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The best winter writing prompts
Got the chills? No? Well, you will soon, with our winter writing prompts. These creative writing ideas are suitable for kids and big kids alike, and will give you inspiration for the wintry story of your dreams.
Winter is a season that many of us attach strong memories to: sledding in the snow and ice, building snowmen, snowball fights, running for shelter during blizzards, walking to school in the biting cold. It's time to delve into that treasure trove of experience to inspire your winter writing.
To help you get started, here are our top ten winter writing prompts:
- A busy city is quieted by a big blanketing of snow. Write from the perspective of two (or more) characters who live there.
- Write about someone who gets stuck in their workplace during a blizzard and decides to explore rooms they aren’t normally allowed in.
- Write a short story that takes place in a winter cabin.
- Write a story from the perspective of a bird migrating for the winter.
- Start your story with someone looking out at the snow, and end it with them stepping tentatively onto a frozen surface.
- Start a story with the classic: "It was a dark and stormy night..."
- Write a story about someone who finds something interesting peeking out from a melting snowbank.
- "Well, this year's office holiday party didn't go as I'd planned."
- You are stranded on a winter hike when you come across a little cottage.
- Set your story in a snowed-in chalet.
Looking for more tips for your writing? Check out the free resource below:
How to Master the 'Show, Don't Tell' Rule (free course) — Winter is a season for the senses — stinging snowstorms, glistening icicles, fluffly snowflakes, the sound of tires over slush. 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 winter 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.