Write a story that begins with a mislabeled package.
16 Short Story 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.
Write a story set during the final hour before a building closes forever.
Write a story where the protagonist must tell the truth without speaking.
Write a story about a routine job interrupted by one impossible request.
Write a story in which two strangers recognize the same photograph.
Write a story centered on a key that opens the wrong door.
Write a story where a character deletes a message and immediately regrets it.
Write a story where the setting changes faster than the characters can adapt.
Write a story about an object returned twenty years late.
Write a story that contains a promise nobody remembers making.
Write a story where the antagonist solves one problem for the protagonist.
Write a story told through a waiting room conversation.
Write a story where a familiar place has one new rule.
Write a story that ends with a character choosing not to ask a question.
Write a story about someone pretending to know a skill they do not have.
Write a story where a minor background sound becomes essential.