20 Creative Writing Prompts to Spark Your Imagination

A person writing on a piece of paper with a red pen.

Looking for inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Writer’s block effects everyone but sometimes all you need is the right prompt to spark your imagination. 

Below are 20 creative writing prompts designed to help you write more freely, spark fresh ideas, and challenge your storytelling skills. Grab your notebook or open a new document and start writing!

20 Creative Writing Prompts 

1. You receive a letter that wasn’t addressed to you. Its contents are shocking, and now you have a choice: ignore it or intervene. What happens next?

2. In a future where humans have nearly disappeared, you are the last person alive. Describe your routine, struggles, and emotions as you attempt to survive – and find meaning – in this strange, empty world.

3. You’ve been given a gift that allows you to pause time for 5 minutes once a day. How do you use this newfound ability? Does it bring joy, chaos, or both?

4. While exploring an old attic, you stumble across a locked journal. Inside, you find the story of a long-lost relative who lived a double life. What secrets did they keep, and how do they affect your life today?

5. Write about a world where one historical event went differently – what if the Titanic never sank, or the internet was never invented? Explore how this change impacts daily life.

6. You have a recurring dream about a mysterious place. One day, while going about your regular routine, you accidentally stumble upon the same location in real life. What do you do?

7. You wake up in someone else’s body for one day. Who are they, and how do you navigate their life? What challenges arise as you try to blend in?

8. Write a story about a character who faces a life-altering decision. They must choose between two very different paths – one safe, the other risky. What choice do they make, and what are the consequences?

9. Your character is hiking deep in the forest when they come across something strange – a perfectly normal-looking door, standing alone in the middle of the woods. What’s behind it?

10. Your character has had a secret superpower since childhood but has never used it publicly. One day, they must reveal it to save a life. What happens?

11. During an archaeological dig, your character unearths an ancient artefact with mysterious inscriptions. Soon, strange occurrences begin happening around them. Is it a blessing, a curse, or something else entirely?

12. Write a short story from the perspective of an animal trying to communicate something important to its human owner. What challenges does the animal face, and how do they express their message?

13. Write about a time when you met someone who completely changed your perspective on life. How did they influence your path?

14. One day, your character notices something strange: their reflection seems to have a mind of its own, moving independently. What is the cause, and what does the reflection want?

15. A scientist makes a small, seemingly insignificant mistake while they time travelled to the past. But when they return to the present, everything is different. What changed, and how do they fix it?

16. Your character wakes up one day without memory of the last year. Slowly, they piece together what happened and uncover something shocking about their recent past.

17. One day, the characters from your favourite book step out of its pages and into the world. How do they adapt to modern life, and what adventures follow?

18. Your character moves into a new house and discovers a hidden door in their basement that leads to a mysterious underground world. What do they find on the other side?

19. What if your character could control fate? Every decision they make has a ripple effect that changes the future. How do they use this power, and what are the unintended consequences?

20. Start your story with this dialogue: ‘I swear, if you open that door, there’s no going back.’

A notepad with some writing on it. Next to it is a blue pencil.

Ready To Write? 

Remember, there are no rules when it comes to creative writing. Feel free to take any of these prompts in whichever direction your creativity takes you – whether it’s a short story, a poem, or the beginning of a novel. Happy writing!

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