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Weekly Writing Prompts

Join (probably?) the world's largest writing contest. Flex those creative muscles with weekly writing prompts.

Showing 2389 prompts

This week's contest:
Win $250

Once Upon a Place with Sarah Jaffe

99 contest entries /
64 stories

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View contest
Closes at 23:59 - May 02 EST

Germs have just been discovered, but they’re still a pretty radical concept. You’re trying to get people on board with the idea of “hygiene.”

Historical Fiction

You’re secretly watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel, and you’re shocked by what you see.

Historical Fiction

You know who really killed JFK, and it wasn’t Oswald.

Historical Fiction

The revolution is here — and you’re going to play a crucial role in leading it. (Choose any revolution you like, from any era.)

Historical Fiction

You’re Shakespeare’s apprentice, and he’s always taking credit for your ideas.

Historical Fiction

Five years ago, you moved away, changed your name, got a new job, and altered your appearance. But they managed to find you anyway.

Dark

As you’re pulling old receipts out of your bag, you realize that one of them has a message scrawled on it.

Dramatic

“Stop!” you cried. But it was too late — the plan was already in motion.

Dramatic

A character wakes up one morning and realizes that their every move and thought is being narrated aloud.

Dramatic

On your deathbed, you are visited by an angel who will let you to re-live any single day of your life.

Dramatic

A crime’s been committed, and the only clues left behind are a half-eaten apple and a bobby pin.

Mystery

You open a book and note with a letterhead falls out. At the top it says: If you are reading this, you have been chosen.

Mystery

You wake up one morning and can’t stop rhyming everything you say.

Funny

Interview a fictional villain.

Funny

Imagine you owned a pet monkey for a day. What would you do with it?

Kids

Write about your favorite birthday present. Why is it your favorite?

Kids

Contrary to popular belief, dragons are actually very kind and generous, and faeries are mean-spirited bullies.

Fantasy

You’ve been raised all your life to fulfill a prophecy, only for the seer to realize they were mistaken — you have no great destiny after all. What do you do now?

Fantasy

Write a short story where the protagonist has a doppelgänger.

Thriller and Suspense

Write a short dark comedy in which a long-unsolved mystery is finally cracked.

Mystery

How to Write a Novel

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