Transcript Short Creative Writing Prompts

You are lost in the woods at night. As you are trying to
find your way out, your flashlight catches a glistening
gold color in the hills to the north. You take two steps
in the general direction of the hills. Suddenly, a burst
of freezing cold air smacks you in the face. The air feels
almost tangible.
 Write about what happens next.
 Start with: Under normal circumstances, I …
 Pick a number between 1 and 6. Go to the next page to
find the last sentence of your story.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
And that’s how I ended up inventing compassglasses.
Now you know why the smell of burning wood
always evokes such mixed feelings in me.
It’s a bit creepy to know that what sounds like fiction
is really true.
Thank goodness the realtor was a good sport.
Next time, I will take the high road.
The next time somebody tells you there’s money in
the hills, listen.
 Congratulations on your new job writing for an upstart
supermarket tabloid! Unfortunately, your budget is
limited. You only have a pen and a notebook. When
you ask your boss how you are supposed to do
research, he says, “Everything you need is already in
your head. Just write.” Before he leaves you in the
office, he gives you the headline for today’s feature
story.
 Pick a number between 1 and 6.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Woman Born with Wings Takes Flight
Flute-Playing Mermaid Spotted in Downtown
Tucson Practicing Scales
Mummified Man with Ten Thousand Bee Stings
Found in the Desert
Boy with Static Electricity Disease Sparks Major Fire
Talking Horse Hoarse from Cheering at Ft. Myers
Racetrack
Policeman Arrested for Posing as Person Posing as
Policeman
Choose three numbers
from 1 to 10.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
a forest gnome
a photographer
a high school student
a restaurant owner or manager
an alien from outer space
a space scientist
a wizard
a middle school teacher
a kid
a jazz musician
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
the Grand Canyon
a beach with high cliffs
a costume party
school playground
an antiques store
a city park
old farmhouse
a polluted stream
a library
a concert hall
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
during a snowball fight
after a strange spacecraft landed nearby
on the night of the full moon in October
during school vacation
just before the Solar eclipse
late at night
after a big thunderstorm has passed
in early spring
first week of the school year
during a concert
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
an important decision needs to be made
a secret needs to be confessed to someone else
someone's pride has been injured
someone needs to make a choice
someone has found or lost something
someone has accused someone else of doing something
wrong
reminiscing on how things have changed
someone feels like giving up
something embarrassing has just happened
someone has just reached an important goal
 You are on a long-distance bus ride. A few hours into
your trip, a new person gets on and sits next to you.
You are sure you’ll never see this person again, so you
decide to confess something to this person.
 Start with: A while back…
 Pick a number between 1 and 6.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
counterfeit, chamber, Chinatown, cheated, chain
pirate, papers, permission, pickle, prohibited
accident, arson, arrest, afterthought, anxious
misunderstood, money, murder, memory, master
plan
lawyer, lost, loot, lifted, love
fog, forge, filth, fraud, forgotten