Let’s cross some genres.
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Action-Adventure
- A clown comes over for dinner. What happens during the visit?
- You stumble upon a treasure chest while walking along the beach at night. A mysterious stranger wielding a dirty shovel heads towards you. What do you do?
- It’s late on a Saturday night. You just got back home from a night out with friends and you noticed someone standing on your front porch. Who are they? What do they want? Were you expecting them? What do you do together?
- You’re an off-duty spy after finishing your top-secret mission. You slump onto the couch and get ambushed by…
- You just won an award for Writer of the Year. As you step on stage to accept your award, the lights go out. What happens next?
Fantasy
- A local alchemist has just brewed the “perfect” potion! Now he just needs a test subject.
- The local weapon-smith has invited his foul-mouthed neighbor to see how sharp his newest sword is.
- A legendary dragon-slayer has just arrived at a local village. She says she’s here to—slay the local innkeeper.
- The village enchantress gets an audience with the king and queen. She says she has the power to enchant a single item each day, making it indestructible. The king and queen look at each other “lovingly” and ask the enchantress to enchant…
- A bar brawl breaks out, but everyone involved can only use magic.
Sci-Fi
- Aliens dress up as clowns and invade a small town.
- After crash-landing on a strange water planet, a space traveler…
- During the Independence Day parade on Mars, a crowd of aliens notice a human running around.
- A girl genius and her pet hamster, create a plan to take over the world.
- A painter unknowingly uses a new type of paint that creates portals to alternate realities.
Romance
- A woman returns home after a long business trip. She finds her husband pinned to the floor by someone.
- Two strangers enter the subway late at night. The train gets stuck halfway to their destination. They spend the next few hours getting to “know” each other.
- A man meets up with her long-lost childhood friend. They spend the next 24 hours catching up.
- A woman receives a mysterious text message from an unknown number just as she’s getting ready for bed. It reads: “OMG I CAN’T BELIVE IT’S YOU. TURN AROUND!” The woman…
- While listening to the radio, a woman hears her husband’s voice.
Horror
- During a dark and stormy night, a group of teenagers are on their way back home from a concert. Their car breaks down in front of a rickety old manor.
- It’s Halloween! Everyone is dressing up in their favorite costumes, collecting candy and attending costume parties. However, one kid is having a terrifyingly dreadful night.
- A werewolf, mummy, and vampire walk into a bar.
- A strange cat-lady has had enough. After many decades of feeding and washing the little stray critters, she goes hunting.
- A family of vampires go sightseeing at a local human flea market.
Mystery
- A hard-boiled detective is on the verge of getting the break of a lifetime, when suddenly his daughter goes missing.
- A body lies in a pool of blood in the middle of an empty ballroom.
- Police show a witness a lineup of potential suspects that may have committed a robbery. She instantly points out the person she saw. Her finger lands on a 10-year-old.
- A rookie police officer arrests her first suspect after a recent burglary. It’s her sister.
- A former detective plans the heist of the decade from inside a toy store.
Happy writing!
Jeff Aybar is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy writer, creative introvert coach, INFJ, and veteran. If you enjoyed this post, consider joining his newsletter and get full access to the rest of (Not Another) 101 Creative Writing Prompts. Sign up here to discover personal stories, advice, inspiration, and other exclusive content and resources.