By Moriah Richard 

When I first joined WD back in 2020, our senior editor Robert Lee Brewer was already running our Poem-A-Day (PAD) challenges in April and November. Bringing my love of flash fiction to the job, Robert gave me the opportunity to run our first February Flash Fiction Challenge in 2021. The rest, as they say, is history! 

I’ve learned a lot about writing from doing those challenges, and even more from writing our Tuesday fiction writing prompts on the site and the Your Story competition in the magazine. Mostly, that one idea can spark a cascade of ideas, culminating in a story that may surprise you with its direction, themes, voice, or intensity. 

Here, I’ll give you a list of writing prompts focusing on a few key areas of writing: theme, character, setting, and plot. At the bottom, I’ll provide you with some links where you can find even more writing prompts on our website.  

Theme Writing Prompts 

1. Write about an object that changes hands and the different ways it affects each owner. 
2. Create a story where grief manifests in an unusual or unexpected way. 
3. Create a story where a small act of kindness creates a ripple effect of connection. 
4. Explore the dynamics of power within a small group or family. 
5. Explore the consequences of a single lie that spirals out of control. 
6. Develop a narrative about the psychological toll of survival. 
7. Write about a character who must choose between personal gain and doing what is just. 
8. Create a story where a forgotten memory holds the key to the present. 
9. Write a story where the truth is subjective and depends on perspective. 
10. Explore the fine line between vengeance and revenge. 

Character Writing Prompts 

1. Write about a character who is deeply afraid of something but is forced to confront that fear to help someone else.  
2. Create a character who has a strong belief system that is challenged by a single event.  
3. Explore a character who is outwardly confident but secretly insecure, and the moment their facade cracks.  
4. Develop a character who is haunted by a past mistake and their journey towards forgiveness (of themselves or others). 
5. Write about a character with a strange or unique physical characteristic that affects how they interact with the world. 
6. Create a character who possesses a seemingly useless talent that turns out to be crucial in an unexpected situation. 
7. Explore a character who lives by a very specific and unusual set of rules. 
8. Write a story from the perspective of a character who can hear the thoughts of animals. 
9. Develop a character who collects something very unusual and the significance of their collection. 
10. Develop a character whose profession reveals a hidden aspect of their personality.  

Setting Writing Prompts 

1. Write a story set in a world where gravity fluctuates randomly. 
2. Explore a pivotal moment in history from the perspective of an ordinary person living in the midst of it. 
3. Explore a setting that gradually deteriorates alongside a character's mental state. 
4. Write a story that reveals the secret lives of the residents of a seemingly ordinary apartment building. 
5. Explore a setting defined by perpetual twilight and how it affects the inhabitants. 
6. Create a narrative where a group of strangers is trapped together in a confined space during a disaster. 
7. Write a story where the bleak and desolate landscape reflects the protagonist's inner turmoil. 
8. Develop a plot that uses a mundane workplace (e.g., an office, a grocery store) as the backdrop for extraordinary events. 
9. Write a story set in the Wild West, but with the sudden appearance of futuristic technology.  
10. Create a narrative that unfolds within the intricate network of a forgotten subway system.  

Plot Writing Prompts 

1. A valuable artifact goes missing, and everyone in a close-knit group has a motive for stealing it.  
2. Your protagonist witnesses a crime but is afraid to come forward, leading to increasing danger. 
3. Write a story about a character who discovers a map to a hidden treasure and the obstacles they face in finding it.  
4. Your protagonist is chosen for a dangerous mission with no guarantee of return. 
5. Two people who initially despise each other are forced into close proximity, leading to unexpected feelings.  
6. Write a story about a character who falls in love with someone they can never truly be with. 
7. A magical artifact with unpredictable powers falls into the wrong hands.  
8. Explore a world where people can trade memories, and your protagonist uncovers a dangerous secret through this process. 
9. A seemingly utopian community begins to reveal its dark underbelly.  
10. Write a story about a character struggling with a debilitating addiction and their journey towards recovery.  

Magazine Writing Prompts 

Your Story Competition 

Weekly Writing Prompt Pages 

Fiction Writing Prompts 

Poetry Prompts 

Flash Fiction February Writing Prompt Roundups 

28 Writing Prompts for the 2021 Flash Fiction Challenge 

28 Writing Prompts for the 2022 Flash Fiction Challenge 

28 Writing Prompts for the 2023 Flash Fiction Challenge 

29 Writing Prompts for the 2024 Flash Fiction Challenge 

28 Writing Prompts for the 2025 Flash Fiction Challenge