100+ Creative Writing Prompts & Writing Tips in 2024 [Updated]

Good with Words?

Once I happened to watch a video of Professor Patrick Barry, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Law School where he said  “Writers are not sacred, Words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you might change the world.”

That is the power of writing. It has superpowers equivalent to Superman’s ability to fly, Wolverine’s ability to heal, Voldemort’s ability to kill, or Wonder Woman’s ability to understand and speak every human language. 

Take for example the age-old cliche-Nothing is Impossible. The sports giant Adidas changed the order to – Impossible is nothing and it became a mantra.

What is Creative Writing?

Well, it’s an art. The art of making things up.A writing that is not meant to be academic or technical, but still attracts the audience. Loosely it can be defined as any writing that is original and self-expressive. Here, the purpose is to both entertain and share life experiences and the most important tool required for such writing is -your imagination.

Types of Creative Writing

• Fiction(novels,novellas,short stories)
• Poetry
• Plays
• Movie and Television scripts
• Songs
• Speeches
• Memoirs
• Travelogues
• Personal essays

Can Creative Writing be Taught?

Though at the surface it seems like whether you have it or you don’t, but actually, there are two viewpoints regarding this question-

1. One suggests that it is an innate and instinctive skill.
2. The other suggests that it is an acquired skill that must be taught until you have adapted the skill and can produce original work.

Scope of learning Creative Writing 

Though studying a creative writing Course may not be an instant ticket to a high-flying job but it sharpens problem-solving skills and teaches you to wade through various genres of creative writing. It taps into your creative energy that leads to self-expression.

Check Henry Harvin Other Courses

• Technical Writing Course
• Content Writing Course
• Medical Writing Course
• Henry Harvin Provide Creative Writing courses in these Cities

Mumbai, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Chennai, Delhi, Noida

• Henry Harvin Creative Writing Course Ranks #1 in India by India Today

What Are Creative Writing Prompts

Yes, you love writing. People love your social media posts and many have encouraged you to take them up more seriously. You have even done courses to hone your skills.

 But if there is one thing more frustrating than not being able to crack an egg neatly, then it is having the time to sit in front of a computer and not have the words to be creative. This is historically known as “writer’s block”.

It has little to do with commitment toward writing or writing skills. It mainly stems from a lack of inspiration and fear of comparison with other writers that lead to procrastination and loss of productivity

Here comes to your rescue creative writing prompts and fiction writing prompts. These are like our new directory.

Why do you need Creative Writing Prompts??

1. To give the writer an idea or a potential topic to write on.
2. To give a set of instructions on what should be done next. 
3. It can be suited to any form of writing, be it fiction, non-fiction, journaling, copywriting, blogging, or poetry. It is mainly a trigger to set the creative juices flowing.
4. Creative writing prompts and fiction writing prompts can come in the form of a phrase, image, or in some cases even a physical object. 
5. They are like a pre-match warm-up, that helps to relax the muscles, unfreeze the imagination, and stimulate your mind to focus on the finale without any fear or hesitation.

Understanding your Writing Prompt

Before you start on the journey of taking a cue from the various writing prompts, answering the following questions would help you understand them better-

• What writing form does your writing form demand?
• What is the main reason for this prompt?
• What information from the prompt should you use?
• What are the settings or conflicts that you can add?
• What audience are you targeting?
• What’s in it for the audience?

Refer to the following YouTube Video-

https://youtu.be/imekKj6V2K0

How to use Writing Prompts

Creative writing prompts act as a beacon when you are searching your way through the dark alleys of doubts and dilemmas. But you need to be smart to not let the light misguide you. If a prompt suggests horror but it sparks an idea about a comedy, write a comedy. 

Some more useful tips-

• Avoid overthinking. Just start writing
• Don’t let your ego get in the way. If a prompt is not working for you, move to the next.
• Creative writing prompts are just the starting point, the end is up to you. You don’t necessarily have to finish an entire poem or story.
• Don’t get too attached to your writing at this stage, this is just for practice. Just write even if it is trash-worthy.

Here are 100+ creative writing prompts to give you a kick-start

Fiction Writing Prompts

Fiction is literature in the form of prose that takes shape using imaginary characters and plots. Though mostly it refers to novels, novellas, and short stories, it also encompasses imaginary narratives beyond the written form -like theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.

Depending on the form of the end product the word -count may be decided.

Before writing, try to envision a skeletal framework of the story with its exposition, rising action, and climax. falling action and resolution.

While writing the story keep these things in mind-

• The basic plot of the story
• Development of various characters
• Usage of dialogue or the effect of lack of it
• Usage of literary devices like similes, metaphors, alliteration, personification, etc
• The overall impact of your story on the audience

Now, let us filter through the different genres that include-

1. Dramatic Writing Prompts

If you want to make the readers have fun and also take a pause to think about what happened, this is the genre you should be writing in. 

1. Imagine you are the virus COVID-19. You get attracted by the grandeur of human life and decide to come live amongst them. But you are heartbroken to see the after-effect Write about your feelings seeking forgiveness from the human race.

2. Write a story about how you would have spent 2019 if you had known about the impending pandemic that would hit the world in 2020.

3. It’s 2 am and you are tossing and turning in the bed. Guilt is not letting you sleep. Finally, you sit up. You know what you have to do.

4 . Write about a character who has gone abroad to study and upon returning is faced with a dark family secret.

5. You had a fallout with your best friend 15 years back and today you will meet him at your school reunion function. Write a story about who would make the first move to patch things up.

6. You come face-to-face with your ex-girlfriend /boyfriend at the most unlikely place after a gap of 20 years. You are with your families. What happens next?

7. Write a story on the memories incited in you when you visited your village ancestral home with your kids after leaving it when you were in college.

8. Write a story about a character who has had a difficult pregnancy, and childbirth, and now is holding her newborn for the first time.

9. Write a story that starts with someone taking a flight to meet her terminally ill mother, with whom she had not been on talking terms for the last 10 years.

10. Write a story about a dancer who is waiting in the wings of the stage for her come-back performance after a long break due to serious health issues.

11. You are up on the stage facing a crowd of hundreds who are waiting to hear you tell them about your life’s achievements. Suddenly you can’t remember anything. All you can remember are the not-so-good things you did to reach that stage.

12. It is your wedding day. You have been excited about this day for months. After everything takes place smoothly, just before you are about to say your vows a voice in your head says” No I can’t”!

13. Think about your most inspirational sports moment and write a story

14. After numerous fan emails and phone calls, you are finally called to meet your screen idol at his home. Write a story about your feelings before the big moment. 

15. If you are given a chance to play your favorite character from your favorite web series. Which character you would choose and why

2. Mystery Writing Prompts

16. While taking a walk, you bump into a man and apologize, but the man doesn’t seem to see or hear you.

17. Write a murder mystery being investigated by an amateur detective who must solve some puzzles to get to the culprit.

18. Your protagonist is a classic case of a split personality. He has committed a murder in a fit of rage but he is unaware of his psychological condition. How does the cop nab him for the crime?

19. The child has been going to the same school for the last 2 years and today he discovers a trap door at the end of the corridor. Write about what lies at the other end of the door.

20. Write a story about a busy town that was suddenly abandoned one day.

21. A plane goes missing at the Bermuda Triangle and mysteriously lands at the desired destination after 17 years. You are in control of the security at the airport. How did the plane manage to have a safe landing and what happened to the passengers?

22. Two famous personalities a scientist and the other a powerful politician go missing on the same day. Both of them were part of a secret nuclear program. 

23. A man considered to be dead by his family returns after one year one could believe it as the person they had buried had all the identification marks similar to this man.

24. A single mother moves into a new high-rise apartment and every morning she finds objects of black magic at her doorstep. Write a story about how it remains unexplained until the end.

25. Write a story about a tribe that is still far away from civilization and how they antagonize a group of scientists.

26. The protagonist of your story receives a voicemail revealing a closely guarded family secret. And thus begins a series of blackmail, deceit, and double-cross.

27. Ever since you brought that new painting home, strange things seemed to be happening. You finally take note of it and decide to take the painting down and then you notice something engraved on the back.

28. As you are checking out of a hotel you mention at the receptionist’s desk that there was some strange noise coming from room 1013. The receptionist gives you a strange look saying there is no room  1013.

29. Write a story about a successful lawyer fighting a lawsuit against a serial killer who is facing trial for all the murders that he has committed. The killer’s only weakness is that he cannot lie. Still, he walks scot-free.

3. Fantasy Writing Prompts

30. The best thing about this genre is that the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

30. One day you find a small bottle of drink in the fridge. You think maybe your mother had brought it and drank it. Staring at you from the mirror is your mother. The drink changes you into anybody you think about.

31. One day you see an owl outside your window. A letter falls from its beak. It’s a letter of admission into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with the name of your 10-year-old son in it.

32. One night you discover your parents speaking in a strange language.

33. You wake up one morning and find that you are a 13-year-old again.

34. What would you do if you stumble upon a dusty lamp and a genie comes out asking for your 3 wishes when you rub to clean it?

35. You are taking a walk by the beach and suddenly you hear a soft cry coming from behind a rock. You see a  little mermaid with her tail stuck under the rock.

36. You have gone to the zoo and you see animals you had never seen before.

36. You and your friend are playing a computer game and suddenly you find yourself inside the game.

37. Write about a married couple out of which one partner has superpowers and one does not.

38. Write a story about a character who has time-traveled to 10,000 BC. He has all the memories and knowledge of the 21st century and how he manages to survive there.

39. You have woken up from a terrible nightmare but it just does not seem to end.

40. Write a story about a woman who touches a mythical tree and goes back to pre-world-war times. There she falls in love with a man and she suddenly realizes that she is on the losing side of a very gruesome battle

4. Horror

It is a genre of speculative fiction where the end goal is to create a feeling of dread, fear, or repulsion among the audience. So if you love to have the spooky effect in your writing, you can use the following fiction writing prompts to start the ball rolling

41. After a hearty dinner with your family you go to sleep only to wake up in a graveyard the next morning.

42. The lady in your story meets a guy in a bar and at the end of the evening hugs him. She could not find his heartbeat and to her horror finds him looking back at her with a smirk.

43. Every day while returning from work you find that swing in the park moving with nobody around.

44 . You notice your friend disappearing bit by bit every day but no one else seems to notice.

45. A family goes camping in the woods where their only daughter disappears, They find a dusty doll at the place where she was last seen. The doll is alive.

46. Thousands of giant spiders have crept into your plane and they are hungry.

47. You have gone to attend a funeral. No one is talking there and it has nothing to do with the person in the casket.

48. You hear a loud scream at the end of the road and one by one all houses go dark. Yours is next.

49. A couple gets a call from the older self of their daughter, whom they had killed 15 years back.

50. You are in a hospital. After your family members leave, you see every person there with a hole in their chest where the heart should have been.

5. Romance Writing Prompts

Some of us love writing about love. This is also one of the most commercial writing genres. Read on to find some interesting prompts in this category of Fiction writing prompts.

51. They met, they fell in love, and then the pandemic struck. Write a love story set in these times of Covid-19.

52. Two bitter office rivals had gone for a meeting in another city and got stuck there due to lockdown. Write a story about how they survive the situation and discover things about each other.

53. Two childhood sweethearts broke up due to a silly argument and went on to get married and settle in different cities. Their marriages didn’t work. Write a story about whether or not life gave them a second chance.

54. It is your partner’s birthday. Write a gripping tale of finding the perfect gift.

55. After being in a long-distance relationship for 3 years they are finally meeting mid-way. Write a story on how they manage to meet after battling a delayed flight, a brush with an accident, trouble at immigration, and a traffic jam that refused to move.

56. Write a love story that ends with,” I wish I had paused for a moment”.

57. Two people are waiting for their train and just exchange a few formal words. The next day they met again and the conversation went further.

58. Is there anything called “Love at first sight. “ Expand the idea into a short story.

59. “When I saw you I fell in love, you smiled because you knew it”. Write a story based on it.

60. Write a story about only e-mail exchanges between two people.

61. Write a modern retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet.

6. Comedy

Do you have a funny bone? Whether slap-stick or satirical this genre also provides a wide range to the writers.

62. You are on a blind date with your arch-enemy.

63. You are an award-winning author presently out of work due to “writer’s block”. A friend suggested this clinic which cures it!

64. Every day you come home and rant about what a terrible day you have had for your dog. One day he talks back.

65. A billionaire hires a stand-up comedian to teach him how to be funny.

66. You throw the wildest party that anyone can imagine. And it becomes the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

67. The backstage is more happening than the on-stage drama.

68. A family trip on a  luxury ship goes awry when people start taking a dig at each other.

69. Write a funny story about the post-apocalyptic world.

70. Write a story about an aged Hollywood actor who refuses to accept his age.

7. Historical Fiction

71. You are a famous painter of your time. You are entering a competition and your fiercest rival is Pablo Picasso.

72. You are in the same theater as Abraham Lincoln watching the play and you happen to see the murderer aiming at him. What happens after that? 

73. You are a gossip columnist -in 1915.

74. You are hosting a lunch where you get to invite five famous historical personalities.

75. You are in the same war room where the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is being planned. You know this will change the world forever.

76. What event in history would you like to watch unfolding in front of your eyes?

77. Suppose Hitler was never born. Would it have changed the course of World History

78. What if George V of England had given asylum to Nicolas II of Russia during World War I?

79. You are Leo Tolstoy’s apprentice and he is always taking credit for your work.

80. You find yourself amidst the French Revolution and you have to play an important role.

8. For kids

You can also encourage kids to use these creative writing prompts to develop their writing skills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2mEWdXLQCY

81. Write a story about someone experiencing their first snowfall.

82. Write a story about a giraffe going on a plane journey.

83. Your parents are having a get-together with their friends. Write about how you feel.

84. You have the house to yourself as your parents have gone out. What is your idea of having the best use of the opportunity?

85. Write the product description of your favorite board game.

86. Write a story using three words houses, secret, and cat.

87. Imagine you discovered America and not Columbus. Write a letter telling your friend about the voyage.

88. Begin a story with, “It was the summer of _______ at ______”.

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

9. Journal Writing Prompts

89. Write about 5 things you would do when you become a parent.

90. “I have a dream”.. expand this famous saying into what changes you would like to bring to your society.

91. Make a list of all the things you would like to say “NO” to.

92. Write a letter in your journal to each of your family members telling them what you love/hate about them.

10. Poetry

Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning. Though you might have the knack, sometimes you would need a little inspiration to jumpstart the process.

93. Open the dictionary and write 5 rhyming words with the first word that you see. Now write a poem using as many words as you can.

 94. Write a poem using onomatopoeia words like splash, swoosh, ding-dong, pitter-patter, sputter, and tingle.

95. Write a poem starting with “wish things to go back to as they were…”

911. Write a poem about a beautiful cake and how it talked to you when you were about to cut it.

11. Blog Writing Prompts

A blog is a discussion or informational write-up published on the World Wide Web for everybody. You need to capture people’s imagination as well as give relevant information to be a famous blogger. Here are certain tips-

97. Write about your personal experience with weight loss and share some tips.

98. There was a day when u shied away from dancing at a party and today you give solo performances. Write about the transformation.

99. What are the top 10 style trends of the 90s that you would like to make a comeback?

100. Describe the pros and cons of social media to a person who is new to it.

Writing Prompts (Visual)

101. We all know a picture is worth a thousand words. Use the same image to tell stories from different perspectives.

102. Compose a scene that takes place here.

103. Suppose the characters of Sesame Street come alive. Write about a day in their lives.

104. Tell this story from one point of view, then tell the story from another point of view.

Write about the first thing that comes to your mind when you see this.

 Bonus Writing Tips

While creative writing prompts and fiction writing prompts are great ideas to spark your creativity, you also must have a few tricks up your sleeves to build a solid writing routine.

•  Non -Negotiable Writing Time (NNWT) – Set aside a time of the day/week that is solely devoted to writing.
• Set writing goals with a 300-word count on a daily session and keep on improving on that.
• Talk to friends and family about your writing project they will check on you, it will keep you more accountable.
• Arm yourself against writer’s block- Learn to handle your inner critic and use these apps like Freedom or Cold Turkey to defeat procrastination.
• Do not edit while you write imperfect words, bad sentences and come back to them later.
• Pack your writing with a punch– Use power words and metaphors to turbocharge your prose.
• Exploit the power of grammar-Grammar is the choreographer of our language, you need to stick to it if you don’t want to appear offbeat. Learn the rules and then also learn how to break them.
• Relax on your first draft-Remember “perfect is the enemy of good”. Do not look for perfectionism, just loosen up and have fun.
• Don’t start at the beginning – That takes the pressure off the “starting point” and by the time you come back you are already warmed -up.
• Copy your writing heroes-Pick a writer and rewrite exactly what they wrote by hand. As you write you will absorb their writing skill.
• Read, read, and digest- Without any exception, every great writer is a great reader. Read consciously and apply those techniques.

Recommended Read- 

• Why Henry Harvin Content Writing Course
• Creative Writing Course in Navi Mumbai
• Best Content Writing Course in Bhubaneswar
• Top Content Writing Course in Noida
• Best Creative writing course in Varanasi
• Creative Writing Training in Lucknow

A final word on how to use Creative Writing Prompts

Like any other exercise, Creative writing prompts are most effective when you make them a part of your daily routine. With repetition, the process would become more organic, and your ability to write frequently and for longer would improve.

To help you in this process you may take up content writing courses and also join various story writing websites that run contests on creative writing.

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