/r/WritingPrompts

Photograph via //r/WritingPrompts

Writing Prompts. You're a writer and you just want to flex those muscles? You've come to the right place! If you see a prompt you like, simply write a short story based on it. Get comments from others, and leave commentary for other people's works. Let's help each other.

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    We are a subreddit dedicated to inspiring people to write! Find a prompt that moves you and respond with a story or a poem.

    FAQ »

    The subreddit where it's all made up and the points don't matter.

    Apply to be a Mod!


    Friends in the End

    Click image for prompt

    Weekly Schedule

    Click features below for archives

    Feature Latest
    Sunday Smash 'Em Up SiR2: Jul-Dec '23
    Monday Spotlight Apprehensive-Split90
    Talking Tuesday (Tutoring) Magazine & Anthology Publishing pt 2
    Wednesday Wildcard Poetry Corner: Honor
    Thursday [TT] Theme Lasers
    Fun Trope Friday Adoption Conflict & Gangsterland
    Saturday SatChat Seasons Affect Your Writing?

    Rules & Guidelines

    Hover/tap for details

    Full Explanations »

    Commenting
    • < 1. Prompt responses must be good-faith attempts at new stories/poems (No AI)

    • 100 words minimum for stories, 30 for poems but include [Poem]
    • Write something new using the prompt for inspiration (No AI)
    • Plagiarism will result in a ban
    • No joke, copypasta, or AI-generated responses
    • For off topic/clarification, reply to sticky comment
  • < 2. No sexually explicit responses, hate speech, or other harmful content

    • Includes, but is not limited to, pedophilia, bestiality, incest, rape, violence against children, and explicit abuse or torture
    • Avoid racism and detailed uses of suicide, mental health stereotypes, and political debate
    • Use your best judgment, but mods have final say
  • < 3. Be civil in discussion, feedback, and critiques

    • Users are held to a higher standard here. Think before posting
    • Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail
    Submitting Posts
    • < 4. All submissions must be tagged at the beginning of the post, capitalized in square brackets

    • Click [tag] to filter. Click » for more detail
    • Prompt Posts (Inspire new writing)
    • WP - Writing Prompt: No restrictions (other than the rules of the sub) »
    • SP - Simple Prompt: Max 100 characters in the title (including the tag) »
    • EU - Established Universe: Based on existing fiction »
    • CW - Constrained Writing: Limitations or forced usage of words, letters, etc. (don't ask for less than 100 words) »
    • TT - Theme Thursday: Weekly themes announced Thursdays »
    • MP - Media Prompt: Audio or video »
    • IP - Image Prompt: A striking image or album »
    • RF - Reality Fiction: Things that have happened or could happen to unknown people »
    • Response Posts (Write based on prompts)
    • PM - Prompt Me: Answer prompts by other users (if answered prompts before) »
    • PI - Prompt Inspired: Stories inspired by prompts older than three days (include link and max 1 a day) »
    • Other Posts
    • OT - Off Topic: Not a prompt, but writing related, not for complaints regarding subreddit content, stories, or advertising without prior approval »
  • < 5. No recent reposts, even if changing small details

    • Search before submitting! (Popular ideas can cause floods)
    • Reposts are allowed, given time (around two weeks)
    • Don't take a recent prompt and change/invert small details
  • < 6. Prompt users in the title, but don't play writing games or commission stories

    • Prompt in the title and only use text for commentary or links for [IP]s and [MP]s. Avoid too many details
    • No requesting writing or editing services, or homework help
    • Don't post ads without getting permission in modmail first
    • Don't ask writers to pick titles or content from another sub or site
    • Prompts should not call for using autocorrect, autocomplete, or only emojis
  • < 7. Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses

    • Avoid real-world drama (politics, recent tragedies, etc.)
    • Inspire an effort, avoid simple questions, "write anything", word games, fill-in-the-blanks, or "in X words or less"
    • Prompts must actually be a prompt, not just the suggestion of a genre or emotion
    • Don't ask for preexisting content (prompts are meant for new writing)
    • No sexually explicit themes, hate speech, or other harmful content (suicide, mental health stereotypes, violence against children, torture, etc.)
    • No troll, joke, poop, meme-based, or all CAPS prompts
    Community Guidelines
    • < 8. Keep it about the writing here, not competing or making money

    • Authors are allowed to link to a personal sub or profile, but don't link back here until the prompt is 24 hours old
    • Patreon and Paypal links are not allowed. Link to your sub or profile instead
    • Recording of other people's work must follow the guidelines in the FAQ.

    Rule breaking posts or comments may be removed without notice. Rule breaking may result in a permanent ban without prior warning.

    If you spot a violation, please use the Report button underneath the post. This is the best way to help! If you have an issue with other users, send us a modmail.

    All content is © by the original authors.

    Flair Filter

    Click on a link below to filter posts


    Prompt Posts (Inspire new writing)

    [WP] [SP] [EU] [CW] [TT] [MP] [IP] [RF]

    Response Posts (Write based on prompts)

    [PM] [PI]

    Other Posts

    [OT] [MOD]


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    /r/WritingPrompts

    18,149,550 Subscribers

    1

    [WP] You are a PR representative for a hero firm.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    23:09 UTC

    1

    [WP] "There is one thing in this world that even dragons fear, one thing that would get dark mages and royal knights working in tandem just to survive another day. A giant."

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    23:07 UTC

    1

    [WP] As a werewolf you naturally were terrified to confess your true nature to your human fiance. They took the news surprisingly well…. Silver chains and all

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    23:00 UTC

    0

    [WP]"You could have chosen to be another evil hero... But you choose to be good... Why?"

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    22:10 UTC

    4

    [WP] "Hate humanity? What makes you think that? Do you hate the bugs that splatter across your windshields? No, they're just... in the way."

    2 Comments
    2024/07/10
    22:10 UTC

    1

    [WP] I’ve always heard that when you die, your entire life flashes before your eyes. I must be one of a rare breed, because all I saw was the glint of the black metal pistol in my face.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    22:06 UTC

    3

    [WP] One day, everyone wakes up with a playing card on their bed each suite and number deciding their power, you wake up with a joker.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    21:49 UTC

    0

    [WP] Your leading a rebellion to destroy the corrupt company that ruled over a dystopian city that lied saying that the outside world is barren after a brutal nuclear war...but you all know that it's a lie.

    You drive over the slums on the bridge approaching the wall. The 1000ft wall is what stops anyone but high ranking peacekeepers from leaving the confines of the city...will the rebellion make it?

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    21:37 UTC

    3

    [WP] Pharoah Cheops, Imhotep, and the other architects of the Pyramid confer on various ways to plant mysteries in the design in order to mess with future generations of humanity, as a prank for the ages.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    21:26 UTC

    19

    [WP] You’re a villain, but you typically hold back. You're into villainy for a quick robbery, or just some laughs. But not any more. Today is the day to show them that making you mad is a BAD idea.

    3 Comments
    2024/07/10
    21:14 UTC

    3

    [WP] Creatures that can't see metal begin absolutely freaking out when a human steps into an elevator.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    21:01 UTC

    3

    [PM] Give me a time loop scenario between two people and I will introduce a third person who will try to break the loop.

    4 Comments
    2024/07/10
    20:26 UTC

    9

    [PM] Looking for prompts with an animal companion & a genre!

    This will be a team prompt for WP discord's Word Off!

    18 Comments
    2024/07/10
    20:23 UTC

    2

    [EU] We’ve seen what happens when someone finds out they’re the Avatar too early. What happens when someone finds out they’re the Avatar too late?

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    20:19 UTC

    4

    [WP] Five years after your love died, a deal with a witch brought them back. But things feel different, and you soon confront the witch in anger over what they changed. The witch clarifies: “Your love did not change in those years. You did.”

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    20:18 UTC

    5

    [WP] In this world vampirism is treated like a disease instead of a curse, while it can be cured it requires months of blood transplants in order for the process to work. Its incredibly hard for you to accept your spouses donations even when alone at home with the kids sent away.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    20:16 UTC

    6

    [WP] Sitting in court, nervously awaiting your legal counsel the judge impatiently declares that the case must proceed. At that moment a man in a suit crashes through the window, trailing ropes and what appears to be bright tent material...

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    20:14 UTC

    10

    [WP] You are a white blood cell, today is the day you march with your fellows, today is the day you protect your land, today is the day that you drive away the viruses that have dare to invade.

    4 Comments
    2024/07/10
    20:09 UTC

    4

    [WP] The first alien civilization to contact us did so to try humanity for war crimes. They classify our attempts to eradicate various diseases to be acts of genocide.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    20:06 UTC

    2

    [WP] Some long-distance friends of yours are finally coming to your place to hang out. They're all looking forward to seeing first-hand all this "Earth" stuff you've been telling them about.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    19:45 UTC

    6

    [WP] You maintain servers for the dark web for a living. One day, you receive an untraceble message, saying to look for a file with a specific name. You search all servers and find it. It is a simple text file with instructions on how to build an interstellar communications device.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    19:38 UTC

    3

    [WP] A human doesn't notice their cat got possessed by a ghost, because the cat was already really weird in the first place and this is just an average Tuesday for them.

    0 Comments
    2024/07/10
    19:37 UTC

    10

    [WP] Several years ago, a child a child was declared 'cursed' by the priest, warned that it woul brin death upon the village, the parents were killed, but not before they gave the baby to a lonely young witch.

    2 Comments
    2024/07/10
    19:33 UTC

    10

    [WP] You grew up on a space station orbiting a planet completely uninhabitable to humans, fascinated by fairy tales telling of an ancient human civilization supposedly living on the surface. As an adult you became an astronaut and one of the first people to actually set foot on it.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    19:25 UTC

    7

    [WP] You have seen monsters, cryptids, demons and all sorts of evil. You know evil is everywhere and know it exists but you’ve never seen an Angel. You pray daily to see an Angel of benevolence & protection but you’re unsure you have enough faith to know if you ever met one or not.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    19:23 UTC

    0

    [WP] Time travel is real. Every messianic figure was chosen, sent back to uplift the future of humanity. Due to arbitrary sci fi reasons, only humans from before the invention can be sent. You are part of the council of time, sifting the Archives of Reddit for worthy candidates from askreddit posts.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    19:16 UTC

    1

    [WP] As you click respond on the tenth "what would you teach to ancient people if you could time travel" askreddit post, today, you start to tingle and find yourself in what appears to be a Monty Python film set, only without cameras and the language is strange...

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    19:12 UTC

    43

    [WP] "Someone's going to pay for this. I don't particularly care who — I'm only delivering this punishment as a courtesy to a friend, whom one of *you* offended. So, I give you a choice; either step up and admit what you did, or all of you die."

    8 Comments
    2024/07/10
    18:44 UTC

    9

    [WP],,You said these "dogs" are harmless pets, human. Why are you so scared that one of them got loose in ventilation?" captain of spaceship asked this hairless ape species. Shaking his head, with clear terror in their voice, human answered ,,This is not just a dog. This is Chihuahua!"

    2 Comments
    2024/07/10
    18:44 UTC

    3

    [EU] When a ghost appears in Adventure Bay, the Paw Patrol calls for the help of the Scooby Doo gang.

    1 Comment
    2024/07/10
    17:53 UTC

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