Creative Writing Prompts That Actually Inspire Students

Prompts That Unlock Imagination

The right prompt turns "I do not know what to write about" into pages of writing. The wrong prompt produces forced, lifeless work. Here are prompts that actually work, organized by type.

Story Starters

• "The last person on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door..."
• "I found a door in my house that I had never noticed before. When I opened it..."
• "The package arrived with no return address and a note that said: DO NOT OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT."
• "Everyone in our town has a superpower except me. Until today."
• "The old woman handed me a key and said, 'You will know what it opens when you need to.'"

What-If Prompts

• What if you woke up and everyone in the world had disappeared except you?
• What if animals could talk for one day?
• What if you could travel to any time period for 24 hours?
• What if gravity stopped working for an hour?
• What if you found a map that led to something unexpected?

Perspective Shifts

• Write from the perspective of your pet during a typical day
• Write from the perspective of a tree in your schoolyard across 100 years
• Write from the perspective of the last cookie in the jar
• Write a familiar fairy tale from the villain's point of view

Sensory Prompts

• Describe the most delicious meal you have ever eaten (or imagined)
• Describe a place using only sounds
• Write about a memory triggered by a specific smell
• Describe your favorite place without naming it -- can a partner guess where it is?

Quick Writes (5-10 minutes)

• Write about a time you were brave
• Describe your ideal day from start to finish
• Write a letter to your future self
• Describe someone you admire and why

Tips for Using Prompts

• Let students choose from 2-3 options when possible
• Model your own response to the prompt first
• Do not grade creative writing for conventions -- focus on ideas, voice, and creativity
• Publish student writing to give it a real audience