Story Starters and Writing Prompts for Creative Writing
What are Writing Prompts?
Story starters, or writing prompts, are usually a single sentence to a paragraph long and help students write short stories by providing them with a story beginning to spark their creativity.
Sentence starters usually provide an image or scenario for writers to build on. Story starter sentences provide a small part of a story, leaving the bulk of the creative writing for the student to complete.
Who Needs a Writing Prompt?
Writing prompts and sentence starters are great for both new writers who are overwhelmed by a blank page as well as experienced writers who feel like they're running out of new ideas.
Young students benefit from story starter sentences, middle school students love to use them to write stories, and even adults appreciate having story starter sentences to spark creativity and get past that first blank page.
Story starters can ignite a real passion toward writing that may have been lost.
The Benefits of Story Starters
First, story starters spark creativity and get the creative juices flowing. Instead of students having to come up with their own storyline, they can just start writing, adding onto the prompt they already have.
This helps act as inspiration for students who are struggling with writer's block, too. Writing can be a chore when you don't know what to write about, but story starters engage the imagination from the beginning.
Using story starters is also a great way to get students to venture into different genres and styles that they might not explore otherwise. They may not think to write about a pirate or a superhero, but with a writing prompt, this becomes easier to explore.
You can find 25 Graphic Organizers for writing, including several for writing narratives HERE. Or, if you’re looking for some help with the RACE strategy, check out THIS FREE RESOURCE.
Story Starters
Now that you know what story starters are and why it's helpful to utilize them in the classroom, here are some story starters to get your young writers writing!
Story Starters that Include the First Sentence
These story starter sentences include just the opening sentence to spark creativity as students write a short story. Having just the opening line gives students the option to take the story in many different directions.
As the door creaked open, I saw something that I thought I would never see again.
As I was walking through the forest behind our backyard, I thought I heard a whisper, but there was no one in sight.
The entire village banded together to slay the dragon that had started circling the hills nearby, but I knew something no one else did.
Maya had meant to kayak back to her family's campsite before it started to pour, but she got caught in the storm, and her kayak was pushed by the waves until she landed on the shore of a cave.
In a hidden city where everyone had a unique superpower, Zahra discovered that she was the only one who was ordinary.
The traveler finally settled in on the train when he realized he had the wrong suitcase.
A loud crash from the other room startled the little girl as she was watching TV.
Henry was the last person to leave school that day when he noticed an important news article left behind on the teacher's desk.
A knock on the front door revealed the unexpected arrival of her best friend, holding a mysterious package.
She didn't put too much thought into what her fortune cookie had said, until it started to come true.
I was walking home from school when the strange old man appeared again.
While daydreaming in the car, I had an amazing idea.
The treasure trove was empty when we got there.
As I brushed my teeth in the morning, it seemed like my reflection was delayed, moving a second after I did.
As I walked down the street, I heard a strange sound coming from behind our neighbor's shed.
The middle of the day is not when you expect things like this to happen.
I walked out of the room quickly, excited to tell my parents the news.
The kids at this new school were nice to me on my first day, but something seemed odd, and I couldn't figure out what it was.
The child was told not to open the door under any circumstances.
I walked backward, retracing my steps in the snow.
He couldn't remember how he got there, but decided to follow the path to see where it led.
Story Starters that Trail Off
My little sister was the one who wanted to go on the camping trip, but I wasn't interested until ...
I hung my head and cried when I realized ...
The cab driver couldn't tell what had happened until ...
My dream became more and more vivid when ...
I was afraid of venturing out into the world until ...
I had lost my passion for life, but ...
Even though she was afraid of the dark, she mustered up the courage to go outside at night to help ...
They always played in the empty parking lot after school, but this time ...
I was in my room playing by myself when I heard ...
The sky quickly changed colors. I knew I had to find shelter, but ...
A sense of excitement came over me. This was the first time ...
That was all the inspiration I needed. I finally decided to ...
My street was empty. There were no adults, kids, or pets running around and not a single car in sight. That was strange, but what was stranger was ...
The old man sighed, then lifted himself out of his chair before ...
The world changed forever the moment ...
More Story Starters
These writing prompts include more than a single opening line. Having more of the story already written can help students who are still struggling to get their creative juices flowing. This also helps students with their writing skills because they see excellent writing skills modeled in the first few sentences.
Emilia always had the most fascinating dreams. Then, one day, her dreams started to become reality.
It was an accident. Mia and her brother knew they weren't supposed to be playing soccer inside the house. They were home alone for just 20 minutes when their grandma's antique picture frame was hit and crashed to the floor. Before Mia could say anything to her brother about it being his fault, she noticed something curious on the back of the picture peeking out from underneath the broken picture frame.
Ronan stretched as he woke up, moving his arms across his pillow. With his eyes still closed, he stretched his legs and his toes, reaching them as far as he could toward the foot of his bed. His bed seemed so much bigger than normal. When he opened his eyes and sat up, he realized he was the size of a housecat.
On a rainy day, Reese explored the attic and found a history book that covered historic events from the times of the dinosaurs to just last year. Reese thought it was odd that a book with recent events had so much dust on it when a picture on one of the pages started to move.
I was already in my pajamas reading when I heard a whimper on the front porch. I opened the door to see what was making the noise.
The house on the corner of our street had always looked old and abandoned, even when my parents were kids. But one day, as I was walking home from school, I saw a shadow move across the curtain covering the window.
Lilly blinked herself awake and could immediately tell that something was different. It took her a minute to realize what it was. As she glanced around her bedroom she could see everything perfectly - her bed, her dresser, her closet - but everything was in black and white!
After weeks of searching, Sarah finally found what she had been looking for. After three more days, she wished she had never found it.
The small village of Coral Bay was nestled by the sea. The villagers led peaceful lives there until a figure emerged from the water.
I woke up startled. After I took a moment to orient myself, I realized that I was in my backyard on the grass, with a light shining down on me from above and the whirring sound of an engine floating above me.
The ice cream truck was playing different music than usual. While seemingly insignificant one little boy knew there was something more going on.
The child woke up in the middle of the night. The night sky was filled with shimmering stars - stars that hadn't been seen in a long time.
The phone rang. With icy fingers, I answered it.
The door was locked. That was odd, as her grandfather had just disappeared inside.
The kids at the end of the block wouldn't play with me. I was determined to find out why.
In the middle of the night, I woke up from a vivid dream. I fell back asleep without thinking much of it, but over the course of the next week, I discovered that parts of my dream were starting to come true.
I stopped to rest against a tree. While I caught my breath, I noticed strange marks on the tree.
She gazed out her window, looking at the stars. Seeing a shooting star, she made a wish that would change her life forever.
The child woke up to the sound of loud voices, singing. She could feel herself swaying, which made her dizzy at first. Blinking in the sunlight, her eyes finally started to focus. Barrels, swords, sails, and eye patches were what she saw.
The trail was still fresh, but it was fading. The solid line of paint was turning into a drip here and there. I had to catch up before I lost the trail!
Write a Story About ...
someone who wakes up and discovers they can talk to animals.
someone who received a letter from their future self.
the (fictional) characters going to your favorite place (in real life).
an old man who grants wishes to others - only if they complete a quest for him.
the captain of a spaceship.
an adventure that happens in winter.
your favorite character from another book waking up as you.
meeting a historical figure you've learned about recently.
what happens in a zoo after everyone has left.
a superhero who suddenly loses their powers.
a dream you've had.
the pet you've always wanted.
fixing a mistake you've made.
what happened last night.
an idea you had while taking a shower.
Mix and Match Story Writing
Use the interactive mix and match story prompt generator HERE, or fill in the following template with words from the lists below:
(If that link does not format correctly, try THIS LINK instead.)
Write a [genre] story about a [adjective][character] who [prompt].
Genre
mystery
fantasy
historical
adventure
funny
western
action
thoughtful
suspenseful
scary
Adjective
Brave
Clever
Compassionate
Determined
Adventurous
Mysterious
Wise
Witty
Charismatic
Strong-willed
Caring
Loyal
Courageous
Resourceful
Curious
Kind-hearted
Rebellious
Intelligent
Empathetic
Eccentric
Charming
Quick-witted
Humble
Imaginative
Generous
Character
Pirate
Teacher
Spaceship captain
Farmer
Detective
Wizard
Superhero
Vampire
Prince/Princess
Scientist
Athlete
Chef
Musician
Spy
Doctor
Archaeologist
Mermaid
Knight
Explorer
Witch
Journalist
Robot
Ninja
Astronaut
Cowboy
Fairy
Inventor
Queen/King
Adventurer
Magician
Prompt
discovers a portal to another world.
becomes invisible.
learns the value of honesty.
goes back in time.
has the hiccups.
finds a mysterious letter in the mailbox.
embarks on a quest to find a lost treasure.
becomes trapped in a parallel universe
travels to the future.
learns to manipulate the weather.
encounters a friendly ghost.
lives a second life in their dreams.
can speak every language.
has the power to grant one wish to anyone they meet.
can read other people's minds.
wakes up in someone else's house.
can shapeshift.
is tasked with protecting a powerful ancient artifact.
learns they are the "chosen one" from the oracle.
hunts monsters.
finds a piece of technology from the future.
meets aliens.
knows when other people are lying.
can only tell the truth.
realizes they are a ghost.
must protect the royal family.
has to eat worms to survive.
can only speak when it's night.
meets 3 kids from another world.
creates a new piece of equipment that allows people to see into the future.
Further Reading
If you’d like more support with teaching your students to write, check out these articles:
