Can’t think what to write? Try a writing prompt.

I had never thought I could write anything creative, let alone a whole story.
I struggled with writing at school because I’m dyslexic, and back then most of my teachers didn’t understand, and got fed up with me always being behind.

I’ve always loved stories, but writing anything creative at school had guidelines, ‘You have to write about this specific thing!’

In fact, I remember one time our assignment was to write a descriptive scene of a student slowly walking down the corridor, delaying to see the principal in their office.

I guess even back then I was always focused on the character’s motives in a story.

So, I wrote about two paragraphs of the corridor, the window, the tree outside, the sun rays, the warm breeze. But then I wanted to write the scene in the principal’s office. I wanted to figure out what the student could’ve done to be sent to her office in the middle of class.

The story was unfolding before me, so I carried on and wrote the conversation, and then the student’s mother picking her up and being filled in.

I think I had written three or four pages more than everyone else in class. And it was the first time I felt proud of myself. For once I was enjoying class, and I was pleased with what I was writing.

That had never happened before.

But, as always with pride and hope, they were dashed a few days later, when I got the feedback from the teacher. 40% out of 100%.

‘This was not what was asked.’

I was crushed.

I felt stupid. And I was annoyed that it bothered me so much.
It was an unexplained anger and embarrassment. It wasn’t the first time I had gone to so much effort with a task or homework, to have it be graded as if I didn’t follow the rules or the plan.

I know now that I’ve always been an ‘out of the box’ thinker. Also, stubborn in what I want to do instead of being told what to do, especially with creative ideas.

I’m sure a lot of creative people go through the same thing. It can’t be boxed up. It needs to burst out of the box, even if it ends up being a mistake.

Which gets back to my main point.
If you are just starting out, or if you’re just creatively stuck and blocked, then my advice to you would be to try looking at Writing Prompts or Story Starters.

I think it’s natural to hope that everything will go smoothly right away. And I thought because of my first idea running away with me, and basically just flowing out of my pen onto the page, I didn’t think I needed to write anything else.

When the burn out happened though, it was a lot. I had never experienced a creative slump like I did in my second year of writing. In fact, I think I had a break from it for around 4 months.

Focusing on one story that intensely is not a good idea. The way we learn and improve, especially in anything creative, is by trying lots of different methods every now and then.

It helps you discover what you enjoy, where your strengths are, and where you can still improve.

I searched for story starters and found the Writing Prompts Reddit. There were loads of people posting and sharing ideas. Each writing prompt just sparked a little scene or a little conversation.

It helped me realise that you don’t need every idea to be a book. And it definitely doesn’t need to be perfect.

Writing short stories, no matter how long they are, is a great way to practice and improve on the skills you’re building. It certainly helped me.

I’ve got several stories that aren’t very good, but that’s normal. It’s a great reminder of who I was when I started, to the writer I am now, and everything I’ve learned along the way.

I’ve really felt like I’ve levelled up.

I may still be dyslexic, and I still ask for help with grammar and sentence structure. But that doesn’t stop me telling stories.

I’ve come a long way. And I’ve found I’m more intuitive than I was before as well.

I want to encourage other writers, at any stage in their journey, to try and experiment with different scenarios and characters’ voices, that won’t be seen by anyone. They’ll just be for you.

Be spontaneous! Write badly on purpose, or jot down your idea into bullet points. Just anything that’ll get your ideas onto the page.

Some prompts will go nowhere.
Others might become a short story.
One might even become your first novel.

The important thing isn’t writing something perfect.
It’s remembering why you wanted to write in the first place.

Here are some of my favourite writing prompts I’ve collected over the years. See if one sparks an idea. And if none of them do, that’s okay too.

Most of these came from the r/WritingPrompts community on Reddit. If you’d like even more ideas, I’d definitely recommend having a browse.


– The hero is defeated by the villain. They expect death or torture. They did not expect to wake up in a guest room with their wounds being treated to.


–  Every single device with a screen is hijacked simultaneously. TVs, computer, phones, even fridges and car radios, all tune in to the same feed. A person on their own stood against a white background. They smile, and calmly say, “Hello. I have an announcement.”


– A librarian can time travel into the worlds of the books in the library.


– The Wheel of Time. A game show where one competitor is sent to survive for 24 hours in a random period of human history, such as the dark ages, the future age, the ice age, chosen by a spinning wheel.


– Everyone decides to stay silent because they can’t tell a lie.


– It was an experiment to put forty teenagers in a walled off plot of land and tell them to build a new society. Somehow you have been elected leader.


– You live in a world shaped like a big Rubik’s Cube, the face of each square having a unique climate. Some unseen force periodically twists and repositions the Cube. So you never know what friends, enemies, dangers, or resources will be at your borders next.


– “Violence is never the answer,” the monk said, pumping a shotgun. “But you don’t have to be right.”


– You have been drinking coffee and energy drinks since you were 9 years old, but it never made a difference. Now you’ve turned 25 years old, the caffeine has just kicked in all at once.


– You’re a dimension hopper who can walk through parallel worlds like turning a corner. The increasing number of apocalyptic Earths is really starting to bother you, though.


– Shape-shifters aren’t pretending to be humans to hunt us, but to hide from the things hunting them.


– She hadn’t seen that door before. It wasn’t there last night. Cautiously, she turned the handle.


Happy writing! 😊
I’d love to know if one of these prompts sparks a story for you.