There’s a quiet power in consistency. Committing to a weekly writing practice will do a lot to help you grow as a writer. But we all know that staring at a blank screen can feel overwhelming.
That’s why I love flash fiction prompts.
Whether you’re exploring the uncanny or the unsettling, these prompts will give you a place to start. Just pick your length and roll with the prompt to get your creative process started. And if you publish your fiction online, please link back to this page. Thanks!
100-word prompt
Write a short story in any genre that’s 100 words or less and includes the following three words: wagon, stumble, heavy
Advanced Challenge: Make your story drabble. Drabble is exactly 100 words, including the title.
500-word prompt
Write a short story in any genre that’s 500 words or less and includes the following elements:
Location: Somewhere forgotten
Item: A set of rusted keys
Character: Someone who remembers everyone’s name but their own
Feel free to get creative with how you include the elements. The story doesn’t have to be trapped in the location, for example. The way you interpret the character summary can be as unconventional as you like.
Just make sure you touch on each.
Advanced Challenge: Make your story microfiction. Microfiction is 300 words or less.
1,200-word prompt
Write a short story in any genre that’s 1,200 words or less and uses the following situation as a starting point:
Begin your story at the moment your character discovers an object that clearly doesn’t belong. Despite the immediate, instinctive urge to look away and walk on, they can’t.
Advanced Challenge: Include the three words from the 100-word prompt.
Happy writing!