


What if they were different? What would that look like and how would it work?ģ) Use your day job: If you feel like you have the most interesting job on the planet, well, perfect! It shouldn’t be hard to use it as plot-fodder for a great short story. Take in your surroundings and ask yourself why things are the way they are. But if you can return to this sense of curiosity and wondering you had as a child, you can find a treasure trove of short story ideas to be found.

90% of the prompts included in our writing prompts newsletter are inspired by simply staring out a window and watching people go by.Ģ) Forget what you already know: Have you ever become trapped in a “but why?” loop with a child? It’s enough to make your head spin or an existential crisis occur. There are therefore a countless number of stories to be found by observing human nature. All stories, even ones about robots or plants, have some element of humanity at its core. Here are four of our go-to tricks when thinking of interesting things to write about.ġ) People-watch: Hands down, this our favourite way to come up with story ideas.
Short story writing prompts how to#
We get it: writing prompts are an excellent resource, but you want to know how to come up with your own story ideas, maybe even ideas for a book-length project. How to come up with short story ideas yourself It reappears with a bite taken out of it. A team of scientists have successfully teleported an apple.The last person on earth celebrates their own birthday.Pick a genre and then write about a long walk home after school.

A wand-maker goes to the forest ready to work, only to find a group of environmentalists camped out in front of their favorite hemlock tree.Write about the way the sunset looks from the perspective of two characters.Today, you receive something completely unexpected from your future self. Amazon has invented time travel and introduced pre-emptive shipping.Have your protagonist make that choice, and then see what happens. Write a story that draws from a moment in your life where you wish you'd made a different choice.One person can read minds, the other person can see the future.
Short story writing prompts series#
A romance told through a series of texts.Turn one of your grandparent's old stories into fiction.Here are our favorite bite-sized short story ideas: So if you’re seeking a short story idea, we’ve got you. also for you!Įveryone who writes short stories out there knows that short stories are different - and not just because they’re, well, shorter. A magician, a troll, and a college student walk into a bar.You open a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant.A character dials a number on their phone. Money really does grow on trees and is heavily regulated by governments.Instead of trying to get a man on the moon, every nation raced to be the first at the very bottom of the ocean.But you have to use the wish for someone else. A group of villains go on a team-building retreat.Want a story idea right away? No problem! Here are our top ten favorite story ideas for you to use:
