40 writing topics to inspire your next story

Getting inspiration through writing topics and prompts is one way to find your next story idea. Here are 40 creative writing prompts and topics organized by genre plus ways to come up with your own to find your own writing style and writing process. You might want to play around with these prompts and omit some elements and replace with your own creative ideas, go for it. Let’s get those creative juices flowing and put your writing skills to the test.

1. Writing topics for fantasy writers

Think about elements of fantasy that make the genre identifiable. Magic. Other worlds. Arcane abilities. Mythical creatures. Supernatural phenomena. Here are 5 fantasy writing topics:

1. A magician uses a forbidden spell with disastrous consequences. What is the spell, and what are the consequences?
2. A mythical creature is found living in a small town’s lake. What is it and how does finding it change the local community, for better or worse?
3. An apprentice gets a spell wrong in their final examination with unintended consequences. What are they? What will restore order?
4. Human children find a portal to another world. Tell the story from the viewpoint of a character whom they encounter in this other world, or perhaps they inadvertently become a time traveler trying to get back to the present.
5. Magical ability is available to a race when people turn a certain age. Yet they must make a major sacrifice to gain it. What is the sacrifice? Is it worth it in the end?

2. Writing ideas for romance writers

The central conflict in romance is often the thing keeping two lovers apart. Here are some ideas for romantic story topics:

1. Two would-be lovers from different cultures are kept apart by cultural differences that make their families interfere. What are the differences and how will they overcome them to be together? Explore the family history.
2. A character falls in love with an artificially intelligent virtual companion. How does the connection develop and change how do other people react?
3. Two people who have only been on one date together are forced to quarantine together for three three months. Explore how their relationship developments (or falls apart) in this time and if they manage to go back to everyday life.
4. Two travelers are intercepted at a border and asked to prove their relationship. They share how they met and in doing so make up a lie they have to continue to forge.
5. Write a riches to rags story where two people’s love for each other makes them poorer but their bond survives the challenges they face.

3. Writing subjects for sci-fi writers

We live in a time of rapid technological advancement that supplies plenty of fodder for interesting sci-fi stories. Here are five sci-fi writing prompts:

1. A robotics developer’s creation falls in love with her and becomes a stalker.
2. Humans are able to upload their minds to complex AI systems to amplify their power. What dangers emerge?
3. A woman’s scientific innovation revolutionises healthcare. Powerful people want to stop her at all costs. Who are they and how does the conflict play out?
4. A private space company like SpaceX colonizes Mars successfully. Everything goes well, until the anniversary of their arrival. Then something catastrophic occurs. What happens?
5. Scientists working on an important vaccine discover something completely new that completely changes the way the world views X. What is X, and how does the discovery change culture and society?

4. Writing topics for thriller writers

A good thriller is full of suspense and simmering tension. Five thriller topic ideas:

1. A criminal prosecutor is charged with first-degree murder, though they’re innocent. Why? And how do they overcome the situation?
2. A strange YouTube video implying illicit government activity goes viral, then quickly disappears. What is the government up to, and who released the video and why?
3. Two governments enter a dangerous game of one-upmanship after one accuses the other of manufacturing biological weapons.
4. An abduction at a theme park by a human trafficking ring starts a time-sensitive manhunt. Where are the traffickers headed and who has the information to stop them?
5. An intrepid reporter takes on a large corporation conducting a massive agricultural crime threatening global food security for individual profit. What happens?

5. Writing ideas for mystery writers

Gritty detective novels, cozy mysteries featuring amateur sleuths – whatever subgenre of mystery you enjoy, it’s fun piecing together clues for readers. Here are five mystery ideas:

1. A man receives a pizza delivery intended for someone else and when he rings the number on the box finds the pizzeria doesn’t exist. Explore and explain the situation.
2. A child is snatched from a seaside resort aged five. But when they’re tracked down 25 years later, something doesn’t match up. What is it? What explains the discrepancy?
3. A couple on a camping trip with 4 other couples vanishes with no trace and no clues. All 4 remaining couples claim innocence. Are they telling the truth, and what is the explanation?
4. A woman hears mysterious voices that tell her to take actions that turn out to be life-saving. Where do the voices come from and what explains her imaginary world matching the real one?
5. Three prisoners escape the highest security prison in the world. How do they achieve this without any assistance from wardens or others on the inside?

6. Writing subjects for historical fiction writers

History is full of dramatic lives and incidents and curious, colourful characters. Here are five topic ideas to explore different time periods:

1. Pick a famous composer and read through their Wikipedia or their personal experiences or papers and write a story about what you find.. Pick a strange incident to be the focus of their story. (For example, the strange adventures of Haydn’s head.)
2. Write about a famous historical figure from the viewpoint of their greatest rival.
3. Go to history.com’s ‘This Day in History’ page. Find inspiration for a story from the day’s historical event.
4. A famous monarch strikes up an unlikely friendship – bend the facts to suit the story.
5. A child prodigy in the 1800s stows away on a ship and tours the world giving concerts. Write their personal stories or a  fictional autobiography.

7. Writing topics for horror writers

Horror is full of supernatural chills, gory misadventures and things that go bump in the night. Here are 5 horror story ideas:

1. A TV chef uses … unorthodox ingredients, and there’s a related spike in mysterious disappearances in town.
2. Four childhood friends think the weird house on the corner is haunted. The reality is far worse and much more sinister. What is it?
3. A teenaged boy who loves Marvel and DC comics wishes he had superpowers. Then he gets terrifying superpowers with grisly consequences.
4. A zombie must deal with a horrifying and deadly plague of humans.
5. In a sleepy, mundane suburb a mysterious drumming starts up each night at nightfall. Only the children can hear it. If you hear it you have to hide very well, or what?

8. Writing ideas for YA writers

Young Adult or YA novels are typically pitched at readers aged 12 to 18 (though many adults enjoy them). They often deal with the challenges and discoveries involved in coming of age. Here are 5 ideas:

1. A middle-school kid is diagnosed with a rare condition and achieves their dreams despite it. What is the condition, what are their dreams, and how do they find a way through the obstacles they face?
2. A kid with two moms of different ethnicities in a conservative town grapples with identity and overcomes prejudice as they grow up.
3. A young musician must navigate a complicated, sometimes exploitative industry and find their voice.
4. A girl’s family immigrates to a big city from abroad when she’s 12. She must overcome language barriers and other challenges and navigate multiple cultural expectations and pressures.
5. Two teens meet in a juvenile detention facility and strike up a life-long friendship.

Find your own writing topics:

To find the best book topics:

• Search Google News for keywords to do with subjects that interest you (e.g. ‘music’, ‘romance’, ‘travel’, etc.) See if headlines inspire ideas
• Open a book to a random page and use the first sentence you read as the first sentence of a story (you can erase it and find a new one later)
• Read this list of fifteen ways to find story ideas
• Use Now Novel’s free ‘Central Idea’ tool to find and finesse a great story idea
• Get extra writing prompts via this Pinterest board (and follow us at pinterest.com/nownovel!)

Ready to find and develop a great story idea? Join Now Novel for story outlining tools, a supportive critique community and more.