Writing Prompts

Write a story or poem mimicking the language used in your favorite classic novel!

Think of your favorite natural place - from the local park to the open ocean - and use it as inspiration for a short-form story or poem.

Write a short story (fewer than 300 words) featuring two different characters. Once you've written from one perspective, rewrite the entire story from the other character's point of view.

Use the lyrics from your favorite song to create a shape that relates to the content of the song.

Write an acrostic (a vertically written poem in which the first letter of each new line spells out a new word or phrase) using the letters from your first and last names.

Write a short story without using (the) word "the!"

Write a short piece recalling your earliest childhood memory without filling in any extra details!

In anticipation of the new academic year, write a short story describing where you want to be by the end of the year. What goals will you have accomplished? How will you have changed as a person?

Create a new word and a dictionary-style definition describing what it means.

Think of a question that has one obviously correct answer, and then create a completely different answer with a reason as to why yours is the correct one.

Create a makeshift telescope from a sheet of paper and describe what you see looking through it!

Ring in the first month of autumn by making a unkept list of fall must-do’s this year!

Write about the last time you had a hard time falling asleep. What was keeping you awake? What helped you calm down?

Create a poem or short story inspired by the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. Check out our Instagram for some great examples and a fun playlist to help get you in the mood!

In light of our Spooky Story Contest announcement, write a short story or poem using the following word as inspiration:

’Hallucination’

Write a personal narrative that incorporates elements of fiction! Let a dragon crash your birthday party, or have your friend turn into a super-hero halfway through the story — the choice is yours, so have as much fun with it as you’d like!

Choose one of the three previews we’ve posted of our Winter Issue 2023. Using only the brief excerpt included in each respective post, finish the rest of the story or poem!

Write a poem about graffiti - what makes it unique from any other medium? How does society and art culture perceive graffiti artwork? What kinds of artists make graffiti? Are there any metaphors or symbolic connections you can think of surrounding graffiti?

Write a thank-you letter to a past ugly (a playground tyrant, a mean teacher, a toxic sports coach, etc.) detailing how they shaped you into the person you are today.

Write a murder mystery set behind the scenes of a popular broadway musical!

As the long winter months begin to materialize on the horizon, write a goodbye letter to the season of autumn. What memories did you make this year? What are you looking forward to next fall?

Francisco Goya’s “Black Paintings” are a series of 14 gothic pieces emerging from the Romantic era that depict the newly-deaf artist’s deep-seeded fears of insanity and the horrors of mortality while conveying a sharp criticism of post-Napoleonic Europe. The paintings are defined by their dark hues and gruesome subject matter. 

Create a personal interpretation of Goya’s “Black Paintings”— whether this manifests in a collection of short stories, poems, or artwork — that explore the darkest recesses of your conscience. 

Write about a character who is in the process of healing, whether it be from a physical injury or a more abstract sort of trauma. After you've finished, take moment to look back at your work. How does this particular story or poem reflect your own experiences? What has your character learned through the process of healing that is important for you to remember within your own life?

Create your dream Christmas list! What are you hoping for in 2024? Who would you like to meet? What types of goals would you like to achieve?

Write 12 short poems assigned to each month in 2024. These poems should reflect the hopes, innermost thoughts, and affirmations that you think you'll need to remember most around that time of year.

Use your skills as a creative writer to bedazzle your most recent school essay! Mix in characters, dialogue, plot twists, a more authentic tone of voice - anything to make your writing sparkle!

Write a poem or short story inspired by all things fashion! What is your favorite outfit to wear? What are you wearing right now? Where were your clothes before you bought them, and how did they get there?

Write a journal entry as your 5-year-old self! What did you used to care about? What were your passions and hobbies? How have you changed between now and then?

Write from the perspective of a game piece in your favorite board game! Wage royal war in a round of chess, navigate the monotony of your daily existence in the Game of Life - whatever you choose, you're guaranteed to rekindle prized memories while crafting an innovative story.

Write a story beginning with the line: "You're not supposed to be here."

Write a story without putting pen to paper! Try to formulate an entire plot line by working everything out by mouth - and (of course!) don't forget to record your results!

Write a fictional breaking news story! Feel free to write your piece as realistically (or as unrealistically!) as you'd like. Write the story in traditional editorial form, as an op-ed, or even as a mockumentary-style news clip.

Recreate a scene from your favorite movie as a short story or poem. Be sure to include essential dialogue and mannerisms while taking your own selective creative liberties!

Write a work of micro fiction centered around a character who wakes up to a wholly empty world.

Write a story about a gardener who finds something strange buried beneath their land. Perhaps a cryptic message sealed in a bottle? An artifact from their past? A great evil that has been waiting to be unearthed?

Create a college or job application for a character from your favorite novel or short story (including any character you've ever written in your own work!). What qualifies this figure for the opportunity they are applying for? How will this experience change them as a person?

Write from the perspective of a complete stranger observing your own life from afar.

Flip to a random page in a novel you've never read before and write your own story that contextualizes the given excerpt!

Write a story in your first language before running it through Google Translate! How does your work resonate in a different language?

Write a story about a portal to a different universe found in the unlikeliest of places.

Write a story about a writer writing a story about writing a story!

Create a narrative told from the perspective of a past author writing about our current reality as a work of dystopia.

Write a series of haikus inspired by the six primary colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). What sorts of emotions does each surface within your own conscience?

Exchange story ideas with a fellow teen writer and make each other's concepts come to life! When you're done, be sure to share the finished product with your partner.

Write a short story following two complete strangers trapped in the same car on a long road trip. How did each person end up where they are? What do they do to fill the silence?

Write a one-scene interaction between two characters from the third person during which no dialogue is exchanged. Try to lean into your skills in properly setting the scene, illustrating facial expressions, and using subtle literary techniques to communicate the mood.

Write a poem or story that appears literal upon first read but, in actuality, is rich with symbolism and other literary devices indicating a far deeper significance.

Write up a faux-syllabus for a class that doesn't actually exist! Feel free to stretch your imagination - maybe it's a crash course for aspiring witches and wizards, or perhaps it's a selective boot camp for novice alien hunters. The choice is yours! How is the class graded? What materials are expected of each student? What does a final exam look like?

Write a story in which the protagonist discovers a mysterious message in a bottle. Where exactly was the strange bottle found? What can we glean from the message inside? What is our character to do next?

Write a story following the first-person perspective of a protagonist as they prepare to propose to their significant other.

Use a random word generator to find the title of your next poem! Whether or not the selected word is directly used in the poem is entirely up to you, but it should tie substantially into the content of the piece in some way.

Write a short story about an excursion to a remote tropical island gone wrong. Maybe our protagonists find themselves stalked by a mysterious rabid creature? Perhaps the tempest of the great wide sea strikes just before departure? It's entirely up to you to determine how the island hunts its prey.

Write a short story about a mysterious crater found by the protagonist in the middle of the wilderness. How was the crater formed? Ow does your trusty main character react?

Write a short story or poem depicting the transition between the Summer and Autumn seasons. How does this natural evolution parallel the human condition?

Write a letter to your past self, directly referencing the experiences and life lessons that have informed the person you are today. Then, craft a letter written by your past self in response!

Craft a narrative centered around a family recipe passed down through generations. Explore how this simple list of ingredients is capable of encapsulating an entire cultural or familial identity, and how our protagonist in drawn closer to their roots through the simple act of creation.

Create a literary comic strip in which each frame is entirely written rather than illustrated. For extra credit, hand off your comic strip to an artistic friend and ask them to craft a visual representation based exclusively off of your written descriptions!

Write a short story about a teenager who is recruited for a top-secret mission by the government on account of a niche, apparently useless talent!

Write a short story following the perspective of a hermit residing in a remote cabin during an apocalyptic alien invasion.

Write a story set in a world where humans hibernate through the winter. For whatever reason, your protagonist is aroused from his or her slumber early — what is it like to witness the snowy face of the earth for the first time?

Write a crossover story in which two of your favorite original characters are brought together for a special adventure.

Time to get artistic! Draw or digitally illustrate a brand-new world for your next best fantasy story.

After returning from a romantic getaway, a couple decides to process the photos stored in their Polaroid camera. Upon further inspection, however, they begin to notice that perhaps their week in paradise wasn’t exactly what it seemed.

Write a short story following the perspective  of a narrator who wakes up in a brand new universe where everything is spoken in musical number!

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