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The best fall writing prompts
Fall (or autumn, as our British friends refer to it) is a season of change. The leaves are falling, there's a bite in the air, and memories are being made, from pumpkin carving to apple picking to returning to school for a new year. If you're looking for inspiration for your fall writing, you're in the right place. Our fall writing prompts are suitable for students, kids, and the whole family.
To help you get started, here are our top ten fall writing prompts:
- Your character picks up a fallen leaf and can’t believe what they discover underneath it. What happens next?
- Write a story that ends with the sentence: "And that was the first and last time that I tried to bake a pumpkin pie."
- Start your story with a character taking a sip of hot apple cider.
- Write a story about a lost scarf.
- Write a story about someone seeing leaves change color for the first time.
- Using only text messages, write a story about the start of the school.
- Write a story about a farmer bringing in their harvest.
- Write a story from the perspective of a pumpkin patch owner on the first and last day of autumn.
- Set your story in an orchard.
- Pick one of the five senses. Write about fall using that sense.
For more help writing your fall short story, check out this free resource:
- How to Master the 'Show, Don't Tell' Rule (free course) — Summer is a season of the senses — the smell of pumpkin spice, the taste of turkey, the crunch of frost on fallen leaves. And that means you're going to want to get your descriptions spot on. To brush up your skills, try out our free course.
Want more help learning how to write a dramatic 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.