Creative Writing Short Story Prompts

If you’ve been writing for long enough, you already know good story ideas are everywhere, and you might even have some in mind as you read this.But which of those ideas should be on your short list for story writing projects?Maybe that reaction is an argument, or maybe it’s an impassioned defense of an idea.

If you’ve been writing for long enough, you already know good story ideas are everywhere, and you might even have some in mind as you read this.

Since I have more story ideas than I can possibly explore in a lifetime, please allow me to offer some to you in this post.

Pick the idea that excites you the most, and you’ll find that its momentum will conjure up a whole new story world, replete with fascinating new characters! And if that’s not enough, generate your own with the Idea Engine, or peruse these lists of scene ideas, flash fiction prompts, and writing prompts.

But the way you embody and develop that idea should surprise your readers and evoke an emotional response in them.

Short story ideas will look different from novel ideas, though — mainly because short stories have to make a big impact with fewer words.

So, you’ll get to explore more story topics in less time than if you were writing longer works.

But how do you generate short story ideas that are worth the time you’ll invest in crafting a short story your readers will love?You might try these three: Think of your school days when your English teacher assigned an essay or invited you to write a paragraph in answer to a question.Maybe all you had to do was write one complete sentence.You’ll find one or more of the ten themes that follow in most stories that have been written, read, and shared over the centuries.The story idea itself — in its simplest form — doesn’t have to be original, and in fact, it shouldn’t be.Because of this, either one might lead you to a story idea that you can hardly wait to explore.Take one (or more) of those popular themes and combine them with a context that is both unique and relatable, and you have the formula for a compelling story idea.So, you want to write a short story — and not just a mildly entertaining short story but one your readers can’t put down until they’ve finished it. That’s why a great topic is worth its weight in gold when it comes to writing these little gems. And since short stories are short, you have less time to wait for your readers’ reactions — but you also have less time to grab their attention.Who knows how you might juice up your story idea without even trying?The best fiction story ideas make use of timeless themes.