225 Thought-Provoking Writing Prompts for High School

Muses can be capricious at times. You might be sitting in front of your laptop, staring at a blank page, writing and deleting sentences over and over again, or straight-up procrastinating.

You don’t have to wait for Spark to grace you, however. When ideas don’t come easily, there’s a wealth of resources online that can help you brainstorm. Writing prompts are, by far, the most helpful among them.

If you’re a high school student dreading a writing assignment, this blog post is for you. DoMyEssay’s writing experts took their time to create this list of 225 prompts for any need, from sci-fi short stories to journal entries.

Writing Prompts 101

Writing prompts can come in many forms, but they all serve the same purpose: being a starting point for your brainstorming and writing process. Think of them as ideas that you can take as-is or develop into your own.

For example, you can encounter single-word or single-phrase prompts that encourage you to use the power of association. Writing prompts can also guide you in selecting a topic with one or several sentences.

Writing prompts can be a powerful aid if you:

• Don’t know what to write about for your next assignment
• Struggle with writer’s block
• Need to flesh out your ideas
• Want to challenge yourself with an unusual topic
• Want to practice your writing skills (e.g., using the academic tone)

Ready to dive into writing prompts? Check out our list below; it includes prompts for all kinds of high school writing, from journal prompts to short stories.

How to Use a Writing Prompt

You can turn to writing prompts if you’re struggling to choose what to write about, want to get some fresh ideas, or need to practice your skills. Here’s how to approach our list of writing prompts to make the most out of them:

• Browse all the ideas and take note of the ones that speak to you the most
• Break apart prompts or combine them to create a unique one for yourself
• Treat the prompts as a starting point: tweak them as you see fit to adapt them to your needs
• Pick one prompt and start writing whatever comes to your mind to overcome writer’s block; no editing, self-censoring, or judging!
• Don’t hesitate to switch to another prompt if your initial pick isn’t working for you
• Experiment with a single prompt: take it in different directions to practice your skills
• Challenge yourself by following the prompt’s genre or format, even if you’re unfamiliar with it

Note: If you’re planning to use these prompts for an assignment, remember that creating an effective essay outline is as important as finding the right words to communicate your thoughts!

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Writing Prompts for High School Students

1. Describe a world where sleep is no longer necessary.
2. What would your future self write in a letter to you?
3. Create a new holiday and describe its unique traditions.
4. A secret door appears in your school. What’s behind it?
5. Rewrite a fairy tale as a sci-fi story.
6. Describe the day gravity stopped working.
7. Argue for or against robots having rights.
8. Tell a story from a pet’s perspective.
9. Invent a new social media platform.
10. Describe life after humans leave Earth.
11. Write about an outlaw who steals emotions.
12. Imagine colors have flavors. What happens next?
13. A diary entry from a time traveler.
14. Describe a friendship between two enemies.
15. The sky changes color permanently. Why?

Artful Writing Prompts for High School

1. A strange barcode has appeared on your arm overnight. What does it mean?
2. Describe a city where music controls the weather.
3. Write from the viewpoint of a forgotten photograph.
4. A lie you told becomes true overnight.
5. The moon suddenly disappears. What happens next?
6. Invent a sport played in zero gravity.
7. A character can taste other people’s memories.
8. Write about a phone that predicts the future.
9. Describe a world where aging stops at 18.
10. You inherit a map to an impossible place.
11. Rain whispers secrets. What do you hear?
12. Rewrite history with one small change.
13. The internet becomes self-aware.
14. A message appears in your handwriting, but you didn’t write it.
15. Describe a day when everyone’s shadows vanish.

Journal Prompts for High School

1. What is the driving force that fuels your resilience?
2. Write about a location that brings you total serenity.
3. What’s a goal you’re proud of reaching?
4. Write about someone who inspires you and why.
5. How do you define success for yourself?
6. What’s one habit you want to change?
7. Describe a recent moment of kindness you witnessed.
8. How do you handle failure?
9. Write about a time you surprised yourself.
10. What does friendship mean to you?
11. Describe your perfect weekend.
12. What are you most grateful for right now?
13. How do you recharge after stress?
14. What does confidence feel like?
15. Describe a dream you hope to achieve.

Daily Writing Prompts for High School

1. What made you smile today?
2. Describe something ordinary that felt special.
3. What is a recent insight you have had about yourself?
4. If today had a theme song, what would it be?
5. Describe a minor personal victory from your day.
6. What challenged you the most today?
7. Describe your mood using only imagery.
8. Who made your day better and how?
9. What’s something you noticed that others might overlook?
10. Write a six-word summary of your day.
11. What surprised you today?
12. How did you show kindness today?
13. What’s one thing you’d redo if possible?
14. Describe today’s best conversation.
15. End your day with one hope for tomorrow.

Interesting Writing Prompts for High School

1. What if dreams were broadcast on TV?
2. Describe a world run entirely by teenagers.
3. You find a book that tells your future.
4. What if your reflection started talking back?
5. Imagine school subjects taught by celebrities.
6. You can pause time, but only for five minutes a day.
7. Describe a society where everyone wears masks permanently.
8. Write about a mysterious sound no one else hears.
9. What if emotions had colors you could see?
10. You wake up in your favorite movie.
11. A forgotten language suddenly returns.
12. Describe a secret hidden in your town.
13. Technology stops working overnight.
14. Write from the perspective of your future child.
15. A note appears in your locker with impossible instructions.

Good Writing Prompts for High School

1. What’s a decision that changed your life?
2. Describe a time you felt completely understood.
3. What does freedom mean to you?
4. Write about a tradition that matters in your family.
5. How do you define happiness?
6. Describe someone who taught you an important lesson.
7. What’s a risk you wish you’d taken?
8. How do you deal with change?
9. Write about a time you stood up for something.
10. What motivates you to try your best?
11. Describe your favorite childhood memory.
12. What does honesty mean to you?
13. Write about a time you helped someone.
14. How do you measure success?
15. What’s something you’ll never forget learning?

Fun Writing Prompts for High School

1. Which fictional character would you choose to trade places with?
2. Describe your dream theme park.
3. What would you do if you woke up invisible?
4. Invent a new flavor of ice cream and its story.
5. What if your pet could text you?
6. Create a new emoji and explain its use.
7. Describe a school on Mars.
8. You wake up with a superpower that only lasts 24 hours.
9. What would a “backward day” look like?
10. Design your perfect gadget.
11. Write a story that starts with a sneeze.
12. What if memes came to life?
13. Plan a vacation to a made-up country.
14. Describe a world made of candy.
15. Invent a new holiday prank tradition.

60 Short Story Writing Prompts

Bracing yourself for writing a short story? It might seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. These 60 short story writing prompts for high school will help you get started.

Fantasy Short Story Prompts

1. A blacksmith discovers their forge can shape time itself.
2. A kingdom crowns a dragon as its ruler.
3. An ancient god wakes up in the middle of a modern city.
4. A child’s imaginary friend turns out to be real and dangerous.
5. A library contains books that write themselves overnight.
6. The moon begins whispering secrets to one person.
7. A cursed mirror shows not reflections, but destinies.
8. Two rival sorcerers must share one spell book.
9. A storm brings creatures from another realm.
10. A traveler trades memories instead of coins.
11. The stars start rearranging into messages.
12. A village sacrifices dreams to stay alive.
13. A knight’s armor starts making its own decisions.
14. A forest refuses to let anyone leave.
15. Magic disappears, and only one person remembers it existed.

Horror Short Story Prompts

1. You receive voicemails from your future self, begging you not to go home.
2. A town’s shadows start moving on their own.
3. Your reflection starts aging faster than you.
4. Every night, the mannequins in a store window change positions.
5. A child’s drawings begin to predict real deaths.
6. You wake up in a house where every photo shows you, but you’ve never been there.
7. The power goes out, but your phone shows someone typing a message from inside your house.
8. A graveyard starts growing new tombstones overnight.
9. Your name appears on a list of people who don’t exist.
10. You hear scratching inside the walls spelling your name.
11. A babysitter realizes the “sleeping child” isn’t human.
12. The forest whispers back when you call someone’s name.
13. You can see people’s death dates, but yours keeps changing.
14. The elevator doesn’t stop on any known floor.
15. Every mirror in your house suddenly cracks, except one.

Sad Short Story Prompts

1. A voicemail from a lost loved one suddenly reappears on your phone.
2. A child writes letters to a parent who will never read them.
3. The last tree on Earth finally falls.
4. Two best friends grow apart without realizing it.
5. A soldier returns home to find no one remembers them.
6. A musician loses their hearing before their final concert.
7. A robot learns what grief means too late.
8. Someone keeps setting a dinner table for a person who’s gone.
9. A time traveler can only visit moments they regret.
10. A forgotten birthday changes a friendship forever.
11. The last photograph fades from existence.
12. A writer finishes a book their partner never got to read.
13. The stars stop shining on one person’s birthday.
14. A letter arrives decades after it was sent.
15. A memory slowly erases itself each time it’s remembered.

Sci-Fi Short Story Prompts

1. Humans colonize a planet where gravity shifts daily.
2. A scientist discovers a way to send thoughts instead of messages.
3. AI-controlled cities start rewriting their own laws.
4. A spaceship crew wakes to find time moving backward.
5. People develop the ability to upload emotions.
6. Earth receives signals from a parallel version of itself.
7. A machine predicts crimes, but predicts one for its creator.
8. Humans evolve to survive without sunlight.
9. A planet’s oceans are sentient and communicate through storms.
10. People begin vanishing, leaving only their digital footprints.
11. Memory trading becomes the new black market.
12. A virus makes technology see ghosts.
13. Colonists discover an alien ecosystem that mimics human life.
14. A future society bans sleep entirely.
15. Stars start disappearing one by one.

60 Themed Writing Prompts

Want to tie your story or essay to a specific holiday or season? You’re in luck: these 60 prompts will help you settle on a topic that fits the bill.

Fall Themed Writing Prompts

1. Describe a walk through a forest where every leaf tells a story.
2. A scarecrow comes to life during harvest season.
3. You find a journal buried under autumn leaves.
4. Write about a festival that only happens on the first frost.
5. A sudden wind reveals hidden messages in falling leaves.
6. A pumpkin grows to an impossible size overnight.
7. The smell of cinnamon triggers forgotten memories.
8. A village competes to create the most magical jack-o’-lantern.
9. You discover a hidden path lined with glowing leaves.
10. Write about a rainy autumn day that changes everything.
11. A flock of birds guides you to a secret place.
12. Leaves begin to fall in shapes of letters.
13. A character tries to catch the “first falling leaf” of the season.
14. Autumn brings a mysterious visitor to town.
15. Write about a hayride that turns into an unexpected adventure.

Halloween Themed Writing Prompts

1. You find a trick-or-treat bag that refills itself with strange items.
2. A costume you wear starts changing your personality.
3. The jack-o’-lantern in your window winks at you.
4. A haunted house only appears at midnight.
5. You receive a Halloween invitation from someone long dead.
6. Candy begins whispering secrets to whoever eats it.
7. Your reflection wears a mask you didn’t put on.
8. Ghosts start trick-or-treating alongside children.
9. A black cat follows you home every Halloween.
10. Skeletons have a secret society in the cemetery.
11. You get trapped in a mirror maze filled with spirits.
12. Witches compete in a magical pumpkin-carving contest.
13. A haunted costume shop only opens once a year.
14. Shadows start dancing on their own during Halloween night.
15. You discover a hidden spell in a Halloween decoration.

Winter Themed Writing Prompts

1. A snowstorm traps strangers in a remote cabin.
2. Icicles form shapes that predict the future.
3. Write about a town where it never stops snowing.
4. A lost mitten leads to an unexpected adventure.
5. Frozen lakes reveal secrets buried beneath the ice.
6. A mysterious traveler appears with a warm, magical fire.
7. Footprints in the snow lead to nowhere.
8. A snow globe shows events before they happen.
9. The first snowfall awakens a long-forgotten creature.
10. A character writes letters that vanish in the snow.
11. Snowflakes fall with messages only one person can read.
12. An abandoned ski lodge holds a magical portal.
13. Winter lights reveal hidden patterns in the darkness.
14. A snowstorm forces a community to confront old secrets.
15. Hot cocoa sparks memories of a lost loved one.

Christmas Themed Writing Prompts

1. A mysterious gift appears on your doorstep every night.
2. Santa’s sleigh breaks down in your town.
3. Write about a Christmas tree that grows magical ornaments.
4. A letter to Santa gets delivered decades late.
5. Elves go on strike, and chaos ensues.
6. A snowman starts giving advice to passersby.
7. You discover a hidden room full of forgotten presents.
8. A character wakes up to find it’s Christmas every day.
9. The star atop the tree begins to glow on its own.
10. A holiday cookie recipe holds a secret spell.
11. Reindeer show up in the city streets unexpectedly.
12. A Christmas carol makes memories come alive.
13. You receive a map to Santa’s workshop.
14. A holiday decoration starts moving when no one is looking.
15. A mysterious bell only rings for one person.

5 Tips for Turning Prompts into Essays

One or several prompts above caught your eye? Great! Now that you’re ready to start working on turning that prompt into a full-fledged essay, our experts advise you to:

• Make sure your prompt aligns with the assignment. If you’re asked to write a journal entry, a sci-fi short story prompt might not be suitable. Remember that you can always tweak it to align it with your needs!
• Reflect on your personal experiences. Prompts are a jumping-off point for reflection and brainstorming. To make your essay truly yours, look at the prompt through the lens of your own knowledge and experiences.
• Freewrite if you’re stuck. Writer’s block can be frustrating, but freewriting will help you counter it. It involves writing down whatever comes to your mind, without censoring yourself, worrying about the writing’s quality, or even stopping to fix mistakes and typos.
• Write in your own voice. Yes, teachers may expect you to use an academic tone in most assignments. But in inventive writing, your own unique voice matters. So, write as you speak; you can always edit your writing later on for clarity or conciseness.
• Avoid putting a hat on a hat. In other words, focus on a single message or idea while you’re writing. Otherwise, your narrative just won’t come together.

Keep in mind that in artful writing, there’s no such thing as the “right” way to broach the topic. What you ultimately decide to write about has to come from you, and you alone. That’s what will make your essay authentic.

Can’t seem to find the right words to put your story into writing? Thanks to the magic of AI, you can now get your first draft in a matter of seconds. Check out our AI essay writer — it’s designed for generating essays!

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Final Thoughts

Even seasoned writers need prompts to overcome writer’s block, get some ideas, or practice their skills sometimes. So, if you have any reservations about using a prompt, leave them behind. The whole purpose of lists like ours is to help you get unstuck.

Before you jump into writing, remember that these prompts are just a starting point. Yes, you can use them as-is. But you can also combine them, change them, and enhance them with your own ideas; your imagination is your only limit. Sometimes, a single word in a prompt can propel your brain into a completely new territory.

As parting advice, our essay experts would like to remind you that there’s no such thing as the “wrong” topic, narrative, or idea in writing. Go wherever inspiration takes you!