The Writing Prompt Problem

by Ethan Andrew

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In my long and, admittedly, somewhat chaotic, writing journey, a problem has plagued me for several years: finding good writing prompts. 

As much as I’d like to say that all my stories come from the heart, the reality is that I often want to write, but don’t know where to start. Writing prompts can be amazing tools for improving, practicing certain types of writing, expanding your portfolio, building good writing habits, and the list just goes on. Some of my favorite short stories have come from assigned prompts that I expand upon, and make my own. Prompts can be great practice in restraint — forcing yourself to write to a specific topic, or under a specific limitation. Unfortunately, it seems like whenever I get a hankering for a good writing prompt, the internet is barren. I’ve tried Google, I’ve tried Pinterest, I’ve tried Tumblr, but I always seem inundated with prompts that are not striking anything remotely inspirational. 

When it comes to speculative prompts, this problem only gets worse — either they’re extremely vague and my brain just doesn’t come up with anything; they’re completely overdone, or they just seem plain stupid.

  But I’m never one to complain about something and not try to be a solution, so today, I’ve compiled a list of speculative writing prompts of several varieties. Each have a vague concept/introduction, and then some additional information or questions I hope will aid in inspiration. I only wrote ones that I would personally use, and I definitely intend to explore many of these. 

I’m not a poet, but (I hope) these could generate some great speculative poetry as well! 

Write from the perspective of a (seemingly) inanimate object — maybe something you can find around the house!

• What would they think of their living roommates? Do they move, or are they stagnant? What does a day in the life look like for, say, one Nintendo Switch controller, who gained sentience and can’t talk to their other half? 

Write some body horror — light or intense, whatever floats your boat. (If you’re squeamish, maybe don’t read these)

• What if someone woke up with a plant growing out of their mouth? Or a lumpy mass that kept moving every time they tried to touch it? What if they started sneezing bubbles, and by the end of the day, they’re a soapy monster who gets pushed into a hot tub and fills an entire backyard with foam? Oozing blood from every pore, slipping and sliding around while they try to wash their skin — only to shrivel up like a raisin? 

• They slap someone, and when they pull your hand back, the other person’s face has gotten stuck to their palm. 

Retell a myth, fable, folk-tale, etc without making any direct references (or do, the world is your oyster!) — or read a few, and try to write your own. Here’s a few: 

For simpler concepts: 

• The Fox and the Grapes — Aesop

• The Lion and the Mouse — Aesop 

• The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots — Charles Perrault (or any version)

• Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper  — Charles Perrault (or any version)

• The story of Athena and Arachne

For something more complex: 

• Antigone — Sophocles

• The Tale of Prometheus 

• The Death of Baldur 

• Ragnarök 

Write about Earth from the perspective of an alien. 

• They could be an invisible alien! They could understand us, or they could observe without knowing any earthly languages. They could be very small, or very large — the possibilities are endless! 

Write about a mind-palace — a place that reflects the psyche, for better and worse. 

• The only accessible palace could be one’s own, or they could be interconnected. They could shift over time — but perhaps some parts remain, unable to be moved, stuck in the time they were formed. 

Write a noir-inspired mystery about a detective hunting a killer — who, with each victim found, seems less like a human, and more monstrous. 

• The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe and Jack the Ripper could be good realistic/real tales to look towards for inspiration!

Write about the experience of becoming a cyborg. This can go as high-sci-fi as you like, or stay low-sci fi! 

• Do they feel phantom pain? Do they start to resent their non-technological parts? Or do they resent the technology? Why did they become one in the first place? Lots to explore!

Write about an irrational fear taking a physical, horrific form. 

• I’ll name a few of my personal irrational fears: Chornobyl, gas masks, breathing in any kind of unusual vapor, or smoke, etc. Losing control of my hands or my mouth. 

  • If I woke up in the middle of Chornobyl, wearing a gas mask, with a vape in hand, unable to control my hands and mouth, I would be an unhappy customer. 

• What if the physical manifestation of an irrational fear didn’t do anything? What if it didn’t attack, just caused — as the internet puts it- the symptoms of irrational fears: disproportionate stress and fear? 

Write about a high priestess, a healer, a pillar of some kind of magical community, losing their abilities. 

• This could be gradual or sudden. It could be accompanied by physical symptoms, or none at all. There could be reasonable explanations — curses, hexes, anger of the Gods, a bad hair day, etc — or it could be completely unfathomable to them. 

• How would the people around them react? Sympathetically? Accuse them of fraud? How would this impact their day-to-day life? 

Write about a superhero sidekick's first — and maybe their last — day on the job. 

• What is their relationship with the primary hero? Adoring? Resentful? Somewhere in between? Are they coworkers, or are they partners? 

• What are their abilities? Are they a low street-tier hero, just one big villain away from getting murked, or do they have more power than they know? 

• What is their attitude at the beginning versus the end of the day? How will things change for them? 

Of course, you can’t always catch lightning in a bottle, and sometimes prompts just don’t hit, but I hope some of these strike (get it?) your fancy. And if they have, they could make a great addition to our magazine — don’t be shy, and submit them for our spring issue! As always, follow our Instagram for updates. If this post is something you would like to see more of, please leave a comment!