30 Writing Prompts to Spark Your Creativity

If you've found your way to this article you might be lacking inspiration at the moment. I'm not trying to be rude, but I don't need to be franciscan friar, William of Baskerville or the more popular Sherlock Holmes to arrive to this conclusion. I'm sure even Poirot, the least capable of the three, could recognize the pattern.

Whether you are novel prize winner writing what will, mandatorily, become a best-seller or in complete antithesis you are actually a worthwhile author trying to figure out the shopping list for the month, these prompts will surely come in handy:

Creative Writing Prompts

Put the shopping list aside for a second and let's focus on what could kickstart or continue the story you are writing:

1. A stranger sits down next to you on a train and gets up, leaving a package behind. Do you investigate the package?

"Hell nah!" Does this take place in Paris? In that case we are dealing with a true story, scarier than any thriller I know of...

2. One day the national news channel shuts off. And the next day after that, too. Then you realize that you don't even watch TV.

But then suddenly the third day it works again... And then you see what happened on that Parisian train...

3. You get a text message from an unknown number saying, “Meet me outside. Now.”

It's your Uber Driver who's been waiting 20 minutes for you whilst you are writing your crappy thriller kickstarted by this prompt.

4. Your pet dragon transforms into a person. And they are annoying.

This belongs in a DeviantArt forum...!

5. An alien falls in love with a forbidden human.

At least it didn't fall in love with a forbidden human... Oh no, it did! I guess we'll just let it slip like in Hollywood.

6. Two strangers on an online chat room hit it off. Turns out they’re childhood sweethearts.

Is the alien involved in this story? I hope not...!

7. A college professor and their teaching assistant hit it off a little too well.

If you want to pair-bond "unlikely" or "taboo" couples for whatever banal reason you should at least come up with something better than the pizza deliverer and the lonely wife... This isn't it...!

8. Your husband accidentally sends you a text meant for his mistress.

Here we go! Now we are talking! You shouldn't start any story with a text message though, it's weak. You know those terror flicks full of text messages been shown on screen with flippant notification sounds that finally make the killer notice the victim asking for help via messages under the bed. What that tells me is that the writer's most extreme feelings and deep thoughts in their life have come from taking a selfie in public with the silent mode off and getting caught... Not a good look!

9. You can solve murders simply by stepping foot at the crime scene. Problem is, no one believes you.

Okey, this was a test, if you took this one seriously you should probably quit...! But wait, Domestika got you covered with our Writing Courses even you can become a better writer... Perhaps I am the lost cause...!

10. Your parents tell you that they actually don’t know whose child you are.

Can we get some actual fiction in here, jeez...! Did you like this joke? I didn't even like this joke myself...

11. The ocean becomes the sky.

And it makes no difference to anyone... Except for Neil deGrasse Tyson who loses all credibility and finally becomes a preacher to gain a buck. Some could argue he is dong just that, now...!

12. You have the power to read the lost language, making you the only person to decipher the scroll.

And it's a list of writing prompts! Yes, Domestika has existed since the ancient Babylon.

13. Your favorite fairy tale is now set in 2020.

During the pandemic... So fun!

14. You magically gain some confidence and no longer need prompts to start writing. Because you understand that writing is only valuable if it actually comes from a genuine urge to explore concepts that are unique to you and that cannot be dealt any other way but by writing... And that if that criteria isn't met then why are you doing it in the first place, why don't you go outside and live a little?

No comment.

15 You’re selected to take part in a secretive, underground magic university… but you have to kill someone to go.

The university has to be underground and magical if one or both elements are missing I will file a lawsuit for copyright infringement! Take the prompts seriously, you either take them as they are or leave them be, okey?

16. An underwater society decides to overtake the world.

Sounds fun! Don't get wet, though...! These sea creatures are attractive but you have to control your urges because each time you fantasize about a sea creature you progresively lose your chances with actual real human beings in real life...

19. Regular person by day, a shape shifter by night.

This is another very old trope. A lot of people talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson but no one reads the damn book. Have you read it? Are you going to add a nuanced understanding on the subject that has been covered to oblivion by now?

Do yourself a favor and read some books that have stood the test of time for more than a decade, or let alone, a century, just to try it for once. Even though they might not all be interesting, of course. I'm certain you can get some more nuanced ideas from them than from these prompts to be honest...

20. You’re the one human who is capable of seeing ghosts. It’s up to you to save them from being removed from the human world for good.

Another trope... I recommend you read Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo if you want to delve into a truly ghostly novel.

21. In the future, we no longer require water, air, or food.

Cool...! Who asked you, again?

22. Describe your perfect utopian world.

A world where I don't write 30 prompts...!

23. After people die, their spirits can be brought back from death but at the cost of one random human life. Would you do it?

That's how Jeffrey Epstein died, I guess...!

24. You have the power to build one separate planet. How do you build it? Who gets to live there?

Keep in mind it's a planet not an island...

25. Your aunt passes away, leaving you $10,000 in her will under the condition that you resume care for your hundred-year-old home.

You can't even live two months with that money in New York, grannie... Of course I'll need to stay rent free in your old dusty house.

26. Your parents tell you they’ll give you $20 if you eat your vegetables with every dinner. Do you do it?

I rather take my aunts money, thank you!

27. What parent were you closest to? What are some of your favorite memories of spending time with them?

This is too serious now, isn't it? Can we go back to the aliens, please?

28. Write about your favorite childhood pet... Who probably died... But tell it as if you were in outer space!

Now we are talking!

29. You are pretending to be deaf to avoid your daily responsibilities. How far can you take it?

30. A chilling voice appears in your head. It won’t go away. It only makes fart noises.

Fortunately we are finished for today. If you find my prompts gave you seizure you can easily regenerate the lost brain matter and become a great writer just by clicking on these precious links below:

- Creative bullet journal course
- Join our writing courses
- Types of writing styles with examples