100 Fiction Writing Prompts

This list of fiction writing prompts is entirely the fault of the wonderful L.C. Schäfer, and was inspired by their A Story Every Day In 2024

article.

If you use a prompt from this list, please comment with your story so I can link it accordingly!

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1. He always said so much, just by saying her name.

2. It mattered little how fast he ran; his past was still behind him.

3. The letter was old, the ink faded, but the power of its words was undiminished.

4. The mirror in the attic never reflected her image.

5. The key opened more than an old music box.

6. Amidst the manufactured cheer, the scents of cotton candy and fried dough, behind smiling faces and canned laughter, a dark secret lingered.

7. The scream cut through the laughter in the room like a blade through cloth, slitting contentment's throat to bleed terror from the gaping wound.

8. When I was four, my sister struck me with a shovel. Twenty years later, I buried her with one.

9. I was born ten minutes after my twin sister. She was Allie, and I was Sarah. She lived through six hundred seconds without me by her side. The nurse who mixed up our name anklets was Catherine. For fourteen years, I was Allie, and my sister was Sarah. Who are we now that we know?

10. The grandfather clock in the parlor struck thirteen chimes. Everything changed after that.

11. Nobody believed him when he claimed the Bellic girl saved him, for she had been dead these long fifteen years.

12. The old crone's retribution was immeasurably cruel; she blessed him with the finding of his soulmate, and cursed him with a deadly kiss.

13. He gave me a choice; I could live long and die sleeping, or accept a reduced lifespan with the ability to read my service dog's mind.

14. Every time she used magic, an unknown number of hair strands turned red. When all strands were kissed by fire, she would die. My heart jolted in fear when she exited the hospital room and faced me with a somber gaze. Her inky tresses were as wisps of smoke amidst locks that gleamed like burnished copper.

15. She never expected to loathe her favorite storybook character. He was noble. He was brave. He was wise. Three days after stepping from the pages of her novel, he was also in danger of being smothered in his sleep.

16. I surrendered my voice to the Wisher King so my baby could have one. I understand all the utterances from mouths ages zero to four, and now I know why I was rendered mute. Only in silence can any adult be afforded a glimpse of paradise.

17. I was used against my will. The weapon of my body was wielded against metal, glass, and stone. My bones birthed fissures, my blood birthed fire, and my destruction birthed war. I could not save the precious breaths inside me. I could not stop the evil at my helm. I can nevertheless mourn the rubble left in my wake. I am the forgotten one. I am airplane. I am sorry.

18. His touch healed. Her touch killed. How the hell was I born?

19. In a world where memories were currency, one could always spot the wealthy by the vacant look in their eyes.

20. The last tree on Earth held the key to humanity's survival in its ancient roots.

21. The diary held the key to breaking the curse, but it was written in a language that hadn't yet been invented.

22. Everyone expected an Annabelle when the doll began to move. No one was prepared for a guardian.

23. The Book of Time never intended to cause heartache. It rejoiced to be believed in. It didn't mean to steal the village's children, but no others could hear its call.

24. Every girl child was auctioned at five years of age. The government's downfall was built on ribbons, curls, curtsies, and smiles. Every tear shed held a core of bitter promise. Five was old enough to remember. Five was old enough to vow revenge.

25. Papa told me all cats have nine lives. I never believed him until I met Carena. I swear to you, as true as my name is Gavin, that girl was my kitten Tigress reborn.

26. Every parent hopes their child will be special, and I was no different. When Annalei was four and reached into her painting to pluck a golden flower from a mystical garden, I never wished so hard for mediocrity.

27. When the Mothership arrived, humanity thought itself doomed. We all saw Independence Day and read The Fifth Wave series. We expected to die by the billions. To look at our planet, we may even have deserved it. We never expected them to heal it before confining us within an aerial dome.

28. "You cannot live on my side of the mirror. This world is an inversion of yours. I am left-handed while you are right. My windows face east while yours face west. I expel oxygen, and breathe in carbon dioxide." My reflection shook her head. "You would die here, Sarah. There is no escape for you along this path."

29. Love transcends language; I saved my mother's life before I even knew how to talk.

30. The first inkling I had of my pen's power was when, in a journal entry, I wished financial fortune on my best friend's family. A week later, Emma's favorite uncle died, leaving behind a sizable inheritance.

31. With my labrador's nose on my knee and my hand on her head, I knew such love as could never be spoken aloud.

32. It happened so fast, there wasn't even time to be afraid.

33. A hasty message carved into the trunk of a gnarled oak was hardly proof of foul play, and yet, the words leapt out at him like a scream, each letter frenzied in its strokes. "FIND ME".

34. Only those who truly respect the ocean return as merpeople after death.

35. Every time she glimpsed the future, she lost a bit of her past.

36. Nobody watched films anymore. Buying a recorded dream on the black market was a temptation few could resist.

37. We couldn't hear the collective consciousness. We were freaks. Outsiders. Deaf-minds. We were their only hope when a single stroke incapacitated them all.

38. The planets aligned, and nothing was ever the same again.

39. After centuries of people saying youth was wasted on the young, the universe finally took heed.

40. "Every time it rains, I hear him whispering my name," she confessed, staring at the gathering storm clouds with a mix of fear and longing.

41. In a world where shadows whispered secrets, mine said not a word.

42. The ancient tree in the town square bloomed once every century, stealing a life for the rite.

43. The pre-paid debit card always rewarded her whenever she made someone cry.

44. Mister Meddrid bristled whenever anyone drew near him. His glare was silent fire, and his words bit deeper than knives. The more friendly one was to him, the uglier he behaved. Everyone hated him. We never knew every smile bestowed on him stole a year from its bearer.

45. They were the only two humans left on Earth. They'd also once sworn to let humanity die rather than so much as walk side-by-side.

46. I was six years old when I realized my dreams were another world's reality.

47. It's been half a year since the flash in the sky, and daylight hours are growing progressively shorter.

48. "There's only one rule in this town, son. Never board the train that arrives at midnight."

49. Earth's gravity is fluctuating. For half the year, it smothers. The remaining time, it loosens its grasp almost entirely.

50. He signed away his rights to a soulmate mere hours before he found her.

51. The sky was emerald, the sun was crimson, and the air was far too thin.

52. I should have stopped when the book started writing back.

53. We huddled together beside the radio, our rapt attention fixed upon the newscast. Our hands shook as the reporter's voice painted images of global tragedy on the backs of our closed eyelids. Our breaths hitched in shock at the sheer number of the rising death toll. It happened on August tenth. Today was August second.

54. The playground anchored them to one another, their only constant in a world that sought tirelessly to separate them.

55. I programmed my desired dream into the Dreamscape console as I'd been taught, but I must have omitted a crucial step.

56. Everything we knew was overturned the day we discovered we were the virtual reality game.

57. If I could go back and choose again my age halt point, I think I'd opt for wisdom over beauty.

58. The steak was so tender it fairly melted on my tongue. Its exterior was well-seasoned and seared to lock in flavor, and I closed my eyes with relish. A pale glow forced them open mere moments later. Every monitor on the console before me was illuminated, and from each one, Olira's avatar gazed, her eternally youthful visage wearing an expression of profound sadness. Only then did I stop to wonder on the depth of what she sacrificed when she merged with the quantum mainframe.

59. Two hundred years late, the colony ship returned. Its ageless crew told tales of a paradise planet. Others, wordless, wept at the sight of Earth.

60. In Evendale, it was common knowledge: never enter the forest. Its paths shifted each night, ensnaring anyone unfortunate enough to wander under its ever-changing boughs.

61. The wandering bard could sing anything into reality. Only my grandmother knew the toll exacted upon him for each song.

62. King Anmar always held his emotions in tight check. The kingdom's temperate climate was testament to his ironclad control. I don't know what they intended when they stole his queen, but I must find her before his wrath drowns us all.

63. The floating island appeared only when the moon fully eclipsed the sun. It was myth to most, salvation to some, and freedom to few. I knew better.

64. She clutched my hand as we entered the church.

65. He broke more than her heart when he took from her what mattered most.

66. I was there the day the rollercoaster failed.

67. They stuck me in a padded room the day I mentioned the mermaid in the swimming pool. They ask me about the visions I see and the sounds I hear. They think their medication can cure me. They're wrong.

Lost by L.C. Schäfer

68. The key to the Library of Lives was passed down from mother to daughter since time immemorial. We were never to write in the books, lest our words reshape another's reality. I knew this, but you must understand. I had no choice.

69. The room was silent after my claim, and I could feel concern morphing into disbelief as if it were a visible transformation. Finally, my boss spoke a single, emphatic word. "Impossible!"

70. It's been ten years since mandatory implants banned those under twenty-five from accessing the internet. They thought this would change online culture. On the surface, it did. Then the outernet was born.

71. Tomorrow, my body would die, and my consciousness would be transferred to the AI shell my parents purchased for me. The sickness was too advanced; in the end, I would succumb. 'You will live forever,' mama told me. But the shells register taste as mere flavor profiles. They don't get too cold or too hot, lest their efficiency be compromised. They regenerate rather than sleep. If I wish to know something, I need only access a central database of stored knowledge. I might live forever, but what would become of my humanity?

72. He could never have predicted what he would find at the core of those onion addresses.

73. The gift of mortality was its end. Only after we willingly gave that gift back did we recognize its worth.

74. Life as we knew it was ending. Scientists couldn't stop it. Governments couldn't stop it. Looting, violence, and general lawlessness raged across the globe. Yet the world's toddlers appeared strangely joyful.

75. The note was succinct, and terrifying. 'Happy final new year.'

76. He'd never loved her more than he did in that moment.

77. I often contemplated his murder, but I never intended to act on my thoughts. He made me do it in the end. It was not my fault.

78. The conventionally unattractive were called stones. The conventionally average were called gems. The exceptionally beautiful were diamonds, and I would sooner cut my throat than be handed their fate.

79. Three times had I lived through the time loop. Each time I cursed myself for a fool, wishing I could enjoy my son's babyhood for but a little longer. I have raised him three times, come to know him three times, fallen in love with him three times, and three times, been reset on his third birthday.

80. A cold German beer, a soft pretzel still hot, and my Irish wolfhound at my feet. Paradise. Now, if I could only do something about that face in the fire...

81. My sister had gorgeous gowns and countless galas to attend. My brother had state-of-the-art vehicles and the best technology money could buy. I had two tiny, banana-covered hands grasping my fingers in a dance across a flour-dusted kitchen. I win.

82. Prisons stopped existing half a century ago. In our society, where biological fear is controlled, the severity of punishment merely depends on where one is sentenced on the terrormeter. All criminals are easily recognizable; they're the only ones with fear in their eyes. Sometimes, I envy them.

83. "I didn't take your child, but I know who did."

84. Ayla was nine-years-old when she said her first word.

85. I always learned of the future when I played tea party with Elizabeth, but never before she made me drink from the pot.

86. The report from the gunshot tore through the night.

87. Wealth was granted only to those who had faced down their worst fears.

88. When he woke up from his nap, all languages were open to him.

89. The most heartfelt gift of flowers I've ever received came from my three-year-old.

90. 'In my world, no one is poor. Everyone has material wealth, and no one goes without.'

'That must be paradise.'

'It's actually the worst thing ever to befall humanity.'

91. The diary demanded an entry every day. If she failed to offer it a piece of herself willingly, it would take what it craved by force.

92. Scottish Shortdead. Lemon Mar-Hang Pie. Cream Snuffs. Even touching the book made me feel dirty, but someone had baked with it, and now my brother was gone.

93. You can't tell a three-year-old not to make up stories. Except when those stories start escaping into New York City.

94. She was English. She was an outsider. She did not know their ways. So why did visiting the Amish always feel like coming home?

95. In 3333, names began wielding power. It was no longer enough to bestow a name because one liked it. One had to name with intention, and hope the child forgave if it went wrong.

96. Have you ever tried reading a book where each page is divided among a hundred mirrored shards?

No?

Well, if not—

It's a bit like—

Have you ever seen—?

Hi. I'm ADHD, and it's not my intention to hurt you.

97. I had only a week to sign the document. Once more, he was wearing his Hitler hat, and for the sake of my children, I knew I'd let him.

98. Tears filled my eyes when the final harp string snapped.

99. The clown statue in the corner of Carla's dining room unnerved me more than I wanted to admit. Too late did I see through the deception.

100. No matter what anyone did, the paper cut wouldn't stop bleeding.

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