Creative writing prompts can provide high school students with much-needed inspiration and motivation for their writing assignments. Often, staring down a blank page can deter even the most enthusiastic young writers. Prompts give students a jumping-off point to stimulate their creativity.
Prompts come in many forms – a quote to respond to, an image to describe, an unusual scenario to incorporate into a story. Their novelty catches students’ attention and sparks ideas. A student who may have been frozen by the prospect of conjuring up an entire story from nothing can eagerly begin writing when given an intriguing prompt.
Prompts also teach students how to generate ideas independently. As students practice responding to a variety of prompts, they build creative thinking skills. They learn how to take an initial concept and develop it into a full narrative. These skills will enable them to craft their own original stories without relying on prompts.
Common Types of Creative Writing Prompts
There are several common categories of creative writing prompts used in high schools:
- Scenario prompts – These prompts describe an imaginary scenario and ask students to write a story incorporating the scenario. For example, “Write a story that begins with finding a magical item while cleaning out the attic.”
- Object prompts – These prompts ask students to write a story featuring or inspired by a particular object. For example, “Write a story featuring a red umbrella.”
- Quote prompts – These prompts provide a quote and ask students to write a story that incorporates the quote’s theme. For example, “Write a story inspired by this quote from Albert Einstein: ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.'”
- Image prompts – These prompts show an image, painting, or photograph and ask students to write a story based on some aspect of the visual.
- Genre prompts – These prompts ask students to write a story in a particular genre, such as mystery, sci-fi, or romance. The prompt might include genre conventions for students to incorporate.
Crafting Effective Creative Writing Prompts
When crafting creative writing prompts for high schoolers, keep these tips in mind:
- Focus on novelty – Prompts should surprise students and spur them to imagine new possibilities. Avoid overused ideas.
- Keep prompts open-ended – Prompts should spark ideas without overly restricting creativity. They can guide students but shouldn’t dictate entire stories.
- Incorporate multimedia – Images, quotes, music clips, and videos make prompts more engaging for media-savvy students.
- Appeal to students’ interests – Draw prompts from popular books, TV shows, movies, and video games that resonate with teenagers.
- Vary difficulty levels – Have some prompts be more challenging to advanced or older students. Beginners may need more guidance.
Sample Creative Writing Prompts for High School Students
Here are some creative writing prompts appropriate for high school students:
You find a door in your home that wasn’t there before. When you walk through, you enter an alternate reality. What do you discover? Flesh out the full story.
Use this Salvador Dali painting as inspiration for a surrealist short story: The Persistence of Memory
Incorporate the following quote from Nelson Mandela into a story: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Rewrite a fairy tale or myth from the perspective of the villain.
Write a ghost story that takes place in your high school.
Imagine humans colonize Mars in the near future. Tell the story of a teenager growing up on Mars.
Use these song lyrics as the basis for a short story: “I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing.”
Useful Websites for Creative Writing Prompts
Here are some websites with creative writing prompts appropriate for high school students:
The Daring English Teacher – This site has an extensive collection of imaginative prompts by grade level.
Creative Writing Prompts – Find daily updates of new creative writing prompts in various genres.
Write Practice – This site provides prompts contributed by readers that span many genres and difficulty levels.
Reddit Writing Prompts – Peruse imaginative prompt ideas from the Reddit community, with new ones added daily.
So by providing high school students with a steady dose of fresh, intriguing creative writing prompts, teachers can spur students’ imaginations and refine their narrative writing abilities. The prompts give students a starting boost while also teaching them how to eventually craft compelling stories entirely from their own ideas.