Idea generator

18 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids Prompts

These prompts create a starting constraint, question, or situation. Use one as written, combine two, or change the audience, setting, objective, or limitation to make a new exercise.

Choose a random prompt from the bank.
Prompt 1

A tiny door appears in the side of your school desk. What is behind it, and who else can see it?

Prompt 2

Write about a dog that is very good at one human job but terrible at being a dog.

Prompt 3

Invent a snack that changes one small thing about whoever eats it for ten minutes.

Prompt 4

A library book keeps returning to your backpack even after you put it back on the shelf. Why?

Prompt 5

Write a story from the viewpoint of a sock that has been missing for three months.

Prompt 6

Design a playground for animals. Which animal uses each part, and what goes wrong on opening day?

Prompt 7

A cloud follows one child all afternoon but rains only on objects the child points at.

Prompt 8

Your pencil begins writing one sentence before you think of it. What does it write first?

Prompt 9

Write about two friends building the world’s smallest museum.

Prompt 10

Invent a holiday that celebrates something ordinary people usually forget to notice.

Prompt 11

A classroom plant grows a new object instead of a leaf every Monday.

Prompt 12

Write a story where the hero’s only superpower is finding things other people overlook.

Prompt 13

Your town wakes up with every street name changed. Which new name creates the biggest problem?

Prompt 14

A robot wants to learn how to tell a good joke. Who teaches it, and what does it misunderstand?

Prompt 15

Write about a treasure hunt where the treasure is not valuable but matters to one person.

Prompt 16

A character can talk to one type of everyday object. Which object do they choose, and what does it complain about?

Prompt 17

Invent a school subject that does not exist yet. What do students learn, and how are they tested?

Prompt 18

Write a story that begins with a note saying, “Please return this before sunset.”