The best fluff writing prompts
Once in a while, we all crave comfort. A positive story with a happy ending can be hard to come by at times, but they're out there — and you can try writing one, too!
While fluffy stories are typically happy ones, they don't necessarily have to be entirely angst free! Sad elements can enter your story, but they will generally be overcome, resulting in a cute, warm and fuzzy feel overall. Fluff as a category has been popular in fanfiction communities (hello Tumblr and Wattpad!), but you can write a fluffy story about original characters as well as your OTP. All that's required is a little inspiration.
To help you get started, here's our list of the top ten fluff writing prompts:
- Start or end your story with a character noticing the beauty in something they've seen hundreds of times.
- Start your story with a character looking through an old family photo album.
- Write a story about strangers becoming friends, or friends becoming strangers.
- Write a story about two characters whose first impressions of one another are wildly inaccurate.
- Write about a "found family" who are finally able to get together again after a long time apart.
- Write about a character preparing a meal for somebody else.
- Write your story about two characters tidying up after a party.
- Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.
- Begin your story with somebody watching the sunrise, or sunset.
- Start or end your story with a person buying a house plant.
Looking for more tips on how to use our fluffy writing prompts? Check out our free resources below:
- How to Write an Irresistible Romance (free course) — If your fluff story errs on the romantic side, we've got you covered. Our ten-day course will teach you how to perfect your meet cutes, introduce heat into your dialogue, and raise the tension between Person A and Person B.
- Character profile template (free resource) — A lot of the joy of fluff stories is getting to know charming, loveable characters. Our free character profile template will teach you how to create the kind of characters your readers are excited to spend time with.
Want more help learning how to write a fluffy short story? Check out How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten day course guiding you through the process of short story writing by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.
Ready to start writing? Check out Reedsy’s weekly short story contest, for the chance of winning $250! You can also check out our list of writing contests or our directory of literary magazines for more opportunities to submit your story.