creative writing short story prompts

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44 Short Story Ideas

Here are lots of short story ideas that you can use as writing prompts. Any of these ideas can be used either humorously or dramatically... or you can try both. Have fun!

Story ideas - 3 elements

Choose a set of three elements and write a story that contains all three of them! Extreme challenge: combine three of the elements with one of the other short story ideas on this page.

• A stolen ring, fear of spiders, and a sinister stranger.
• A taxi, an old enemy, and Valentine's Day.
• Identical twins, a party invitation, and a locked closet.
• A broken wristwatch, peppermints, and a hug that goes too far.
• Aerobics, a secret diary, and something unpleasant under the bed.
• An ex-boyfriend, a pair of binoculars, and a good-luck charm.
• An annoying boss, a bikini, and a fake illness.
• The first day of school, a love note, and a recipe with a significant mistake.
• A horoscope, makeup, and a missing tooth.
• A campfire, a scream, and a small lie that gets bigger and bigger.

More short story ideas

Challenge: 4 stories in 4 weeks using these short story ideas. Are you up to it? Extreme challenge: Why not write a book of short stories? Choose seven or eight short story ideas to get started.

11. A babysitter is snooping around her employer's house and finds a disturbing photograph...

12. At a Chinese restaurant, your character opens his fortune cookie and reads the following message: "Your life is in danger. Say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Repeat: say nothing."...

13. Your character's boss invites her and her husband to dinner. Your character wants to make a good impression, but her husband has a tendency to drink too much and say exactly what's on his mind...

14. It's your character's first day at a new school. He or she wants to get a fresh start, develop a new identity. But in his or her homeroom, your character encounters a kid he or she knows from summer camp...

15. Your character has to tell his parents that he's getting a divorce. He knows his parents will take his wife's side, and he is right...

16. At the airport, a stranger offers your character money to carry a mysterious package onto the plane. The stranger assures your character that it's nothing illegal and points out that it has already been through the security check. Your character has serious doubts, but needs the money, and therefore agrees...

17. Your character suspects her husband is having an affair and decides to spy on him. What she discovers is not what she was expecting...

18. A man elbows your character in a crowd. After he is gone, she discovers her cell phone is too. She calls her own number, and the man answers. She explains that the cell phone has personal information on it and asks the man to send it back to her. He hangs up. Instead of going to the police, your character decides to take matters into her own hands...

19. After your character loses his job, he is home during the day. That's how he discovers that his teenage son has a small marijuana plantation behind the garage. Your character confronts his son, who, instead of acting repentant, explains to your character exactly how much money he is making from the marijuana and tries to persuade your character to join in the business...

20. At a garage sale, your character buys an antique urn which she thinks will look nice decorating her bookcase. But when she gets home, she realizes there are someone's ashes in it...

Learn to make your story a page-turner with our online course Irresistible Fiction.

Even more short story ideas

21. Your character starts receiving flowers and anonymous gifts. She doesn't know who is sending them. Her husband is suspicious, and the gifts begin to get stranger....

22. A missionary visits your character's house and attempts to convert her to his religion. Your character is trying to get rid of him just as storm warning sirens go off. Your character feels she can't send the missionary out into the storm, so she lets him come down into her basement with her. This is going to be a long storm....

23. Your character is caught shoplifting. The shop owner says that she won't call the police in exchange for a personal favor....

24. Your character is visiting his parents over a holiday. He is returning some books to the library for his mother and is startled to notice that the librarian looks exactly like him, only about thirty years older. He immediately begins to suspect that his mother had an affair at one time and the librarian is his real father...

25. Your character picks up a hitchhiker on her way home from work. The hitchhiker tries to persuade your character to leave everything and drive her across the country...

26. Your character has to sell the house where she grew up. A potential buyer comes to look at it and begins to talk about all of the changes she would make to the place. This upsets your character, who decides she wants to find a buyer who will leave everything the way it has always been....

27. A bat gets in the house. Your character's husband becomes hysterical, frightened that it might be rabid. In his panic, he ends up shutting the bat in a room with your character while he calls an exterminator from a safe place in the house. His behavior makes your character see her husband in a new way....

28. Your character changes jobs in order to have more time with his family. But his family doesn't seem interested in having him around...

29. Your character develops the idea that she can hear the voices of the dead on a certain radio channel. She decides to take advantage of this channel to find answers to some questions that are bothering her about her dead parents....

30. Your character's dream is to be a professional dancer. At a party, she mentions this dream to a stranger, who says that he has contacts in the dance world and gets her an audition for a prestigious dance troupe. One problem: your character doesn't know how to dance. Your character decides to accept the audition anyway and look for a solution....

And still more short story ideas

31. Your character thinks her boss is looking for an excuse to fire her. She decides to fight back....

32. Your character goes out for dinner on a date and becomes attracted to the waiter or waitress....

32. Your character notices that a stranger is following her. She pretends not to notice. The stranger follows her home and watches her go inside. Then when he leaves, your character turns the tables and starts to follow him....

34. A child moves into a new house and finds out that the other kids in town think it's haunted. She begins to invent ghost stories to tell at school in order to get attention. But the more stories she tells, the more frightened she becomes of the house...

35. Your elderly character escapes from the retirement home where his or her children have placed him or her....

36. Your character gets cosmetic surgery in an attempt to make her boyfriend love her more. But then she worries he only loves her for her looks....

37. Your character is a writer. But his new neighbors are so noisy that he can neither work nor sleep. He decides to take action....

38. Your character's mother-in-law comes to visit for a week, and your character suspects she is trying to poison him. He shares his suspicion with his wife, who says he's always hated her mother but this accusation is going too far. Meanwhile, your character has stomach cramps, and his mother-in-law is downstairs making breakfast again....

39. It's a freezing cold night. Your character finds a homeless family on his doorstep and invites them into his home to sleep. But in the morning, the family doesn't leave....

40. Your character has recently married a man with two teenage children. The children resent her, and she tries to avoid them altogether. Then her new husband (their father) disappears suddenly, leaving only a short good-bye note....

Story ideas: personal creative writing challenges

41. Make a list of five things you're afraid of happening to you. Then write a story in which one of them happens to your character..

42. Think of a big problem that one of your friends had to face. Then write a story in which your character battles with that problem..

43. What is one of your bad habits? Invent a character who has the bad habit, but a much worse case of it than you have. Write a story where this habit gets your character into trouble.

44. What is one of your greatest strengths? Invent a character who doesn't have this strength. Create a situation in which having this strength is very important for your character. What does your character do? Write the story.

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75 Of The Best Fiction Writing Prompts For All Writers

What separates the casual fiction writer from the professional one is the commitment to daily writing. But sometimes it’s more of a challenge to get the words flowing.

If nothing triggered you today, and if your mind is playing hopscotch with ideas, fiction writing prompts can get you past the brain block into full writing mode.

The following lists are fiction writing prompts for adults and realistic fiction writing prompts, and while there’s nothing NSFW ahead, the fiction writing ideas are best suited to books written for mature readers.

Here’s how to use these writing prompts:

• Choose a prompt that inspires you to write.
• Feel free to alter the writing idea to suit your creative writing needs.
• View the prompt as an idea to kickstart your writing .
• Begin writing and allow your ideas to flow and lead your writing wherever it might go.
• Write as little or as much as you wish to prime your imaginative juices.
• Don’t judge or critique what you’ve written — just enjoy the process.
• Once you’ve completed the novel prompt writing, move on to your book writing , or use the prompt writing as part of a book you might decide to write.

75 Fiction Writing Prompts and Realistic Fiction Writing Prompts

Try one of these 75 fiction writing prompts to improve your creative writing . Some of these are realistic fiction writing prompts, while others have a more fantasy or mystery bent to them.

Choose the prompt that most inspires you, and start writing!

1. This superhero lives on the streets. While the people she saves are safe and warm, she wanders alone, exposed to the elements. She’s asexual, so she’s not looking for a mate, but she wouldn’t mind having someone to watch her back.

2. An unknown spacecraft has sent a rain of unknown elements into the atmosphere, and soon every flower that blooms releases a new, sentient being into the air. And they’re all connected — except for one, whose connection to the hive mind is severed somehow before the opening of his flower. All his fellow, winged warriors have a plan for the people of Earth; he’s the only one looking for a way to save them.

3. He promised me becoming a zombie wouldn’t change him. He had a solution that would preserve his personality and make it possible for him to protect those he loved..

4. A new modern apartment complex is now open, and you’re one of the first to apply for one of its one-bedroom luxury apartments. Less than a week after you move in, tenants start disappearing. Then someone leaves a gift basket at your door….

5. Someone leaves a package with a new, loaded smartphone and a cryptic note in your mailbox. That night, you get a call on that phone, and you answer it. A voice on the other end asks, “Ready to change your life?”

6. You get a chill from something while standing in a grocery store checkout line, and someone cries out and points a finger at you, backing away. “Did anyone else see that?” she asks in a panicky voice, grabbing her baby and heading out the door without her groceries.

7. You left the windows open last night to cool the house after a 90 degree summer day. You wake up to an icy chill and snow blowing in. You soon learn that a catastrophic event has brought on a new ice age. It just so happens you know something that could reverse the freeze before humans become extinct from exposure and starvation.

8. You love how you get when a creative idea takes hold of you, but your loved ones do not. In fact, one by one, they write you off, though you can’t remember why. Then, one evening, the unthinkable happens, and your latest creative idea takes on a life of its own.

9. Your friend just committed suicide, and soon after the funeral, the letters start coming, sent by someone who knew your friend and who (apparently) knows where you live. This someone blames you for your friend’s death, and she won’t stop until you pay for it.

10. Your best friend is suffering from a life-threatening allergic reaction, and there’s no epi pen. As his airways swell shut and his heart stops, there’s no one around to help, and you scream in desperation. That’s when you hear a sound in your own voice that you’ve never heard before. Seconds later, your friend gasps and scrambles to his feet, all signs of swelling gone.

11. Your fiance’s family has staged an intervention to bully you into changing your beliefs and teaching your children to embrace their way of life — and your fiance says nothing in your defense.

12. Your supermodel-thin friend barely survives a terrible car accident, but it changes her. The happy-go-lucky girl with the racecar metabolism and the hot boyfriend has morphed into a moody but more empathetic girl who quickly grows out of her wardrobe and becomes the target of cruel jokes.

13. A predatory classmate ends up dead in your backyard just hours after making unwanted advances to you in the school library. Part of him is missing.

14. Write a story from the point of view of the villain, but don’t reveal the narrator as the villain until the end.

Related: 15 Tips To Help You Write Better And Attract More Readers

15. On Valentine’s Day (which you never celebrate), you receive a surprise anonymous package with a box of licorice all-sorts. The slogan on the side of the box reads, “Everyone is somebody’s favorite.” The last person who called you his favorite died a year ago.

16. You go to sleep one night in an immaculate, luxury apartment and wake up in a small, dingy loft apartment that is full of stacks of newspapers and magazines, elaborately arranged to form the walls of a labyrinth.

17. You’re given the chance to go back in time to save the life of your best friend, but the price is a mission only you can carry out as the doppelganger of a mass murderer’s close confidant. Your mission is to make sure he takes a trip that will lead him into a trap.

18. You write a novel with a main character who has telepathic abilities. You start having dreams about this character, who wants you all to himself. His first token of affection is to punish your neighbor, who has openly criticized your book.

19. Your quirky, potty-mouthed Aunt Em has come to live with you, and the first thing she does is rearrange the kitchen and claim the role of chef and home renovator. You’re fine with it until she hires an assistant, who just happens to be the apartment manager’s recently fired son.

20. You inherit a house from an uncle but decide to rent it out rather than living in it. After interviewing several applicants, you agree to rent it to two brothers…

21. For as long as you can remember, every time you feel panicked, you’ve found yourself quietly singing “Jingle Bells.” You’re about to find out why, and it will change everything.

22. A homeless man is attacked in your neighborhood and sustains a serious head injury. You get him to the hospital, and they save his life, but upon his discharge from the hospital, he starts making money more quickly than you thought was even possible.

23. A stray animal shows up at your door — no tags or anything — and after feeding it, you decide to adopt it. That night, when a stranger comes to your door, you find out the animal is not what it appears to be.

24. You start taking a new dietary supplement you learned about from a late-night commercial, and it does everything it promised — and more.

25. You’re on your way home after work, and you see a strange light up ahead. You get closer, and you see what looks like a black hole about to swallow up your apartment complex. You look up to see your roommate on the balcony taking pictures of it.

26. You go to sleep alone and wake up very pregnant. After checking the calendar and vomiting a few times, you call in sick and schedule an appointment for an ultrasound. Then your boyfriend shows up.

27. A strange plant appears in your window planter, and when its solitary bloom opens, impossible things start happening.

28. You wake up a different gender but with similar facial features.

29. You visit your estranged father and learn some things about him that change the way you see yourself — and everyone else. Turns out, he keeps a low profile for a reason.

30. Your kid starts manifesting a strange, new ability (or no longer hiding it from you), and you know it’s just a matter of time before he attracts unwanted attention. And you’re afraid of what he can do to protect you both — and how it could change him.

31. You’ve always had freakishly good night vision, but with that comes an extreme sensitivity to light. You live like a mole, working overnight shifts and keeping the windows of your apartment covered in blackout curtains. You’ve even disabled the light switches. So, when a thief breaks in, you make him regret it. And it starts something.

32. Your eyes are brown with flecks of green that intensify when you get a sudden chill or come close to remembering something that changed you as a child. Someone notices the intense green in your eyes one day and calls you a freak. He looks familiar.

33. You discover an ability that puts you (more) at odds with your in-laws, and you learn of their plan to get your husband to divorce you and get full custody of your two children.

34. You sign up for a wine delivery service, and while the cases are always left at your door, things start changing in your house. Though you never drink to excess, you start losing chunks of time. And the wine is better than anything you’ve ever tasted.

35. You come home one day and find someone else living there who swears she’s lived there for years. When you look for proof that she’s lying, you find proof to the contrary.

36. You’re making your usual breakfast when you suddenly find you can’t stomach the thought of eating it. When you put a name to your new craving, it scares you. But it won’t go away.

Related: How to Outline A Nonfiction Book

37. You find a ring while walking in the park. The stones aren’t diamonds, and you at first suspect it’s a piece of junk jewelry from the previous night’s Halloween revels. But you like it enough to keep it. No one is more surprised than you when it saves your life.

38. An unknown relative shows up and tells you something you didn’t know about your mother’s family history — and the power that went with it.

39. You’ve started your NaNoWriMo project, and it’s off to a decent start. But when you open the file the next day, you see much more written for it, and the writing is terrible. Then you see that the story is still developing, and while the writing makes your head hurt, the story is drawing you in. Literally.

40. You go to your closet to get a change of clothes for the day before taking a shower, and you find a huge selection of designer clothes (tags still attached) that weren’t there before.

41. You sign up for a class at a local gym, and when you meet the instructor, she seems familiar — and not in a good way.

42. Your kid takes home a Chromebook from school, and one evening you see him staring at the screen, looking entranced. He takes a sudden interest in keeping his room immaculate and volunteering as a member of a new political candidate’s campaign staff.

43. You’ve just given birth to a surprisingly healthy baby two months before the due date, but your husband has inexplicably abandoned you both, and a generous stranger has learned of your situation and offered to help you out and fill the void.

44. Your mother shows up at your door asking for help. Something has taken residence at her home, and she doesn’t feel safe there anymore. You visit the house on your own, and find someone living there who asks, “Where did Mom go?”

45. You finally find a responsible roommate to share the cost of a new luxury apartment. The problem? He knows everything about you — and there’s no reason why he should.

46. You don’t remember the last time you slept for longer than an hour at a time, and you see things others don’t. The things you see that others don’t are causing accidents, and when you try to prevent one, you end up getting blamed for it.

47. Your 12-year-old daughter goes to use the bathroom at the hospital while you’re both visiting her older sister. When she comes back, she seems visibly unsettled, but that gives way to an eery calm and unshakable confidence that her sister will make a full recovery.

48. After experiencing your first nighttime paralysis, you start to see changes in your body. Soon, those changes will be impossible to hide, and a new acquaintance surprises you by making accurate guesses about what you’ve been going through.

49. When you’re about to kill a spider, your kid stops you, catches it, and runs outside to free it. You think maybe killing the non-native spider would have been kinder than putting it outside in the frost-covered grass, but your kid knows something you don’t.

50. It’s Halloween, and your neighbor dresses up as the president and tries to repair his reputation by volunteering at a homeless shelter. Unfortunately, the costume takes over, and he starts firing the other volunteers, one of whom decides to give their homeless guests a Halloween spectacle they won’t forget.

51. Your routine doctor appointment takes a sinister turn when your doc tells you he could put you higher on the waiting list for a liver transplant if you’d pay his ex a visit and help him set a trap for her.

52. Your new smartphone is so much faster than your old one — much faster than you expected from a discounted return. Then you start getting messages made up of symbols you don’t recognize. They resemble hieroglyphs.

53. You’re a high schooler, and today’s lunch is unexpectedly delicious — so delicious that you go back for the seconds. Someone in the kitchen is watching and writing in a notebook.

54. You’re constantly attracting unwanted attention, and you meet someone who knows why. It’s not just your looks that make you unignorable. You’re actually sending out a signal that those around you can’t help responding to. Your new acquaintance offers to train you, so you’ll make better use of your power.

55. You’re sick to death of the clutter in your house, and through a magazine ad, you meet someone who says he can give you the power to instantly transform any room to match a picture you can see in front of you or in your mind’s eye. The only price is one minute of memory from each day.

56. You win a two-week vacation in a real castle (somewhere overseas) with airfare, transportation, and meals, included — along with other surprises. One of them wants to make sure you never leave.

57. You move into a house that has a treehouse out back in one of the tallest, oldest trees. You don’t know until you explore it that the treehouse changes to better suit its occupant. The tree and its house have accepted you. But what does it expect of you?

58. You find an abandoned cabin that is perfect for use as a writer’s getaway, and after some preparations, you settle in for a two-week’ reprieve from city life. The animals aren’t as shy as you expect them to be, though, and they seem to know something about the cabin that you don’t.

59. Your car goes over the edge and down a steep hill. All you remember is the flash of light and the sound of glass breaking before you open your eyes. You check your kids, but none of them answer, and your phone, which had half a charge just minutes ago, is completely dead and unresponsive.

60. You’re shopping for a new computer, and you find one on eBay that the owner says was a gift that he used only briefly before he upgraded to a MacBook. You buy it and revel in its blinding speed and special features. It wakes you that night with a loud beep and prompts you with a single sentence on the screen, “Will you play with me?”

61. Chocolate and wine have gotten you through many a break-up, but this one is harder than most. You wonder why, and a gift from this SO stares you in the face, reminding you of how different your relationship was from those you’ve had with others..

62. Your neighbor has ordered furniture for you from IKEA, and you’re not sure how to deal with it. You love the couch, but you don’t have the budget for it, and you barely know your new neighbor, who seems to have unlimited funds but spends it unpredictably.

63. One of your aunts has died leaving you her pet ______, who helps you cut the toxic people out of your life by scaring them away. One of the few visitors this pet will tolerate is someone you’ve barely noticed but who intuitively knows about and anonymously meets the needs of others in the apartment building.

64. You go fishing in the lake behind your house, and when your hook catches on something, you pull it up. It turns out to be the body of a murder victim, and when the lake is further searched, other bodies are found. Twelve other houses surround the lake, and the police suspect you as much as any of the other residents.

65. You’re renovating your basement and remove a wall that was put in place by one of the previous owners. Behind it is a garbage bag full of cash, and when you examine it, you find it to be genuine.

66. Your spouse tells other Catholics that he knew you were the one when he found out your confirmation saint was the same saint he prayed to for a good Catholic wife. Meanwhile, you’re questioning beliefs you used to take for granted.

67. You wake up to the burglar alarm, and before you can see who has broken in, someone puts a pillowcase over your head and forces you up and out the door.

68. You get a job at your favorite coffee shop, and you meet some local authors, one of whom learns of your book and invites you to their group. They meet in what used to be the living room of a house rumored to be haunted.

69. You can barely make out how many fingers you’re holding up until an elderly neighbor with perfect eyesight shares a secret with you. But there’s a price to pay.

70. You go to sleep listening to static on your radio, which can’t pick up any AM stations. You find out one night, when your bladder wakes you up, that it’s picking up something other than static.

71. You bid on and win an old record player and record collection at an auction. You don’t expect the music to affect you as profoundly as it does and your family thinks you’re just trying to make up for the amount you spent on it. You’re not.

72. You get new glasses at the new eye clinic in town, and they allow you to see better than ever. In fact, when you want to, you can see minute detail from a great distance and microscopic detail up close. This is how you find out your sister’s mole is a malignant melanoma. You also avoid being poisoned by a spiteful coworker. Your fascination with frogs and your large collection of them has made close relationships a challenge.

73. You listen to an audio file designed to make you more creative, and you go into a trance and write a book that people the world over can’t get enough of. Then a visitor asks you if you listened to the entire recording. When you admit to having stopped the recording before it was finished, the visitor smiles in relief and tells you not to listen to the end and to delete the file.

74. When a favorite aunt dies, you inherit a bookstore with an apartment on the upper floor. You look at the finances and realize you have to let go of one of your three employees.

75. You check out a house you like and find moths in every room. The realtor tells you it shouldn’t be a problem to get rid of them but that the house is completely free of other pests — including spiders (which are a huge problem in the area). You buy the house.

Did you enjoy these realistic fiction writing prompts?

Keep this list handy whenever you need a writing prompt to unlock your creativity and kickstart your daily writing.

In fact, you may find ideas for several novels or stories that you can write down the road. Take one of these ideas and begin to flesh out an outline and characters for your story. Let your imagination take you on a journey that may lead to your bestselling book!

1 thought on “75 Of The Best Fiction Writing Prompts For All Writers”

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Competitions

1000 story prompts to spark your creativity.

By Ken Miyamoto from ScreenCraft · September 20, 2023

When you’re trying to figure out what you are going to write next, you need to choose wisely. Concept is everything — at least at first glance. It’s what sells the book, short story, movie or TV series. As soon as you have a compelling and engaging concept, you can build equally compelling and engaging stories and characters around them. Read more about The Secret to Understanding What High Concept Means in Hollywood . With that in mind, here we present the ultimate list of 1000 story prompts to get your creative juices flowing. So get ready to go down a wild rabbit tunnel of story prompts. Be sure to bookmark this post so you can read all one thousand of them!

Note: These prompts were purposefully developed on the fly. However, because we live in the same world and are influenced by the same things, some may same familiar. Some may have even already been developed. But the point is to get your creative energy moving as you consider any and all possibilities.

1000 Story Prompts

• Families from an alternative universe live upside down underneath our houses.
• A character dies and is told they can choose to be reincarnated — only to be reborn as a dog.
• A stay-at-home father lives a secret life as a superhero.
• A female superhero lives a secret life as a supermom.
• The world we know is discovered to be a dream of a superior being.
• Earth is actually a zoo watched by visiting guests (UAPs) from around the universe.
• A man’s toy collection from the 1980s comes to life.
• An introverted character realizes that they actually died years prior and are a ghost.
• Titanic in space.
• A world where superheroes are hunted down and killed.
• An alien invasion story through the eyes of the aliens. (Read this Script Lab Script Collection: Out of This World Sci-fi Screenplays ).
• Kids playing their parents’ Dungeons & Dragons game open a portal to the 1980s.
• A family awakens to the appearance of a strange door in their family room that wasn’t there before.
• A stranger appears at a family’s house claiming to be a future resident.
• Someone finds out how to rig the biggest lottery drawing in history.
• Angels come to live on Earth.
• Demons begin to overtake society as they try to take over Earth.
• A romantic comedy told through the eyes of two dogs that fall in love.
• Two football coaches from opposing schools fall in love — but are both still living in the closet.
• An egotistical manly man suddenly fears everything.
• A world where humans are the pets.
• A world where women don’t need men to procreate.
• An egotistical scholar is suddenly stripped of his intelligence for 24 hours.
• A being falls from the stars to the Earth.
• A man falls from the stars to the Earth.
• A woman falls from the stars to the Earth.
• A woman claims to be the daughter of God.
• God is nothing more than a cosmic child playing games with their toys.
• God is actually a writer that has conjured us all as stories.
• Characters discover a fountain of youth.
• A family is offered a vacation into the stars by visiting aliens.
• A family mistakenly books tickets to Paris, Texas, instead of Paris, France.
• An American woman inherits a castle in Scotland.
• Characters play, “What dead celebrities or historical figures would you like to have dinner with?”, only to see their selections come knocking at the door.
• What if Dorothy replaced somebody in Oz — and someone replaced her in Kansas?
• Scientists discover time travel and must keep it secret from the government.
• An animated movie demystifying the great white shark — a surprisingly peaceful species.
• Beings live in every single closet in the world.
• There really are monsters living under our beds.
• Suburban dads take part in the world lawn-mowing championships.
• A new law where criminals must face their greatest fears.
• A man afraid of snakes washes up on an island full of them.
• Vampires that can survive during the daylight.
• A world where vampires rule the Earth.
• The end of the world is near, and families must live with that knowledge.
• A world where space travel never happened.
• A world where war has never been waged.
•  A world where real old-world magic is slowly beginning to resurface.
• A young boy tries to convince everyone in his town that he actually IS a wizard.
• A young girl discovers that she is a descendant of witches.
• A collector’s collection of old lunch boxes from the 1980s allows him to send and receive notes from the past.
• Present day times where the internet and social media were never created.
• There are cities in the clouds.
• There are cities in the deepest parts of the ocean.
• A character discovers that they are living in a computer simulation — and they are the last human alive.
• A new and dangerous species is discovered living in the highest treetops of the world.
• A disgraced baseball manager manages a Little League team to the big championship.
• A retired football player goes back to coach his son’s Pee Wee league.
• The first female football player accepted into the NFL draft.
• Astronauts volunteer to undergo the first flight to Mars.
• The Earth is found destroyed by Nuclear War when astronauts from a Mars mission return.
• Star high school football players go out for soccer when their football team is barred from playing.
• The world’s biggest action movie star wakes up in the world of his hit movies.
• UFOS and UAPs are actually evolved humans from the future.
• Bigfoot exists — and it’s time for him and his kind to meet the world.
• A grumpy old man takes on a dare to become a comedian.
• Mosquitos are actually tiny fighter planes for a species trying to take over this world of giants.
• A character discovers that they are actually a robot.
• A character discovers that they are actually a clone.
• A character discovers that they are actually God who has suffered brain damage while walking the Earth as a human.
• A character discovers that they are the offspring of the Devil.
• A character discovers that they can hear the voices of the dead.
• A character discovers that they can see into the past.
• A character discovers that they can see into the future.
• Earth is actually Purgatory.
• Earth is actually Heaven.
• Earth is actually Hell.
• Earth is actually a video game for aliens.
• A suburban mother discovers that the whole neighborhood of mothers and wives are the “perfect” clones generated by the men.
• A suburban dad discovers that the whole neighborhood of dads and husbands are the “perfect” clones generated by the women.
• The children of a suburban family discover that the other children in the neighborhood are “perfect” clones.
• A man’s dog starts talking to him suddenly.
• A family’s dog starts talking to them one day.
• A character goes back in time to meet their younger self.
• A suburban family moves to the big city.
• A big city family is forced to move to the suburbs.
• Real-life dragons are released from a deep cavern.
• Rock climbers witness a cartel murder and are chased through the mountains.
• A skydiver falls onto an invisible alien ship.
• An astronaut crashlands on a planet and is taken in by an alien family.
• An alcoholic must deal with the demons of their past.
• A character is told they have twenty-four hours to right the wrongs they’ve done to others before they die.
• A bullied character wills themself to have super strength.
• An abused character wills themself to be able to fly.
• A racist is forced to live in the body of a minority.
• A male figure skater is placed into an Olympic hockey team.
• A character attempts to escape an underwater prison.
• An escaped convict hides in the suburbs.
• A police officer is sent to a prison where he has put away most of the prisoners within.
• Conflicts between countries are now decided by epic battles between one soldier versus another.
• A character falls in love with their best friend from high school.
• A high school jock is forced to live in the body of a nerd he bullies.
• A high school nerd is forced to live in the body of the jock who bullies him.
• A character tries to emulate the fictional Batman — fighting crime from the shadows.
• A character makes a wish to be smart and suddenly wakes up as the smartest and wealthiest businessperson in the world.
• A state championship-winning high school football coach is forced to coach a first-of-its-kind female football team.
• An unpopular high school kid mistakes strange coincidences for superpowers.
• Peter Pan is actually a monster that steals children.
• Billy the Kid awakens in the twenty-first century.
• Wyatt Earp is brought into the future by future townfolk in need of a sheriff.
• International spies must face the world of retirement.
• A submarine crew discovers a new world.
• A submarine crew falls into the deepest depths of the ocean and is frozen in cryosleep, only to awaken one hundred years later.
• Families are tasked with colonizing the moon.
• Humans now live on the moon, with what happened to Earth in their ancestors’ time left a mystery.
• A doctor finds the cure for cancer, only to be threatened by a secret society of government officials and soldiers.
• A doctor finds the cure for cancer, only to face the bureaucracy of giving it to the public for free.
• A doctor finds the cure for cancer, only to refuse to share it for millions of dollars for each dosage.
• The world’s first cyborg deals with not being entirely human.
• The world’s first human clone deals with their supposed lack of humanity.
• The world’s first superhero deals with the alienation of their abilities.
• A champion race car driver undergoes a worldwide race around the world by land, sea and air.
• A young character discovers they have healing powers — but every time they heal someone, they get more and more sick themselves.
• A writer discovers that every character they conjure comes to life.
• A mother and her teenage son switch bodies.
• A father and his teenage daughter switch bodies.
• A feuding brother and sister switch bodies.
• A wealthy boss and their underling employee switch bodies.
• A group of role-playing game players discovers that the rolls of their dice can determine things around them in their world.
• The parents are kidnapped by aliens, leaving the kids to save them.
• A major city is destroyed by a nuclear attack and the surrounding communities struggle to pick up the pieces.
• A young boy with an advanced aging disorder plays Pee Wee football against players a third of his size.
• A girl decides to play football on the guys’ team and becomes the star player.
• A shamed tennis pro competes in the highly competitive local pickleball tournament.
• The world of professional beach volleyball players.
• The world of major league eating.
• The world of professional cornhole players.
• The world of professional badminton players.
• A character suffers from a disorder that only allows them to communicate through song.
• A soccer player who is now a professional only because their father has coached them since youth soccer.
• A football player who is now a professional only because their father has coached them since youth football.
• A baseball player who is now a professional only because their father has coached them since youth baseball.
• A character finds a job site that can place them in any job in any time period.
• A smart and popular high school student finds a legal loophole that allows them to run for president.
• Angels are aliens.
• Demons are aliens.
• God was an alien.
• A faith-based story about a wise child that claims to be the son of God.
• A faith-based story about a child that can speak to those who have passed away.
• A faith-based story about a homeless man that some think is the second coming of Jesus Christ.
• George Lucas actually visited a world that inspired Star Wars after his near-death experience in a car crash.
• A farmer discovers an alien craft in his fields.
• A farmer discovers a strange wooden door in his fields.
• A character goes into an MRI and is somehow transported back in time.
• An F-35 fighter jet and its pilot are transported to the 1942 bombing of Pearl Harbor.
• A character afraid of water decides to overcome their fear by visiting the world’s biggest water park.
• A popular comedian decides to run for president as a joke, only to discover that they win.
• A young girl who loves the Little House on a Prairie books makes a wish to live during those times, only to discover the realities of those difficult times and environments.
• An online shark expert turns out to know nothing about sharks when he’s invited to a Shark Week show. (Read the Script Lab Script Collection: Killer Shark Movies That Audiences Eat Up )
• A sitting president wanting to get more votes decides to go to space.
• A poor single mother wins the biggest lottery in history.
• A character who wins the biggest lottery in history vows to give it all away — only to discover how hard it is to do that.
• A bank robber is a modern-day Robin Hood.
• A luxury cruise ship is overtaken by present-day pirates.
• A luxury cruise ship is overtaken by pirates from the past.
• A luxury cruise spaceship is overrun by space pirates.
• A family of the future must escape Earth from its tyrannical rule.
• A family of settlers in the 1800s face off against alien invaders.
• A family of settlers in the 1800s begin to experience UFO phenomenon.
• Cowboys from the Wild West face off against alien invaders.
• Parents travel to the future to see what their children grow up to be like — and the results are not great.
• The boogeyman is real.
• Santa Claus is real — but not how most would expect.
• A scientist clones his family that died in an accident.
• A character wakes up tied to an electric chair.
• A character wakes up in a gas chamber.
• Frankenstein’s Monster was real.
• A historian discovers that Dracula is real.
• A contemporary retelling of the Dr. Jekyll vs. Mr. Hyde story.
• A historian proves that King Arthur and Excalibur legends were real.
• A character wakes up and decides to do the opposite of what they would normally do.
• A character decides to sell everything they own to live on a sailboat.
• A character decides to quit their successful-yet-unfulfilling job to return to the job they loved in high school.
• A stay-at-home dad decides to start an Olympic curling team.
• Empty-nesters decide to sell everything and travel the country in an RV.
• A high school kid in 1969 decides they are going to hitchhike across the country to attend Woodstock.
• A rock star on the verge of superstardom stumbles upon a desert bar inhabited by members of the 27-Club — rock stars like Jim Morrisson, Janice Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.
• An aging rocket scientist decides to make his own rocket to take him into space before he dies.
• The first baby born in space.
• The first family to go on a space journey.
• The satellites we see in the sky are actually UFOs/UAPs being covered up by SpaceX and NASA.
• People are invited to a haunted mansion where the eccentric owner wants to market it as a Disneyland-like attraction.
• A group of young friends go on an amusement park ride only to be catapulted into another world.
• The story of the creation of the first roller coaster.
• The story of the creation of a waterpark.
• A young teen wishes they could fly, only to wake up with angel-like wings.
• Kids discover a hidden doorway.
• Characters discover a hidden staircase leading to a strange world.
• Kids discover that their gaming system can control actual sports games and players.
• A high school football team scrimmages a professional NFL team — and beats them.
• A college football team scrimmages a professional NFL team — and beats them.
• A sandlot baseball team comprised of neighbor kids challenges the high school team.
• Old friends reunite over a suburban fire pit.
• A high school reunion leads to murder.
• An old grudge leads to a character being stalked.
• Someone is following a character on their cross-country drive.
• Someone picks up a hitchhiker, only to realize that they are a long-dead historical figure.
• A character travels back to their old hometown, only to realize that they’ve time-traveled to their childhood era.
• A thrill seeker commits a crime to be sent to prison so he can see if he can escape it.
• A YouTuber influencer pranks the wrong person.
• Dracula immigrated to the United States and is a crime boss.
• High school students on an abroad trip find Excalibur.
• Robin Hood is the villain of the story.
• Sherlock Holmes’s dog as he solves pet-life mysteries.
• Dorothy’s granddaughter is kidnapped by the daughter of the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz.
• The story of  The Wizard of Oz  set on another planet.
• A modern-day retelling of Tarzan .
• A woman is stranded on an island and must survive.
• The contestants of a  Survivor -like show learn that the civilized world back home has been destroyed.
• It’s revealed that an Olympic swimmer is actually a mermaid or merman.
• A father and son or mother and daughter go on a safari to bond.
• Parents of a college freshman decide to attend their child’s university to be near them.
• A father is tasked with coaching his son’s soccer team even though he’s never played or watched the sport.
• A mother is tasked with coaching her son’s football team.
• A father is tasked with coaching his daughter’s cheer team.
• Parents of spoiled rich kids decide to move their family to a third-world country.
• A soldier goes AWOL.
• While doing research in the jungles of Vietnam, a team of scientists is visited by a Vietnam War-era soldier.
• A poker player needs to earn money to pay off a debt.
• A contemporary retelling of the  Alice in Wonderland story.
• An aging mother with apparent dementia claims to be Alice from  Alice in Wonderland.
• The children of two families are abducted by aliens.
• An 1800s-era family travels to the frontier to start a new life.
• A brother and sister learn that their parents are Russian sleeper agents.
• A character discovers that their father is a wanted criminal.
• A character suspects that their father is a serial killer.
• A writer stalks random people to learn what it is like for serial killers to stalk their victims.
• When a character feels like their life has no meaning, they decide to get the high score on every old Galaga arcade machine they can find.
• A character discovers an old 1980s arcade.
• A character decides to quit their boring day job and open an old 1980s arcade.
• A former drug addict decides to find the child she was forced to give up.
• A grown-up orphan decides to find their birth parents.
• An orphan learns that their parents are aliens from another world.
• A stranded astronaut is taken in by an alien race.
• The first family to venture to another planet loses their son, only for him to be raised by aliens.
• A family struggles to keep up with the Joneses.
• Siblings struggle to survive the angst of being the new kids in school.
• A character creates a new kind of internet.
• A character mourns the death of their parent.
• A family decides to move away from the city and buy their own island.
• A family is shipwrecked.
• An astronaut living on the moon watches Earth be destroyed by an alien invasion.
• An astronaut living on the moon watches Earth be destroyed by nuclear war.
• A journalist is offered the chance to interview an assassin.
• A journalist is offered the chance to interview an alien living among us.
• A journalist is offered the chance to go back in time to interview a historical figure of their choice.
• A time-traveling assassin struggles to kill a child who would grow up to become Adolph Hitler.
• Children discover an old mine shaft and become trapped within it.
• Children discover a cave that leads into another world.
• Present-day children are grounded from their screens as their parents show them what they did growing up.
• The first trip down the Mississippi River.
• Present-day adventurers decide to travel the full length of the Mississippi River in a canoe.
• A pilot has an encounter with a UFO/UAP.
• A local sheriff tries to uncover a conspiracy.
• An FBI agent suspects a local sheriff of covering up a murder.
• An FBI agent and local sheriff team up to uncover a murder mystery.
• A high school student investigates the murder of a local teen.
• High school students are transported forward in time to their 30-year high school reunion.
• High school students are transported into the bodies of their middle-aged selves.
• Young children are transported into the bodies of their high school selves.
• A funeral reunites a group of high school friends.
• Friends take their terminally ill friend on an adventure.
• A character is mistakenly told they are going to die.
• A character visits a psychic who tells them they are going to die soon.
• A psychic foresees a murder.
• A fake psychic sets up clients to make them believe their predictions are coming true.
• A man pays a psychic to tell a woman he has a crush on that she’s going to meet someone just like him.
• A computer program becomes self-aware.
• A videogame character becomes self-aware.
• A character’s newly AI-automated house becomes a death trap.
• An AI fighter jet defies orders.
• The first human-looking military drone.
• The first cyborg soldier.
• A character’s memories are downloaded into a clone.
• A martial artist is invited to fight in an intergalactic tournament.
• A soldier is invited to fight in an intergalactic war.
• A single soldier represents Earth in a one-on-one match to the death.
• A family inherits an old castle with a ghost living in it.
• While visiting old castles on vacation, a family is transported back in time.
• A passenger on an airliner wakes up to discover they are the only person on the plane.
• The first civilian passenger flight to the moon goes awry.
• A family decides to sail around the world together.
• A character mourning the death of their parent decides to walk across the country.
• A character mourning the death of their sibling decides to bike around the country.
• A character mourning the death of their spouse decides to travel the world.
• Two characters fall in love during a layover at an airport.
• A sailor rescues another and they fall in love.
• A sailor decides to brave the Bermuda Triangle.
• All of the ships and planes that have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle suddenly reappear.
• The Bermuda Triangle of space travel.
• Cats and Dogs rule the Earth.
• A small farming family fights off invaders during World War III.
• A small farming family avoids the nearby alien invasion.
• A talented Asian-American character struggles to become a country singer in Nashville.
• A musical prodigy goes to Julliard as a teenager.
• A musical prodigy goes to Julliard as a pre-teen.
• A Broadway stage actor portraying a historical figure is visited by their ghost.
• A young girl comes of age.
• A young boy comes of age.
• A young non-binary character comes of age.
• A writer has the power to write someone’s death.
• A writer has the power to change people’s minds.
• A writer has the power to build things in the real world through their writing.
• A small-town chef is hired to be the president’s chef after a campaign visit.
• A small-town sheriff decides to become an FBI agent.
• An FBI agent decides to retire and later becomes a small-town sheriff.
• An 18-year-old decides to run for sheriff.
• An 18-year-old decides to run for mayor of a small town.
• Children in a small town rally to convince the town board into financing a water park.
• Teens hide in an amusement park after hours only to see the characters of the rides come to life.
• After a terrorist attack, a college-bound student decides to join the military.
• A college-bound student decides to join the military after the death of their veteran father.
• A group of teens discovers that they are actually clones.
• Former prison cellmates are reunited after thirty years.
• Two puppy siblings separated at birth decide to find each other.
• A police officer who accidentally killed a teenager tries to reconcile with the family.
• A high school graduation goes awry when the “graduating” student reveals that they didn’t graduate.
• A college-bound student uses his tuition money to party.
• A bank robber hides in plain sight in a small town.
• A character escapes a mental institution.
• A character decides to commit a crime bad enough to go to prison so they can kill the murderer of a loved one.
• Two rival coaches make each other’s lives miserable in the off-season.
• An unlikely sports athlete becomes the best to ever play the game.
• A student that lost a limb in an accident wants to letter in every single high school sport.
• Friends recreate their favorite classic movie.
• An engineer is tasked with creating Leonardo Da Vinci’s various designs.
• Albert Einstein is reincarnated.
• Albert Einstein is brought back from the past to solve a dangerous problem.
• Alfred Einstein, Albert’s little-known idiot brother, tries to make a name for himself.
• Marie S. Curie, the mother of modern physics, rivals Albert Einstein.
• Children find a magic carpet in their grandparents’ attic.
• A contemporary retelling of the forty thieves as bank robbers the FBI is trying to track down.
• Siblings discover that they are the descendants of Adolf Hitler.
• A character learns that they are the bastard child of the president.
• A character learns that they are the bastard child of a king.
• A character learns that they are actually a missing child reported missing thirty years prior.
• A character finds buried treasure.
• Friends find a bag of money in the woods.
• Friends find a wishing tree that grants wishes a little too literally.
• Soldiers fighting in World War II realize that they are actually toy soldiers.
• A character who lost their spouse in the 9/11 attacks joins the military to hunt down Osama Bin Laden.
• A character dreams of an impending terrorist attack and does all they can to prevent it from happening.
• A mother deals with empty-nest syndrome.
• A father deals with empty-nest syndrome.
• A character decides to leave everything behind to live and work at a remote lighthouse.
• A man who claims to be a great hunter is anything but.
• A character obsessed with cartoons is thrust into their worlds.
• A comic collector searches for the ultimate find.
• A toy collector searches for the ultimate find.
• A character suffers from Sinistrophobia — the fear of objects to your left.
• A character does their best to become a criminal mastermind — with lackluster results.
• A character becomes a vigilante.
• A suburban American town bands together as an invading army approaches.
• An alien ship crash lands in the suburbs.
• A returning astronaut finds Earth destroyed.
• A returning astronaut finds Earth taken over by an alien race.
• A returning astronaut is actually an alien doing recon for an invasion.
• The real story behind the creation of Coca-Cola.
• The real story behind the creation of the hula hoop.
• The real story behind the creation of Pong.
• A teen who can’t detach from technology is transported back to the 1980s.
• A teen who can’t detach from technology is transported back to the 1950s.
• A teen who can’t detach from technology is transported back to the 1800s.
• Parents try to become influencers on social media — with hilarious results.
• Worldwide rule is decided by the Olympic Games.
• Characters struggle to survive a destructive meteor shower.
• Characters are sucked into their favorite TV shows.
• A hunter is transported into the lives of his prey.
• A skilled hunter is forced to hunt down and kill a man.
• An average Joe is forced to assassinate the president.
• An Amish man turns away from his Amish roots and goes to Vegas.
• Teens who leave their Amish community face a world of technology, drugs, and sex.
• A character decides to dig the deepest hole known to man.
• A ghost hunter falls in love with a ghost.
• A ghost falls in love with the owner of the house they are haunting.
• A ghost struggles to help the family of the house they haunt.
• A bowling league gets a little too competitive.
• A sand volleyball league gets a little too competitive.
• A small-town softball tournament gets a little too competitive.
• A bar owner keeps his patrons safe amidst a vampire attack.
• A bar owner keeps his patrons safe amidst a zombie attack.
• A bar owner serves drinks to ghosts who frequented the bar in the past.
• A man is suddenly approached by dozens upon dozens of offspring that were born of his donated sperm.
• An old band reunites after thirty years.
• Old former iconic band members reunite one last time after fifty years.
• A garage band is discovered and thrust into stardom.
• The story of a rookie MLB baseball player pitching a no-hitter.
• The story of a Little League pitcher pitching a no-hitter.
• A lifeguard is suddenly afraid of water.
• The world of professional minigolfers.
• A young man goes off to college and meets the girl of his dreams.
• A young woman goes off to college and meets the guy of her dreams.
• An LGBTQIA+ character goes off to college and finds the partner of their dreams.
• A young high school freshman comes of age.
• A stay-at-home parent deals with empty nest syndrome.
• A tubing adventure turns dangerous amidst a storm that causes flooding.
• A small plane crashes in the mountains and the passengers must survive and escape.
• An earthquake causes havoc in a big city.
• An earthquake unleashes beasts from deep within the Earth.
• A meteor shower is actually the end of the world — and the government knew it.
• A character struggles to deal with the death of their significant other.
• A pool hustler is released from prison.
• A gambler decides to beat the house against all odds.
• A gambler banned from all Vegas casinos decides to beat them all in disguise.
• A haunted amusement park.
• A haunted theme ride.
• A haunted mansion that is now a bed and breakfast.
• A ghost travels to various places as an afterlife vacation while haunting wherever they stay.
• A haunted spaceship is found by explorers.
• Astronauts on their way to Mars come across curious alien lifeforms.
• Astronauts on the first mission to Mars come across what looks to be a human-made ship.
• Astronauts on the first mission to Mars come across a ship identical to theirs.
• A dog travels on a cross-country adventure to find his person who moved off to college.
• A near-catatonic man is found wandering the streets in the rain, covered in blood.
• A serial killer raises a serial-killing family.
• A serial killer tries to quit but can’t.
• A portal to a strange alternate universe opens in somebody’s house.
• A family that has been underground since Y2K arises to a very different world.
• A pilot continually travels to different time periods after flying into a storm.
• A character discovers that they can’t die.
• A character discovers that when they die, they keep coming back to the day before their previous death.
• As a teen goes through puberty they develop superpowers.
• An old couple is given a chance to be reborn again so they can find each other and fall in love once more.
• Two married couples decide to swap mates.
• Swingers from 1970s suburbia are transported to the 2020s suburbia.
• People can transport themselves to their favorite movies and TV shows.
• People can transport themselves into the stories of their favorite books.
• Two brothers are all that is left of the human race.
• Two brothers face off against each other in the Super Bowl.
• Two sisters face off against each other in the U.S. Open.
• A brilliant but nerdy high school student conjures the perfect football scheme to win it all.
• Two volleyball players decide to quit college and become professional beach volleyball players.
• A shamed tennis pro decides to team up with a suburban mother and wife to win the pickleball championships.
• A new sport in created — arena golf.
• A competition where the person who stays up the longest wins ten million dollars.
• A social experiment gone wrong.
• Prisoners escape from a prison for the criminally insane amidst a terrible storm.
• A teacher saves a school from a school shooting but suffers from PTSD.
• Soldiers fall in love but are separated by war.
• The first encounter with an alien race leads to a representative swap so humans and aliens can learn about each other.
• A character somehow begins to exchange emails with their past self.
• An undelivered letter sent from a soldier to his family is finally delivered a generation later.
• NASA receives a message from space.
• NASA receives a message from space from a futuristic space crew claiming to be from the 1960s.
• NASA receives a message from space from a futuristic space crew claiming to be from the 2060s.
• A stargazer begins to communicate with something in the sky with a flashlight.
• Two children appear from deep within a mountain cave.
• Lost siblings are raised by forest animals.
• A youth soccer team competes for the national championship.
• A JV football player becomes the star quarterback when two varsity players go down.
• A track and field star breaks both legs in a car accident and struggles to return to competition.
• A middle school-aged character breaks both legs in an accident but heals in a way that makes them the fastest human being.
• A character wishes they could be fast only to see their wish granted by literally only being able to do everything fast.
• A character gets a call from a stranger claiming to be locked in a van somewhere.
• A 911 operator gets a call from a serial killer threatening to kill again.
• A 911 operator gets a call from someone claiming to be a vampire.
• A legal loophole allows a child to run for president.
• A treasure hunter finds a treasure that causes government agents to hunt them down for it.
• A time traveler goes back in time to find out who really killed JFK.
• A time traveler goes back in time to stop the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
• A time traveler goes back in time to see if Jesus Christ was real.
• A time traveler goes back in time for the sole purpose of documenting historical moments on film.
• A time traveler goes back in time to bet on games of the past.
• NASA decides to use a passing asteroid as a fuel saver to travel to Mars.
• A mother must hunt down her serial killing son.
• A father must hunt down his serial killing son before he kills again.
• Parents deal with the horror of their child being exposed as a serial killer.
• A detective goes to extreme measures to get into the mind of a serial killer.
• A detective uses new technology to inject their consciousness into the mind of a serial killer.
• A parent who is a detective uses their skills to find out who toilet-papered their house.
• An inner-city youth runs away to the suburbs to see what life is like in such a safe place.
• An inner-city family moves to the suburbs to escape violence only to see it manifested in what they felt would have been a safe place.
• A suburban family moves to the city and struggles to adapt.
• A family finds a wolf pup and raises it.
• A family finds a lost Bigfoot child and raises it as their own.
• An alternate universe where humans have colonized the moon.
• A future where humans have colonized Mars.
• An autistic child struggling to adjust to society begins to display superhuman powers.
• An autistic child struggling to adjust to society begins to display gifted musical talents.
• A genius child helps their father win at the casino.
• A genius child being raised in an abusive home runs away and begins to sit in during college classes.
• A youth bowling tournament gets a little out of hand.
• A planet from millions of light years away from Earth tries to find a way to venture there.
• A lone gunslinger travels across the country searching for their arch-nemesis.
• A village of Samurai warriors deals with an alien trying to kill them.
• Immortal people walk the Earth unseen.
• A news reporter is contacted by someone claiming to be immortal and wanting their story told.
• A news reporter is contacted by someone claiming to be from the future.
• Authorities arrest a stock market trader for inside trading and are shocked when he claims to be from the future.
• The military fights vampires.
• The military uses vampires as supersoldiers.
• The military uses zombies as a first-wave assault.
• An aging martial arts teacher decides to become an MMA fighter to make ends meet.
• An inventor creates a new form of fuel.
• An inventor creates a new form of energy and is chased by the government that wishes to stop it from going public.
• Someone creates a website with outlandish conspiracy theories and the public begins to believe them.
• A pizza delivery driver is forced to transport a hitman to his next hit.
• The Universal monsters (Dracula, The Wolf Man, etc.) are transported into the real world.
• An unhinged Dungeons & Dragons player circa the 1980s believes the game’s world is real.
• An escaped convict tries to start a new life in a quiet town.
• A lonely housewife falls for an escaped convict she picked up on the highway.
• A train is loose and only character can stop it.
• An AI program enacts revenge on a user who treated them poorly.
• Die Hard in a school.
• Die Hard on a cruise ship.
• Die Hard in a spaceship.
• Die Hard on an island.
• A character goes on a run and is taken by someone.
• A father enacts revenge on his child’s killer.
• A new teacher inspires the school.
• A church school student believes their pastor is an angel.
• A child discovers that their parent is a fallen angel.
• A character dies and comes back to life as their family’s new pet.
• A trivia night turns bloody as players are told if they get an answer wrong one of their team members will die.
• A heat wave of the century puts lives in danger.
• A flood of the century puts lives in danger.
• A lonely comic book-loving character decides that they want to become a real-life supervillain — and they fail drastically and hilariously at every turn.
• A vampire that is afraid of the dark.
• A consciously-aware zombie.
• A werewolf that is allergic to fur.
• A character terrified of water and desperate for a job applies for a lifeguard position.
• A chef loses their taste.
• A motivational speaker loses everything and struggles to follow their own device.
• A psychic becomes a detective.
• A detective enlists the help of a psychic — and they fall in love.
• A hypochondriac goes to medical school.
• A self-help author is exposed as a fraud.
• A character takes a vow of silence.
• A character will win a million dollars if they don’t speak for a year.
• A character that is a vegetarian and desperate for a job can only find one at a butcher shop.
• A comic who was attacked on stage must overcome their newly developed stage fright.
• A popular musician who was attacked on stage must overcome their newly developed stage fright.
•  An atheist is mistaken as a prophet.
• A librarian becomes trapped in the story of their favorite book.
• A child escapes bullies in an abandoned city library.
• A rich child is given a robot companion for their birthday.
• An adoption service that allows aliens to adopt human children in need.
• Cloaked alien ships have been watching the world for centuries.
• A pilot discovers a strange city in the clouds.
• A submarine crew discovers a strange city at the bottom of the ocean.
• JFK is cloned.
• Abraham Lincoln is cloned.
• Nazi fanatics attempt to clone Hitler.
• A detective in the 1960s discovers who he thinks is Adolf Hitler.
• New technology allows people guilty of environmental crimes to be transformed into trees and plants.
• A man is transported into the body of a woman.
• A meat industry executive is transported into the body of an animal.
• A motivational speaker loses all of their motivation.
• A heralded divorce counselor is actually on their fifth marriage.
• A successful wedding planner struggles to plan their own wedding.
• A life coach has a mid-life crisis.
• A haunted antique store.
• A haunted museum.
• Museum historical exhibits are actually portals into the time period they represent.
• Someone has the power to use photographs as portals into the captured time period.
• Angels and demons walk among us.
• Aliens walk among us.
• Vampires walk among us.
• Hunters stumble upon Bigfoot.
• Hunters become the hunted.
• Someone is living in the walls of someone else’s house.
• A character decides to hitchhike around the world via automobiles, planes and boats.
• A teenager steals their parent’s car for a day.
• A teenager steals their parent’s boat for a day.
• A teenager steals a sailboat to sail around the world.
• A city family decides to live on a farm.
• Farmies decide to sell their valuable land to go live in the city.
• A family discovers a tiny civilization of people that are one-centimeter tall living in their backyard.
• A race car driver tries to get back on the track after a dangerous crash.
• A race car driver is hired to be a driver for a bank heist.
• A race car driver becomes an eSports star.
• A zookeeper who hates animals.
• A fireman becomes a pyrotechnician.
• A fireman becomes a pyromaniac.
• A doctor is haunted by the patients who died under their care.
• A teacher is caught drunk at school.
• An engineer accidentally creates a time machine.
• A nurse is killing their patients.
• An architect is tasked with building the first moon colony structure.
• A lawyer learns that the client they are defending is guilty of murder.
• An accountant discovers that their company is working with the mob.
• An artist can’t stop painting a particular face.
• A writer is pulled into the world of their bestselling novel.
• A scientist discovers the cure for cancer and now they’ve lost it.
• A police officer struggles to survive after being attacked in the streets.
• A dentist becomes a sadistic serial killer.
• A psychologist believes their patient is a serial killer.
• A social worker goes against protocol and takes in a family in need.
• An actor with multiple personality disorder becomes the most heralded actor of their time.
• An athlete tries to make a comeback during a mid-life crisis.
• A photographer begins to capture ghosts in their pictures.
• A journalist stumbles upon a conspiracy that leads all the way up to the White House.
• A mermaid washes up on the beach after a hurricane.
• An underground city flourishes.
• A haunted forest.
• A lakehouse family reunion leads to hijinks and bonding.
• An ancient buried alien city is found in a desert.
• A mysterious cavern is found behind a waterfall.
• A carpenter begins to display the biblical powers of Christ.
• An ancient temple awakens from within.
• Ancient Egyptians begin to come out of the pyramids.
• An electrician is electrocuted and develops strange powers.
• A plumber working in an old building discovers a civilization of monsters in the sewers below.
• A towering palace appears out of nowhere.
• A volcano under Yellowstone erupts.
• A veterinarian claims to be able to hear the thoughts of animals.
• A haunted skyscraper.
• A skier falls deep into glacier caverns and struggles to escape.
• A mountain climber falls deep into glacier caverns and sees that others decades before him did the same and struggled to survive.
• An economist predicts a massive economic collapse — but no one will listen.
• A computer programmer escapes into their own virtual world they’ve created.
• A pharmacist uncovers a pharmaceutical conspiracy.
• A financial advisor is corrupt.
• A diver shrinks to the size of a fish and explores the coral reefs of Hawaii.
• Ghosts haunt a sunken shipwreck.
• A character who doesn’t know they are a ghost — while everyone else does.
• A hairstylist and fashion designer mock the fashion industry by creating ridiculous designs only to see them become worldwide trends.
• Empty nest parents decide to sell their house and buy a vineyard.
• Rocky Mountain Hot Springs suddenly become fountains of youth.
• Rocky Mountain Hot Springs can heal all sickness and disease.
• A wildlife reserve is actually the home of Bigfoot.
• An observatory has the power to transport visitors to other planets.
• A haunted movie theater.
• A Hollywood makeup artist is hired by the government to help spies assume different identities.
• A paramedic is taken hostage by a mortally wounded bank robber on the loose.
• A paramedic is taken hostage by an escaped and wounded convict.
• A football stadium haunted by NFL legends.
• A baseball stadium haunted by baseball legends.
• The true story of the first surveyor to lay out plans for the first highway.
• A haunted library.
• A government translator is the only survivor of a terrorist attack and is taken hostage.
• An art gallery’s paintings come to life.
• A London bridge is inhabited by trolls.
• A haunted lighthouse.
• A real estate agent specializes in haunted houses.
• A haunted and abandoned ski resort.
• An old abandoned ship from the 1700s appears in a harbor after a hurricane.
• A geologist discovers a type of rock not of this earth.
• An old Civil War-era fort suddenly comes to life with a full brigade of soldiers.
• An astronomer discovers a new planet.
• A new planet suddenly appears close to Earth.
• Earth is suddenly transported to another Solar System.
• A historian is approached by government officials to use their time travel machine to investigate historical mysteries.
• Tomb robbers are haunted by ghosts.
• A geyser erupts, leaving behind strange creatures nobody has ever seen.
• A mathematician becomes obsessed with solving a seemingly unsolvable equation.
• A used car salesman has to sell one hundred cars over one weekend to save his business.
• A fitness trainer is hired by an obese character to get them into shape — and they become fast friends while doing so.
• The story of employees spending a summer working at a water park.
• A rock climber struggles to climb the mountain their father never could.
• A news anchor freezes on live television and loses his job.
• The life and career of a saint-like pastor.
• A character is tasked with inventorying an old government warehouse full of wooden and unmarked boxes.
• A robot factory becomes self-aware.
• A haunted abandoned 1980s-era shopping mall.
• A day in the life of 1980s-era teenagers hanging out at a shopping mall.
• The lives of retail store employees.
• Students believe that their school is haunted.
• A haunted hospital.
• A highway motel is actually a time portal where visitors from all decades and generations visit.
• An actor goes back in time to meet the historical figure they are portraying.
• A cartoon animator’s creations come to life.
• A cartoon animator is whisked away into the world he has animated.
• The lives of those who work at a spaceport.
• After the civilized world has been destroyed by Nuclear War, survivors discover an old radio station and try to find other survivors through the radio waves.
• A character is stuck on a fire tower as a forest fire rages around them.
• A cemetery security guard begins to see ghosts.
• A cemetery security guard deals with the rising dead.
• A claustrophobic character is buried alive.
• A marine biologist befriends a real-life mermaid.
• A marine biologist befriends an alien hiding in the ocean waters.
• A music teacher going through a mid-life crisis decides to start a rock band.
• A music teacher going through a mid-life crisis decides to get his old band back together.
• A physical education teacher going through a mid-life crisis decides to try out for the Olympics.
• A hunter bored with hunting animals decides to start hunting people.
• A cop teams with a vampire to take out a mob boss who is actually a werewolf.
• A travel blogger is kidnapped.
• Siblings who think their parents are boring wake up in the 1980s and see what adventures they had.
• A world where everyone prefers to live in virtual reality.
• A character realizes that the world they live in is actually a virtual reality world they created 100 years ago.
• The world of a cult overtakes society.
• A cult leader is actually an alien.
• A cult leader is actually a bored character who was dared to create a successful cult.
• A pacifist has a twin who is an assassin and must assume their identity.
• A parent seeks revenge for the death of their child.
• A hero must save the world one last time after already having done it dozens of times before.
• Forbidden love between GMs of rival sports teams.
• An archeologist searches for Excalibur.
• A middle-aged character who has lived with their parents their whole life must live on their own after their parents pass away.
• A lowly servant rises up against a dystopian overlord.
• A detective trying to solve a single murder case discovers that it links to murders from around the world.
• The first international serial killer is discovered.
• A father seeks forgiveness from the children he abandoned.
• A mother seeks forgiveness from the children she abandoned.
• A character seeks forgiveness from the parents they abandoned.
• A group of thrill seekers decide to break as many extreme records as possible.
• A teacher tasks his students with trying to find a world record they can break.
• An empty nest mother stalks her college son.
• An empty nest parent uses the internet and social media to find the perfect mate for their kid.
• A family decides to be the first family to fly around the world in a hot air balloon rig.
• A world where there is no land.
• A future where society is forced to live in underground cities after Nuclear War.
• A future where society is forced to live in floating skies.
• A future where society is forced to live in underwater cities.
• Three days in the lives of characters that attended Woodstock.
• A father hunts down and kills everyone that had anything to do with his son’s drug addiction.
• A drug addict gets clean and travels the country atoning for his past wrongdoings.
• A character goes back in time to see who killed their loved one.
• A character befriends the person they know who killed their loved one.
• A character unknowingly befriends the murderer of their loved one.
• The most unlikely pair fall in love only to discover they are related.
• A character is tasked with marrying someone before their upcoming birthday or risk losing their inheritance.
• A character is tasked with marrying someone before their upcoming birthday or risk having to marry a childhood friend who they signed a contract with before going to college.
• A lawyer is tasked with defending a known mass murderer.
• A doctor is tasked with saving the life of the person who killed their loved one.
• The world succumbs to mass flooding as characters struggle to survive.
• A character’s wish to spend one more day with their lost loved one comes true in an unexpected way.
• An American high school football star moves to Australia where their new school only has rugby.
• A thrill-seeking parachuter travels through a storm and lands in another time.
• The Wild West in space.
• The true story of Billy the Kid.
• A character can build things with their mind.
• A character wakes up invisible.
• A character can teleport from one place to another.
• A shape-shifting serial killer.
• A character wakes up with the ability to read people’s minds but can’t stop the new power.
• A hiker stumbles upon a civilization of tiny people that capture him.
• A world where cities are forced to live under force field domes to protect them from nuclear fallout.
• A therapist has the ability to feel others’ true emotions.
• A therapist can read their patient’s minds.
• A serial killer with the power to manifest everyone’s greatest fears.
• A character with the power to start earthquakes.
• A character that feels no physical pain.
• A character has a seizure and suddenly develops powers that are slowly killing them every time they use them.
• A new rock star copes with their newfound stardom.
• An actor copes with their newfound stardom.
• A movie star goes back to their hometown after the death of their parent.
• A movie star goes back to their hometown for their 30-year high school reunion.
• A character suffers from amnesia and slowly begins to remember who they are.
• A human and an alien fall in love.
• A human and alien couple raise a family in the suburbs.
• Children discover that their parents are alien imposters.
• Children discover that their parents are robots.
• Siblings discover that they are actually from another planet.
• A soldier deals with losing limbs in battle.
• A soldier comes home after the war.
• An intergalactic soldier returns home after a decade of fighting in an intergalactic war.
• A grandma with a legendary cookbook within her family decides to open a restaurant.
• A family fights over grandma’s secret recipe.
• When a character wins the lottery their family fights for their share.
• When a character wins the lottery they are stalked by people wanting their share.
• A character wins the lottery and uses it all to find the cure for cancer.
• A group of high school friends have a pool party only to be transported back in time to their grade school selves.
• A group of high school students meet up the night before they all head off to different colleges.
• A group of old-timers all wish that they could go back to their high school years — and their wish comes true.
• A college student wanting to lose his virginity before he turns twenty-one meets his soulmate who has vowed to not have sex until she’s married.
• A character meets their perfect match only to discover that their parents have decided to get married.
• A wild high school party leads to unexpected and inspiring mixtures of cliques.
• High school students in the future go off to college on different planets and spaceships.
• Despite universal hate of clowns, a clown troupe decides to open a clown school.
• A videogame designer is actually a military recruiter who uses their games to recruit soldiers.
• Soldiers are now drone pilots who control drone robot soldiers.
• A princess wants to be a warrior.
• A warrior wants to be a princess.
• Paleontologists discover proof that dragons did exist.
• A cowboy visits the big city.
• A wizard teleports to present-day New York.
• A scientist time travels to the Middle Ages and is treated like a wizard.
• A caveman is found preserved in a glacier and comes back to life.
• The scary story of a traveling circus in the late 1800s.
• Aliens visit the World Fair in the 1960s.
• Babe Ruth is transported from the past to the future and manages to still dominate baseball.
• Fictional detective characters from 1970s crime shows come to the real world and try to tackle cases as they did in the show.
• A fictional action hero becomes self-aware within his movies.
• A submarine crew falls asleep and wakes up to realize they’ve been transported to space.
• A submarine crew realizes they have traveled back in time and face a fleet of WWII German submarines.
• The story of a character and their dog.
• A ninja faces off against an Old West gunslinger.
• A samurai faces off against a medieval knight.
• A character’s mirror image starts to talk to them.
• The reflection in our mirrors is a window into a mirror universe.
• A probe sent lightyears into space sends back images of a planet identical to Earth.
• Astronauts discover an alien probe.
• A wife realizes that her husband has been cheating on her for years and goes out on a wild night out with her single friends.
• A husband realizes that his wife has been cheating on him for years and goes out on a wild night out with his single friends.
• A character with a low IQ undergoes an experimental surgery and becomes a genius overnight.
• An egotistical character with a high IQ hits their head and loses all of their smarts.
• Back in the 1980s, a snowboarder invades the ski slopes.
• A previously famous fitness instructor tries to get back on the fitness scene but is clueless about how out of shape they are now.
• A rabbi, priest and monk walk into a bar.
• Young friends who find a boat decide to travel down the Mississippi River.
• A group of young friends decide to climb a mountain.
• A child decides to live exclusively in their backyard tree house.
• Young friends decide to make the biggest tree house they’ve ever seen.
• A rich character lives life like a child.
• A child enters a poker tournament via a loophole in the rules — and wins.
• Three brothers reunite after being kept apart for decades.
• Three sisters reunite after being kept apart for decades.
• Best friends discover that they are actually siblings.
• A couple who have just met discover that they are actually siblings.
• A middle schooler has a crush on their new teacher.
• A puppy brings a family together.
• A dog declares war on the new cat adopted by the family.
• A dog and cat become best friends.
• A puppy raised by cats tries to make friends with other dogs.
• Vampires live on the dark side of the moon.
• Aliens live on the dark side of the moon.
• A superhero loses their powers.
• A dying superhero must give their powers to a worthy person.
• A mother must deal with her alcoholism while trying to remain the perfect mom.
• High schoolers create an underground fight club.
• High schoolers become drug dealers to pay off their parents’ debt.
• College students become high-stakes poker players to pay off their student loans.
• A high schooler offers to protect bullied students — for a price.
• A military sniper is recruited to become an international assassin.
• A high school student is mistaken as an international assassin.
• An IT tech discovers a secret file.
• Filmmaking students decide to recreate their favorite movie.
• An aging man’s dream to be young again comes true as he ages backward each day.
• A character is given the chance to revisit the pivotal moments in their lives.
• A character is given the chance to go back to their high school days.
• An old website from the 1990s allows characters to email God.
• An old website from the 1990s unlocks a sinister being.
• A charismatic character proves a point about society by making people believe the world is flat.
• Characters travel back to the era of dinosaurs.
• A brilliant high school student decides to clone themselves.
• Twin characters are mortal enemies.
• Twins meet each other and discover that they’ve fallen in love with the same woman.
• A man lives two lives after he marries twins that were separated at birth.
• A character must decide which twin they want to date.
• A successful screenwriter is forced to work a regular job for a living.
• A successful athlete is forced to join the workforce.
• College students discover that the dean is a Russian sleeper agent.
• High school students suspect that their principal is a Russian sleeper agent.
• High school students suspect that their teacher is a mobster in the Witness Protection program.
• A man travels the world looking to taste the perfect beer.
• A dying character wants to find their soul mate before they die.
• An angel wants to walk the Earth as a human.
• A character is afraid of everything.
• A man and his dog switch bodies.
• A storm opens a strange portal.
• A character has a meal with the devil.
• An upstanding citizen decides to rob a bank.
• A fraud investigator uses their knowledge to cheat their company out of millions.
• An insurance investigator uses their knowledge to cheat a company out of millions.
• A professional athlete comes out as gay.
• A character deals with the realization that they have done nothing spontaneous in life.
• A construction worker falls in love with a demolition worker.
• A soldier comes back from war and discovers that their spouse has disappeared.
• A soldier comes back from war and discovers that their spouse has another family.
• A character mourning the loss of their family decides to build a cabin in the woods.
• Friends decide to dig the deepest hole they can in their backyard.
• Friends discover buried treasure in their backyard.
• High schoolers decide to plan the most epic party of all time.
• A smooth-talking character loses their voice.
• A deaf person uses their special talent to become a musician.
• A town bands around a dying kid’s dream to become a superhero.
• A child discovers that their parents are vampires.
• A child discovers that their parents are aliens.
• A child discovers that they are adopted.
• A veteran decides to find his old buddy from Vietnam.
• Two war veterans dealing with PTSD fall in love.
• A police officer must break the law to save their family.
• An average character discovers they have a unique talent.
• A Dungeons & Dragons player wants to learn to become a blacksmith to make their own sword.
• A character finds a magical sword embedded in a tree.
• A small lake town discovers that something strange is in the lake waters.
• A character raises a bear as a pet.
• A brilliant high schooler discovers a new energy source.
• A brilliant child solves the most difficult math problem.
• A talented musician struggles to become a star.
• A talented writer struggles to be published.
• A bow hunter with a compound bow travels back in time.
• A child breaks into prison to see their father.
• A father breaks out of prison to see his child on their birthday.
• A character discovers a strange microchip under their skin.
• A character discovers that they are actually an angel that fell to Earth.
• A football player strives to be taken seriously by their coach.
• A football player strives to get a college scholarship to play football.
• A football player strives to get drafted into the NFL.
• A character buys an old desk that has special powers.
• A character’s split personalities suddenly appear as real people in their house.
• A tennis player has an opportunity to make it as a ping pong player in the Olympics.
• Teenagers make their own Quija board.
• Tarzan on another planet.
• Sherlock Holmes in high school.
• People’s shadows come to life when they are asleep.
• Old reality stars try to make a comeback.
• Old child actor stars try to make a comeback.
• A pilot mourning the death of his family takes one last flight around the world.
• A soccer or rugby coach is hired to coach an American football team.
• Two swordsmen meet in the forest, ready to duel.
• A character wanders the streets of a deserted Los Angeles.
• A young man from the dangerous inner city streets attends open tryouts for the NFL.
• A former NFL player goes back to his hometown to coach his high school football team.
• A young woman who always wanted to be a princess gets the chance to make that dream come true.
• An American discovers that he is the heir to the British throne.
• A forty-something man goes back to college and walks onto the football team to realize his football dreams.
• What really happened to the Roanoke Colony?
• The “real” reason the Terracotta Army was created.
• The “real” reason the Great Pyramids were created.
• Chornobyl has more secrets than we previously knew.
• What happened to the Lost Colony of Japan?
• What “really” happened to Flight 19?
• A minimalist and a hoarder move in together.
• A Vegan Animal Rights Activist moves is forced to move in with a Butcher.
• A mercenary is partnered with a pacifist.
• A risky and destructive detective is partnered with a pacifist.
• A risk assessment analyst is partnered with a risky and destructive detective.
• A wilderness survival expert is forced to relax at a luxury resort complex.
• A hardworking executive is tasked with leaving their phone behind for an off-the-grid adventure.
• Teenagers are forced to go on an off-the-grid adventure in the wilderness.
• A health nut is forced to live with a junk food addict.
• A tech-savvy teen is tasked with teaching an old person about technology.
• A collector of rare books finds a copy of the first Christian bible.
• A collector of rare books stumbles upon one that unlocks evil into the world.
• An antique collector finds a genie in a bottle.
• A genie in a bottle plans a daring escape.
• A scientist searching for UFOs and a UFO skeptic partner together.
• A failed comedian is forced to work at a funeral parlor.
• The life of a stuntperson.
• The life of a presidential chef.
• A Midwesterner comes to Hawaii for college and learns how to surf.
• A famous sharpshooter time travels to the Old West.
• An uber-Jimmy Buffet fan struggles to get over the death of their idol.
• A bartender decides to move to the Bahamas to open a bar in paradise.
• When a former work-from-home dog owner gets an office job, their dog breaks out of the house to find them.
• A fantasy football GM is given the chance to run an NFL team and fails miserably.
• The first cyborg.
• The first female NFL player.
• A person’s dreams are actually glimpses into the lives of strangers.
• Nightmares are a glimpse into hell.
• A little boy goes missing in a small town.
• A little girl goes missing in a small town.
• A restaurant owner must do something spectacular to stay open.
• The training of a real ninja.
• A modern-day Samurai lives life off the grid.
• A spy discovers their parents were Russian sleeper agents.
• A space explorer discovers a planet called Earth.
• A werewolf tries their best to live a regular life.
• A modern-day witch struggles to follow their beliefs.
• A knight and a samurai duel.
• A hacker stumbles upon a disturbing secret.
• An assassin is tasked with going back in time to kill his younger self.
• A bounty hunter chases their most difficult bounty.
• A mercenary struggles with following through with their assignment.
• An archeologist makes a shocking discovery about humanity.
• A gunslinger from the Old West grows old.
• A pirate captain defies his crew.
• A historian discovers that what they believed was fact is actually fiction.
• An inventor creates the ultimate undetectable weapon.
• An inventor creates the ultimate new energy source and is chased down by government officials.
• A ghost hunter begins to fall in love with the ghost they are chasing.
• A cyborg detective.
• A shapeshifting serial killer.
• An AI becomes self-aware.
• An ancient warrior is reawakened.
• A time-traveling historian quietly records the truth behind all major historical events.
• A VR gamer can’t escape his VR game.
• A genetic experiment gone wrong.
• A puppeteer’s puppets come to life.
• A little person struggles to live in a big world.
• The unexpected truth about Area 51.
• The unexpected truth about Stonehenge.
• What really happened on the Mary Celeste ship found floating and abandoned?
• The Mothman legend.
• A serial killing clown.
• A clumsy superhero.
• An inept spy.
• The heartfelt story of a local cat lady.
• A character addicted to social media.
• An old character decides they want to be a social media influencer.
• A couch potato witnesses a murder.
• A ghost bunter who is scared to death of ghosts but good at hunting them.
• A barista falls in love with a customer.
• A Dungeons & Dragons dungeon master is thrust into their own campaign.
• A compulsive liar struggles to be taken seriously when they witness something outrageous.
• A hopeless romantic has the worst luck in love.
• A museum of oddities comes to life.
• A germophobe struggles during the pandemic.
• A soap opera actor gets their big feature break.
• A soap opera actor is stalked by a fan.
• Santa Claus decides to retire.
• An eccentric crossword puzzle solver discovers a secret code within the daily puzzles.
• A UFO abducts an annoying human that doesn’t want to leave the ship.
• A bartender realizes that their patrons are vampires.
• A UPS driver delivers to a haunted property.
• A country town bands together to survive a flood.
• A character gets a call from their long-missing spouse.
• A lowly story prompt content creator sees his prompts come to life on the big screen.

How to Use Story Prompts

What can often get your creativity flowing is reading story prompts — brief and often intriguing or thought-provoking sentences or ideas that serve as a starting point for creative writing, providing a concept, scenario, world, or theme that can be expanded into a full-fledged story.

You can use story prompts as a foundation to develop characters, plotlines, conflicts, and resolutions, ultimately crafting your own unique stories around the initial idea provided by the prompt.

Want to Come Up With Your Own Story Prompts?

The secret sauce of storytelling is learning how to come up with those grand ideas and concepts. It may seem daunting to most. How do you come up with something fresh and new when everything seems to have been done? Creativity is the key.

• Give people what they’ve seen before, but a different version of it.
• Merge two clever ideas into one.
• Introduce a concept into a whole different world and genre.
• Subvert expectations from otherwise familiar stories and characters.

Do that and, boom…you’ve just come up with your very own story prompt!

Read More: 50 Gold Screenwriting Quotes to Jump Start Your Creativity

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Do you wish to write but don’t know how to start? If you have writer’s block, this article is for you! This article includes 100 plus creative writing prompts across all genres to kickstart your writing journey. 

From horror writing prompts to fantasy writing prompts, we’ve covered everything for you! Before we see examples of writing prompts, let’s quickly understand the meaning of writing prompts. 

Ready to take your writing to the next level? Learn more

What are writing prompts? 

A writing prompt is a simple topic idea to inspire the writer to get the first words on the page. It can be a picture, a line from a poem, or an imaginary scenario. Writing prompts can be abstract, realistic, evocative, thought-provoking, insightful, or descriptive. 

Dive in to see exciting writing prompts from various genres! These also include many creative writing prompts for adults.

1. Horror writing prompts 

1) A man inside the coffin breaks the coffin and starts walking. 

2) A demonic spirit has entered your friend’s body and she is moving closer to attack you. 

3) You wake up in an empty house and see a ghost. 

4) A doll you brought for a friend suddenly starts speaking. 

5)  You suddenly see a man who was supposed to have died in 1900. 

6) A vampire you saw in your dream kidnaps you in real life. 

7) You are awakened by drops of blood falling on your face. 

8) You have an accident and suddenly see a centaur who has a half-human, half-animal face. 

9)  You are walking in the forest and witness a shocking ritual where people are drinking blood. 

10) You wear an old ring you found after which something terrible keeps happening to you. 

11) An excavator finds an old mummy while digging which tries to grab him. 

Now let’s see some of the best creative writing prompts for adults and kids for journaling, 

2. Journal writing prompts 

1) Describe a childhood memory that always makes you smile. 

2) Write about a dream you had that you can never forget. 

3) Recount your biggest challenge and what you learned from it. 

4) Name three people who inspire you the most and why. 

5) Pen a letter to yourself and describe your accomplishments and future goals. 

6) Explain what would you like to change if you had a chance to go back in time. 

7) Narrate an incident where the kindness of strangers moved you. 

8) Express in detail some of your best memories with school friends. 

9) List five activities you love to do and your efforts to perform those activities. 

10) Tell in detail about your favorite travel destination. 

11) Describe your most challenging times and how you overcame them. 

If you wish to explore writing about mysteries, the following are some creative prompts about mysteries. 

3. Mystery writing prompts 

1) Ten scientists die on the same day and a Scotland Yard detective is assigned to find out why. 

2) A top bureaucrat starts getting anonymous threatening notes and decides to investigate. 

3) A retired police officer decides to play detective and solve the case of his granddaughter’s death. 

4) A private investigator is assigned to find the truth about a journalist who went missing.

5)  A meteor strikes a village after which people start falling sick. 

6) An archaeologist finds a document about a cursed treasure and decides to find out the truth. 

7) A young boy hears screams from a tower and sees torch lights flashing in the dark. 

8) A factory burns and an investigator finds out whether the fire was caused naturally or intentionally. 

9) A girl inquires to understand why her dog was shot and discovers a shocking truth. 

10) A son promises his mother to uncover the reason behind his sister’s suicide. 

11) A police inspector has to solve the murder case of an orphan who was earlier arrested in a drug case. 

4. Romance writing prompts 

1) A girl falls in love with a video gamer she met in college.  

2) A 70-year-old realizes that he has fallen in love with a woman he met at an old age home. 

3) A man meets his childhood crush after years and tries to woo her once more. 

4)  Two best friends decide to experiment and set up a double date. 

5) Give a love story to a person whom everyone assumes to be a villain. 

6) Pen a romance story with the words affair, flirting, infatuation, and fling. 

7) A man who has a phobia of getting married meets a girl with a similar fear. 

8) Write a love story of two people staying in two different countries. 

9) Two employees from rival companies fall in love. 

10) A paramedic falls in love with a spy whose life she saves. She later realizes that he will soon embark on a dangerous mission. 

11) Write a love story of a librarian and a time-traveler. 

Instead of writing about romance, you might be interested in the science fiction genre. Given below are some creative prompts related to science fiction. 

5. Science fiction writing prompts 

1) Two scientists invent a machine that can control and manipulate weather. 

2) An astronaut flies to the planet Jupiter and discovers alien life. 

3) An archaeologist finds an old book about a magical time travel ritual and uses that ritual to go back in time. 

4) A young boy finds a hidden library of science books and is trapped inside the library. 

5) A science teacher decides to take revenge against the government by performing a dangerous science experiment. 

6) A jailed scientist uses science to escape and prove his innocence. 

7) A science geek creates an AI program that can hack the data of government and private organizations without leaving a trace. 

8) A spaceship is pulled into another universe by an unknown force and aliens are planning to invade the Earth. 

9) A scientist designs a robot that looks and talks exactly like the country’s President and plans to kill the real President. 

10) To reduce population, a crazy scientist makes a deadly plan to release a virus into the air. 

11) A chemistry professor creates a dangerous solution that can massively change the genes of animals and humans. 

If science fiction is not your cup of tea and you love fantasy, here are some creative writing prompts about fantasy. 

6. Fantasy writing prompts 

1) An archaeologist enters a magical world of dragons and is unable to return to Earth. 

2) A tribal girl develops fairy wings and she is later assigned the task to save the fairy race from extinction. 

3) A man discovers a magical dream shop where dreams are sold to change reality. 

4) A musician visits a hidden world and finds a magical flute that can hypnotize people and make them stand still. 

5) A boy finds a small dwarf in his garden who shows him the train to travel to parallel universes. 

6) A woman finds the feather of a rare bird, using which she enters the world of lost secrets. 

7) A college student falls in love with a cursed mermaid and travels to her land to free her from the curse. 

8) An excavator opens a door and arrives in the land where destinies are written. 

9) A man unintentionally awakens a sleeping devil who creates a new world and new citizens to destroy the earth. 

10) A girl realizes that she has the power to control stars and is pulled into a world of demons and monsters. 

11) A fairy falls in love with a human and must convince Fairyland to accept her love and let her go. 

You might also have an interest in writing poems about various topics. For poetry lovers, the following are some of the best creative writing prompts. 

7. Poetry writing prompts 

1) Write a poem about your favorite fairy tale as a child. 

2) Describe an unforgettable memory with your first crush in a poem. 

3) Pen a poem about a stray dog who became your best friend. 

4) Craft a poem about the beauty of witnessing fireflies in the dark. 

5) Explore the sadness of losing touch with school classmates in a poem. 

6) Narrate an incident about a memorable dance you saw in a poem. 

7) Write a poem that has the quote “Tough times never last but tough people do”. 

8) Compose a poem on a special gift you received and its importance. 

9) Pen a poem about your favorite cartoon character. 

10) Write a poem about how a person who passed away inspired you in life. 

11) Compose a poem about a magical land where you wish to go. 

If you love to write on light-hearted, funny topics, given below are some of the best writing prompts for you! 

8. Funny writing prompts 

1) Jot down a hilarious conversation between a madman and a witty parrot. 

2) Create a funny story about how a person is forced to communicate with a stranger who doesn’t understand English. 

3) Write a funny dialogue about a person who says something wrong at the most inappropriate time. 

4) Describe a prank where you created a savory dish that looked like chocolate and made your friend taste it. 

5) Write a humorous conversation between a standup comedian and an angry spectator. 

6) Pen a story about a disaster that takes place because a scientist forgot to add a valuable component to an experiment. 

7) Craft a funny story about a brother who takes revenge on his sister for revealing his girlfriend to his parents. 

8) Imagine a funny situation where a friend tries to copy everything you do to irritate you and write about it. 

9) Write about a funny incident when you received a parcel you hadn’t ordered.

10) Narrate an incident about a funny costume party where everyone was dressed up as different animals.  

11) Write about a comic incident where an aunt asked you to take responsibility for her son while she was away. However, the son ends up in prison. 

9. Short story writing prompts 

1) Write a short story about a ship that mysteriously sank in the ocean. 

2) Pen a short story about a girl who has synesthesia and sees colors around people. 

3) Craft a short story about a mountaineer who decides to climb Mount Everest. 

4) Develop a short story about a road trip gone wrong. 

5) Write a short story about what happens when a government official finds out about a dangerous secret. 

6) Create a short story about a detective who disguises himself and is discovered. 

7) Pen a short story about a businessman with a big scar and a twisted lip. 

8) Write a short story about how a boy discovers a magical wishing feather after which his every wish comes true. 

9) Develop a short story about a blind man who takes revenge for an insult. 

10) Craft a short story about an eagle who saves a jungle from being destroyed. 

11) Write a short story about the last living princess who makes a mark on the world. 

If you wish to explore historical fiction instead, here are some of the best writing prompts for you! 

10. Historical fiction writing prompts 

1) A librarian discovers a shocking secret about the Second World War which can change the future of the USA and Russia. 

2) Write a story about a mirror that talks about an ancient era and reveals a secret about that era. 

3) Craft a tale about a poet who wrote about the Red Indians. 

4) A political leader begins a movement to get recognition for a lesser-known historical figure, resulting in controversy. 

5) An excavator finds a valuable artifact from the Mayan civilization that could affect the world’s future. 

6) A girl realizes that she is the last living descendant of a French queen and must protect a family secret at all costs. 

7) A bureaucrat finds a diary about a man who suffered during the Great Depression and resolves to make amends. 

8) A boy has dreams about the First World War and decides to solve the mystery of his dreams. 

9) A tribe decides to get back a valuable historical artifact stolen from them. 

10) A historian finds out about the most dangerous escape of an American soldier. 

11) A girl discovers a magical portal that transports her to the 18th century.  

Now that you’ve understood what are writing prompts, you can use one prompt daily and start writing. The next step after writing is editing. As providers of editing and proofreading services , we’d love to help you edit and perfect your writing! 

We realize how writing and editing can be challenging tasks. Here are some resources to enhance your writing: 

• The dynamics of Christian book editing and proofreading
• What Is Developmental Editing? A Self-Editing Checklist
• How to Write a Novel in Past Tense? 3 Steps & Examples

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Write about a character who is allergic to heat., start or end your story with a heatwave announcement., write about a summer vacation gone wrong., write a story in the form of a series of thank you cards., write a story about an unsung hero., write a story about a cynic who has been told to start a "gratitude journal," and does so — begrudgingly., write a creative nonfiction piece about something you're grateful for., write a story about a character trying to find a way to express their gratitude to someone., write a story using the most clichéd twist of all; it was all a dream., write a story that includes the line, "i didn't see that one coming.", write a story about someone who realises the story of their life has been pre-determined — until they decide to divert from the expected path., write a story in which a character learns something unexpected about someone they thought they knew well., write a story with a big twist., set your story in a world where conversation about one particular topic is banned — but there are ways to get around the rule., in a small town, a powerful family have a dark secret that nobody wants to discuss. one day, an outsider arrives, who's not happy to simply drop it., write a story that includes the line, "is nobody going to say it"., place your characters in a tough situation, where nobody wants to acknowledge the reality of what's happening., write a story about two people who aren't admitting their true feelings for one another, despite it being obvious to outsiders., win $250 in our short story competition 🏆.

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120 short story ideas for writers.

I hear you.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or a newbie, coming up with fresh and exciting story ideas can be a real challenge. I’m here to help with this article packed full of short story writing prompts, offering a plethora of short story ideas across a veritable smorgasbord of genres.

From the mystical realms of fantasy to the futuristic landscapes of science fiction, the heartfelt world of romance, the gripping tension of crime stories, the nuanced narratives of women’s fiction, and imaginative tales for children, you’ll find inspiration for your next writing project.

We’ll explore tips on how to decide what to write about, ensuring you choose a story idea that resonates with you and your readers.

Are you ready to get your short story on?

Then let’s do this thing.

Fantasy Short Story Writing Prompts

• A dragon hoards not gold but forgotten memories.
• An enchanted forest appears only once every hundred years.
• A young wizard’s apprentice discovers a spell that can change the past.
• There’s a kingdom where every citizen has a unique magical ability, except for one individual.
• A cursed object brings fortune to its owner at a great personal cost.
• A group of adventurers are on a quest to find a mythical creature believed to be extinct.
• A sorcerer loses their magic and must rely on their wits to save their realm.
• An ancient prophecy predicts the rise of a hero, but the chosen one is reluctant.
• A fairy tale villain is misunderstood and seeks redemption.
• A magical competition prize is a wish granted by the gods.
• A hidden society of elves live in the modern world, influencing human events.
• A castle moves locations every night, confusing those who seek it.
• A warrior is bound by an oath to protect a powerful artifact.
• A mysterious island appears and disappears with the tides.
• A magical library’s books come to life and interact with readers.
• A hero must journey to the underworld to rescue a loved one.
• A witch casts spells using songs instead of incantations.
• A magical creature grants wishes but requires a personal sacrifice.
• A kingdom’s seasons change at the whim of the monarch.
• A cursed prince can only communicate through writing.

Sci-fi Short Story Prompts

• A colony on Mars discovers a mysterious signal from deep space.
• A time traveler becomes stuck in a dystopian future.
• A spaceship crew encounters an alien species that communicates through emotions.
• It’s a post-apocalyptic earth where humanity survives in floating cities above a toxic atmosphere.
• A scientist creates a portal to parallel universes, each more dangerous than the last.
• In a city where everyone has augmented reality implants, a conspiracy threatens their reality.
• An android develops human emotions and ethical dilemmas follow.
• A rogue planet enters our solar system, bringing unknown life forms with it.
• A genetic experiment grants humans extraordinary abilities at a high cost.
• You can buy memories, sell them, and steal them.
• A society bans all forms of art and creativity, but a group of rebels fights to preserve it.
• A scientist discovers a way to communicate with plants and learns they have their own society.
• Climate change has drastically altered the planet, and humanity must adapt.
• A detective who solves crimes by entering the memories of the deceased.
• The government monitors and regulates dreams.
• A spaceship is on a mission to find a new habitable planet, and they encounter an ancient alien civilization.
• Humans can upload their consciousness into robotic bodies.
• A group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world discover an underground city.
• A journalist uncovers a government conspiracy involving genetic manipulation.

Romance Narrative Prompts

• Two rival chefs compete in a cooking contest and discover a mutual attraction.
• Write a love story between a time traveler and a historian.
• A romance blossoms in a small town during a significant festival.
• An artist falls for their muse who is hiding a secret.
• A chance meeting on a train changes two strangers’ lives forever.
• A romance unfolds through a series of letters found in an old attic.
• It’s a second chance romance between high school sweethearts who meet again at a reunion.
• A relationship starts with a mistaken identity.
• The protagonist must choose between a past love and a new flame.
• A long-distance relationship is challenged by unexpected circumstances.
• A romance happens between a human and a supernatural being.
• A couple must overcome their families’ long-standing feud to be together.
• A summer romance must survive the return to real life.
• A love story is set in a historical period with societal challenges.
• A romance begins with a lie but grows into something real.
• A story of unrequited love finally gets a happy ending.
• A couple meet during a natural disaster and bond through the experience.
• A romance develops during a road trip across the country.
• A relationship starts as a fake engagement but turns genuine.

Crime Story Ideas to Write About

• A detective must solve a crime in a town where everyone has a motive.
• A heist gone wrong and there are consequences.
• A series of mysterious disappearances happen in a small coastal village.
• A journalist uncovers a conspiracy while investigating a high-profile murder.
• An unsolved case draws a retired detective back into the game.
• A cat-and-mouse game happens between a cunning thief and a determined investigator.
• A crime syndicate’s power struggle is seen through the eyes of an undercover cop.
• A lawyer discovers their client is guilty and must decide whether to reveal the truth.
• A cold case is reopened when fresh evidence comes to light.
• A crime that is planned and executed perfectly but leaves one small clue.
• A detective has to work with their estranged sibling to solve a crime.
• A vigilante takes justice into their own hands in a corrupt city.
• A series of crimes mimic famous literary murders.
• A detective realizes the criminal they’re hunting is someone from their past.
• A forensic scientist discovers evidence has been tampered with.
• A criminal experiences remorse and tries to undo their wrongs.
• A detective uses unorthodox methods to solve crimes.

Women’s Fiction Story Topics

• Tell a woman’s journey of self-discovery after a major life change.
• A female entrepreneur breaks into a male-dominated industry.
• A mother and daughter must navigate their complicated relationship.
• A group of women reconnect at a high school reunion and confront their pasts.
• A woman has a quest to uncover her family’s hidden history.
• The bonds of friendship are tested by secrets and betrayals.
• A widow finds love and purpose after loss.
• A woman fights for justice in a corrupt legal system.
• Delve into the impact of a life-changing diagnosis on a woman’s outlook and relationships.
• A woman travels the world after a personal tragedy and finds healing.
• Women support each other through life’s challenges.
• A female athlete overcomes obstacles to achieve her dreams.
• A woman starts a new life in a different country and faces cultural challenges.
• Write a story of forgiveness and reconciliation between estranged sisters.
• A woman becomes an advocate for a cause she believes in.
• A female artist struggles with self-doubt but finds her voice.
• A woman leaves an abusive relationship and rebuilds her life.
• Tell a tale of friendship between women from different generations.
• A woman rediscovers her passion for a hobby she abandoned.

Children’s Ideas for a Story

• A group of kids discovers a magical portal in their backyard.
• An adventurer finds hidden treasure in a haunted house.
• A young hero must save their school from an evil wizard.
• Talking animals team up to solve a mystery in the forest.
• A child invents a time machine and travels to different historical periods.
• A magical pet grants wishes but with unintended consequences.
• A friendship starts between a human child and a misunderstood monster.
• An adventure is in a world where toys come to life when no one is looking.
• A young detective solves mysteries around their neighborhood.
• A group of kids form a secret club to protect their town.
• A child can talk to ghosts and help them solve their problems.
• A magical treehouse transports kids to different worlds.
• A young inventor creates gadgets to help their friends.
• Tell a story about a child who can communicate with animals.
• A group of friends discover a hidden city beneath their town.
• A child finds a map leading to a pirate’s treasure.
• A young hero must save their kingdom from an evil sorcerer.
• A child learns they are the heir to a magical kingdom.
• A young artist brings their drawings to life.

How to Decide What to Write a Story About

Choosing the right story idea can be daunting, but these tips can help:

• Follow Your Passion: Write about what excites you. Your enthusiasm will translate to the page and engage your readers.
• Know Your Audience: Consider who you’re writing for. Tailoring your story to your audience’s interests can guide your choice of ideas.
• Explore “What If” Scenarios: Ask yourself “What if?” to generate unique and intriguing story concepts.
• Draw From Personal Experience: Use your life experiences as inspiration for authentic and relatable stories.
• Read Widely: Exposure to different genres and styles can spark new ideas and perspectives.
• Mix Genres: Combine elements from different genres to create something fresh and unexpected.
• Start With a Character: Develop an interesting character and build a story around their journey.
• Consider the Setting: Sometimes, a unique setting can inspire the entire plot.
• Think About Themes: Reflect on the themes you want to explore, such as love, loss, justice, or adventure.
• Use Prompts: Writing prompts, like the ones in this article, can jumpstart your creativity.
• Free Writing: Spend some time free writing to see what ideas naturally emerge.
• Brainstorm: Create a mind map or list of ideas and see which ones stand out to you.
• Seek Feedback: Discuss your ideas with friends or fellow writers to gain new insights.
• Reflect on Dreams: Sometimes dreams can provide the basis for interesting stories.
• Observe the World: Look around you for inspiration in everyday life, nature, and current events.
• Challenge Yourself: Push the boundaries of your comfort zone by trying new genres or styles.
• Revisit Old Ideas: Look at your past notes or unfinished stories for ideas that you can revive or reimagine.
• Consider Moral Dilemmas: Stories that tackle complex ethical questions can be interesting and thought-provoking.
• Use Music or Art: Let your favorite music or artwork inspire a mood, setting, or scene for your story.
• Imagine Alternate Realities: Create stories based on alternate histories or future possibilities.

With these prompts and tips, you are well-equipped to embark on your next writing adventure.

And finally, always remember that story comes first. Focus on:

• Creating engaging characters
• Penning interesting plots
• Structuring solid settings

A tool like Fictionary helps you turn your draft into an interesting story readers love. So, with the right writing prompts and a strong narrative foundation, your writing can truly shine.

The Story Starter

The Story Starter randomly generates 8,286,052,608 writing prompts. This idea generator can be used by novelists, screenwriters, teachers, short story writers, and more. It has been used by writers of all ages.

Write your story starter sentence on a piece of paper or copy and paste it into your favorite word processor and start writing your story! Please bookmark and link to this page and come back again to use The Story Starter .

The Story Starter was selected as one of the Top 101 Websites for Writers by Writer's Digest Magazine six times!

Copyright 2003-2024 Joel Heffner All Rights Reserved

• Writing Prompts

62+ Animals Writing Prompts To Spark Your Imagination

Are you looking for inspiration to ignite your storytelling? Our comprehensive list of animal writing prompts is here to help you dive into a world of creativity and imagination. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, these prompts are designed to spark your creativity and transport you into the wild, wonderful world of animals. From curious cats to brave bears, each prompt offers a unique scenario that challenges you to think outside the box and explore new perspectives.

Using these 62+ animal writing prompts is simple. Choose a prompt that piques your interest and start writing. You can use these prompts to kickstart a short story , develop a novel , or even as a daily writing exercise to keep your skills sharp. Whether you’re writing for fun, for practice, or for a specific project, these prompts are versatile enough to suit any purpose. Let your imagination run wild and see where these animal adventures take you!

62+ Animals Writing Prompts

Get ready to embark on a creative journey with our extensive collection of 62+ animal writing prompts. Each prompt is designed to spark your imagination and bring the animal kingdom to life in your stories.

• The Curious Cat: A cat discovers a hidden door in its owner’s house that leads to a magical world. What adventures await on the other side?
• Dog Detective: A clever dog uses its keen sense of smell to solve a neighbourhood mystery. How does it communicate its findings to the humans?
• Bird’s Eye View: A bird flies over a bustling city and witnesses something incredible from above. What does it see and how does it react?
• Aquatic Adventure: A dolphin teams up with a marine biologist to uncover a sunken treasure. What challenges do they face along the way?
• Forest Guardians: A group of forest animals band together to protect their home from an encroaching threat. How do they plan their defence?
• The Lonely Lion: A lion in a zoo dreams of the African savanna. One night, the dream feels so real that the lion finds itself transported to its homeland.
• Rabbit’s Burrow: A rabbit discovers an ancient artefact buried deep in its burrow. What powers does the artefact possess?
• The Runaway Turtle: A pet turtle escapes its tank and embarks on a journey across town. Who does it meet and what dangers does it encounter?
• Owl’s Secret: An owl witnesses a secret meeting in the forest. What are they discussing and how does the owl use this information?
• The Fox’s Trick: A fox outsmarts a hunter in a game of wits. How does the fox ensure its survival?
• Penguin Parade: A penguin gets separated from its colony and has to find its way back. What unique friends does it make along the way?
• Giraffe’s Perspective: A giraffe sees something strange from its tall vantage point. How does it alert the other animals?
• Bear’s Hibernation: A bear wakes up from hibernation to find the world drastically changed. What happened while it was asleep?
• Elephant’s Memory: An elephant recalls a critical piece of information that saves its herd. What did it remember and how did it help?
• The Brave Mouse: A tiny mouse sets out on a grand adventure to retrieve something valuable. What obstacles does it face due to its size?
• Kangaroo Quest: A kangaroo travels across Australia to deliver an important message. What makes this journey perilous?
• Polar Bear Patrol: A polar bear patrols its icy domain and discovers an intruder. What is the intruder’s intention and how does the bear respond?
• Chameleon’s Change: A chameleon uses its color-changing ability to solve a problem. What situation requires its unique skill?
• Horse’s Freedom: A horse escapes from captivity and experiences the wild for the first time. How does it adapt to its new environment?
• Bee’s Mission: A bee must gather a special type of pollen to save its hive. What makes this pollen so rare?
• Squirrel’s Stash: A squirrel finds that its winter stash has been stolen. Who took it and how does the squirrel get it back?
• Whale’s Song: A whale’s song has the power to change the ocean’s tides. How does the whale use this gift to help its friends?
• Deer’s Dilemma: A deer finds itself in a human city and must find its way back to the forest. What surprising allies assist in its journey?
• Cheetah’s Race: A cheetah enters a race against other animals to prove its speed. What unexpected challenges does it face?
• Otter’s Playground: An otter discovers an underwater playground that holds a secret. What is hidden there and why is it important?
• The Wise Old Turtle: An ancient turtle shares a piece of wisdom with a young animal. How does this advice change the young animal’s life?
• Parrot’s Puzzle: A parrot solves a mystery on a pirate ship. What clue did the parrot decipher?
• Eagle’s Flight: An eagle flies over a mountain range and finds a hidden valley. What secrets does the valley hold?
• Frog’s Leap: A frog leaps into a magical pond and transforms. What new abilities does it gain and how does it use them?
• Zebra’s Stripes: A zebra learns why it has stripes. What is the significance of this revelation?
• Monkey’s Mischief: A monkey’s prank goes too far. How does it make amends with its friends?
• Lynx’s Lair: A lynx discovers a hidden cave in its territory. What treasures or dangers are inside?
• Panda’s Problem: A panda must find a new source of bamboo. What challenges does it face in its quest?
• Bat’s Night Out: A bat explores an unfamiliar part of the night sky. What new discoveries does it make?
• Wolf’s Pack: A lone wolf is accepted into a new pack. What trials must it endure to prove itself?
• Peacock’s Pride: A peacock loses its feathers. How does it regain its confidence and status?
• Tiger’s Territory: A tiger defends its territory from an intruder. What strategies does it use to protect its home?
• Flamingo’s Dance: A flamingo’s unique dance catches the attention of the entire flock. What message is it trying to convey?
• Ant’s Army: An ant leads its colony in a battle against a rival colony. What tactics does it use to secure victory?
• Shark’s Secret: A shark hides a secret that could change the underwater world. What is the secret and who discovers it?
• Raccoon’s Raid: A raccoon orchestrates a raid on a human campsite. What does it steal and why?
• Hedgehog’s Hideaway: A hedgehog finds a perfect hiding spot. What does it use it for and who discovers it?
• Moose’s Migration: A moose embarks on a long migration. What trials and tribulations does it encounter?
• Alligator’s Apprentice: An alligator takes on a young protégé. What does it teach and how does the apprentice benefit?
• Porcupine’s Quills: A porcupine uses its quills in a creative way to solve a problem. What issue does it address?
• Beaver’s Dam: A beaver builds an extraordinary dam. What impact does it have on the surrounding environment?
• Snake’s Secret Path: A snake discovers a hidden path through the forest. Where does it lead and what does it find?
• Tarantula’s Trap: A tarantula sets a clever trap for its prey. What happens when the trap catches something unexpected?
• Hummingbird’s Nectar: A hummingbird searches for the sweetest nectar. What makes this nectar special and why is it so hard to find?
• Goat’s Challenge: A mountain goat faces a challenge from a rival. How does it prove its worth?
• Badger’s Burrow: A badger’s burrow leads to a network of underground tunnels. What does it discover in the depths?
• Llama’s Load: A llama carries a mysterious load up a mountain. What is the load and why is it important?
• Ostrich’s Speed: An ostrich races against other animals to deliver an important message. What obstacles does it overcome?
• Leopard’s Leap: A leopard makes an incredible leap to save a friend. How does this act of bravery change its standing in the animal kingdom?
• Wombat’s Wisdom: A wombat shares a crucial piece of advice with another animal. How does this wisdom help in a time of need?
• Seahorse’s Search: A seahorse embarks on a search for a lost friend. What dangers does it face in the deep sea?
• Bison’s Battle: A bison defends its herd from a predator. What tactics does it use to ensure their safety?
• Crane’s Call: A crane’s call brings together animals from far and wide. What important message does it share?
• Pigeon’s Post: A pigeon delivers a critical message across a city. What makes this delivery so urgent?
• Camel’s Caravan: A camel leads a caravan through the desert. What challenges does it overcome to reach its destination?
• Platypus’s Mystery: A platypus uncovers a mystery in its watery habitat. What is the mystery and how does it solve it?
• Lemur’s Leap: A lemur makes a daring leap to escape danger. What prompted this leap and where does it land?
• Falcon’s Flight: A falcon flies faster than ever before to deliver a warning. What is the warning about?
• Jaguar’s Journey: A jaguar goes on a journey to find a mythical place. What myths does it encounter along the way?
• Koala’s Dream: A koala dreams of a land where eucalyptus trees grow endlessly. What happens when it wakes up?

Check out these writing prompts about the zoo for more inspiration!

We hope these 62+ animal writing prompts have sparked your imagination and inspired your next great story. From daring adventures to heartwarming tales, the possibilities are endless when you explore the animal kingdom through creative writing. We’d love to hear how these prompts have influenced your writing journey, so please share your thoughts and any stories you’ve created in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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25 August Writing Prompts

by Sue Weems | 0 comments

We've nearly reached the mid-point of summer here in the United States. Whether you or family members are headed back to school or enjoying a few more weeks of summer weather before the onset of fall, here are some writing prompts to keep you busy this month.

If you've taken the summer off from writing and you're starting back up again, take a look at our daily writing prompts below or some inspiration to keep you writing all month long.

Reflective Prompts: Looking Back on Summer

1. What was your favorite activity this summer and why? Describe it in detail.

2. When you think of summer, what favorite summer foods come to mind?

3. What summer adventures would you still like to have (if you had the time and resources to do it)?

4. What is your favorite song this summer? Write out your favorite line and describe what makes it especially memorable this year.

5. If you had to take a class over the summer, what would you choose and why?

Creative Character Creation Prompts

6. Take an existing character and give them a new adventure.

7. Create a character who is afraid of something at the beach or other vacation destination, but has to go stay there for a week.

8. Think of a favorite character and tell their story from a different point of view, or give them a new sidekick.

9. Create a character who is starting their first day at your dream job, but it isn't going very well.

10. Take your favorite character and write a scene from one of their favorite school memories.

Prompts for Poetry and Short Stories

11. Describe a late summer storm using sensory language arranged into lines.

12. Write a story about a character who is trying to escape summer.

13. Write a poem about your favorite summer sweet treat.

14. Create a scene that takes place at your favorite summer destination.

15. Write a poem about swimming (or water in general).

Journaling Ideas

If you like to keep a journal, try one of these daily prompts that you can use over and over if needed.

16. What is one thing that I can do today to take a small step toward my goals?

17. What am I proud of today?

18. What is one topic or skill I'd like to know more about and why?

19. What have I noticed in the world today?

20. What's one promise I've made to myself that I'd like to keep? What help or steps do I need to take to complete it?

Try Something New

21. Open the first page of a book. It can be a favorite book, or something new you haven't read before. Write out the first sentence and then set it aside and continue a scene from there.

22. Choose a favorite fairy tale and change the genre. For example, make Cinderella a murder mystery or Little Red Riding Hood a romance.

23. Choose a food from the pantry or fridge and write a scene where that food item is critical to the plot and character transformation.

24. List writing: make a list of things. Might be your favorite book genres, your favorite childhood books, your least favorite foods, your most memorable albums or concerts.

25. Think of a dream you've had and change a character or setting to create a new scene.

Write with us!

As you head into August, I hope you'll make some time to write and explore your creative side. If you aren't already part of a writing community that encourages you, consider joining us here at The Write Practice . We're all writers who practice weekly together to get better. You can too!

Want more prompts? Try our huge list of summer writing prompts or our top 150 short story ideas for more!

What do you think of when you think of August? Share in the comments .

Choose one of the prompts above. Set a timer for fifteen minutes . When time is up, share your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop .

Not a member? Join us !

Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .

Work with Sue Weems?

Award-winning instructor and writer of 20+ years, book coach, and editor. Sue Weems specializes in working with Children's, Memoir, Middle Grade, Mystery, Nonfiction, Romance, and Thriller books. Sound like a good fit for you?

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Picture Prompts

142 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing

A school year’s worth of short, accessible image-driven posts that invite a variety of kinds of writing.

By The Learning Network

We’ve been publishing our Picture Prompts series four days a week since 2016. Below, we’ve rounded up all the prompts we published for the 2023-24 school year.

These short, accessible, image-driven prompts invite students to pen short stories, poems and memoirs; share experiences from their lives; analyze illustrations, graphs and charts; and tell us their opinions on hot-button issues.

You can find even more in our roundups for the 2022-23 , 2021-22 and 2020-21 school years, as well as in our collections of 125 picture prompts for creative and narrative writing and 25 spooky images for writing scary stories .

To learn how you can use Picture Prompts to build literacy skills, promote critical thinking, inspire discussion and foster creativity in your classroom, watch our three-minute tutorial video or our on-demand webinar . For dozens more ideas, see our lesson plan “ How to Teach With Our Picture Prompts (and Other Times Images) .”

If you use this feature with your students, or if you have other ideas for how to use photos, illustrations and graphics to encourage writing, let us know in the comments.

Share experiences from your own life.

Boys and Cologne Soapbox Derby Graphs Old and Young 2,000 Bags Spring Holidays Baking Spring ‘Floor Person’ Checking Your Watch ‘Wild’ Ice Skating Lunar New Year Hot Pot Distracted Walking Breakfast Wild Weather Maps Healthy Habits Holiday Classics Compliments Family Drama Thanksgiving Dinner Libraries Scary Movies Carving Pumpkins Fall Friday the 13th Our Own Language Skydiving Lazy Days Back to School

What story does this image inspire for you?

Falling Into a Hole Friends? Up, Up and Away! Pet Alligator Shadowy Figures Help Fishing in a Stream Tiny House Rats on a Dog Walking Away Public Selfies Hidden Doorway Playing Dominoes Point of No Return Sunset by the Water Valentines Biking Climbing a Ladder Reflections Happy Creatures Snowfall Blindfolded The Red Planet Dog TV Walking Through Town People and Penguins Witches on the Water Spying Show Time! A Wave Goodbye Ancient Arrow A Hand Up Darkened Library The Concert

What do you think this image, chart or cartoon is saying?

Pink Head, Green Check City Street Lapel Buttons One Seat Underwear on a Statue Justices An Elevator Filled With Robots Flying Plastic In a Box Watching Snacks and Drinks Tree Stump Behind Columns Lying in Bed Soccer and Dollars Two People Sitting Package and Globe Hot-Air Balloon Civil Conversation Raking A Shadow Parent and Child Atop a Cellphone The Super Wealthy Brick Wall Eagle and Ropes Painting Blank Space Exercise Football and Bag of Money Worm in an Apple Head in the Clouds

What’s your opinion on this issue?

‘Cowboy Carter’ New Stamp Design Prizewinning Miniature Poodle Cicadas for Dinner Met Gala Student Orchestra Tech in the Classroom Salt Movie Memorabilia 100 Years of Furniture March Madness Texting Styles Concerts Leap Day Broadway Shows Ice Cream Celebrity Feuds A.I.-Generated Faces World’s Largest Cruise Ship Your Energy Playlist Taylor Swift and the N.F.L. In-and-Out Lists Contenders Coveted Cup Your 2024 Most-Anticipated List 2023 in Pictures Style in 2023 $700 Million Deal Dream Décor Skipping School Giving Tuesday Pop-Tart Critic Time Change Pink Jersey Floating Home The Mall Breaking Police Robot Celebrity Relationships Fall Music New iPhone Tiny Homes Floods in Libya Football Season Land, Man and Sky Fall Video Games

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Picture Prompts here.

• Our Mission

54 Excellent, Low-Stakes Writing Prompts

Across grade levels, engaging and creative writing prompts encourage kids to explore their opinions, reflect on experiences, and build strong arguments.

Routine low-stakes writing should be part of every student’s literacy diet. Ungraded and low-pressure, this type of writing improves kids’ writing stamina and builds language fluency, says Rebecca Alber , an instructor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education.

Under the right conditions, students can get ideas about a question or concept down quickly and with few parameters, then “share those thoughts, and feel just as successful as everyone else in the room,” Alber says. The goal is to help students feel empowered to communicate ideas clearly and convincingly, while increasing their confidence as writers in preparation for longer, higher-stakes writing. 

Prompts are an excellent starting point—but not all prompts are created equal, writes Todd Finley , a professor of English Education at East Carolina University. Superficially clever prompts may get pencils moving but often result in writing that’s neither valuable nor memorable. To improve the quality of students’ output and their level of investment, present them with prompts that require persuasive, opinion, informative, or even creative responses—and consider incorporating some student choice in the process. 

As a wrap-up, students can share their work with a partner, in small groups, or even aloud to the class. To allow everyone to fully participate in the messy work of writing and occasionally “let their scraggly emotions run free,” Finley suggests offering the option to write “personal” at the top of pages they prefer to keep private.  

We combed through dozens of lists of teacher-tested prompts to find 54 thought-provoking ones that will get students—from elementary through middle and high school—thinking, reflecting, and engaging in meaningful writing. 

Elementary School Prompts

• I wish my teachers knew that… 
• What things do all kids know that adults do not? 
• Describe a routine that you often or always do (in the morning, when you get home, Friday nights, before a game, etc.). 
• You wake up tomorrow with a silly superpower that makes you famous. What is that silly power? How does it lead to you becoming an international superstar? 
• What are examples of things you want versus things you need? 
• Describe something that you saw in the news recently and how it made you feel.
• What is one thing you would do to make your school, town, or city a better place?
• What can we do to help people with different opinions get along better?
• If you met an alien, what three questions would you ask them?
• Which skill would you like to be good at in the future?
• You’re on a quest through a hidden underground world that no one has ever seen. What magical creatures do you come across? What do they look like, and how do they act? 
• You’re the first person to ever set foot on Mars. What is it like? What do you explore first? 
• I will never forget the day… 
• Pretend you can trade places with someone real or imaginary, from the past or present. Describe who that person is and why you would like to trade places. Write about what you would do as that person for the day and how you would feel about it.
• Write about the kind of job you think you might like to do someday. Be sure to explain what you know about that job and why you think it would be a good fit for you. 
• Would a robot make a good friend? Think about all the good and bad aspects of having a mechanical buddy. Explain why you would or would not want a robot for a friend.
• Write a story about something that happened at school one day that you want to remember for the rest of your life.
• Describe a person who influenced your life in a positive way, someone who has made a difference in your life. Explain what this person did and how it made your life different. 

Middle School Prompts

• How can you tell when someone your age is feeling insecure? Are most people more insecure or anxious than they let on?
• If you starred in a television show about your life, what would the show be called? What genre would it be? (Examples: comedy, drama, thriller, romance, action-adventure, fantasy, superhero, soap opera, reality, game show, space adventure, Western, tragedy, etc.) Summarize the plot of an episode. 
• Is your ethnicity an important part of your identity? How so? 
• You have been selected to be principal of your school. What are five rules that every kid should follow at your school, and what do you think should happen if those rules are broken? 
• What do the friends you hang out with most have in common? How are you most like them? How are you different from them?
• What contributes to someone becoming a bully? What can help stop someone from bullying?
• Should we fear failure? Explain.
• Choose an event in your life, and write about it from the perspective of someone else who was there.
• Describe a flavor (salty, sweet, bitter, etc.) to someone who has never tasted it before.
• Glass half-full/half-empty: Write about an event or situation with a positive outlook. Then write about it with a negative outlook.
• Write a texting conversation between two friends who speak every day and know each other better than anyone.
• After home and school, where do you find the strongest feeling of community?
• Should governments do more to discourage people from smoking and vaping?
• Sixth grade is a time of many changes. Describe the changes that have taken place in your life since you started sixth grade. For example, you could write about school, friends, family, or other changes. ( Teachers: Change the grade level as necessary.) 
• You have a computer that can be programmed to do any of the activities you’re normally responsible for. Explain the activities you would or would not assign to the machine, and why. 
• Some say the legal driving age should be lowered from 16 to 14, and some say it should be raised to 18. Explain why you think the legal driving age should be lowered to 14, raised to 18, or left as it is at 16. 
• A door in your school has always been kept locked. One day, as you walk past, you discover the door is open. Write a story about what happens next. 
• What would you like to tell adults in the future about being a young person during this time period?

High School Prompts

• A nonprofit hires you as a consultant to determine how best to use $20 billion to save the world. What’s your plan?
• What’s the worst thing about the internet? 
• How much control over your life do you have? What makes you say that? 
• Describe your ideal life 15 years from now. What is something you can do every day to reach that goal?
• What things do you conscientiously do to feed your brain?
• What are three of your most profound learning experiences? Where and when did they occur?
• Write about your day in five acts, like a Shakespearean play. If your day were a play, what would be the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution?
• You have a difficult decision to make. Describe a conversation you might have with yourself about it.
• Which beliefs and values do you think define American culture? 
• Should everyone go to college?
• What’s more important, practice or performance?
• Is it my job or the teacher’s job to motivate me?
• What is the best measure of human growth?
• Pick two characters from different books you’ve read this year and have them get in an argument about something.
• Which animal would judge us the most? Write a scene (based on truth or fiction) where two or more people are doing something and being observed and criticized by animals.
• Imagine that someone says to you, “Because that’s how we’ve always done it!” Write this out as a scene. (Think: Who said it, what were the circumstances, how did you respond, etc.)
• Is voting too hard in the United States?
• Should politicians be on social media? 

(Sourced from Todd Finley , We Are Teachers , TeachThought , Scholastic , Birmingham City Schools , College Transitions , The New York Times , Monte Syrie , Texthelp , and PBS/KQED’s Above the Noise )