21 Writing Prompts To Jumpstart Any Story

Posted on by Bethany Henry

Do you feel like your story is stalling out? Are things feeling a bit stale and boring and you’re not quite sure where to go next? Never fear! Writing prompts are here. There are endless possibilities in store to spice things up a bit. 🙂

Whether you’re just completing your first week of NaNoWriMo this month (congrats!) or working on your usual projects, these writing prompts are designed to encourage and inspire our stories.

Sometimes things are just a bit too easy for our protagonists or we need something unexpected to happen. Sometimes none of our ideas make sense and we just need a bit of a nudge to get our story moving again.

Here are 21 prompts to pick and choose from and work into your story. Not sure which to pick? Roll some dice (or use a virtual dice roller) and try to use whichever prompt gets chosen! For even more ideas, check out this post on writing prompts and everyday inspiration. 

As always, these plot prompts can be changed, adapted, and used as you see fit. After all, every story is different! Let’s think outside the box and mix things up a bit. The main idea is to kick start some brainstorming and to enrich our writing. Enjoy!

Your Character…

  1. Is hungry and looking for food

  2. Overhears information and misunderstands

  3. Gets lost

  4. Has a question but doesn’t speak the same language as those around them

  5. Breaks something and someone else takes the blame

  6. Comes across water and can’t swim

  7. Is introduced to coffee for the first time

  8. Gets a raise but is transferred to work with someone they don’t like

  9. Is introduced to horses for the first time

  10. Loses their job

  11. Is asked to get someone from the airport at the last minute

  12. Needs cupcakes for school

  13. Is called on to make a speech

  14. Remembers late in the day that it’s their mother’s birthday

  15. Forgets someone’s name

  16. Dislikes some fancy food that was made just for them

  17. Has to sneeze during a solemn moment

  18. Realizes their shirt is inside out

  19. Has to take care of their friend’s pet

  20. Realizes they have paint on their hands and are spreading it to everything they touch

  21. Loses something important

Happy brainstorming and writing to you today! If you end up using one of these prompts, I’d love to hear how it went! And if you have a prompt to share, comment below! 🙂


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