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100 Short Story (or novel) Writing Prompts

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A Few Words to Get You Started

I love to write creative writing prompts. I have been writing prompts for The Write Prompts lens for four years (every week) and have been writing prompts for its sister blog, also called The Write Prompts, for two years.

The difference with this page is that the prompts are all starter or "Continue On" writing prompts. They are what I would call the first line or in some cases, the first paragraph of a potential story or novel. The writer gets organized to write then types the prompt at the top of their page and continues writing with her own words until the end of the story.

"Continue On" creative writing prompts are a great way to get the juices flowing when you do not know where to start.

What follows are 100 Continue On writing prompts that you can use to to create 100 short stories (or novels). Rather than picking and choosing throughout I recommend you give yourself the challenge of working through each one. Have fun!

NOTE: You are free to use these writing prompts within your creative writing but please do not post them on your website -- provide a link to this page instead. Many thanks.

The How

The gist is simple, get a piece of paper (or open up a fresh project in your word processor) and begin copying a prompt. Once you get to the ellipsis you keep writing whatever comes into your head -- the continue on part.

Be sure to highlight the writing prompt in some way so you know you started with a prompt when you review the piece in the future.

Creative Writing Prompts

1 to 20

  • Doug stuck his hand in the box and immediately pulled it out. "Ow", he said. He licked the side of his index finger as if it had honey on it.
    Continue to write about who Doug is, where he is, and what is in the box.
  • Gabriel clenched his teeth feeling the porcelain slide. He took a deep breath, relaxed his jaw. "You have two choices," he said, "you can leave on your feet or on a gurney."
    Continue to write about who Gabriel is and who he is talking to.
  • "I love you," she whispered into her pink cell phone. Nothing but music and the rustle of paper returned what she thought was an open and honest gesture. "Did you hear me?" she paused. "I said I love you."
    Continue to write about who she is and who she is talking to.
  • I don't know how I am going to get home. Worse yet, I am alone and have to...
  • Finding yourself between two men who are at odds with one another is a bit complicated but when one is thirty-two and the other is eight years old it can be downright...
  • Daniel Morgan knew the kiss would ruin everything but he just couldn't stop himself from leaning over after Beth Myers said she had always had a crush on him...
  • "What can be more exciting than working with spuds?" my fathered asked me after graduation. I had just finished telling him I wanted to go to college. It was obvious he was perplexed. He never went to college, his father never went to college and his grandfather never went to college. Most of the family never went to high school. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. All I knew was I didn't want to be a potato farmer. Mrs Ellis, our school's only guidance counselor who was also the school's only English teacher, had me believing that a year in college would help me decide on a better option%u2026 no, not a better option, just different. And I wanted something different. Beyond...
  • I had a conference call in five minutes. Marcy had my meeting papers laid out along with some fresh pens, Post-it's, and a note pad all ready for me. At least until I walked in and spilled my Starbuck's down my white blouse and all over my desk, papers, and keyboard. Who would have thought that a grande actually covered some much horizontal space. This was my moment to shine and...
  • The water is always calm when I go out at 4 a.m. The whole world reflects back at me and it doesn't care; unlike the average woman who looks at her reflection and always finds something to pick apart. The air seems coolest at this time and you would think it would be quiet but the birds are always up chattering away as if to say, "Where have you been, did you sleep in? We have been up working for an hour already!" I would get lost in the beauty of nature were it not for the subtle plunk of my oar hitting the water. It is during this (not so) quiet time that I am able to...
  • It was no wonder when Mark Jelly swerved off the end of McKinley road last March. Driving 25mph, I could not see more than a few inches in front of me. Special lighting was erected after Mark died but for some reason some one or some thing kept damaging it until eventually the city stopped repairing it. Until the next time someone plummeted to their death and hopefully that someone was not going to be me tonight. I had to get through to...
  • I know it is cliche to say he smiled with his eyes but, he did smile with his eyes. Unfortunately the rest of him was saying...
  • Many things get the hair on the back of my neck up, but nothing more so than...
  • 45 minutes ago my cover was blown. I'd been under for...
  • I always thought that if you forgot all the bad things that happened to you that it was inevitable that you would forget all the good things. I never thought that focusing so much on the bad things would attract...
  • The harder she scratch away at her forearm the quicker the flesh fell away. From outside the containment unit Dr. Elana Miles and Dr. Mark Rustenburg watched on dismay as the...
  • He was lying face down on the raft. At first we thought he was sleeping with his head using the inflated side as a pillow and one hand hanging over grazing the water's edge but then the...
  • Risking one's life to save a kitten's was not something I ever thought I would do. I don't even like cats. But there I was climbing up the closest tree next to an apartment building with smoke and flames coming out the top. All to rescue the orange kitten sitting in the third story window meowing. It didn't seem to be in any particular distress but the building was evacuated and no one knew who was in that apartment and no one was allowed back in. Hence the climbing of the tree with the crow bar in my back pocket. My intention, break the window, stuff the cat in my jacket and shimmy back down the tree. Kittens are not cooperative when windows have been smashed and strangers are trying to grab them. But that didn't stop me from making the...
  • The family camp. Flies, heat, dust, and a dock leading to cool blue heaven. Dad could always be found in his collapsible aluminum chair with a fishing pole in one hand and a Budweiser in the other. Mom would be in the kitchen chopping a continuous supply of watermelon or making sandwiches. And Jefferson and I were usually...
  • I sat in the taxi fidgeting the tulle under my gown and thinking I'd rather be at home in my flannel pajamas instead of going to...
  • Marcus could hear the horn sound in the distance, a sign he was getting closer to the island. Soon he would be face to face with the father he left behind ten years ago. Every day since he left he had made a mental list of all the things he wanted to say when he returned but now only one thing came to mind. He would...

The Write Prompts

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"The pen is the tongue of the mind."

~ Miguel de Cervantes

Creative Writing Prompts

21 to 40

  • I come from a long line of animal healers - almost four generations. I say almost because I haven't decided if this is a family tradition I want to keep alive. Don't get me wrong, I love animals and my heart weeps every time I have to wrap a broken wing or mend a leg that has been mangled in a trap. It's dedicating my life and my future children's lives that I have a problem with. Next week I'm supposed to go away to veterinarian school but...
  • It's hard to describe the sound of ripping fleshing. Even more difficult is the sound the flesh makes when a vampire makes first bite. You wouldn't think your sense of hearing would be paramount when you are being attacked but I guess that is just one of the ways the body separates itself from the pain. I never expected to survive but I did and the experience has...
  • Derrick held up his glass of wine and looked across the table at his brother Donny, then to Donny's wife Gia. "We're here to celebrate...
  • I knew he was being patronizing but I was still glad that he showed up. That someone I trusted was within an arm's length of me. I didn't reach out for him, I just looked at my blood painted hands and arms as he droned on about the risks of being a homicide detective. His words faded into the background as my own thoughts filled my mind. If only I had been a few minutes...
  • When you are as rich as I am it is easy to live an adventurous life. Just yesterday I took off in the company jet and went...
  • The first time I learned to use a hula hoop was...
  • She could hear the water running for a shower when she came in the front door. "That's strange," she said. She dropped her keys in the lead crystal dish on top of the buffet and headed up the stairs. The bathroom door was ajar a few inches and steam was billowing out. As her fingers reached out to push the door open the small hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention. But it was too late, the masculine hand was already on her...
  • I hate surprises. No, I really do hate surprises. The last time someone surprised me I nearly...
  • John and I had been trying to have a baby for four years by the time Joshua Chimer came into our lives. We never talked about adopting and we definitely never thought we would have to make good on our god parent vows to friends we hadn't seen%u2026 well, a long time. But as we stood there looking into the five year old's bright blue eyes we knew it was...
  • "I really wanted to see you again," said Rebecca. She repeatedly twirled a strand of her long auburn hair tightly around her right forefinger until the tip blushed then released it. "I was afraid you didn't want to see me because of what happened on our date." Her mind flashed back to...
  • Nancy Richards arms were full of bags by the time she reached the front door. She didn't go out much anymore. She had fallen in love, with her new condo. For the last three weeks she had relished decorating every square inch of it pampering every room with sweet scents and lavish decor. When she finally unlocked the door she was mortified to find...
  • My name is Miranda Harkness and for four hours a day I work as an online computer tech helping inexperienced computer users navigate their systems. I get paid well enough to cover the basics which is all any body ever really needs. My real job comes when the sun goes down, unfortunately vampire hunter doesn't pay well. At least not until now...
  • For the first ten years of my life I always imagined myself a princess. Then in the eleventh grade Bobby Monroe called me a hag and I realized I wasn't a princess after all. It's amazing how quickly someone can defeat your dream with the utterance of one word. Twenty years later I cringe whenever I hear it and am immediately brought back to that rainy afternoon when my love for myself diminished. That's why when I opened up my mail and found an invitation to my highschool reunion I...
  • Gwen always liked to go for long walks on the trail behind her house every Sunday morning. Most of the time she would pass one or two people and they would nod a greeting or exchange a brief sentence or two about the weather. Overall they never made an impression on her and vice versa. That was until the first Monday in August when after a long day of typing catalog descriptions she looked up from her supper to the nightly news and saw the face of a man she passed the day before. She turned up the volume in time to hear...
  • Parents don't realize the damage their occasional slight remarks cause. It is not their fault really. Some times they just don't realize they have forgotten to turn their internal filter on. If they do realize what they have said they make the mistake of assuming that little ones won't remember or that the words they string together won't make an impression. One time when I was six years old my mother gave me a gentle but loving poke in the belly and said, "You're getting chubby." By the time I was thirteen, I was pinching the same belly and saying to my reflection, "You're getting fat." When I was eight years old my father said...
  • Working for the John Montgomery Agency was my life. When I say it was my life, I really mean it. I worked twelve hours a day, brought work home with me and always took some on vacation (whenever I was forced to take one). I had no friends, my family had pretty much given up on the idea of ever seeing me again. Then a funny thing happened...
  • I grew up in the little town known as Norwood, Virginia. It was so small the local doctor was also the undertaker, the vet, and a florist%u2026 ok, his wife was the florist but when he wasn't performing his other three professions he was by her side in the town's only flower shop, Lily of the Valley, cutting flowers and making deliveries. When Ann Margaret disappeared one Sunday afternoon in June no one ever thought that Dr. Mandguard had...
  • When they inspected Lesley Olson's passport she never expected they would...
  • The day I became a judge was one of the most relevant days of my life. I took an oath that valued our legal system and I believed it to the core of my being. The day I started taking the law into my own hands, with no regard to the system whatsoever, was the day I truly felt...
  • From behind a lacy curtain she watched as four riders rode toward the house. Her husband had sent her in when he heard the hooves in the distance. She had no idea who they were but from the...

"A writer doesn't solve problems. He allows them to emerge."

~ Friedrich Dürrenmatt

How Many Short Stories Do You Write a Year

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Creative Writing Prompts

41 to 60

  • My name is Kyle Deerborne. I am an architect from California, living in New Mexico. I'm thirty-four years old, single but looking. Two days ago I killed someone and I haven't been able to...
  • Nick Woolley lived a half hazard life from the day he was born; mostly due to no fault of his own, but by the time he was seventeen he had...
  • She sat in the 1979 Mustang Indy Pace with the engine running. It wasn't environmentally friendly but she wanted to be sure she could fall in line behind him when he came out of the store. It was a reliable care despite of it's age. Rose Egglin had been trailing a client's husband for three days. She hoped that today was the day he...
  • Damon pressed his thumb and forefinger of his right hand into the inner corners of his closed eyes hoping to provide some relief from the pain that throbbed there. His doctor had given him a new medication to try, phito-something-no-on-could-spell but it didn't seem to be touching it. Any longer and he'd have to...
  • On Friday November 13, 2009 I vowed I'd never kiss Mitch Moore again. On Saturday November 14, 2009 I found my body and my lips pressed up against...
  • Thanks to Star Trek I grew up thinking space was the final frontier when in reality it was really...
  • It was twenty minutes before Dr. Monique Resler had to deliver her presentation on the positive aspects of genetic research to a room full of potential sponsors with pens in one hand and check books in the other. She was nervous and experiencing the whole sweaty palm response but at the moment she was more concerned with being late. As she pulled up to the light at Marque and Fifth...
  • "You have got to be kidding me."
    "No."
    "He actually compared your hair to a poodle?"
    "Yeah, I was a bit surprised too."
    "So, what did you say?"
    "I didn't say anything. I got up and...
  • No one appreciates fairy godmothers. I give, give, give and do I even get a thank you in return? That's right, no. Well, now it's my turn. I'm going to be my own fairy godmother and the first thing I'm going to take care of is...
  • I can still see her standing near the shore, a giant tropical printed towel tied under her armpits, and her feet buried in the sand. It was the end of summer and...
  • Thunderstorms really wig me out. Not heebie-jeebies like, I'm talking about the shakes and hyperventilating and every thing in between. I used pass out on a regular basis in grade school and highschool. I swear we lived in the thunderstorm capital of the world. You would think my parents would have...
  • Ever since I was five I have always liked to surround myself with my favorite things. Back then it was ribbons and patent shoes. Today it's pearls and...
  • I should have known when I saw the first few hints of green that something had gone terribly wrong but it wasn't until Sondra the hairdresser completely removed the towel that I...
  • There are ten secrets about living in Odessa Springs that every newcomer wishes they had known before they had called the movers and filed for their change of address. Let me go through them for you one at a time. Number ten...
  • Cane's vehicle began to slip on the ramp. I could hear a mad screeching as he jammed his foot onto the break. When the spin started all I could think...
  • The gash in his leg slowed him some but Jonathon carried her from Myers bridge all the way to Tuckers Corner with little...
  • I met Court down by Rayborn's swimming hole. He splashed me on purpose and I got mad at him on purpose. He laughed, I flipped my wet hair and swam away. I didn't think he would...
  • He was standing in the center of the dimly lit back room. In the distance he could hear a train beating the rails. Mr. Simms sat on the other side of an abused oak desk sucking back his cigar. When it came down to it, all Jake could ask was "Why...
  • The news anchor's voice continued to crack, "A lethal virus has been released into Vegas. At the moment we know of four stages. The final outcome looks..."

Five Books For Writers

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Creative Writing Prompts

61 to 80

  • He opened the book to the folded pages and...
  • The door busted open and in walked...
  • Have you ever seen a floor covered in blood? At first glance there is a simple beauty to it and how it contrasts with the white linoleum. It doesn't immediately register that what you're looking at is actually blood. Slowly a stiffness builds up in your body as your mind begins to realize that the beauty is actually life's essence. Then what was a simple beauty becomes a repulsion. Seeing Marcus laid out with a meter wide red polka dot under him wasn't beautiful. It was down right hysterical. Not hysterical as in funny, hysterical as in I can't control my reaction kind of funny. I remember looking at Denise who stared back at me dumbfounded and thinking...
  • I always wanted to be a creator. I didn't know what I wanted to create when I longed for it. I just wanted to create. So when I saw the little blue plus sign I knew I had found my...
  • Derek and I were like two weather fronts that collided in the night. On that first night the resulting storm was full of heat and electricity. It continued for the first ten years of our marriage until something out of our control happened. He died. He left me alone. Had I know what alone really felt like I probably would have never invited him in that first night. I would have avoided the rapture. I would have...
  • I'm a winner. He was definitely a loser. I should have felt guilty but I didn't. Even if people had known the truth behind how I won I don't think I would have cared. The important thing was they didn't and I was the one going to New York on an all expense paid trip. Sure it was a business trip but...
  • The center isle of the train was filled with people standing elbow to elbow. The man in front of me smelt of cigarettes and roasted chicken. Individually that would have been alright but every few minutes it would mix with wafts of cheap perfume from who knows where. The man in a black suit to my right kept touching my arse with the back of his hand. Accidentally? I hoped so, but it made me glad I had decided against the short skirt. Fifteen more minutes and I would...
  • My sister Sally and I always had such fun when we were kids. We were less than a year apart in age so it was almost like we were twins. We even went out of our way to look like twins, dressing the same and wearing our hair the same. It wasn't until mom and dad decided to call it quits that a shift in our family dynamics somehow changed what I thought was an inseparable connection. You wouldn't think something as small as...
  • I've often wondered what it would be like to be on the inside looking out instead of always on the outside looking in. Are those people even aware of how great their lives are? Do they relish in the fact that everything in life comes easy for them? Or are they totally oblivious? These were actual thoughts that ran through my head as I watched Susanna Merrytown walk over, side step me and introduce herself to my date, ok escort. I was...
  • One. Two. Three. He caressed each bullet in the palm of his hand before slipping it into its chamber. He had done this dozens of times before but somehow tonight it felt poetic. Four. Five. Six. When the last chamber was loaded he looked across the room to the menacing man he had tied to a chair. Would today lead him to the salvation he...
  • When we signed up, volunteered really, we never expected it to be more than a six month term. Three years later we are still battling over who...
  • Sandra Arbuckle took a controlled breath before she tentatively lowered her hand into the murky...
  • The day we decided to clone an extinct animal was the day life as we knew it was changed forever. With the genetic information we had at our fingertips nothing prepared us for...
  • He wasn't abusive when we fell in love. I guess we all change within relationships don't we? I never would of thought that ten years later I'd be arrested for murder but here I was being fingerprinted and questioned under harsh lights. The truth is...
  • It was raining cats and dogs. Seriously, the wall paper in Emily's room was raining cats and dogs. But I didn't hold it against her. She was my best friend and I always could...
  • For my mother, sweat stains on silk was a catastrophe. For me, the earth would have to crack open and a giant...
  • It all started with a rash on my...
  • "Sylvie! Sylvie! Damn it, where are you child?" I peeked through the planks of the porch stairs at Aunt Hinie's uneven stockings. Her worn shoes disappeared from view and I heard the porch door squeak then slam. I'd get the strap later but I just wasn't ready to...
  • There are three important rules one should live by if they want to survive in this world. First, always look over your shoulder. Second, never trust anyone. And third,...
  • It was 1986. The Fly was in the theater and The Phantom of the Opera was a musical. I hadn't seen either of them. My mom dressed me in the most hideous pink frock with puffy sleeves and...

Stephen King on Short Stories

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Creative Writing Prompts

81 to 100

  • I wasn't scared. I mean, sure, I jumped but that was just a habitual response. I wasn't scared. In fact, I've never been scared a day in my life. You wouldn't think...
  • He could feel its prickly tendrils poking through the thin cotton of his denim pockets. He wanted to remove it but was afraid...
  • The sweet scent of gardenias mingled with beer made me want to retch. I fought the urge as they looked in my direction. Were they looking at me? Or was it my wild imagination taking over again. One of the men nodded in my direction. Yep, they were looking at me. Of course it could be something as harmless as commenting on the weird girl (that be me) staring at them but chances...
  • June was never particularly exciting in our neighborhood. Not until the summer Rachel and Owen moved in next store. It was...
  • She kept picking at it. First her index finger to gain entry. Followed by all of them. Digging deeper and deeper despite the increasing pain. Logically she knew she should stop. It kept...
  • I wasn't sure why I decided to visit Charlie when I did. But looking back it seemed kismet that I should show up when I did. He really...
  • The hand sized moth wings flutter around his face. Tenderly, at first, then...
  • "Stop yanking on my arm!" screeched Alice. She pulled her tender arm across her chest and...
  • He whispered in Dan's ear, "You are in for a real surprise when..."
  • Her eyes followed the line of the shiny tools laid strategically from left to right on the wooden table in front of her. The tips of her fingers wandered over the handles as if trying to decide which one felt..."
  • "Dusk was long gone and the café was quiet except for a middle-aged man sitting near the door who..."
  • Gossip can either make or break a woman's career. Unfortunately there is a fine line between good gossip and bad gossip. The trick is being able to manipulate both in your favor. I had become a master gossip manipulator by the time I was 23 but by the time I was 27 things had gone haywire. It all started when I picked up...
  • I was waiting at the bus stop, sucking back an Iced Capp, the first time I saw Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome among the other construction workers. I know this because it is pretty much what do every day on the way to work. The only difference today was that one of the guys fell from the scaffolding. He literally fell like a rag doll except his body didn't make a rag doll noise when it hit the pavement. Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome was the first to reach the body. For some reason he looked across the street at me and mouthed...
  • Sex is not the only thing that happens in airplane bathrooms. Of course there are the obvious other bodily functions but I am talking about the other things no one talks about. The primping, the flushing of contraband, and for me, pre-flight panic attacks. Every time I board a plane I stuff my bag in the overhead compartment above my seat then make a beeline for the bathroom where I hyperventilate until someone bangs on the door or I pass out. Ok, I only passed out once but it is always a possibility. On the flight back from Phoenix I was especially...
  • In all my twenty-five years I had never been so confused as I was at that moment. Not quite the reaction a man hopes to see in a woman's face when he professes his love but what is a girl to think when the guy she grew up with and thought she knew suddenly talks about love when he should be...
  • I hate clowns. But mostly I hate people who make me explain why I hate clowns and the look on their face when I...
  • I used to be a friendly child. I would think nothing of stopping and chatting with neighbors on our block on the way home from school or back from the store to get milk. It is amazing how one incident with one person can change your perspective of all. When the nameless old man from down the street reached over his fence and grabbed my wrist like a snake snatching its prey I remember feeling sick to my stomach and the intense satisfaction in his eyes as he...
  • There is nothing more uncomfortable when you are driving down a deserted stretch of highway with a full bladder. Guys have it easy, they can pull over anywhere, discreetly pull it out and go. Women, women have a production of untying, zipping, pulling and who knows what else. Not to mention we have to worry about some freak jumping out of the bushes. But I couldn't hold it anymore. In hindsight, I should have just peed my pants and kept going but how could I know...
  • Maxie's deft fingers pulled at the hair wire sewn into the tweed jacket. Now that she had the information she needed it had to be removed before...
  • The worst part of an unhealthy relationship is not the years of stagnation, it is following through with your decision to end it. And with a long term relationship is not only the couple who are affected. The shared friends, the extended family all end up bruised. The day I ended it with Mike I...

"Write from the soul, not from some notion what you think the marketplace wants. The market is fickle; the soul is eternal."

~ Jeffrey A. Carver

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From Sylvia Plath

"Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."

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BigGirlBlue

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