NarrativeWriting Prompts
Tell about the one thing you want more than anything else in the world and why you want it. What would change in your life if you got it?
Think about a time something happened that made you laugh or that makes you laugh now when you think of it. Perhaps it was something you did or experienced, or maybe it was something that happened to someone else. It might have been planned or unplanned. Write a story about one time a funny thing happened. Tell what happened and how the people involved reacted.
Many people believe that our lives are filled with coincidences. You might tell your sister about your favorite episode of a show only to turn on the TV and find that the very same episode is airing at that moment. Or, you might run into your best friend only seconds after thinking of him or her. Write a story about a time when you experienced a coincidence. Tell what happened and how the people involved reacted.
You have just finished reading a survival story for English class. Now your teacher would like you to create your own survival story.
Write a story about two people who are hiking with backpacks in a large national forest. The pair becomes lost and night is coming on. What problems do your characters encounter, and what must they do to survive?
Have you ever begun a conversation with a friend or parent by saying, “You’ll never believe what happened to me”? Have you ever caught the wrong bus or accidentally gone into the wrong restroom? Many funny stories involve a mistake by one of the characters, the trouble the mistake causes, and how the character tries to get out of trouble. Write an entertaining narrative in which the main character makes a mistake, gets into amusing trouble, and tries to get out of it. Your narrative can be based on your own experience, or it can be entirely made up.
Imagine a train that could take you anywhere on Earth! You have a ticket in your hand for a trip that can make stops at three places. Write a story about what happens from the time you get on the train until it returns to your hometown.
We all have things that we believe are exciting. Think of something you have done that was exciting to you. It might be winning a ball game, getting a new pet, or riding a bike. Write a story about a time when you felt excited.
Your teacher is absent and you have been asked to teach your class for a day. Think about what you would do if you were the teacher. Write a story about your day as the teacher.
Write an essay about a time when you made an important choice.
Write an essay about a time you received encouragement from another person.
Think of what your school is like at lunchtime. Pick one particular place, and picture it in your mind. This place could be large or small. In a composition, describe clearly to a friend what the place is like at lunchtime so your friend can imagine what it is like to be there.
Think about the last time you attended a special event such as a concert, a fair, or a sports event. Describe what it was like to be there and include sights, sounds, and smells that will make the reader feel he or she is there with you.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Write a narrative about a time when you did something you thought you could not do. Be sure to include specific details so that a reader can follow your story.
Think about a time when something unexpected happened. Write a narrative in which you tell about an unexpected event that happened to you or someone you know. Be sure to include specific details so that a reader can follow your story.
You have made a very important discovery–one that will make you famous throughout the world. Write a story in which you tell about your discovery and how you made it. Be sure to include details about the setting and any characters in the story, and be sure that your story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Think of your best day in school. What happened that makes this day stand out in your memory? Write a story for a friend that tells about what happened on this day in school.