners to madness and reveals a sinister history.
A house filled with lifelike dolls that seem to watch your every move. It hides a grim secret.
A fog rolls into a small town, and with it comes whispers that drive people to do unspeakable things.
You see a door in the basement that was never there before. It leads to a dark and forgotten place.
Residents of a small town are visited by a figure in the night, who watches from afar, never approaching until.
A grave that doesn’t appear on any map is found to hold the key to a century-old curse.
A rare lunar eclipse reveals a horrifying figure walking across the moon’s surface. It signals a dark event.

Young Adult Writing Prompts

Young adult fiction often tackles the tumultuous journey of growing up. The following prompts focus on the challenges and triumphs of youth:

At your new school, you’re invited to join a secret society. It promises adventure but hides a dark secret.
On your sixteenth birthday, you discover you have a power. It could change the world or destroy it.
A group of friends discovers a hidden bunker during summer break. It leads to a mystery that tests their friendship.
A secret society meets at midnight to share stories. However, their tales start to come true.
A teen discovers their ancestry is linked to an ancient legend. It thrusts them into a world of magic and danger.
Teens have the power to enter dreams. They must save one of their own from a nightmare that could trap them forever.
A high school talent show reveals a student’s unique ability. It attracts unwanted attention.
There is a society where books are banned. A group of teens starts an underground library and fights for the right to read.
A teen discovers a parallel world where their every decision creates ripples. It affects both worlds in unexpected ways.
At a summer camp set to close, campers encounter a mystery that ties the camp’s history to their own lives.

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Beyond the Prompt: Develop Your Story with Creative Writing Prompts

You now have ideas for writing prompts. Then, it is time to transition from story writing prompts to a fully realized story. Writing prompts serve as the initial stage. However, the journey from prompt to page is where the real magic happens. Let’s look at how you can develop writing prompts into captivating narratives.

Character Development

Start with questions.

Who is your protagonist? What do they want more than anything? What’s stopping them? Characters drive stories, such as:

Foil Characters
Morally Grey Characters
Round Characters

Therefore, you need to understand the motivations, fears, and strengths of your characters.

Give Them Flaws

Perfect characters are boring. Flaws make characters relatable and their journeys compelling. So, think about how the weaknesses of your character might impact their decisions and the outcome of the story.

Set the Scene

World-building.

World-building is especially important in genres such as fantasy and science fiction. However, every story needs a setting. Look at how the environment affects the story. Is it a dystopian future that challenges the characters at every turn, or a buzzing city filled with opportunities and threats?

Sensory Details

Bring your world to life with sensory details. What does it smell like in the haunted mansion or on the alien planet? In addition, what sounds fill the air in the bustling marketplace or the quiet village?

Plot Twists and Turns

Outline the journey.

Even if you’re not an outliner by nature, you should have a rough idea of where your story is headed. As a result, it can help keep you on track. So, think of it as a map with room for detours.

Conflict is Key

Conflict is one of the top elements of fiction . No conflict, no story. So, your characters should face challenges, make decisions, and deal with the consequences. In addition, these conflicts can be external (a villain, a natural disaster) or internal (fear of failure, struggling with identity).

Bring Your Story to Life

Our ghostwriters transform your ideas into mesmerizing stories using creative writing prompts to ensure your voice shines through.

The Value of Practice

Keep in mind that the goal is not to write a book on your first try. The goal is to write. Each story you write and each prompt you explore help hone your skills and deepen your learning of the craft. So, practice regularly with writing prompts. As a result, it will:

Boost Creativity

The more you write, the easier it becomes to develop new ideas for writing a book and solve narrative problems.

Improve Discipline

Set a writing routine, even if it’s just a few minutes a day. It can help turn writing from a hobby into a habit.

Resources and Ideas for Creative Writing Prompts

Find new and exciting prompts. It doesn’t have to be a chore. Here are some resources to keep your prompt well full:

Books and Journals

Many books are dedicated to providing writers with prompts. Similarly, literary journals sometimes offer prompt-based contests.

Online Communities

Websites like Reddit have communities dedicated to writing prompts. Participating can also provide you with feedback from fellow writers. Such platforms are excellent sources of free writing prompts, daily writing prompts as well as random writing prompts.

Daily Prompt Apps

There are several apps available that deliver a new writing prompt to you each day. In addition, they ensure you always have a source of inspiration at your fingertips.

Captivate Your Audience with Unique Articles

Infuse your articles with creativity and depth. Our article writers leverage unique prompts to craft articles that stand out.

Additional Resources:

Books on Writing Craft: “ On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King “ Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life” by Anne Lamott “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White “Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within” by Natalie Goldberg “The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles” by Steven Pressfield Online Writing Communities: Reddit ‘s r/Writing and r/WritingPrompts Wattpad : A platform for writers to share their work and connect with readers Scribophile : A writing group and online writing workshop where writers can critique each other’s work NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month): An annual event that encourages writers to complete a novel in a month, held every November Writing Software and Tools: Scrivener : A powerful content-generation tool for long documents Grammarly : A writing assistant that helps with grammar, punctuation, and style Hemingway Editor : A tool that highlights complex sentences and common errors to improve readability Evernote : A note-taking app that can be useful for organizing research and ideas Creative Writing Courses and Workshops: Local community colleges or universities often offer creative writing courses Online platforms like Coursera , Udemy , and Skillshare offer a variety of writing courses taught by experienced authors Writing retreats and workshops, such as those offered by The Highlights Foundation or The Loft Literary Center

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some cool prompts.

Here are a few writing prompts to get you started:

Write about a song that evokes a strong emotion in you.
Narrate a childhood memory from the perspective of someone else who was there.
Describe an object that isn’t valuable but means a lot to you.
Today’s color: What color do you feel like today and why?

What are 500 writing prompts?

The “500 Writing Prompts” journal is a treasure trove for writers. It offers a wide range of prompts across genres and themes. Moreover, it is designed to spark your creativity and help you explore the depths of your imagination, one prompt at a time.

What are 5-minute writing prompts?

These quick prompts are perfect for daily journaling or warming up your writing muscles. They include gratitudes, aspirations, affirmations, reflections on the day, and thoughts on improvement.

What are some good writing questions?

Here are a few journal prompts to ponder:

What do you aspire to be?
List five adventures you want to have before you turn 20.
What’s your dream job?
Imagine your life at 30. What does it look like?
What are the three most impactful jobs in the world, in your opinion?
Would you ever want to be president?

Writing prompts are not just a cure for writer’s block. They’re an excellent tool that can help your growth as a writer. In addition, they make your way to explore new genres and a method for honing your craft. Every word you write brings you one step closer to the writer you aspire to be. So, grab some good writing prompts from the many creative writing topics we have discussed. Then, see where it leads you. In addition, if you face any problems, you can always come to Authors Breeze .

Enhance Your Blog with Writing Prompts

Our blog writers use innovative writing prompts to produce posts that engage, inform, and delight your audience.

Caroline Chartrand

As a writing expert, Caroline R Chartrand has written numerous books across various genres, from memoirs to self-help guides. With a passion for history and literature, she has delved into the lives of some of the fascinating figures in history, uncovering hidden stories and surprising facts.

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50 Inspiring Journal Prompts to Spark Your Creativity

Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

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Benefits of Using Journal Prompts

How to use journal prompts, journal prompts you can try, how do you come up with a journal prompt.

A journal can be a trusted companion that helps you reflect on your thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions, and relationships. Research shows that journaling is linked to better planning, lower stress, and better physical and mental health.

Whether you write in your journal regularly or you’re just getting started, you might sometimes find yourself staring at a blank page and wondering what to write. If you’re at a loss for words, a journal prompt can come to the rescue.

Journal prompts are suggestions, ideas, or questions that can help guide and inspire your journal entries, says Sabrina Romanoff , PsyD, a clinical psychologist and professor at Yeshiva University.

“Prompts are typically themes to reflect on or questions that are meant to motivate you to think deeper about something,” Dr. Romanoff adds.

In this article, we suggest some journal prompts that can spark your creativity . We also ask the expert for some strategies that can help you create your own journal prompts.

Prompted journaling, also known as guided journaling, offers several benefits:

Starting point: If you’ve never tried journaling before or if you’re experiencing writer’s block, journal prompts can help you get started.
Direction: Prompts can provide direction to your writing, says Dr. Romanoff. By focusing on a specific topic or question, you can explore your thoughts and feelings around it.
Structure: Sometimes, you might prefer to write down your thoughts freely as they occur. However, there may be times when you want to organize your thoughts more coherently. Journal prompts can provide the structure you need to organize your thoughts.
Creativity: Using different journal prompts can introduce variety to your journaling experience. It can encourage you to think more creatively and approach things from different angles.
Insight: Journal prompts can provide topics or themes that help you explore fresh perspectives and new dimensions of yourself, says Dr. Romanoff. This process can help you discover personal insights and promote greater self-awareness .
Consistency: Having a prompt to guide each journaling session can encourage you to maintain a regular journaling practice. The prompts can make journaling feel like a purposeful and engaging activity, which may help you be more consistent with it.

These are some strategies that can help you use journal prompts:

Find prompts that inspire you: Dr. Romanoff suggests making a list of prompts that you find inspiring or motivating—you can come up with your own, buy a journal with prompts, or look online for examples.
Decide your frequency: It can be helpful to set a frequency for journaling, such as daily, weekly, monthly or at any other interval that works for you. You can use prompts every time you journal or just when you’re feeling stagnant and craving inspiration or motivation for your journaling session, says Dr. Romanoff.
Keep an open mind: Approach prompted journaling with an open mind . Reflect on the prompt and explore where it takes you. You can write as much or as little as you like.
Get creative: Don’t be afraid to get creative with your responses or limit yourself only to words. You can even pen down your thoughts and feelings in the form of drawings or poetry, if you prefer.
Be honest and authentic: Honesty is key to getting the most out of journaling. Write from the heart and don't be afraid to express your true feelings, even if they are complex or challenging.
Reflect on your responses: After you've written your responses, take a moment to reflect on what you've written. Consider how your thoughts and emotions have evolved over the course of writing them down.

These are some journal prompts that can help you get started.

Self-Discovery Prompts

Self-discovery prompts can help you self-reflect and get to know yourself better. Greater self-awareness is linked to improved emotional intelligence.

These are some journal prompts that can enable self-discovery:

First, list five words that best describe you. Then, think about which five words you would like to describe yourself.
Complete this sentence: “My life would be incomplete without….”
Reflect on a phrase, quote, or mantra that resonates with you. Explain why it’s significant to you.
Make a list of the things in your life that you’re most grateful for.
Explain what you do best.
Reflect on the qualities that you value most in others.
Share three things that made you smile today.
List your best and worst habits.
Write down three life lessons you’ve learned.
Explain what love means to you.
Describe the values that are most important to you and consider whether your actions align with them.
Think about what you would do with your life if you had unlimited resources and explain why.
Describe what is stressing you out and how you’re coping with it.
Write about your biggest regret and what you would do differently in hindsight.
Identify and label the fears and insecurities that are holding you back right now.

Personal Growth Prompts

These are some journal prompts that can encourage personal growth:

What are three short-term goals you would like to achieve within the next three months?
What are three long-term goals you would like to achieve within the next five years?
Which skill would you like to cultivate in yourself?
Which qualities do you admire most in others that you would like to develop in yourself?
Which areas of your life would benefit from more self-discipline ?
What is your worst habit and how would you change it?
What’s something new you would like to try?
What habit do you want to add to your daily routine?
What would you like to contribute to your community?
What is the biggest challenge you’re dealing with right now?
What is the biggest failure you’ve ever faced and what have you learned from it?
How would you like to be remembered by others?
How can you better support your loved ones?
What boundaries would you like to set in your relationships to protect yourself?

Mindfulness Prompts

Mindfulness prompts can help you become more aware of your thoughts, emotions, senses, and surroundings. Being more mindful can help you be more intentional and purposeful in the way you live your life.

These are some journal prompts that can support greater mindfulness:

Describe a meal you ate today. What colors, textures, tastes, and feelings did you experience?
Pick an everyday object from your surroundings, like a plant or a pencil. Write a detailed description of it as if you've never seen it before.
Focus on a sound in the background, such as the ticking of a clock or the rustling of the breeze. Describe the sound and its impact on you.
Close your eyes for a minute and pay attention to your breath. When you open your eyes, write down what it felt like.
Describe your ideal day from morning to night. What activities, people, and experiences would be part of it?
Reflect on your thoughts without judgment . Identify and describe any feelings you're experiencing in the present moment.
Write about a recent interaction with someone. What were their words, expressions, and gestures? How did you feel during the interaction?
Think back to a moment of happiness you experienced recently. Relive the sensations, thoughts, and emotions associated with it.
Think about the place where you feel most at peace. What makes it special to you?
Recall a time when you were worrying about something in the future. How did it affect your present moment and what would you have done differently?

Creativity Prompts

These are some journal prompts that can spark creativity :

Write a letter to your favorite fictional character, describing your life to them.
Make a list of questions you would like to ask a future version of yourself.
Think about your favorite word or phrase. Explain why you love it.
Choose a random object from your surroundings. What qualities do you have in common with it?
Make a list of ten unusual ways to use a common household item. Get creative and think outside the box.
Write a conversation between two inanimate objects, giving them personalities and voices.
Invent a gadget that would make your life more efficient or interesting.
Choose a word from a foreign language that doesn't have a direct English translation. Describe the last time you encountered or experienced it.
Imagine you get the chance to be any animal for a day. Which animal would you pick and what would you do?
Invent a new holiday and outline the traditions, celebrations, and rituals associated with it, based on your values.
If you have a time machine and you can go anywhere in the past or future, where would you go and what would you do there?

These are some strategies that can help you come up with your own journal prompts:

Decide your goals: First, consider what your goal of journaling is and then work backwards to find ways to achieve that goal, says Dr. Romanoff. For instance, she says gratitude , relationships, learning, self-growth, or creativity are goals that you might want to pursue.
Find prompts that align with your goals: Write down a few prompts that resonate with you and align with your current goals, interests, or areas of focus. You can add more or tweak them as you go along.
Mix and match different prompts: Feel free to mix and match prompts from different sources or create your own variations. Experiment with different types of prompts to keep your journaling practice engaging and varied.
Build on existing prompts: If a prompt leads you to new insights or questions, consider exploring those ideas in subsequent journal entries. You can use your initial response as a springboard for deeper exploration.

Journaling can be a form of self-care , a way to connect with yourself, or a creative exercise.

If you enjoy journaling, having prompts can help guide your thoughts and focus your attention in a specific direction. Having a new journal prompt to work on every time you’re in the mood to journal can be exciting, comforting, and even a little scary. Just think of each prompt as an opportunity to learn something new about yourself.

Pena‐Silva RA, Velasco‐Castro JM, Matsingos C, Jaramillo‐Rincon SX. Journaling as an effective tool to promote metacognition and enhance study methods in a pharmacology course, during and after the pandemic . FASEB J . 2022;36(Suppl 1):10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R4840. doi:10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R4840

Drigas AS, Papoutsi C. A new layered model on emotional intelligence . Behav Sci (Basel) . 2018;8(5):45. doi:10.3390/bs8050045

Crego A, Yela JR, Gómez-Martínez MÁ, Riesco-Matías P, Petisco-Rodríguez C. Relationships between mindfulness, purpose in life, happiness, anxiety, and depression: testing a mediation model in a sample of women . Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2021;18(3):925. doi:10.3390/ijerph18030925

By Sanjana Gupta Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

25 Creative Writing Prompts to Ignite Your Creativity

Creative writing is a vast and dynamic field that offers a platform for individuals to express their ideas, emotions, and stories in an imaginative and original way.

It plays a crucial role in enhancing communication skills, fostering empathy, and also promoting a deep understanding of the human experience. If you’re not sure how to get started, consider these helpful writing prompts – let’s get creative!

The Importance of Creative Writing

In the realm of literature and beyond, creative writing holds a pivotal role. It not only allows for personal expression but also:

fosters critical thinking
enhances vocabulary
improves writing skills
conveys complex ideas and emotions
serves as a therapeutic medium
enhances empathy

From short stories and poetry to novels and screenplays, creative writing spans a wide array of genres and styles, and offers endless opportunities for exploration and expression.

In the professional realm, creative writing skills are highly valued. They can lead to various creative writing jobs in fields like publishing, advertising, journalism, and content creation. For those interested in pursuing higher education in this field, you might want to explore whether a degree in creative writing is worth it .

Understanding Creative Writing Prompts

When it comes to igniting creativity and fostering unique ideas, creative writing prompts play an invaluable role. They provide a starting point, a spark that can lead to a flame of inspiration for writers.

How Prompts Can Ignite Creativity

While creative writing is an exciting field, it can sometimes be challenging to kickstart the creative process. This is where creative writing prompts come into play. These prompts are designed to ignite the imagination and inspire writers to create original and compelling pieces.

They help to overcome writer’s block , encourage experimentation with different styles and genres. So, whether you’re a seasoned writer or a beginner, creative writing prompts can be an invaluable tool to spark creativity and enhance your writing skills.

What are Creative Writing Prompts?

Creative writing prompts are essentially ideas, questions, or topics that are designed to inspire and stimulate the creative writing process. They serve as a catalyst, helping to ignite the writer’s imagination and encourage them to explore new themes, concepts, or perspectives.

These prompts can take a myriad of forms. They might be a single word, a phrase, a sentence, or even an image. Remember, regardless of the format, the goal of a creative writing prompt is to trigger thought and also encourage writers to delve deeper into their creative psyche, producing unique and compelling pieces of writing.

For more understanding of what creative writing entails, read our article on what is creative writing .

Types of Creative Writing Prompts

There are various types of creative writing prompts, each tailored to stimulate different forms of writing, cater to various genres, or inspire certain ideas. For example, you might encounter:

Fiction Writing Prompts : These prompts are designed to inspire stories. They might provide a setting, a character, a conflict, or a plot point to kick-start the writer’s imagination.
Non-Fiction Writing Prompts : These prompts are geared towards non-fiction writing, such as essays, memoirs, or journalistic pieces. They might pose a question, present a topic, or propose a perspective for the writer to explore.
Poetry Writing Prompts : These prompts are tailored for writing poetry. They could suggest a theme, a form, a line, or a poetic device to be used in the poem.
Dialogue Writing Prompts : These prompts focus on conversations and are designed to inspire dialogue-driven pieces. They generally provide a line or a snippet of conversation to act as a starting point.
Story Starter Writing Prompts : These prompts serve as the opening line or the first paragraph of a story. The writer’s task is to continue the narrative from there.

Understanding the different types of creative writing prompts is essential to making the most of them. For example, when you choose the right type of prompt, you target specific writing skills , push boundaries of creativity, and provide the necessary spark to bring your ideas to life.

25 Creative Writing Prompts

Using creative writing prompts is a great way to jumpstart your creativity and get the ideas flowing. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or a beginner, these prompts can help inspire your next piece. Here, we’ve broken down 25 prompts into five categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, dialogue, and story starters.

Fiction Writing Prompts

Fiction allows writers to flex their imaginative muscles. The following prompts can help to stir up new ideas for a unique storyline:

Write a story where the main character finds an old, mysterious letter in the attic.
Imagine a world where animals can talk.
Create a tale where a character discovers they have a superpower.
Write about a character who wakes up in a different era.
Write a story set in a world where money doesn’t exist.

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

Non-fiction writing can help you explore real-life experiences and lessons. Here are some prompts to get you started:

Write about a time when you faced a significant challenge and how you overcame it.
Describe the most influential person in your life.
Share a moment when you learned a valuable lesson.
Write about an unforgettable trip.
Discuss a current event that has impacted you personally.

Poetry Writing Prompts

Poetry allows for artistic expression through words. These prompts can inspire new verses:

Write a poem about a dream you can’t forget.
Create a sonnet about the changing seasons.
Write about an emotion without naming it directly.
Craft a poem inspired by a piece of art.
Pen a haiku about nature’s power.

Dialogue Writing Prompts

Dialogue writing can help you improve your dialogue creation skills. Try these prompts:

Write a conversation between two people stuck in an elevator.
Describe a heated argument between a character and their best friend.
Create a dialogue where a character reveals a deep secret.
Write an exchange between a detective and a suspect.
Craft a conversation between two people who speak different languages.

Story Starter Writing Prompts

Story starters are great for sparking an idea for a story. Here are some to try:

“When she opened the door, she couldn’t believe her eyes…”
“He’d waited his whole life for this moment, and now…”
“It was a town like no other, because…”
“She was the last person on earth, or so she thought…”
“The letter arrived, marked with a seal she didn’t recognize…”

These creative writing prompts are designed to challenge you and spark your creativity. Remember, the goal is not to create a perfect piece of writing but to ignite your imagination and hone your writing skills. Also, don’t forget, you can always revise and refine your work later .

For more on the art of writing, check out our article on what is creative writing .

Making the Most of Your Creative Writing Prompts

Now that you have a list of creative writing prompts at your disposal, it’s important to understand how to utilize them effectively. The value of a prompt lies not just in the initial idea it provides, but also in how it can be expanded and developed into a full-blown piece of writing.

How to Use Creative Writing Prompts Effectively

Using creative writing prompts effectively requires an open mind and a willingness to explore. Here are some strategies to make the most of your prompts:

Brainstorming: Allow yourself to brainstorm ideas after reading the prompt. Jot down whatever comes to mind without self-judgment or censorship.
Freedom: Give yourself the freedom to interpret the prompt in your own way. Remember, prompts are starting points, not rigid guidelines.
Experimentation: Experiment with different genres, perspectives, and writing styles. A prompt can be turned into a poem, a short story, or even a script for a play.
Consistency: Try to write regularly. Whether you choose to do this daily, weekly, or bi-weekly, consistency can help develop your writing skills.
Reflection: Finally, reflect on the prompt and your writing. Consider what worked, what didn’t, and also what you would like to improve in your next piece.

In addition to this, check out our article on what is creative writing .

Tips to Expand on a Prompt

Expanding on a prompt involves transforming a simple idea into a fully developed narrative. Here are a few tips:

Character Development: Flesh out your characters. Give them backgrounds, motivations, and flaws to make them more relatable and interesting.
Plot Building: Develop a coherent plot. Consider the key events, conflicts, and resolutions that will drive your story forward.
Show, Don’t Tell: Show the reader what’s happening through vivid descriptions and actions rather than simply telling them.
Dialogue: Use dialogue to reveal character traits and advance the plot. Make sure it’s natural and adds value to your story.
Editing: Finally review and revise your work. Look for areas where you can improve clarity, tighten your prose, and also eliminate any inconsistencies or errors.

Editor’s Note : Don’t get rid of old ideas or unfinished works – you never know when looking back over these might spark inspiration or two ideas might mesh to form something cohesive and new!

The Right Prompts Grow Your Skills

By using these strategies, you can take full advantage of creative writing prompts and improve your writing skills. So, whether you’re pursuing a career in creative writing or just looking for a new hobby, these tips can help you unlock your full creative potential.

For more insights on creative writing, check out our articles on creative writing jobs and what you can do with a creative writing degree and how to teach creative writing .

Also, don’t miss our master list of more than 250 journal prompts .

Brooks Manley

Creative Primer is a resource on all things journaling, creativity, and productivity. We’ll help you produce better ideas, get more done, and live a more effective life.

My name is Brooks. I do a ton of journaling, like to think I’m a creative (jury’s out), and spend a lot of time thinking about productivity. I hope these resources and product recommendations serve you well. Reach out if you ever want to chat or let me know about a journal I need to check out!

Here’s my favorite journal for 2024:

Gratitude Journal Prompts Mindfulness Journal Prompts Journal Prompts for Anxiety Reflective Journal Prompts Healing Journal Prompts Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Journal Prompts Mental Health Journal Prompts ASMR Journal Prompts Manifestation Journal Prompts Self-Care Journal Prompts Morning Journal Prompts Evening Journal Prompts Self-Improvement Journal Prompts Creative Writing Journal Prompts Dream Journal Prompts Relationship Journal Prompts "What If" Journal Prompts New Year Journal Prompts Shadow Work Journal Prompts Journal Prompts for Overcoming Fear Journal Prompts for Dealing with Loss Journal Prompts for Discerning and Decision Making Travel Journal Prompts Fun Journal Prompts

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Writing Prompts

Table of Contents

It’s normal for writers of all levels to occasionally feel writer’s block. Sometimes we simply lack inspiration and our thoughts are just not turning into words.

Writing prompts are a great tool to tackle that mental and creative hurdle. They’re also great with helping you make writing a habit.

What is a Writing Prompt ?

By definition, a prompt is a brief text that provides you with a topic around which you can build your ideas. Prompts take many forms: a short phrase, a paragraph, a picture, or even a single word. They can help you develop your original idea or inspire you with a completely new topic . D o not be afraid of challenging yourself and your writing style on any possible occasion – your written work will benefit in the long run.

Examples of Writing Prompts

Check out these 20 writing prompts and use them to kickstart your imagination. As you pick one, do not worry about what ideas come to your mind or whether what you have written is “good”. The purpose is to just get into the habit of writing. You can always polish it later on if you want.

It was the first cold day of the year.
He had not seen her since High School graduation.
The city burned, fire and smoke filling the air.
She studied her face in the mirror.
The smell of freshly cut flowers.
She came back every year to lay flowers at the feet of the statue.
The streets were empty. Where had everyone disappeared?
This time her co-worker had gone too far.
Stars blazed in the night sky.
He woke to birdsong.
‘Shh! Hear that?’ ‘I didn’t hear anything.’
He had always loved public speaking.
She woke, sweating, in the dark of the night.
The garden was overgrown now.
He had never noticed a door there before.
She would have to ask for a ride back.
‘I told him not to come back!’
His feet were already numb. He should have listened.

Targeted Writing Prompts

Now you that have a clear idea of what basic prompts may look like, we can begin to discuss the importance and benefit of using targeted writing prompts . Targeted prompts are those which aim your short story or novel in a targeted direction, whether that be around a theme, genre, or perspective .

Targeting your prompts can hone your writing skills to fit different genres . Additionally, many writers find that using different genres of prompts can kickstart their short story ideas and break away any existing writer’s block .

Let’s take a look at what some more targeted creative writing prompts may look like, specifically separating prompts by use or genre.

Fantasy Writing

A wishing well becomes a portal to a mysterious place.
You are able to make a new wish every single day .
Tired of your fantasy world , you seek a more monotonous planet .

Sci-Fi Writing

After looking into a telescope, you see a group of new planets that look strangely like Earth.
An astronaut wakes up on a desert island , unsure of what planet who truly is on.
Video games were never supposed to be this real.

Romance Writing

two lovers come together in a new time period .
an old friend appears at your front door .
You find an old letter hidden within a pen .

Old poems seem to be hiding a secret message.

Horror Stories

Everybody else is wasting their time with their useless hobbies. You prefer a more meaningful skill: murder.
After waking up in an unfamiliar backyard , you begin to question if you are a human or alien .
Gaining a magical power wasn’t at good asit seemed.
Nobody knew that a simple journal entry would unleash the monster .
A horror writer seeks to create a new genre of literature; one they will regret forever.

Other Related Resources

You can find numerous sources of writing prompts online. Below are a few sites that provide them:

ServiceScape Writing Prompt Generator
200+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You

How To Make Your Own Writing Prompts

You can find inspiration for writing prompts on your own as well: snatches of overheard conversation, headlines, signs, words picked from a book can give you inspiration for your work. Always keep an eye out for words and phrases that fire your imagination, jot them down, and use them to spark your creativity . They may take you to some fantastic places.

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Using Analogies in Writing

Tone and Voice in Writing

Transitional Words and Phrases

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Get Inspired: 101 Creative Writing Prompts You Can’t Ignore

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on September 3, 2023

Categories Writing , Creative Writing

You’re staring at a blank page, ideas just out of reach. Don’t fret! Creative writing prompts are your golden ticket to inspiration. They’ll ignite your imagination, help you conquer writer’s block and even refine your writing style.

Whether it’s poetry or prose, there’s a prompt for you. So let’s dive into the world of creative writing prompts; who knows what stories you’ll uncover?

Key Takeaways

Writing prompts ignite imagination and help overcome writer’s block.
Prompts can lead to undiscovered terrains or provide a fresh perspective on familiar grounds.
Using prompts helps overcome writer’s block and boosts motivation.
Unconventional prompts stimulate innovative thinking.

101 Creative Writing Prompts

Here are 101 creative writing prompts to get your imaginative juices flowing:

Write about your earliest memory.
Imagine you woke up one day with a superpower. What would it be and how would you use it?
You’re home alone and hear a noise coming from upstairs. What happens next?
Describe a typical day in your life 20 years from now. What does your future look like?
Pick two random objects and write a story involving them.
You find a mysterious box on your doorstep. What’s inside and how does it change your life?
Rewrite a fairy tale from the antagonist’s perspective.
A giant sinkhole suddenly appears in your backyard. Where does it lead?
You’re an astronaut on the first mission to Mars. Describe your experience.
Write a poem about your favorite season.
You find an old lamp and give it a rub. A genie appears and grants you three wishes. What do you wish for?
You wake up one day and can understand what animals are saying. What conversations do you overhear?
Describe a memorable experience you had with one of your grandparents or other older relative.
Write a story featuring a character who discovers something extraordinary in an ordinary setting.
Pick an object close by and write a story about its origins.
You find a wallet on the sidewalk containing $1000 and the ID of its owner. What do you do?
Write a poem from the perspective of an insect.
Describe your perfect weekend. Where are you, who are you with, and what are you doing?
Write a letter to your future self offering advice about life.
Imagine you switched places with your pet for a day. What would happen?
Pick two celebrities and write a story about them meeting for the first time.
Write a scene featuring a character who panics in a humorous way.
Describe a pleasant early morning in the city from the point of view of a pigeon.
Pick a color and describe how it makes you feel.
Rewrite a scene from a book or movie from a minor character’s perspective.
You find an old faded photograph with a mysterious figure in the background. Write a story about who it is.
Describe a memorable experience you had involving music.
Write a poem using nature imagery to describe a strong emotion.
Imagine you could live in any fictional world. Which would you choose and why?
You’re house-sitting for relatives and think you hear an intruder late at night. What happens?
Pick two famous people from different time periods and write about them meeting.
Describe a memorable teacher who had an impact on your life.
Imagine you could teleport anywhere in the universe. Where would you go? What would you do there?
You find a door to an alternate universe in your attic. What’s on the other side?
Write a poem about someone or something that inspires you.
Describe a moment when you felt completely at peace.
Imagine you could talk to animals. Write a conversation between you and your pet.
Describe a vibrant outdoor market using all five senses.
Pick an occupation and describe a “day in the life” from that perspective.
You accidentally travel 100 years into the future. How is life different?
Tell the story of your first kiss.
Write a scene featuring a character who loses something important.
Pick two mythical creatures and imagine them meeting for the first time.
Describe a memorable experience you had with a grandparent or older friend.
Imagine you’re the first person selected to live on Mars. What is your experience like?
Describe your perfect summer day.
Rewrite a scene from a well-known story from the perspective of a side character.
Write about a risk that paid off for you.
Imagine you can spend the day with any person from history. Who would you choose and why?
Write a story that begins with this line: “It was the day that changed everything.”
Describe your neighborhood on a lively summer evening using all five senses.
You find a magic wand that allows you to change one thing about yourself. What do you change and why?
Write about a teacher who had a meaningful impact on you.
Imagine you wake up one morning with the ability to fly. What do you do?
Someone close to you is keeping an important secret. Write the reveal scene.
Describe a place from your childhood that was very special to you. What made it so memorable?
Pick two of your favorite fictional characters from different stories and imagine them meeting for the first time.
You’re house-sitting in a remote cabin and strange things start happening late at night. What happens next?
Rewrite a classic fairy tale in a modern setting.
Write a story featuring a character who uncovers a family secret. What’s the secret and how is it revealed?
Describe the view out your window right now using poetic imagery.
Pick a common object and write a short horror story about it.
Imagine you could travel back in time. What year would you visit and why? What would you do there?
Write a scene featuring two characters meeting for the first time and getting off on the wrong foot.
Describe a memorable experience you had involving the ocean.
Rewrite a pivotal scene from a book or movie from the perspective of a background character.
Pick two exotic locations and describe someone traveling from one to the other.
Write a story featuring a character who discovers something they shouldn’t have.
Write about a risk that didn’t pay off for you. What lesson did you learn?
Imagine you switch places with someone close to you for a day. What do you learn from the experience?
Describe a memorable act of kindness you performed or received.
Pick an animal and imagine you can spend the day seeing through its eyes. What do you experience?
Write a scene featuring a character who loses their temper in a spectacular fashion.
Describe your perfect day ten years from now. Where are you, what are you doing, and who is with you?
Write a poem describing a vivid childhood memory.
Imagine you dig up a time capsule from your childhood. What’s inside and what memories does it spark?
Write about a place you visited that made you exceptionally happy. What was special about it?
Describe the best and worst parts of your morning routine.
Pick two musicians from different eras and imagine them collaborating on a song. How does their style mesh?
Write a story that begins: “I never would have discovered the secret if it weren’t for…”
Describe a misadventure you had while traveling. What happened and what did you learn?
Imagine you can inhabit the body of someone else for a day. Whose body and life do you experience?
Write a poem inspired by a piece of art or music.
Imagine you find an abandoned campsite deep in the woods. What do you discover there?
Pick two characters from different children’s books and imagine them meeting for an adventure.
Describe the scariest place you have ever visited. What made it so frightening?
Write about a time you felt caught in the middle of two sides of an argument. How did you handle it?
Imagine you discover a hidden room in your home. What’s inside and how does it get there?
Describe how it feels to come in first place in a competition.
Pick two favorite TV or movie characters from when you were a child and imagine them meeting.
Write a story about someone who wakes up to find the world is deserted.
Imagine you could become invisible for a day. What would you do?
Describe your zaniest friend. Include what makes them fun to be around.
Pick two movies, books or TV shows in different genres and imagine a character from each meeting for the first time.
Rewrite a scene from your favorite book from a minor character’s perspective.
Describe a holiday celebration from your childhood and what made it memorable.
Imagine you discover objects from another dimension popping up around your home. Describe them.
Write a story featuring a character who gets lost in the woods.
Imagine you can switch two movie characters. How would the plot change?
Describe an ordinary object in an extraordinary way.
Free write for 15 minutes without stopping. Afterward, review what you wrote and mine it for story ideas.

Exploring the Concept of Creative Writing Prompts

Ize A Magnifying Glass Revealing Layers Of A Crumpled Paper Ball, With Each Layer Representing A Different Creative Writing Prompt, Against A Backdrop Of A Feather Quill And Inkwell

You’re about to delve into the concept of creative writing prompts.

Picture this. You’re standing at a gateway to countless worlds, each shaped by your imagination. The key to this gateway? Writing prompts.

Prompt selection criteria is vital here. It’s not just about picking any random prompt; it’s about selecting one that resonates with you, sparks your creativity and propels your story forward.

Some might steer you towards undiscovered terrains while others could guide you back to familiar grounds with a fresh perspective.

Now comes the art of prompt adaptation methods – twisting, turning and tweaking these prompts until they fit snugly into your narrative. They’re not rigid commands but flexible suggestions waiting for you to mold them into your unique masterpiece.

The Importance of Using Writing Prompts

Vintage Notebook With A Feather Quill Hovering Above, Ink Pot Nearby, Surrounded By Various Symbols Of Creativity: A Lit Light Bulb, A Palette, And A Crumpled Paper Trail Leading To A Golden Key

Imagine you’re standing on the edge of a vast ocean of words, ready to dive in but not sure where to start. That’s where writing prompts come in – they’re your diving board, pushing you into the depths of creativity and helping boost your writing skills.

With their aid, you’ll unlock new levels of imaginative thinking and overcome that pesky writer’s block that’s been holding you back.

Enhancing Writing Skills

Don’t underestimate the importance of enhancing your writing skills; it’s a crucial aspect of effective communication. Dive into the sea of grammar enhancement, let every wave refine your punctuation and syntax.

Feel the transformation as you evolve from choppy sentences to flowing prose, replacing dull words with vibrant ones through vocabulary expansion.

Imagine yourself in a bustling marketplace of words, picking up exotic verbs and adjectives like rare spices.

You’re not merely expanding your vocabulary; you’re creating a palette for painting images with language that will captivate readers’ minds.

Prompting Creative Thinking

Let’s delve into strategies that stimulate innovative thinking, offering a fresh perspective to approach tasks and problem-solving. Unconventional prompts can be your secret weapon here.

Imagine you’re asked to write a story about an alien invasion but the aliens are invisible. Suddenly, the familiar trope is flipped on its head, pushing you beyond prompt limitations and sparking creativity.

Think of it as navigating through an exciting labyrinth of endless possibilities where each twist and turn unlocks new ideas.

Prompt limitations aren’t shackles; they’re stepping stones guiding you towards uncharted territories of imagination.

With unconventional prompts, you’re not just writing – you’re pioneering through a jungle of creativity, hacking through overgrown cliches with the machete of originality. Give it a shot – let unpredictability fuel your creative fires.

Overcoming Writer’s Block

How about if you hit a wall with your story?

The once vibrant world in your mind’s eye now feels as barren as a desert. But don’t sweat it. Overcoming writer’s block is not some arcane art. It just needs the right mix of motivational techniques and mental exercises.

Try visualizing your plot like an intricate puzzle; each word, sentence, and paragraph fitting together to form a grand design.

See yourself standing victorious on top of that daunting wall, manuscript in hand! This visualization exercise can fuel your motivation.

How about playing word games or free writing for ten minutes? These mental exercises stimulate creativity and can reignite the spark in you.

Remember, every great author has faced this challenge. You’re not alone in this battle against the blank page.

Techniques to Generate Creative Writing Ideas

Ical Scene Of An Open, Glowing Book, Emitting Vivid Symbols, A Lightbulb, And A Vibrant Storm Cloud, Set Against A Backdrop Of A Star-Lit Sky With A Crescent Moon

Dive headfirst into the whirlwind of creative possibilities with effective brainstorming session techniques. Unlock a treasure trove of ideas that might’ve remained hidden.

You’re about to harness the power of visual stimuli, transforming ordinary images into extraordinary stories that leap off the page.

And remember – your personal experiences aren’t just memories, they’re fuel for your imagination’s fire. Ready to be leveraged into captivating tales only you can tell.

Brainstorming Session Techniques

There’s a variety of techniques that can make your brainstorming sessions more effective and productive.

Imagine yourself at the helm of innovation, navigating prompt limitations while embracing prompt flexibility. This dance between constraint and freedom fuels creativity.

Limitations shape the challenge, providing a frame within which your ideas bounce around like lively pinballs, lighting up possibilities with every hit.

Flexibility, on the other hand, is an open window inviting fresh perspectives; it’s the permission to explore beyond borders.

Pair these concepts in your brainstorming session – let the prompts’ limitations guide you but don’t be afraid to flex those creative muscles! Embrace this dynamic interplay for it holds the key to unlock endless streams of ideas, turning your session into an exciting expedition of discovery.

Utilizing Visual Stimuli

Incorporating visual stimuli into your brainstorming process can spark new ideas and expand your thinking outside the box. Visual inspiration isn’t just about looking at art or beautiful landscapes; it’s about seeing things differently, allowing image interpretation to fuel your creativity.

Here’s how you can utilize visual stimuli:

Explore different forms of art – paintings, sculptures, graphic designs.
Take a walk in nature and absorb its beauty.
Flip through magazines or books with vibrant images.
Watch stimulating videos or movies.
Try visualizing abstract concepts in physical form.

Remember, it’s not about what you see but rather how you interpret what you see.

It’s time to push the boundaries of your imagination and let visuals trigger innovative thoughts.

Leveraging Personal Experiences

Leveraging personal experiences can significantly enhance your brainstorming process, as they’re a rich source of unique and original ideas. Imagine each memory as a colorful thread in the tapestry of your life; these threads don’t merely exist to decorate but also inspire.

Your personal narratives become vibrant brushes that paint strokes onto an empty canvas, bringing it to life with hues only you possess.

These experiential reflections are more than just recollections; they’re catalysts that trigger cascades of creativity. They form bridges connecting the real world to the realm of imagination, allowing you to explore uncharted territories within your own mind.

Diverse Types of Creative Writing Prompts

Mosaic Of Diverse Hands, Each Holding A Different Symbol Of Creativity: A Quill, A Paintbrush, A Typewriter, A Camera, A Microphone, A Sketchpad, And A Colorful Swirl Of Imagination

You’ll find a wide variety of creative writing prompts, each designed to spark different ideas and encourage unique storytelling.

These ‘Prompt Varieties’ are key in ‘Evolving Creativity’. They are the secret sauce that boosts your imagination, enhancing your ability to weave tales out of thin air.

Picture Prompts: A single image can inspire a thousand words.
Word Play Prompts: Challenge yourself with homophones or synonyms.
Dialogue Prompts: A snippet of conversation that ignites a narrative.
Music-Inspired Prompts: Let rhythm and lyrics move your creativity.
Thematic Prompts: Get lost in specific genres or settings.

How to Use Prompts for Poetry Writing

, Antique Inkwell Beside A Quill, On A Rustic Desk Strewn With Colorful Fall Leaves

Dive headfirst into the realm of poetry, where your task is choosing an ideal prompt to ignite your imagination.

You’re on a quest, not just for any prompt but one that resonates with you, one that tickles your creative instincts and sets them aflame.

Let’s unravel together how this careful selection can be a beacon, guiding your poetic journey towards fresh inspiration, new perspectives, and uncharted emotional depths.

Choosing Appropriate Prompts

It’s important to consider your audience when picking a suitable creative writing prompt. Your Prompt Selection process should involve understanding what resonates with them, ensuring the Prompt Suitability for their taste and level of understanding.

Take into account these elements:

Their age: Young readers might prefer adventurous tales, while an older audience may appreciate complex narratives.
Cultural background: Stories that reflect or respect their traditions could engage them more effectively.
Personal interests: Tailor your prompts around hobbies or passions they have.
Reading levels: Ensure the complexity aligns with their comprehension abilities.
Emotional connection: Themes they can emotionally connect with may spark better responses.

Inspiration Through Prompts

Drawing inspiration from cues can often spark an exceptional storyline, stirring a reader’s imagination and emotional connection. In the world of creative writing, this is where ‘Prompt Selection’ steps in.

Picture yourself scouring through a myriad of prompts, each one whispering its own unique challenge to your creativity.

The journey doesn’t end at selection; it merely evolves into ‘Prompt Evolution’. You’re not just choosing a prompt; you’re nurturing it, letting it grow within your mind until it blossoms into an intricate web of thoughts and ideas.

As you explore various interpretations, the initial prompt transcends its original form, morphing into something utterly personal and distinctive.

The ultimate goal? Crafting a narrative so engaging that every word captivates your readers, leaving them yearning for more.

Enhancing Fiction Writing With Creative Prompts

Vintage Typewriter With A Floating, Glowing Bulb Above It, Surrounded By Colorful Bursts Representing Different Creative Ideas, All Set Against A Backdrop Of An Open Book

You’ll find that using creative prompts can significantly enhance your fiction writing skills. These tools are perfect for sharpening your mind, sparking new ideas, and injecting life into your narratives. Creative prompts help stimulate ‘Prompted Imagery’ allowing you to paint vivid pictures in the minds of your readers.

They also aid in ‘Fictional Worldbuilding’, helping you craft immersive universes with depth and detail.

Consider these benefits:

Prompts ignite the spark of inspiration.
They foster creativity and originality.
Prompts assist in developing dynamic characters.
They guide robust plot development.
Prompts catalyze innovative world building.

Understanding Prompts for Non-fiction Writing

Storm Cloud Filled With Symbolic Icons: A Pencil, A Book, A Magnifying Glass, A Light Bulb, A Globe

Imagine yourself standing at the edge of a vast landscape of reality, armed only with your words.

You’re about to dive into the world of non-fiction prompts, where you’ll learn not only how to define these nuggets of inspiration but also how to wield them effectively in your writing.

It’s more than just jotting down facts; it’s painting a vivid picture of life as we know it, using prompts as your guideposts along this journey.

Defining Non-fiction Prompts

Non-fiction prompts can be a great tool for you, particularly when you’re struggling to come up with ideas for your next writing project. They lend themselves perfectly to real-life narratives and autobiographical prompts, helping you dig into your experiences and viewpoints.

For instance, a prompt like ‘Describe a time when you faced a significant challenge’ could kickstart an engaging tale of adversity. Or ‘Write about someone who’s influenced your life’ might ignite the spark for an inspiring tribute.

The command to depict ‘Your most memorable journey’ may evoke vivid travel memories, while an invitation to explore ‘The best decision you’ve ever made’ provides room for introspection. Finally, crafting an answer to ‘What does home mean to you?’ can create an intensely personal piece.

Such prompts stimulate thought-provoking narratives that are rooted in reality yet utterly unique – just like your life story!

Utilizing Prompts Effectively

To make the most out of these thought-starters, it’s vital that you’re not just answering them superficially but really delving deep into your experiences and emotions.

The dance of prompt selection is like sifting through a treasure chest, each gem sparking a different story in your mind. Yet, it’s how you adapt to these prompts that truly defines their worth.

Think of prompt adaptation as painting with words; each stroke adds depth to your canvas. The slight change in perspective, the twist in interpretation, allows for a creative explosion. Don’t shy away from pushing boundaries or coloring outside the lines.

You’re an artist wielding language as your brush – let it flow freely and watch as the mundane turns magical.

Using Prompts for Character Development

N, Vintage Notebook With A Quill Pen, Surrounded By Colorful Drawings Of Diverse Characters Showing Various Emotions And Traits, Under A Soft, Inspirational Light

You’ll find that prompts can be a powerful tool for developing your characters in a story. They help you delve deep into the Character Backgrounds and Motivational Aspects of your personas, thus making them more relatable and real to your readers.

Consider these innovative ways to use prompts:

Use them as interview questions, asking your characters about their past, dreams, fears.
Incorporate them in scenarios to explore how they would react under different circumstances.
Apply them to reveal secrets or hidden aspects of their personalities.
Utilize them as tools to create conflict or tension between characters.
Engage with them as means to develop a character’s moral compass.

The Role of Prompts in Plot Creation

Antique Book With A Golden Quill Pen, An Inkwell, Shining Light Bulbs Floating Out Of The Pages, And A Winding Path Made Of Words Leading To A Treasure Chest At The End

When it comes to plot creation, using these tools can help you construct a compelling narrative with gripping twists and turns. The role of prompts here is paramount. However, be mindful of prompt limitations that might stifle your creative juices; you must learn to navigate them skillfully.

Your imagination could take flight when met with unconventional prompts. They’re not your typical ‘write about a summer day’; no, they push you into uncharted territories, sparking innovative ideas.

Picture this: ‘Write from the perspective of a wilting flower.’ Unusual? Yes. But doesn’t it stir intrigue? It’s through such provocation that you weave intricate plots, ones that captivate and engage readers in unexpected ways.

Boosting Descriptive Skills Through Writing Prompts

Nt Landscape Of An Open Book With Pages Morphing Into Vivid, Swirling Galaxies, Colourful Metaphors And Similes, And Tactile Texture Symbols, Symbolizing The Enhancement Of Descriptive Skills

Expanding your vocabulary and exploring new ways to describe scenes can greatly enhance your storytelling abilities. Writing prompts not only push you out of comfort zones, but also allow you to experiment with the power of metaphors and sensory descriptions.

With every penned word, feel the sentences come alive as the sun doesn’t just set, it melts into the horizon like a dollop of fiery orange sorbet. Rain isn’t simply falling; it’s a symphony on rooftops creating an orchestra of droplets. A meadow isn’t green; it’s brushed with strokes of emerald splendor.

Imagine tasting colors or hearing fragrances. Let these prompts unlock your mind’s eye. Your readers aren’t just reading; they’re stepping into another world – yours!

Using Prompts for Writing Dialogue

Ate Two Quill Pens Engaged In A Lively Conversation, Surrounded By Thought Bubbles Filled With Various Symbols Representing Different Genres Like Mystery, Romance, Fantasy, And Drama

Dialogue isn’t just about conveying information; it’s a tool for character development and plot progression. When you’re using prompts for writing dialogue, focus on ‘dialogue realism’ and the ‘character’s voice’.

Imagine yourself in their shoes. Would they use big words or stick to simple slang? Do they have an accent that you can hint at through spelling and sentence structure?

Remember, every spoken word builds your character’s identity. It’s not just what they say, but how they say it that reveals their personality. The goal is to create engaging conversations that feel real to your readers as if they are eavesdropping on a private chat.

The Impact of Prompts on Writing Style

Riter With A Glowing Light Bulb Emerging From It, Surrounded By Different Styles Of Pens And Papers, All Cascading Into A Swirling Vortex Of Color

Stepping away from the chatter of dialogue prompts, let’s dive into the deep waters of how prompts can shape your writing style. Yes, you’ve got it—we’re exploring ‘Prompt Dependencies and Evolving Styles’.

Prompts aren’t just creative sparks; they could subtly influence how you spin a tale. Here’s why:

You adapt to different Prompt Dependencies , sharpening diverse aspects of your craft.
Prompts challenge you to write outside your comfort zone, evolving your style.
They help highlight strengths and expose weaknesses in your technique.
The constraints imposed by prompts often fuel creativity, enhancing storytelling abilities.
Experimenting with various prompts refines versatility, embracing an eclectic mix of styles.

The Connection Between Prompts and Emotional Engagement

Holding A Glowing Pen, Ink Transforming Into A Heart, With Diverse Human Figures Entranced By Its Luminescence, Standing On An Open Book

You might not realize it, but those intriguing cues you engage with can significantly heighten the emotional engagement in your narratives. They’re not just prompts, they’re sparks that ignite a bonfire of emotion within your storytelling.

Emotional resonance isn’t about crafting a plot; it’s about creating an atmosphere so palpable, your readers can taste the tension or joy in every word.

The magic lies in imbuing each character and scene with emotional authenticity. That’s where prompts come into play. You see, they challenge you to explore uncharted emotional territories and weave them seamlessly into your narrative fabric. They nudge you towards nuances that’d otherwise remain hidden, making for richer storytelling.

Overcoming Writer’s Block With Creative Prompts

Ered Writer'S Desk, Crumpled Papers Strewn About, A Glowing Light Bulb Hovering Over An Open Notebook, And A Green Path Leading From The Desk Into A Vibrant, Imaginative Landscape

When it’s like pulling teeth to get the words flowing, turning to imaginative cues can be your salvation from the dreaded writer’s block. Prompt selection and prompt evolution become your saviors in this bleak landscape of stalled creativity.

Consider these strategies:

Use prompt selection to choose a theme or situation that sparks your interest.
Allow for prompt evolution , letting one idea lead naturally to another.
Delve into character development prompts; they can reveal surprising paths for your story.
Don’t discount non-fiction prompts. Real-life situations often inspire compelling narratives.
Experiment with genre-specific prompts. They may open up new storytelling territories you’ve never explored before.

Tips to Create Your Own Writing Prompts

Ook With A Feather Quill Poised Above It, A Lightbulb Glowing Brightly Above The Quill, And Scattered Crumpled Papers Symbolizing Discarded Ideas Around The Notebook

Let’s dive into some handy tips for crafting your own engaging cues to inspire your storytelling.

Begin with prompt personalization; it’s about making the prompt uniquely yours. Think of experiences, thoughts, or ideas that only you can explore and weave them into your prompts.

Next, consider prompt categorization. This involves grouping prompts based on themes or genres. It’s not just a way to organize but also stimulates creative thinking by setting boundaries within which to play and innovate.

Lastly, ensure versatility in your prompts. They should be capable of inspiring different types of writing – from poetry to prose, fiction to memoirs.

Creating prompts isn’t just about overcoming writer’s block; it’s an exercise in creativity itself. So go ahead, make it fun!

So, you’ve dived deep into the world of creative writing prompts. Now you’re armed with techniques to generate ideas and strategies to conquer writer’s block.

Remember, these prompts are meant to spur your creativity and evoke emotion. Don’t shy away from crafting your own! They can drastically refine your style and keep your pen moving.

Embrace this exciting tool in your writing journey – let’s see where it takes you!

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Writing Prompts By Genre: 250+ Creative Writing Prompts For Book Ideas

POSTED ON Apr 12, 2023

Written by Angelica Hartgers

Writing prompts are powerful vessels for jumpstarting your creativity, and planting the seed for your next book idea.

Dealing with writer’s block or self-doubt as a writer ? Experiencing a creative rut? Looking to improve your writing development? Experimenting with a new genre? Stuck on finding a book idea? Looking for your author voice?

No matter which of those situations you are struggling with as a writer, you might find your answer in some creative writing prompts.

These original writing prompts can be categorized in nonfiction and fiction groups. There's a long list of genres you could write within. And here, you'll find creative writing prompt topics for nearly all of them!

Here are the best creative writing prompts for writers to use:

Business Writing Prompts
Self-Help Writing Prompts
Memoir Writing Prompts
Health & Fitness Writing Prompts
Family & Relationships Writing Prompts
Horror/Thriller Creative Writing Prompts
Romance Creative Writing Prompts
Mystery Creative Writing Prompts
Sci-Fi Creative Writing Prompts
Fantasy Creative Writing Prompts
Historical Fiction Creative Writing Prompts
Sentence Starters Creative Prompts

What are writing prompts?

Writing prompts are story-starters that are used as a guided learning or creativity exercise to help writers get started with a new idea or story.

Often used in an educational setting for students learning to practice writing specific genres, creative writing prompts are also used by advanced writers and authors who are experiencing writer’s block or are in need of inspiration.

Writing prompts are designed to get people to think, by providing a starting place for a story premise or book idea, which can be further developed using the writer’s own imagination and creativity.

There are many benefits to using creative writing prompts as a frequent writing exercise, both for seasoned writers and those just starting out.

Here are some benefits to using writing prompts:

Fight writer’s block. Next time you don’t know what to write about, or aren’t able to produce any writing for your current work-in-progress, try your hand at a writing prompt.
Guide your inspiration. Writing prompts often help writers discover new topics by allowing them to start a story from the prompt, and finish it in their own way. Writing prompts can also inspire deviations from the story, or additional writing material, that the author can tap into.
Identify new genres. Sometimes it’s beneficial to try your hand at a genre you’re not used to writing in. It can help you discover a topic you never knew you might enjoy, or it can further solidify your strength in your current genre. Either way, it’s good to get out of your comfort zone.
Jumpstart a book idea. Writing prompts can incite a new story or book idea for you. If you’re having trouble figuring out what to write a book about, experiment with some writing prompts and see if anything sticks.
Improve writing development. Part of improving your writing craft has to do with experimenting – especially when you’re in a writing rut. Dabbling in new genres, practicing how to show and not tell , and using writing prompts you’d never think to write about, can also help you identify opportunities to strengthen your writing, and increase your versatility as a writer.
Sharpen creative skills. Creative writing prompts help you hone in on your creative skills. By starting with a story idea from a writing prompt, you’re forced to develop the story through your own imagination and creativity.
Practice poetry. Sometimes, a great way to get the creative juices flowing is to write some poetry. You don't need to put it out into the world (though you might find yourself looking up how and where to publish poetry after!), but it can help you with your prose.
Experiment with tone. There are many different tones in writing , and it can take years to establish your own as an author. Writing prompts can help you arrive there quicker!

How to use creative writing prompts

The process of using a writing prompt is loose, as they are designed to be used in a way that benefits you as the writer most.

You can be as structured, or as flexible as you choose when using one of our writing prompts. That means you can start with a writing prompt, think of your own premise for the story, and get to writing your own detailed account. Or, you can use all of the details given in the writing prompt, and answer the prompt exactly as you see fit. It’s up to you!

However, if you’re not sure where to start, and need some beginner’s guidelines, there are a few tips we can provide.

Here’s how to use creative writing prompts:

Use pen and paper. If you’re struggling with writing block, I encourage you to use pen and paper to really get your creative juices flowing.
Choose a writing prompt. Read through some possible creative writing prompts, taking note of any that spark your imagination. Then, you can choose which one calls out to you most. Alternatively, if you’re having trouble deciding, you can choose a random writing prompt and challenge yourself to write about
Pick and choose your own details. Some writing prompts include specific details to incorporate in your story. Don’t feel boxed in by your writing prompt; if you want to omit certain details or events and replace them with your own creative idea, feel free to do so.
Time your writing. Once you have a prompt chosen, set a timer for 15-20 minutes and challenge yourself to not stop writing until the timer goes off. This will prevent you from overthinking the prompt, and will ensure you stay focused.
Expand your own ideas. Use the writing prompt as a seed for your story, but develop it in your own creative way. The key to successfully using a creative writing prompt is to help your own brainstorming process, so it’s okay if you veer off from the writing prompt and take a different direction with your story and characters. You can even use character bio templates to expand your own ideas.

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Nonfiction writing prompts.

If you're on the hunt for the best nonfiction writing prompts to exercise your creativity and help you brainstorm some book ideas to write a nonfiction book , then start with this category.

Here, you'll find a variety of nonfiction topics, from business and self-help, to relationships, wellness, and memoir topics.

Business Writing Prompts

Write about the biggest lesson you’ve learned in business.
Write about how you have failed in business, and how you overcame that failure.
Write about the biggest mistake you made in your industry, and what you learned about it.
Write about how your industry can impact lives across the world.
Write about the top authorities in your industry and what you can learn from them.
Write about how you got started in your industry, and how others can learn from your process.
Write about industry secrets that can help other people grow their authority.
Write about how businesses in your industry can maximize their profits.
Write about what you’ve learned in your industry, and educate readers on how to
Write about opportunities for innovation in your industry.
Write about the top qualities an authority in your industry must have to succeed.
Write about the top issues in your industry, and how readers can avoid them.
Write about how to empower others in your industry, and why it’s important.
Write about the future of your industry, and how readers can adapt to the changes.
Write about the history of your industry, and how it has shaped the present and how it will shape the future.
Write about a major time period in your industry’s progression, and the lessons from that time that can be learned and applied today.
Write about common fears in your industry, and how others can overcome them.
Write about the common stressors in your industry, and how others can manage this.
Write about a time when you had to start over in your career, and the lessons you learned that can help readers.
Write about how to generate ideas in your industry.
Write about how to be a better leader in the workplace.
Write about the importance of company culture, especially in our digital age.
Write about the secrets to sustainability in your industry.
Write about decision making in your industry, and how others can make better decisions.
Write about the habits of authority figures in your industry, and what others can learn from them.
Write about the failures of authority figures in your industry, and what others can learn from them.
Write about the successes of authority figures in your industry, and what others can learn from them.
Write about the key to productivity in your industry.
Write about the key to creativity in your industry.
Write about the key to working smarter in your industry.
Write about how to think big, and when to think small, in your industry.
Write about what you wish you knew now when you first started in your career.
Write about setting up a successful atmosphere to thrive in your industry.
Write about something big you accomplished in your career, and share your blueprint for success.
Write about developing a team, and how to successfully work with others.

Self-Help Writing Prompts

Want to know how to write a self-help book ? Start with these prompts:

Write about a time when you had to start over in your life, and what you learned from that.
Write about why it’s important to break the rules in life sometimes.
Write about how to generate creative ideas.
Write about the secrets to gaining unshakeable self-confidence.
Write about the secrets to gaining lasting happiness.
Write about the secrets to developing laser-focus in work and life.
Write about the secrets to living a regret-free life.
Write about the secrets to creating lasting love.
Write about the power of forgiveness, and how others can tap into this.
Write about the power of gratitude, and how to apply it to daily life.
Write about critical thinking, and strategies for improving critical thinking skills.
Write about how to reduce everyday stress and anxiety with practical tips.
Write about effective communication, and how others can communicate more clearly.
Write about your creativity process, and include strategies for how to be more creative.
Write about the secrets to a successful relationship, and how anyone can be a better partner.
Write about how to stay disciplined, and why most people fail at self-discipline.
Write about society’s hustle culture, and why working hard is good or bad.
Write about your favorite country or travel destination, and what you’ve learned from the people and culture.
Write about the key to being a more productive person, and how it can transform others’ lives.
Write about finding your passion, and how others can discover their purpose.
Write about the power of positive self talk, and how others can implement it in their daily life.
Write about dealing with anxiety.
Write about dealing with change.
Write about creating an atmosphere of peace.
Write about controlling the controllables for happiness.
Write about controlling the controllables for peace.
Write about something a big goal you’ve accomplished, and share your blueprint for success.
Write about finding inspiration, and teach others how they can find it, too.
Write about how to better understand the people in your life.
Write about the art of simplicity in life, and how others can benefit from it.
Write about decision-making and the best practices for making big and small decisions in life.
Write about the power of tapping into your imagination, and why it’s so important for people, including adults.
Write about the importance of truth, and how others can be more honest with themselves and the people in their life.
Write about dealing with life transitions, and strategies to improve adaptability when things change and its out of your control.
Write about how to regain control in your life, and what to do when you’ve hit rock bottom.
Write about finding your identity, and how people in your niche can discover themselves again.
Write about the purpose of life.
Write about how an individual can increase their confidence.
Write about how the fear of rejection has been holding you back and what action you can take consistently everyday to break this fear.
Write about 7 daily habits that can increase your self esteem and make you feel unbreakable.

29 Memoir Prompts

Write about a big goal you’ve accomplished, and share your blueprint for success.
Write about a major time when you had to start over in your life, and what you learned from that.
Write about the greatest lesson you’ve learned so far in life, and how others can learn from your life.
Write about one of your biggest regrets, and teach others going through the same thing how to deal with it.
Write about the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make, and what you’ve learned from that process.
Write about a traumatic experience in your life, and how you have dealt with it.
Write about a time you failed, and how you were able to rise up.
Write about a major event in your childhood, and how that shaped you as an adult.
Write about the saddest time in your life, and encourage others who are going through similar situations.
Write about the happiest time in your life, and the greatest thing that moment has taught you.
Write about the most influential people in your life, and how they helped shape the person you have become.
Write about how you have developed self-love, and why it’s important to have a relationship with yourself first.
Write about your journey towards self-discovery, and share tips with others who are lost.
Write about a time you lost your way in life, and what helped you find your path again.
Write about your spirituality and beliefs, and how you can share your message with others.
Write about the biggest heartbreak you experienced, and what it’s taught you about love and life.
Write about the time you broke someone else’s heart, and what it’s taught you about loving others.
Write about a time you experienced compassion, and share how others can be more compassionate in their own life.
Write about the biggest self-defining moment in your life thus far, and how you’ve developed from the experience.
Write about your biggest accomplishment, and how its helped you banish self-defeating thoughts and behavior.
Write about a toxic relationship you had, and how you were able to overcome it.
Write about an influential travel experience in your life, and what it taught you about yourself and others.
Write about the town you grew up in, and how it’s shaped your perspective on life.
Write about how you were raised, and what you learned from the people that raised you.
Write about a significant historical event you lived through, and what others can learn from your experience.
Write about your life’s journey from where you were ten years ago to how you arrived to this point today, and, the most important lesson you have learned on the way.
Write about five life lessons you believe everyone should practice/follow.
There is an experience from your past that has always held you back from thriving in life. Write about what this experience is, and if you were to overcome your trauma, how could you lead the life you've been dreaming of?
There is a saying: “You are the sum of the five people you spend most of your time with.” Write about the people you spend your time with and how they influence your life on a day to day basis.

29 Health & Fitness Prompts

Write about emotional health: what it means, why it’s important, and how.
Write about a time you were very unhealthy, and how you were able to transform yourself.
Write about the secrets to dieting.
Write about diet culture fads, and why they do or do not work.
Write about the idea of health, and how people can shift their priorities to be more healthy both mentally and physically.
Write about the taboo around mental health, and how we can change this mindset as a society.
Write about your struggles with mental health, and help others with what you’ve learned.
Write about your struggles with physical health, and help others struggling with the same thing.
Write about what health and wellness means to you, and share your perspectives with others.
Write about the power of superfoods, and how they can positively affect health.
Write about the health practices in a different country.
Write about an ancient health practice, and what we can learn from it today.
Write about the medicinal properties of certain foods and plants.
Write about how to break free from unhealthy habits.
Write about food production practices, and how they affect the quality of what we eat.
Write about health in children, and how to raise health-conscious individuals.
Write about raising a healthy family while balancing a busy life
Write about a time your health was impacted, and how the experience transformed your life
Write about a time someone you love experienced health issues, and how the experience changed that person’s life, as well as your own
Write about a time you felt unhappy with your health. What did you do to change your mindset?
Write about body acceptance, and how societal expectations affects our mindset.
Write about the influence of culture on health, and how it affects a group of people differently.
Write about a harmful everyday practice, how it affects our health, and what we can do to change it.
Write about dealing with mental health on an everyday basis, and help others understand how to be more compassionate.
Write about the idea of health, and what contributing factors affect our perspectives.
Identify a distraction that is wasting your time and causing you to be very unproductive. Write about your plan to eliminate this distraction from your life, and the positive impact it will have.
Internal dialogue is powerful in developing positivity. Identify your negative internal dialogue and write out your new, positive dialogue to communicate to yourself.
Write out seven ways you can practice self care and why this is important to you.
Write about how vulnerability is keeping you scared. Then, write down an action step to overcome this fear.

40 Family & Relationships

Write about how to build character in your children.
Write about teaching children how to practice self-love.
Write about strategies parents can use to instill healthy habits in their children.
Write about the secrets to balancing discipline and friendship as a parent
Write about the concept of soulmates, and why the idea is helpful or harmful in our society.
Write about how to find friends as an adult.
Write about the importance of having a support group.
Write about the dangers of toxic parenthood.
Write about the dangers of toxic relationships.
Write about the dangers of toxic friendships.
Write about the power of compassion in marriage.
Write about the importance of compromise in relationships.
Write about dealing with heartbreak and starting over.
Write about the idea of dating in the digital age.
Write about co-dependence and why its toxic.
Write about breaking up with a friend, and why it’s necessary sometimes.
Write about disciplining children in a positive way.
Write about instilling a positive mindset in the youth.
Write about developing your child’s uniqueness.
Write about the struggles in parenthood and how to stay sane.
Write about the beauty in parenthood and how to make it last, even when your children are being difficult.
Write about sibling rivalry and how to cultivate a healthier sibling relationship.
Write about how to be a better parent.
Write about how to be a better daughter/son to an aging parent.
Write about how to be a better friend.
Write about dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Write about your journey to find love and what you’ve discovered along the way.
Write about developing healthy and nurturing relationships.
Write about the importance of self-confidence in finding love.
Write about the importance of self-esteem in developing healthy relationships.
Write about the importance of mindset on the search for love.
Write about the role self-awareness plays in being a better parent.
Write about the importance of communication in relationships.
Write about the red flags in a failing relationship, and how to save it before it’s too late.
Write about the idea of being single, and how to embrace it in a society that does not.
Write about the idea of finding the perfect partner, and how this perspective can affect our ability to find someone.
Write about falling in love, and how to keep the fire alive in a relationship.
Write about the importance of expectations in relationships.
Write about disagreements in friendships, and how to overcome and learn from them.
Write about different styles of parenting, and how to identify which type you are.

Fiction Creative Writing Prompts

Now it's time for the creative fun. Use these fiction creative writing prompts to explore new genres, practice your creative writing development using literary device examples , and get inspired to venture off into a new fiction story.

These fiction writing prompts are categorized based on genre, so you'll find topics for horror or thriller stories, romance writing prompts, historical fiction topics, Sci-Fi and fantasy prompts, and story starters.

While we provide the prompts, it's up to you to expand on your own ideas, create exciting plot twists, and fully develop your elements of setting and characters.

16 Horror/Thriller Prompts

Write about your last nightmare.
A couple is awoken at the witching hour (3 AM) by three forceful bangs at their front door. When they call aloud to see who's there, no one answers, but a demonic snarl can be heard from outside.
Waking up from a slumber with eyes still closed, your character stretches their arms out, only to hit a cold body next to them. They live alone.
You made a late night trip to the gas station, and it’s pouring down rain as you stand outside in the empty parking lot, holding the nozzle to pump gas. Suddenly, a hearse pulls up slowly next to your car, and when you glance over, all you can see is bright red eyes glaring at you from the driver’s seat.
Your character just finished the night shift at work. As they walk through the empty parking lot towards their car, its eerily silent and they can’t help but feel like someone is watching them. The hairs on your character’s arms start to stand up, even though it’s a relatively warm night. Your character quickly jumps into their car, starts the engine, and begins to drive home. As they look up into the rearview mirror, a sinister, smiling face appears behind them.
Two kids venture off into the woods behind their neighborhood, scouting for a place to build their tree house. Before long, they see the streetlights of their neighborhood come on in the distance, which is a sign that it's time to head back home. As they gather their belongings to make the trek back home, they hear a twig snap behind them, and a guttural voice whisper, “You can’t leave yet – the fun’s only just begun.”
Ten thousand dollars to own a 3 bedroom cabin? It was a once-in-a-lifetime deal, that you, as a new real estate investor, just couldn’t pass up. But in order to secure your purchase quickly, you had to skip the house tour. Now that the home was purchased by you, it was time to start the renovations. But first, you had to do an in-depth survey of the house to see exactly what work needed to be done. As you enter the creaky, old home, a rancid smell fills your nostrils and in the dark, dusty corner of the entryway, you notice a large, fat rat chewing boldly on a piece of bloody flesh.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house. There was a creature stirring, but it wasn’t a mouse…Write about a holiday visitor who isn’t jolly or nice, and who brings gifts nobody would ever dare to ask for.
A young family on vacation joins an excursion to a beautiful, remote beach. As they run into the ocean to splash around, they notice something dark lurks in the water, and it doesn’t look like a creature that belongs on Earth.
Choose a scary story that you were told as a child, and add your own frightening twist.
After a lifetime of waiting, your character has finally found the love of their life. But things turn sinister when one night, your character discovers that their new-found love must eat raw human flesh in order to stay alive.
Her mind was racing, but she knew she had to conceal her fear. As she turned to face him, she noticed his eyes. They were colorless, and taunted her without saying a word.
They weren’t raised to believe in ghosts, ghouls, or demons, but the darkness that began to possess their once-loving father couldn’t be explained any other way. It all happened after he brought home the newest novelty for his antique collection: an 18th century wooden cross, said to belong to a woman that was tortured and hung for committing witchcraft.
Vampires, werewolves, and witches. He knew they were the stuff of fiction, or at least, he thought he knew, until tonight.
It’s time to put your nine-year-old to bed. As you tuck the child in, pulling the blankets over her shoulders, you can’t help but notice the fear in her eyes. Concerned, you ask her what’s going on. “She visits me every time I fall asleep. Can’t you make her stop?” she whispered in fear. When you probe your child for more details on who this woman is, and what she looks like, your blood turns to ice. She sounds exactly like the woman from the nightmares that plagued your own childhood.
It was love at first sight – for her, anyway. After years of being single, and sought after by all the eligible bachelors in town, everyone was surprised when Mr. Ezra came in, seemingly out of nowhere, to swoop her off her feet. He was tall, dark, and handsome, and everything she always dreamed of finding in a man. After a brief two weeks of dating, she announced that they had wed in secret. Not only that, but she would be leaving town with him, to start a new life. Little did they know that they would never see her again. Little did she know that the man of her dreams would soon become the man of her nightmares. And he was dead set on making her wish she’d never been born.

15 Romance Creative Prompts

An exchange student goes to a foreign country to live for a year abroad, with high goals to learn the language and culture. Little does she know, she’s actually there to learn a lesson on love, from none other than a foreign classmate who has a strong distaste for outsiders like her.
Your character is widowed, left to raise two young children on his/her own. When it’s least expected, someone from the past comes back into their life. But things aren’t all that they seem, and falling in love again is the last thing on her to-do list.
A restless man going through a midlife crisis. A free-spirited woman ready to embrace graceful aging. They butt heads often, but can’t seem to leave each other alone for good. Can they survive through something that threatens to tear them apart forever?
They were childhood friends that hardly left their small hometown, and now they are distant strangers that live in two opposite parts of the world. When a tragedy calls them back home, they feel like they never left each other. How do they hold on to one another when they live two very separate lives?
It’s the day before their second marriage anniversary. As he’s making plans to celebrate, he gets a call from his doctor with news that will change their lives forever.
Years of heartbreak and relationship failures have left her disillusioned with the idea of love. But one chance meeting with someone new makes her question her ideology forever.
He’s a serial dater that enjoys the chase. She’s a serious achiever with a distaste for men like him. What happens when their two worlds collide?
She’s carefully designed her life’s milestones, and is dead set on sticking to her plan. When she meets the man of her dreams and marries him after two years of maintaining a long distance relationship, she’s in for an earth-shattering awakening that not even she could prepare for.
She’s a successful powerhouse business owner. He’s a humble trades worker who’s never been to college (and has no desire to ever do so). What started out as a temporary fling for fun has turned into a passionate love affair. But what happens when things settle down, and their everyday lives go on?
As the caretaker of their ailing parent, who has no one else in the world to rely on, your character has put their life aspirations on hold to uphold their family duty. So what happens when love comes knocking on their door unexpectedly?
They were childhood sweethearts that grew up together, and have been inseparable ever since. Now that they have entered the next chapter as adults, their family and friends have urged them to get married. But the night before the wedding, the couple suddenly realizes that they are no longer in love. Where do they go from here?
Rich man, poor girl. It’s a story as old as time, but what happens when there’s a modern twist to it?
A young couple is ready to welcome their first child into the world, when a violent war suddenly ravages their town. The young man is forced away to defend his country, and the pregnant young woman is left to face the harsh winter alone. How can they keep their love alive?
She’s never been in love, but she’s plagued by vivid memories and dreams of a man who seems so familiar, only she’s never met him. Could she have a lover from a past life that haunts her from another dimension?
Think of a famous love story that’s always intrigued you. It could be from history, or from your own experience. Now imagine a new ending for it, and write your own version of the story with a twist.

10 Mystery Prompts

The crystal clear blue waters. The bright green foliage. The black sand beach. This would be the last thing she saw before she died, and no one would ever know.
He went missing twelve years ago. He was just a boy, then. After years of searching for him to no avail, his parents – now in their old age – have succumbed to hopelessness and heartbreak. That is, until a visitor arrives on their doorstep in the pouring rain one stormy night. The visitor looks like their son, but something is very, very different…
Your character goes for an evening stroll every night after dinner. She passes by each of her neighbors homes down the quiet street, until she gets to a fork in the road and turns back around. Only tonight, she goes on her usual walk, and decides to take a left at the fork instead of turning around. What she discovers is sure to wake the sleepy small town from their slumber.
A high profile lawyer on the hunt for justice, he’s adamant about defending his client, accused of committing a crime no mother could ever commit. Or can she?
She’s an experienced detective with years under belt, solving the city’s most horrific crimes. As she digs deep on the trail of one of the most sinister serial killers she’s ever dealt with, she begins uncovering some details that brings the case too close to home.
Research your favorite unexplained mystery, then re-write the story with your own twist and turn of events.
Your character is on a mission to discover the truth about his/her birth parents, two people s/he has been shielded from ever knowing any details about. On a quest to self-discovery, your character learns the truth, and it can be summed up in three words: Murder, lust, and greed. Write about your character’s journey towards discovering where they came from, and the shocking truth they learn along the way.
Today is your birthday. You wake up, ready to celebrate with your family and friends, but things get weird when you discover that the year you thought it was, doesn’t seem to be right.
You are house sitting for your best friend, who you’ve known your entire life. One quiet evening, you rummage through the library in search of a good book. Instead, you find a chest of photos that piques your interest. The chest is full of old photographs featuring your best friend, dressed in old attire and surrounded by people from long, long ago.
While driving home in the pouring rain one night, you spot a young girl, dressed in all white, on the side of the deserted highway. You pull over to give her a ride home, but she doesn’t know who she is, why she’s here, or where’s she going.

11 Sci-Fi Creative Writing Prompts

Earth is dissolving, and it’s up to you to get all of the remaining human children to the new “home” for humans – a newly inhabited planet that mimics Earth’s environment. The issue? The planet is twice as small as Earth, which means there is only room for half of the children in the spacecraft you’ve been given.
Your character is a scientist for NASA, and is on the edge of developing a cutting-edge breakthrough technology that will allow humans to be transported to space in half the time. The only problem is, the process ages humans twice as fast…
The sun burns too bright, causing people to go blind the moment they catch a glimpse of the sun’s rays. This means that humans have learned to avoid the sun, living out their days in protective pods to shield them from the sun. But now, there’s a plague that’s quickly spreading amongst the population, and there seems to be only one cure: a look at the sun.
You live in a futuristic world, almost 300 years from present day. Technology has taken its toll on evolution, and the only way to communicate with other humans is through a digital screen.
The world as we know it is over, and you’re the leader of this new era. Decide how you want to rule society, and what type of world you will create.
Your character starts the day off like any other day. She wakes up, brushes her teeth, then walks into her closet to get dressed for work. Only today, she opens her closet door to find a wide-eyed woman standing there, dripping wet as if she has been rained on. She says her planet is at war, and she has been sent to bring you back home with her, for you are the only one with the power to save her people.
Research one of Earth’s unknown mysteries or conspiracy theories. Now, re-write it through the lens of someone who knows all the answers, and has a powerful reason for keeping it all a secret…
Virtual reality meets the real world. You live in a society where there’s a fine line between who is actually a real person, and who is not.
Your character is an expert researcher that’s been chosen to lead a submarine journey to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. Uninhabitable by humans, the team witnesses sea life that’s never before been seen by man. But things take a turn for the worst when they realize a massive creature has claimed a death grip on their submarine vessel.
You’ve been given the task to create the perfect species, but in your effort to do so through multiple experiments, you’ve given life to an army of children who are far from perfect.
You’re exiled to a new planet, and you can only take 3 people with you. Who do you take and why?

12 Fantasy Writing Prompts

An expert diver, your character takes a trip to a remote island to explore all the underwater sights he’s read all about in books and documentaries. When he takes a diving excursion to a cave known for its colorful color, exotic fish schools, and vivid sea foliage, he stumbles upon a secret cave door. What it leads to is a bustling seaworld that’s quite literally, straight out of a storybook.
A device has been invented that can solve any of mankind’s problems – big or small. The catch is, that along with a solution, comes an even bigger problem…
You wake up one day to discover that you have been transported to the world from your favorite book. But you quickly discover that things aren’t all that they seem…
You come from a long line of witches, dating back to the 12th century. But a modern day witch hunt is now in full effect, and to save your life, you must find a way to give up all of your powers.
Your character suddenly finds themself in an alternate dimension, where everything is backwards. How can they make sense of this new world, to find their way back to the dimension they actually belong in?
Think of your favorite superhuman. Now, imagine that they use their powers for evil. Write a story featuring the dark side of your superhuman’s character.
Every morning, your alarm sounds off at 6 a.m. Only this morning, instead of the usual beep beep beep to wake you, a voice comes over the alarm and announces, “Today is the day you will say goodbye to everyone.”
Time no longer exists, and the worlds of the past, present, and future have collided, meshing them all into one. Write a fantasy story about this new world that exists – and the pitfalls that come with not having any boundaries within time.
Your character unexpectedly gives birth to a healthy baby boy. What’s strange is that your character was only pregnant for two weeks, and she didn’t even realize it. As the baby grows, she starts to notice that she has quite an extraordinary child on her hands, and she must protect him from those who know he exists.
A dream-like world where everything seems to go your character’s way. He’s happy, peaceful, and surrounded by those he loves. But one day, he discovers that this isn’t in fact the world that he belongs in…and those that really love him desperately need him to return.
You’re given the chance to build your own character taking five of the best traits from people you know. What traits do you take from whom?
Your memory is erased and you have to start learning from scratch. (You can still feed and clothe yourself.) What is the first thing you want to learn and why?

10 Historical Fiction Writing Prompts

Write about a specific folklore tale from your cultural background, but add a special twist.
Imagine your modern-day character suddenly finds themself in the past. Not only that, but they are the neighbor to a famous historical figure. Write about a significant event in the historical figures life with a modern day twist.
Your character is caught between love and war. A passionate crusader with a prominent position in a revolutionary war, they fall in love with someone across the enemy lines. Do they give up their fight in a cause they stand so strongly for, or say goodbye to the one person they would give up their life for?
Research a significant event from your favorite time period. Then, create a character who was there to witness it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Write a story from this character’s point of view, sharing how the event changed their lives forever.
You’re given the opportunity to travel back and time to a significant moment in history. Write about where you go, what you see, and who you meet.
Your character is a factory worked living in Victorian London
Think of a time period you would never wish to live in. Now, imagine you suddenly wake up living in that era. Write about your experience from the perspective of someone who is actually living the reality you have no wish to be part of.
Write about a character that was born a slave, and is the mastermind behind a dangerous mission to lead others to freedom.
Research a historical figure who is considered a real-life villain. Then, write a story from their lover, or spouse's perspective.
Research the history of your favorite place (city, country, etc.), then write a story from the perspective of a character who witnessed how the place as you know it came to be.

20 Sentence Starter Prompts

The unrelenting sun beat down on his forearms, and all he could think about was how cold he felt inside.
A sick feeling caused by strong alcohol on an empty stomach, mixed with unsettling anxiety, caused her to crouch over in discomfort. But she couldn’t stop now.
The clock struck three, and it was as if the entire world turned upside down.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh. The dryer violently spun the wet clothes around, and
He wasn’t sure what the crying creature was, but he knew it couldn’t be human.
He stared at her, staring at him. And in the blink of an eye, an insatiable fury seemed to paint the sky blood red.
The spacecraft zinged through the blackened bubble, and as she looked outside the window, she couldn’t help but feel the gravity of her eternal loneliness.
No one knew him more than she did, but there were things she simply could not look past.
This place was home – it always had been, so why did it feel so strange?
The tapping of the keyboard was all she could hear in the empty office, and the room seemed to start spinning around her.
A fast heartbeat, thumping uncontrollably inside his chest, was all he could to react; after all, this was the greatest moment of his life.
“This is your moment, and you can either rise to the occasion, or crumble to your shortcomings,” the speaker said over the intercom.
They were the only ones who knew the truth, and try as they might, they couldn’t forget that fateful day, even when they desperately wanted to.
Despite the enchantment, her intuition gnawed at her core, warning her that this was a very, very bad idea.
Today is the day you realize your entire life is going to change forever because…
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her eyes widened in horror; how could she have let herself say such a thing?
The storm raged on outside the window, and the world in all its chaos was truly coming to an end, just like they had warned.
The sun looked blood orange as it lifted off the horizon, and she knew the time had come.
“Your heart belongs to me,” said the stranger in a hushed, yet familiar tone.
Ding dong. He ran to get the door, and when he looked through the eyehole, as was his habit before unlocking it, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Once you've had your fun with these writing prompts, it's time to get started with your new book idea and start writing your book, so that you can move on to self-publishing your book and sharing it with the world.

There is a world of readers waiting for your story. It's time to start writing.

Whether you used these creative writing prompts to help brainstorm what to write about, or fight writer's block, it's time to actually sit down, grab your pen or keyboard, and get to writing a captivating story.

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45 Creative Business Ideas For Entrepreneurs Who Love To Write

Seeking to start a business with writing skills but not quite sure what to start?  

The good news is, there are so many opportunities to become an entrepreneur and build a creative service in this line of work.  

If you're looking to start your own business with writing skills, there are several low-capital options you can choose from.  

We put a list together below of the most profitable business ideas for entrepreneurs who love to write, that you can start today!  

Here they are:  

1. Build an iPhone app

The iPhone is the most popular mobile device in the world. It has changed how we interact with information, entertainment, and communication.

The iPhone has also changed the way we interact with each other. Since its release in 2007, it has become a staple in most people’s lives. It is more than just a phone; it is a tool for staying connected to friends and family and creating new connections.

The iPhone app market is an ever-changing landscape of innovation: it’s not just about making something that works well; it’s about creating something that stands out from the crowd.

It would help if you had something that appeals to your audience to succeed in this market. This can be as simple as ensuring your app has a catchy name or as complex as developing an entire brand identity around your app’s functionality.

How much you can make: $150 — $2,000,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $6,500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week

Payment.co, an app built on top of the Stripe payment gateway for creating card-present charges, has grown to process over $70M in volume annually since launching in 2015, with the app collecting a 1% service fee on every single charge.

2. Start a content writing company

Content writing involves writing, editing, and publishing content in a digital format. Examples of content include a blog post, product description, and podcast script—eBooks, press releases, or landing page content.

Becoming a content writer allows you to work as your boss. Therefore, you choose whatever working schedule suits you and take a manageable workload. Moreover, content writing helps you develop essential skills you may not obtain from regular writing.

Content writing is a highly-on-demand service, as companies compete for the online audience who often begin their shopping journey by searching for relevant and educative content online. Therefore, a content writing company is an excellent source of passive income.

To start a content writing company, research the market and choose a suitable niche. Sketch a proper business plan and create a website. Hire a pool of talented writers and leverage modern technology to streamline operations.

How much you can make: $1,000 — $250,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $600 (?)

How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)

Scribly.io, a subscription-based copywriting service providing high quality content that helps businesses scale at roughly 50% of the cost of hiring in-house, created by Dani, a first-time entrepreneur who started with just a few hundred dollars worth of projects and with the help of three other writers; as of last month, Scribly.io topped $14K monthly revenue.

3. Start a film production company

A film production company is responsible for producing video content for social media, corporate promotions, television programs, commercials,s or other media-related fields. Ideally, the responsibilities of a video production company include scripting, location scouting, and also logistics to ensure a successful film.

Starting a film production company can be a daunting task. However, you can set up your business for success with proper guidance. Here are important steps for creating a video production company:

Determine the company niche
Choose a suitable company name
Draft a solid business plan
Hire an advocate to lead all legal matters of starting a company
Fund your business
Acquire video production equipment and skills
Create a website and market your film production company

If you are starting a video production company from scratch, consider creating some proof-of-concept projects so you can market the business. Alternatively, you may buy a franchise or an existing business.

How much you can make: $10,000 — $1,500,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 165 days (?)

Lemonlight CEO, Hope Horner, co-founded an on-demand video production company that has produced over 7,000 videos for more than 3,000 brands, generating over $6 million in sales and growing to a 45-person team, all without taking any outside capital and being recognized in Inc 5000 and Entrepreneur 360 for three years in a row.

4. Become an author

Becoming an author is an exciting journey that involves creating and publishing written works, such as books, novels, or articles that reflect one’s ideas, stories, or expertise.

You can establish yourself through traditional publishing routes or self-publishing, utilizing your literary skills to connect with readers and potentially earn revenue from book sales.

Traditional publishing involves submitting a manuscript to a publishing house or literary agent who will review and decide if it is suitable for publication.

On the other hand, self-publishing gives authors complete control over the publishing process, allowing them to publish their work independently and market it on their own.

You can generate income through book sales, royalties, and opportunities such as speaking engagements or workshops.

How much you can make: $200 — $9,259,259/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 75 days (?)

This case study follows full-time thriller and action-adventure author Nick Thacker who earns between $10k to $20k per month from writing, predominantly through Amazon Kindle Unlimited sales, and goes in-depth into his self-publishing strategy which maximizes sales and minimizes costs, such as developing a mailing list and utilizing print-on-demand services.

5. Start an amazon business

How much you can make: $3,000 — $1,175,000/month

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

Felony Case, a Toronto-based company designing unique iPhone cases, started as a small shop on Etsy and has grown to become an internationally recognized fashion iPhone case brand sold in top tier retailers like Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, Indigo, Urban Outfitters, Revolve, Free People, and made over half a million dollars in revenue last year.

6. Start a freelance writing business

Freelance writing can be a good career choice if you are looking for a flexible online job.

Working as a freelancer gives you the flexibility to define your work schedule. You can work from home at any time. Freelance writers work across various niches, writing about various topics assigned by the client,

To earn good money as a freelance writer, you need the following personal qualities:

Strong writing skills
Ability to meet deadlines
Stay on the cutting edge
Be a self-starter
Be up-to-date with the current writing tools & writing trends
Proper communication skills

How much you can make: $700 — $320,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $400 (?)

How long does it take to build: 53 days (?)

How David Tile turned a freelance writing gig into an $80k/month business, discussing lessons learned through managing growing demands and maintaining a remote team operation.

7. Start a journal brand

A journal is a newspaper or a magazine that covers a particular subject or a professional activity based on the author's thoughts and feelings. The beauty of journaling is there is no right or wrong way to start.

The approach depends on your personal experience and can take many forms.

Find a journaling habit that works for you and create a writing routine. Get creative and journal about anything that comes to mind, so long as it interests your target audience.

How much you can make: $200 — $150,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 105 days (?)

Chasing Planner Peace is a planner company that has expanded from selling planner inserts on Etsy, to offering a one-stop shop customizable planner experience with over 300 inserts, a planner line, and various other related products, gaining a monthly revenue of around $25,000 at its busiest time of year.

8. Start a niche blog

Starting a niche blog can be a great way to engage with a passionate online community by sharing your expertise on a specific topic.

The first step is to identify a profitable and underserved niche, such as fashion, video games, film reviews, cooking, and more.

Find your niche and create unique and informative content, such as articles, commentary, news, how-to guides, top product lists, convention coverage, video interviews, and spotlights.

To monetize your blog, gain visibility and followers, provide affiliate links, grow a YouTube channel, collaborate with relevant brands, and speak at events.

To succeed in niche blogging, you need to have a passion for your topic, create engaging content, and regularly engage with your followers.

How much you can make: $200 — $100,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)

Starter Story grew to 1.4 million monthly visitors and $500,000 in annual revenue, and offers frameworks for growing your own site.

9. Become a proofreader

Proofreading business is a service that helps customers review their written work and ensure it is ready for publication. Typically, a proofreader corrects grammatical errors and provides the written piece meets any relevant style guide.

As a proofreader, you can work online, allowing you to choose what time to work.

If you plan to start a professional proofreading business, make sure you possess the following skills:

Have an excellent grasp of grammar
Ability to correct mistakenly capitalized words
Familiarity with the proper use of capitalization
Use spell-checkers to flag misspelled words

Proofreading is a great way to enhance content quality. With the increased use of written content marketing to reach a broader market, the demand for professional proofreaders has grown tremendously. Professional proofreaders earn an average of $12/hr. And $30/hr.

Therefore, consider proofreading as a business if you are looking for a great side hustle idea or simply looking for ways to increase your income.

How much you can make: $2,000/month

A proofreader was able to build a consistent income of ~$2,000 per month from scratch with zero experience in the field, no expenses, and barely any upfront costs by targeting bloggers and content creators who want their content to be copy edited and proofread.

10. Start a fashion columnist business

A fashion columnist business involves providing fashion advice, tips, and commentary to a specific audience through various mediums such as articles, social media posts, or podcasts. The business owner acts as a fashion expert, offering guidance on current trends, how to style different looks and general fashion advice to their followers.

To run a successful fashion columnist business, it is essential to understand the fashion industry, including current trends and emerging designers. A unique and distinct voice and perspective is also necessary, as this will set the business apart from other fashion experts.

To gain and retain a following, it is important to provide valuable and engaging content consistently. This may include staying current on fashion news and events, collaborating with other fashion industry professionals, and engaging with followers on social media.

Marketing is also an essential aspect of running a successful fashion columnist business. Utilizing social media platforms and building relationships with fashion brands can help increase visibility and reach a larger audience.

Overall, running a fashion columnist business requires a passion for fashion, an understanding the industry, and consistently providing valuable and engaging content to followers.

11. Start a screen writing business

12. build an online research software.

As the business world grows more complex, the need for reliable and effective online research software becomes more important. Online research software can help businesses save time and money by providing access to a wealth of information.

This type of software is used for a variety of purposes, such as academic research, market research, or competitive intelligence.

For example, Trello is powerful online research software that can help you organize and keep track of your research projects. With Trello, you can create custom boards to track your progress on specific projects, set deadlines, and collaborate with other researchers. Trello's estimated annual revenue is currently $15.8M per year .

Online research software is a great tool for businesses looking to better understand their customer base. The data collected by this process can be rich and informative, as it includes insights that help you grow your business in ways other methods may not address as accurately or completely.

How much you can make: $5,000/month

How long does it take to build: 635 days (?)

AcademicInfluence.com helps parents and students find colleges that are a good fit with their revolutionary machine learning system to identify and track the influence of the faculty and alumni, resulting in over 100,000 organic search visits per month.

13. Start a speech writing business

Starting a speech writing business can be a lucrative and fulfilling career for those passionate about language, public speaking, and crafting compelling narratives.

The business involves writing custom speeches for clients in various industries, including corporate, political, academic, and personal events. These speeches can range from formal presentations to wedding toasts and may be delivered to small or large audiences.

To start a successful speech writing business, it is vital to have strong writing skills and an ability to understand the needs and goals of each client. Researching and understanding current events and relevant industry topics can also be beneficial in crafting appropriate and engaging content.

In terms of marketing and building a client base, networking and relationships with event planners and public speaking coaches can be helpful. An online presence, including a professional website and social media accounts, can also help attract potential clients.

To succeed in this business, it is essential to meet tight deadlines and have excellent communication skills to collaborate with clients and deliver high-quality work effectively.

A willingness to continuously learn and improve writing skills is also essential in staying competitive in the market.

Starting a speech writing business can be a rewarding and flexible career for those with a love of language and a desire to help others effectively communicate their ideas and messages.

14. Start a pr consulting business

15. start an e-book writing business.

An eBook business is profitable and flexible, letting you start a business from anywhere, while it is a low-cost business that is easy to start. You can make a living self-publishing and selling eBooks online as long as you are ready to invest your time and money in it.

Anyone can start an eBooks business! Just choose a niche that interests the target audience, and ensure in-depth research.

How much you can make: $2,000 — $42,857/month

How much does it cost to start: $67 (?)

How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)

Content-Whale, a content curation agency, has achieved a Rs. 4 crore ($514k/year) turnover 4-5 years after being started with just Rs. 2500 ($35), and has a pool of more than 500 writers, aiming to become a market leader in the global content market.

16. Become a ghost blogger

A ghost blogger is simply a writer who specializes in producing blogs for other people.

As a ghost blogger, you can earn between $300 and $1,500 per week, depending on word count and topic.

Ideally, the ideas and knowledge contained in the article originate from the publicly named author.

Therefore, as a ghostwriter, your role is to put the ideas into words.

How much you can make: $450 — $24,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $125 (?)

How long does it take to build: 62 days (?)

Content strategist Lacy Boggs leveraged her love of blogging and desire for a more flexible schedule to grow her business from a solo "Ghost Blogger" to a full agency with four writers and a cabal of contractors that helps businesses create bespoke content strategies and consistent traffic, yielding over a ($300k) year in revenue.

17. Start an online newsletter writing business

An online newsletter is sent to subscribers’ emails regularly to keep them informed about the latest news and updates about their product or brand. You can send the newsletter weekly or monthly depending on the content and your objective.

To start an online newsletter service, choose the email newsletter tool and define the newsletter’s goal. Then, choose the best template for your newsletter and personalize it to meet the reader's expectations.

With a professional strategy, an online newsletter can be a successful business.

How much you can make: $500 — $3,333,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $350 (?)

18. Start a direct mail service consulting business

Direct mail is a form of marketing that involves sending physical pieces of promotional material through postal service or other courier services to a home or business.

The consulting service provider understands the complex nature of direct mail marketing and, as the expert, works collaboratively with the client to create and implement the direct mail strategy that guarantees results.

Therefore, to become a direct mail consultant, you must understand how direct mail works.

To start your business, choose a niche and identify target customers. Then, market your services to your target customers, compelling them why your service is important to their business.

How much you can make: $40,000 — $100,000/month

Concept Marketing Group, a full-service marketing company, started by Barb Ferrigno in 1978, has grown to 6 employees and 8 subcontractors, with 8,000 clients globally and $480k in revenue annually, offering services such as Email Marketing Lists, Consulting, Social Media, PR services, and Business Coaching for the Executive Staff.

19. Start a content marketing business

Content marketing is developing and distributing relevant, helpful content to convert the target customer to take the necessary steps. Businesses with a content marketing strategy get 67% more leads than other companies.

Therefore, the demand for content marketing services is high than ever before. Starting a content marketing service can be a significant business venture.

To start a content marketing business, you need a good understanding of SEO and social media. You can hire content creators to help you develop relevant and valuable content.

How much you can make: $2,000 — $416,666/month

20. Start a business plan writing business

A business plan writing business is a service that helps entrepreneurs and small business owners create well-structured and comprehensive business plans.

These plans serve as roadmaps for their businesses, outlining goals, strategies, and financial projections. Starting a business plan writing business involves skills in research, analysis, and writing.

You’ll work closely with clients to understand their vision and then translate it into a professional document that can be used to attract investors, secure loans, or guide their business growth.

This low-cost business idea requires minimal initial investment, mainly for marketing materials and a basic online presence, making it an accessible option for aspiring entrepreneurs.

How much you can make: $42,857/month

How much does it cost to start: $35 (?)

How long does it take to build: 150 days (?)

21. Start a social influencing business

22. start an online ad creation business.

How much you can make: $2,797 — $100,000/month

How long does it take to build: 183 days (?)

Viewst, a no-code ad design and automation tool, achieved an impressive $56k in just two months and is projected to reach an annual revenue of $1M later this year.

23. Start a writing workshop teaching business

A writing workshop teaching business is a venture where you help aspiring writers improve their skills and become better at expressing themselves through words.

The writing workshop business involves organizing in-person or online classes, where you guide participants through various writing exercises and provide constructive feedback on their work.

You don't need a fancy setup or expensive materials to start this business – just a passion for writing and a willingness to share your knowledge. With minimal costs for marketing and some basic materials, you can turn your love for writing into a low-cost and rewarding business opportunity.

How much you can make: $30 — $208,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $75 (?)

Merrative, a community-driven marketplace for publishing talent, generates an average of $1,500 per month in marketplace transactions from their 5,000+ strong community of readers, writers, journalists, and scholars.

24. Start a social media management business

Similar to virtual assistants, social media managers offer various services, including but not limited to:

Developing a marketing strategy based on clients’ goals
Setting up social media accounts
Posting on behalf of their clients
Coming up with strategies for increasing client’s social media following
Marketing analysis.

To become a social media manager, know the various platforms and understand how they work so you can develop strategies that help clients reach their goals.

The beauty of working as a social media manager is that you can define your work schedule and choose what niches to work on.

How much you can make: $20,000 — $166,667/month

How much does it cost to start: $251 (?)

How long does it take to build: 3 days (?)

A social media manager turned entrepreneur created a program that has brought in almost $100,000 in one year, designed to teach women how to run successful social media businesses in less than 30 days.

25. Start a grant writing business

Starting a grant writing business is a fantastic idea for those skilled in research and writing. This business involves helping organizations, non-profits, and individuals secure funding from various sources, such as government agencies, foundations, and corporations.

To start a grant writing business, you will need to have excellent research skills and be able to write well. You should also understand the grant application process and be able to communicate the needs and goals of your clients effectively.

One of the critical components of running a successful grant-writing business is building a solid network of connections. This includes developing relationships with funding sources, organizations, and individuals needing grant funding.

You must invest in some essential equipment and resources to get started. This includes a computer, printer, office supplies, and a website to showcase your services. You may also want to consider investing in grant writing software to streamline the process and make it easier to keep track of your projects.

As a grant-writing business owner, you will be responsible for researching potential funding sources, writing grant proposals, and working closely with your clients to ensure their successful grant applications. You can build a successful and rewarding business with hard work and dedication, helping others secure the funding they need to achieve their goals.

How much you can make: $42,857 — $180,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $142 (?)

How long does it take to build: 163 days (?)

Learn how a UK-based bid writing and management consultancy grew to sales over $130,000 per month by focusing on their niche market and providing exceptional customer service to clients ranging from startups to multinationals.

26. Start a magazine publishing business on amazon kindle store

27. start a playwriting business, 28. start a copywriting business.

A copywriter creates clear, compelling copy to sell products and/or educate and engage consumers.

To become a copywriter, focus on covering the basics, plan your copywriting business and choose the services you intend to offer.

To develop your brand, establish a marketing strategy, and offer quality services to your audience. Email marketing, newsletters, and other digital marketing tools can help you create a successful copywriting business.

How much you can make: $700 — $160,000/month

How long does it take to build: 41 days (?)

29. Start a novelist business

How much you can make: $10,000/month

How long does it take to build: 240 days (?)

"How this founder created a successful novel-writing software now earning over $60k a year through her passion for writing and background in software, growing from just a few sales a month to over 1000 free trial sign-ups and 100 new subscriptions per month."

30. Start an online course creation business

Starting an online course could be perfect if you want a passive income. Whatever your background, you could start teaching online and earn a passive income.

All you need to start an online course is patience, imagination, and an enabling eLearning platform where you can connect with the relevant audience.

Online courses may take time and require a lot of effort to start selling. However, once your audience finds the content resourceful, they start sharing and recommending it through their network. Remember, creating an online course could take longer than expected, so remain focused and give your best.

How much you can make: $1,666,666/month

Prep Expert's founder built a test preparation platform from his dorm room with just $900 that has since accumulated over $20 million in sales and attracted billionaire Mark Cuban on Shark Tank, due to doubled yearly sales from word-of-mouth marketing and hundreds of points of improvement in students' SAT scores.

31. Start a letter writing business

32. start a zine publisher business.

Zine publishing is an alternative publication by people who want to distribute their ideas without the limitations of traditional magazines. Zine publishers determine the layout, choose images and content, and can take the zine publication in any direction they wish.

Since zine publications are deliberately low-tech, low-cost publications, you can begin the business without particular expertise in a news publication.

How much you can make: $800,000/month

Flipsnack is an online tool that allows anyone to create digital flipbooks and has increased its business revenue by over 50% year over year, with YoY growth rates between 50% - 84%, shifting from a B2C approach and focusing more on B2B.

33. Start a short-story writing business

Are you passionate about writing but not sure which business you can start? If you are creative enough, you could start writing short stories and selling them via online platforms.

Short stories refer to a content category with less than 100 pages comprising approximately 20,000 words.

Starting a short story business takes a lot of legwork and dedication. Choose a niche, and focus on creating attractive and entertaining content. With a serious commitment to your business, you could be on your way to earning a six-figure profit monthly.

34. Start a podcasting business

Podcasting businesses often start as a hobby. You publish a few episodes and posts, and soon you will start getting engagements from interested parties.

However, to earn money from your podcasting business, you need to put a lot of effort and time into producing quality shows that address your audience's concerns.

To grow your podcast business, ensure regular publishing, which brings better growth, more listeners to your channel, and a higher income.

Here is a list of steps to help you transition the podcast from a hobby to a full-time podcast business:

Ensure a focused effort and adjust the tone of each podcast episode
Make podcasting your priority
Focus on building
Grow a mailing list
Aim at building a trusted brand
Develop a long-term growth and marketing plan

How much you can make: $5,000 — $349,983/month

How much does it cost to start: $200 (?)

Empire Flippers is a thought leader in brokering online business deals, having brokered over $50 million worth of deals and grown their pool of potential buyers by hundreds every month through a focus on content marketing and middle-of-funnel content.

35. Start a gaming storyboard creation business

36. start a market researching business.

Market research analysts research, compile, and analyze information on products and market conditions. The experts identify potential new markets, sales opportunities, and effective marketing strategies.

The employment of market research analysts is projected to grow rapidly over the coming years.

If you love helping businesses reach strategic decisions to excel and beat the competition, then starting a market research business can be fun and rewarding.

How much you can make: $15,000/month

How long does it take to build: 550 days (?)

This case study is about Abhishek Kumar, the founder of Deep Research, a boutique market research agency that helps startups gather customer insights and guide their product and growth strategies. With revenues consistently growing over the past 10 months, they have achieved their highest revenue of $15,000 last month through continuous service evolution and increased value.

37. Start a comic writing business

How much you can make: $42,857 — $90,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,517 (?)

38. Start a marketing consulting business

Marketing consulting is a business that helps other businesses and organizations improve their marketing strategies and tactics. The improvement involves conducting market research, analyzing data, developing marketing plans, and offering guidance on effectively reaching target audiences.

To start a marketing consulting business, you will need a strong understanding of marketing principles and how to apply them in a business context. Marketing consultancy requires formal education or training in marketing or a related field and experience working in the industry. You will also need strong communication and problem-solving skills to consult with clients effectively.

To operate a successful marketing consulting business, you will need to be able to effectively assess a client’s marketing needs and develop a plan to address those needs. Managing clients’ needs involve market research, analyzing data, and creating marketing materials such as brochures, websites, and social media campaigns. You will also need to be able to communicate your recommendations to clients and work with them to implement the marketing plan.

In addition to these technical skills, you will also need to be able to manage your business effectively. Managing a business involves setting fees, marketing your services to potential clients, and managing your finances.

Overall, a marketing consulting business can be a rewarding and challenging career for those passionate about helping businesses succeed through effective marketing strategies.

How much you can make: $1,000 — $3,100,000/month

A successful podcast production company that grew from one client making $15/hour to a team of 10 contractors producing over 30 shows per week with revenue of over $10k/mo, primarily through referrals and with a focus on providing high personal touch and being picky about working only with clients who are a good fit.

39. Start a SEM business

40. become a song writer.

A songwriter is a musician who composes musical compositions and writes lyrics for songs. To become a songwriter, you must start writing songs regularly and improve your creativity.

41. Start a website editing service

A website editing business involves helping individuals and businesses improve their websites’ look, functionality, and content.

The website editor business involves tasks like fixing broken links, updating outdated information, improving the layout, and enhancing the overall user experience. You can also offer services like proofreading and editing content to ensure it’s clear and error-free.

To start this business, you’ll need basic knowledge of website platforms and editing tools, which can be acquired through online resources and tutorials. With minimal upfront costs, such as a computer and internet connection, you can launch this venture and provide valuable services to clients seeking to enhance their online presence.

How much you can make: $6,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $50 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

This case study is about an engineer who developed a free online HTML editor that generates a passive income of $6K per month and owns over 40 websites with a total of roughly 8-10 million monthly visitors.

42. Start a product description writing business

A product description writing business is a service where you create compelling and informative descriptions for products that are being sold online.

This type of business involves using your writing skills to craft engaging content that helps potential customers understand the benefits and features of a product.

You can start this business with minimal investment, mainly requiring a computer and internet connection.

To get started, you can offer your services on freelance platforms or reach out to e-commerce businesses directly, offering to write product descriptions for their online store.

As your business grows, you can expand your services to include additional writing tasks and potentially hire other writers to help meet the demand.

How much you can make: $2,000 — $100,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $100 (?)

Apna Writer is a content writing service that has seen exponential growth from 1-2 new clients a month to at least 20 new clients a month, all due to providing reliable and quality content writing services that help clients achieve their business goals.

43. Start a story blogging business

A story blogging business is a venture where you write and share engaging stories online.

It involves creating content that captivates readers and keeps them coming back for more.

To start, you'll need a computer or smartphone, internet access, and a platform to publish your stories, which can be a free blog or social media.

You can generate income through methods like ads, sponsored content, or even selling merchandise related to your stories.

This low-cost business idea relies on your creativity and writing skills to build an audience and turn your passion for storytelling into a profitable venture.

How much you can make: $1,500 — $75,000/month

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner earns $100,000 a month from Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance and lifestyle blog where she writes informative and fun articles about financial freedom and her life on the road, thanks to a diversified traffic approach and monetization strategies, such as affiliate marketing, sponsored partnerships, and course sales.

44. Start a transcribing service business

How much you can make: $3,000 — $200,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,050 (?)

A South African entrepreneur started a transcription and typing service business from home in 2005 with a few basic marketing strategies and solid service, despite challenges in a tough economic environment and the pandemic, and is making a success of virtual working with versatile services.

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24 Creative Business Ideas for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

D o you want to start a business that pads your wallet and fuels your creative personality? Keep reading; we have a mega list of creative business ideas!

Before I began my blog, my quest to earn a good living and do something I loved felt futile. I had always enjoyed helping people, traveling, and writing, but I could never figure out how to practically apply my passions to a career that would pay me a decent wage.

Many times I thought I had it figured out. But once I began the work, I slowly lost interest and started searching for my next gig. I couldn't figure out what to do professionally.

Through the process of leaving the work world to become a stay-at-home mom, I eventually realized what I wanted. Aside from my desire to be at home with my daughter, I also longed for a career that would offer me flexibility, good pay, and a creative outlet.

Fast forward to today. I'm able to spend lots of time with my family, I earn more than I ever made as a nurse, and I get to call the shots and nurture my creativity.

The good news is nowadays; it's a lot easier for individuals with creative personalities to start a business that they are passionate about.

If you're ready to be in charge of your career direction and work on passion projects, here are some creative business ideas to inspire your entrepreneurial journey.

If you love to create worksheets, planners, coloring sheets, gift card holders, or any other digital products, you can make good money with a printable business ! For this business, you don't even need any graphic design skills! You can use a free platform like Canva to create printables to sell on sites like Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers .

One business owner who earns over $1,000 a month selling printables on Etsy is Cody Berman . On his Etsy shop, he sells digital printables. Cody has been so successful at this side hustle that he started teaching others how to start their printable business from home!

2. T-Shirt Designer

Graphic tees have made a comeback. Whether you love to share and promote great designs from others or you're a design guru yourself, there are many companies to help make your t-shirt design dreams come true.

Companies like Spring and Spreadshirt can help you get your designs onto shirts and on the bodies of your customers, earning you a commission on every shirt sold. Most companies also offer the opportunity to print your designs on other items, like mugs , stickers, posters, and more. If you have an idea for a catchy saying, cool graphic designs, or funny drawings, designing t-shirts might be the home business you're looking for.

3. Photography Business

If you're a skilled photographer, stock photography is in high demand, and there are many buyers and platforms who will pay you a commission, give you assignments, or buy photographs you've already taken. Sites like Shutterstock and Getty are a couple that pay for stock photos.

Don't have a fancy camera? No problem. Smartphone apps like Foap will allow you to upload photos from your smartphone to their site. Each time one of your photos sells, you earn money.

Check out this article for more ways to make money selling photos .

4. Photo Book Designer

If you're more into scrapbooking than photography, you can use your creative skills to earn money by creating photo books. Using scrapbook design software, you can get creative by helping others organize their photos so they can archive them in a keepsake book rather than being lost in the digital abyss.

With smartphones and digital cameras, people snap hundreds, even thousands, of vacation photos, pictures of their kids, and holiday moments … but those images just sit there. Scrapbooking takes time and talent, so if you've got the eye for it, you can create beautiful masterpieces, earning you money while having fun.

Here's an interview with three photo book designers so you can see how they got started. In fact, Rachel Jenkins of ScrapMyPix says she receives a large portion of her business through referrals and networking. She started scrapbooking while working on a baby book for her son. She says, "It was a perfect creative outlet for me. As I was putting those pictures to pages, I thought, 'I wish people would pay me to do this.'" If you've got a talent for organizing photos and digital scrapbooking, photo book design might be perfect for you!

5. Web Design Business

If you have experience in website development, you know it can be a very creative process. Some people cringe at the idea of learning HTML, navigating through the land of platforms, and web hosting. But if technology doesn't frighten you, this can be a lucrative and creative way to earn money from home.

If you enjoy website building , your services can be extremely valuable to bloggers, sellers, and other online business owners. Even if you have to outsource some aspects of the process (such as logo design to a resource like Fiverr or Upwork ), you can do much of the page designing and layout yourself with your creative skills.

6. Graphic Designer

While graphic design is competitive and working for an agency often requires a degree or extensive experience, there are still plenty of ways for you to make money from home in graphic design .

Self-taught designer Karen X. Cheng says, "I got my job as a designer without going to design school. I had hacked together my own design education in 6 months while working a full-time job … To be clear, I'm nowhere near as good as those design prodigies that come out of a 4-year education at an elite school like RISD. But I'm definitely good enough to do my job well. I'm the only designer at Exec [the startup firm where she works], so I do a pretty wide range of things – visual and interaction design, print, web, and mobile app design."

If you have design experience and think you're ready to take it to the next level, look at online design job options from sites like Dribbble , FlexJobs , and Legiit to see if you can find the right opportunity. Alternatively, you can advertise your services and showcase your portfolio through your own website and by working your network.

7. Freelance Writer

Writing from home is an excellent way to express your creative side and hone in on your talents. There are tons of platforms out there to help freelance writers connect with job opportunities. Try looking at Freelancer or FlexJobs to get started.

Alternatively, you can write blog posts for a variety of paid outlets. Head to BloggingPro or ProBlogger for job listings and writing opportunities. Need advice on how to build your work-at-home writing career? Make a Living Writing has your answers. You can also check out our comprehensive list of paid writing opportunities .

And don't feel you're limited to writing articles and blog posts. There are many opportunities for you to express your creative side with writing -- such as writing greeting cards, poems , recipes , resumes, ghostwriting , copywriting , e-books , and more.

8. Event Planning

I love the idea of being an event planner—and in fact, I considered it as a career option at one point. It's so much fun to plan parties, set up for guests, and think up different themes, foods, and decoration ideas . As a work-at-home event planner, you can help with major events like weddings, fundraisers, and large-scale gatherings or small events like children's birthday parties and showers. Find your area of expertise and build from there. Think of a niche before you begin, then start networking!

Word-of-mouth can be great advertising for any event planner , particularly if you want to work within a small area (like within your neighborhood, school, or church). Once you get your foot in the door with one event, reach out to others, pass out your business cards, and see where it takes you.

When it comes to making money from home, blogging has grown by leaps and bounds. If you enjoy writing and sharing your thoughts and ideas online, blogging is an excellent way to earn money. You can choose a topic you're passionate about, work on your own schedule, and make money with advertising, sponsored campaigns , affiliate marketing, course sales, freelance services , and more!

If you aren't sure how to get started, download my free e-book, Blogging Success . Consider what you would like to blog about and look for your particular niche and style. Once you have a plan, check out this post on to how to build your blog with WordPress. Don't worry; you don't need a tech background to get started.

From there, you’ll need to develop a regular writing and posting schedule. Be sure to include the best SEO techniques on your site and in your articles. Then build your network, and promote your posts using social media and email marketing .

10. Crafter

DIY and craft mavens can use their talents to sell their wares from home. You can sell your handmade items on sites like Etsy. These sites are simple to use, increase your exposure, and help connect you with potential customers.

However, if you want to grow your brand, you'll eventually need to create your own online shop. Use an e-commerce website builder like Shopify. With these platforms, you can sell directly from your site and promote your products via social media, blogging, and email marketing.

It's important for those running a craft business from home to remember to connect with local vendors and market spaces as well. If you live in a town with a farmer's market, local festivals, and craft fairs, these events are great opportunities to get your products in front of potential customers and increase your exposure.

12. Start a YouTube Channel

Do you enjoy creating videos, slideshows, and tutorials? YouTube is one of the most popular social media platforms, and there's big money for those who can turn out entertaining and helpful videos.

Most YouTube creators make money from affiliate marketing, sponsored campaigns , and Google Adsense . To earn money through Google's ad monetization, you'll need at least 1,000 followers and 4,000 public watch hours, so it's important to post content that's engaging, well-put-together, honest, and helpful.

Wondering how much you can make as a YouTube Star? Check out Judy Travis' story ! She's earning over a million dollars a year creating YouTube videos, amazing!

12. Fashion Designer

If you're a seamstress, a fashionista , or have an excellent eye for sewing and detail, becoming an online fashion designer might be a great business idea. You can create and sell your items on your own website or set up shop via a third-party platform like Etsy.

Need help launching your fashion line? Lisa Springsteel Dupré has some excellent tips and advice in this post.

12. Illustrator

Are you great at making ideas come to life through drawing? Book publishers, web designers, and authors are looking for your talents! If you have a passion for drawing, you can find illustration work through companies like Avatar Press and Cricket Media .

You can also submit your designs to Rubber Stamp Madness and Teacher Created Resources or join a site like 99 Designs .

Check out listings on Upwork for comic artists and illustrators as well.

Another option is to watermark your illustrations and sell them on Etsy for download. As your creative talents and connections grow, you may want to explore joining a professional illustrators organization such as the AOI .

Similar to selling crafts , sewing, or photography, your business as an artist will vary by your area of expertise. If you enjoy painting portraits or pictures of animals, you can try your hand as a portrait artist for hire. Advertise online, and talk to other local artists.

Many cities have artist networks and feature open galleries. Talk to local coffee shops, bookstores, and other small businesses about displaying your work for sale. Fairs and street festivals can also be excellent opportunities to display and sell your creations.

Remember, when selling your art, you may want to offer smaller, more affordable options (postcards, prints) rather than only large paintings, especially if you're interested in getting your work in front of people and finding new buyers.

You can also sell your artwork online using platforms like Artfinder and Aftcra . For more online platforms where you can sell your artwork for money, check out this list .

15. Podcaster

If you have the gift of gab, producing a podcast might be your calling. Find your niche and start to brainstorm topics you'd like to discuss. You will need a microphone and some basic audio editing software like Audacity or Garage Band . Once you've recorded and edited your podcast, you're ready to publish. Just find some platforms to host your podcast and then promote it. iTunes is a popular platform, but there are many others to choose from. To make money from your podcast , you can include sponsorships or advertisements.

16. Lip Gloss Maker

Don't think you can make big money selling lip gloss from home? Kylie Jenner has made billions selling her lip gloss and cosmetics. While this is an extreme example, Kiki Quesada has made quite the name for herself on TikTok selling lip gloss through her online shop Kikiz Cosmeticz. Not only does she have fun shades and colors, but she adds glitters and yummy flavors. I'm not sure how much Kiki is earning, but with over a million TikTok followers, I'd say she's doing pretty well.

17. Content Creator

If you enjoy creating content, whether it's writing, taking photos, or filming videos, there are many ways to make money as a content creator! To get started, choose a niche market like crafting, cooking, dancing, woodworking, or something completely different, and start creating content and posting it to social media sites like Facebook, TikTok , Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or even LinkedIn. Competition is fierce between these platforms, and they all have creator funds that will pay you to create content. But creator funds are not the only way to make money; you can work with brands on sponsored content , create UGC for companies, sell your own merchandise and courses, or use affiliate marketing or ads to generate revenue.

18. Calligrapher

When I was younger, I had a calligraphy set. And even though I spent hours trying to master my craft, I never was able to produce the gorgeous handwritten script that was shown in my book. If you have beautiful handwriting , you can make good money with a calligraphy business. You can sell your services addressing wedding invitations, selling SVGs on a marketplace like Etsy, or even creating fonts to sell online.

According to Career Explorer , a calligrapher earns an average of $61,580 per year, with some making as much as $115,020 annually.

19. Slime Seller

When my daughter was in elementary school, she loved making slime! She spent hours each day making slime and filming videos. Little did I know that she was selling the slime at school and making quite a fortune! The slime that is being sold today looks nothing like what my daughter was selling. Some companies make slime baking kits where you combine slime ingredients that look like real food products, such as eggs and butter. Then you combine all these slime ingredients into a finished pie or cake. It's wild how far slime has come!

One company that makes these ingenious slime kits is Slime Community . They release new slime kits on TikTok, and they are always sold out. They recently had a Thanksgiving slime kit that sold for $39.99. If you're looking for a fun side hustle that you can do with your kids, being a slime maker might be your calling.

20. 3D Printing Business

If you have a little money to invest, starting a 3D printing business is a great way for creative entrepreneurs to express themselves. With a 3D printing business, you can create prototypes for other entrepreneurs, 3D printed parts for digital nomads who are building out their vans or can design your own products to sell, like planters, toys, puzzles, coasters, organizational products, and tools. Once you have some products, you can set up a shop on Etsy, which will only cost you $0.20 per listing. You can cross-promote your Etsy listings on your social media accounts to reach more potential clients.

Austen Hartley is one entrepreneur who makes money using a 3D printer. In 2021, he earned over $100K from his 3D printing business! He has a helpful YouTube video if you're interested in pursuing this profitable business idea.

21. Cricut Entrepreneur

Another unique business idea is becoming a Cricut entrepreneur. If you're unfamiliar with Cricut, it is an intelligent cutting device that can cut materials like vinyl, paper, leather, wood, iron-on fabric, and more. These materials can be used to create custom coffee mugs , labels, sweatshirts, cards, decor, and so much more!

Melanie from Simple Made Pretty is one entrepreneur who used a Cricut machine to launch her own business. She started creating one-of-a-kind greeting cards and selling them on Etsy. Today, she also runs her blog, showcasing DIY and craft projects.

If you're wondering what crafts you can make with a Cricut, check out this list of ideas .

If you have a great voice and enjoy acting, voice acting is a great way to make money and use your creative talents. As a voiceover artist, you can narrate TV and radio commercials, audiobooks , educational films, phone prompts, and more.

For this career, you'll need to invest in some equipment, such as a high-quality microphone, audio interface, pop filter, and recording and editing software like Audacity or Garage Band. And most importantly, you'll need a quiet space to record your clips. You can use acoustic sound panels, purchase a portable recording booth, or even use a closet to accomplish this.

To find voice-acting jobs , you can check out Voices.com , BunnyStudio , and Voice123 .

23. Soap Maker

Another creative small business idea is becoming a soap maker! In fact, according to Quicken , the average US consumer spends $60 a month on personal grooming supplies, making this a potentially lucrative business venture. From all-natural soaps and shampoo bars to specialty soaps for people with skin care concerns like eczema, there are many different niches you can target with this online business idea.

Once you have the soap-making part down, set up an e-commerce website on Shopify, or use an online marketplace like Etsy , Amazon Handmade, or eBay . You can also choose to sell locally at farmer's markets. Check out this detailed post for more info on starting a soap business from home.

24. Charcuterie Board Business

One new business idea that's become extremely popular is the charcuterie board business! This is a fun and creative way to combine your passion for food and creativity into one unique business. From doing small-scale events like birthday parties and anniversary parties to large events like weddings, you can do this business full- or part-time, depending on your financial goals. Specialize in appetizer boards or dessert boards; the sky is the limit with this creative business idea. Check out this article for more inspiration on running a charcuterie board business from home!

Creative Business Ideas Wrap-Up

There are so many great ways for creative personalities to earn money from home. As you think about ways to make money, consider what you really love and what truly speaks to you. What talents do you have? What makes you feel the most fulfilled? After all, one of the secrets to success is to love what you do!

Are you making money from home by doing something creative? We'd love to hear what you're up to and how you've found success!

Ready to start your business? Grab our FREE Simplified Business Plan Template , which will walk you through the questions and steps you need to take to get your creative business off the ground!

Holly Reisem Hanna is the Founder and Publisher of the award-winning career website The Work at Home Woman.

Do you have a creative personality? Are you having a hard time figuring out how to practically apply your passions to a career that will pay you a good wage? Here is a fantastic list of home business ideas for creative personalities.

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365 Creative Writing Prompts

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100 Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Writing

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#1: DON'T Limit Yourself to Prose

#2: DON'T Edit as You Write

#3: DO Interpret the Prompt Broadly

#4: DO Try Switching Up Your Writing Methods

#5: DO Mix and Match Prompt Ideas

#6: DO Try to Write Regularly

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