25 Writing Prompts for Short Stories
While students learn, they have to write a tremendous variety of academic papers. Some of them are scientific, and some are not. Thus, short stories belong to the latter category. It is not required to use some studies and experiments with proven facts. You are supposed to use your imagination to cover any topic. However, many youngsters have no idea what could be highlighted in their stories.
Some of them even use the help of professional writing services. This idea is sound because every professional website has hundreds of skillful and experienced expert writers. Every essay expert can easily handle any piece of writing, including a short story. Nonetheless, this task is not too complicated, and you can handle it yourself. Perhaps you simply lack good ideas to cover.
The List of Writing Prompts for Short Stories
Therefore, we have prepared a list of 25 writing prompts for short stories. Check it right now:
- Write about the worst day in your life.
- Describe a perfect place to live in.
- Tell a story of how courage helps to survive.
- Describe an epic battle.
- Write a poem about something hideous – war, racial hatred, etc., to find the beauty in humans.
- Write a short novel about how a prince rescues a princess.
- Describe your perfect day.
- Dwell upon the importance of loyalty.
- A good person finds gold, and the bad one tries to convince him that it must be spent for pleasure. Prove that gold must be spent for a good purpose.
- Depict a journey to a wonderworld.
- Tell a story about how you become a professional football player.
- A day spent with the president.
- Your travel to outer space.
- The day you meet an alien.
- Imagine that you become one of the Avengers – your powers and how will you use them.
- The day when you get on the stage with your favorite band or singer.
- Your travel around the world – what place to visit and why.
- Depict any detective story when you discover an evil guy.
- Describe the way you create a new religion – what will it be like?
- Imagine how you tame a real dragon.
- Tell what kind of new game you would have created.
- The world is in great danger because of evil alien invaders, and only you can stop them.
- Describe a heroic deed during a war.
- Imagine that we can establish a new colony on Mars – what will it be like?
- You are a traveler through time and space – what historical period would you like to visit, and give your reasoning.
As you can see, all these writing ideas are very different. You can use any of them, as well as generate similar topics by using our list of ideas. The only thing that is left to do is to write a great short story.
Smart Tips to Write a Captivating Short Story
Once you get the idea to cover, make sure you can finish it properly. This task isn’t easy, and you should do your best to succeed. It’s necessary to take into account various stages and parts of writing. As it is a non-scientific paper, we can skip the research stage. However, you may lack experience in writing such stories. Therefore, we recommend reading:
- Samples;
- Guides;
- Tutorials;
- Manuals;
- Other materials about writing short stories.
After you gain the necessary experience, go to the creation of an outline. It should include the main stages and tools for their accomplishment. You are supposed to outline:
- Writing stage;
- Revision stage;
- Tools to write a short story;
- A realistic timeframe.
A good outline makes you more productive. It saves your time and makes you organized because you already know what should be done and when. Next, come writing parts. These are:
- Introduction – provides general facts about the story and ends with a thesis statement.
- Main body – shows the development of the main idea.
- Conclusion – summarizes the entire story and interprets its value.
The last stage is called a revision. You are supposed to reread your short story twice or thrice (if you have enough time). By revising it, you may define some weak points or grammar mistakes. Apply various ways to revise the paper:
- Read in your head and aloud;
- Read from the last line to the first line;
- Ask others to read your story;
- Use a grammar checker.
Make It Readable!
The best essay writers of any custom writing company can easily write original short stories with catchy plots. Even if your ideas are brilliant, the story may be too boring or hard to understand. By following the tips of pro writers, you can make any text readable and clear. Here are essential tips to follow:
- Make concise;
- Always be straight to the point;
- Cut long sentences into short ones;
- Cover one point per paragraph;
- Avoid using jargon, slang, acronyms, etc.;
- Stay away from stereotypes;
- Stick to the active voice;
- Make logical transitions from one part to another.
These tips are universal. They perfectly suit all academic and non-academic papers. Optimize your writing and make it interesting for your readers. Do not write overly long sentences and paragraphs. As it’s a short story, dialogues are possible. They make any story livelier and more captivating. Prefer the active voice because it uses dynamic words and also makes the text livelier.
Summing Up
Writing short stories is not complicated and is commonly loved by many students. They receive full freedom of choice and can describe anything they like. However, some of them have no idea about the themes of a short story. You are welcome to use our list of 25 great writing prompts. Do not forget to use writing tips, which will help you to create a catchy story. Thus, you will always receive the highest grades for this sort of project writing.