Month: June 2019

201. The story starts at the end of a trial when the defendant is declared guilty and is sent to prison.  

202. An archeologist who is bored and tired of digging up meaningless fragments of ancient civilizations stumbles upon an ancient text that could change the world’s understanding of history— and the future of humanity— forever. 

203. A scientist discovers a source of free, unlimited energy that has no negative effects. Wealthy and powerful people do not want this energy source made available to the public.  

204. Write a story about a protagonist with psychic abilities: clairvoyance, telepathy, or telekinesis. What challenges does he or she face? How does the protagonist use these powers? 

205. A series of simultaneous natural disasters occurs all around the planet, leaving governments disabled, rescue workers incapacitated, and ordinary people alone to face the horrors of the aftermath.  

206. Write about a man and woman who are friends— just friends— and who are both happily married to (or involved with) other people. Show their romantic relationships with others through the lens of their friendship with each other. 

207. In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. Write a story about people who climbed the wall and chipped it away.  

208. A bunch of clumsy thieves attempt to pull off the heist of the century but make a mess of things.  

209. Write a story about children who go to see a magic show. 

210. Most teenagers can’t wait to become legal adults so they can make their own decisions. Write a story about a teenager struggling with parental rules and the desire to become autonomous.  

211. The protagonist is an introvert who is suddenly thrust into a workforce that insists on extroverted behavior through office policies that require speeches, networking, and business trips where the protagonist has to share a hotel room with coworkers who are practically strangers. 

212. While out for a morning walk, the protagonist finds a child drugged and left for dead in an old well. Nobody knows who the child is and nobody steps forward to claim the child. 

213. We humans are a divided species. Write about a worldwide event that brings a fractured Earth together, unifying humanity. 

214. Epic fantasies and quests through lands filled with dragons, elves, and fairies— these stories are staples in the fantasy genre. What’s your take on the classic fantasy tale? 

215. In horror stories, we usually don’t get to know the killer or the monster very well. Write a story that reveals the villain’s full history and personality.  

216. Love at first sight: some say it’s a mirage; others say it leads to marriage. Write a story that shows what you think about it. 

217. The 1960’s gave us Civil Rights, Woodstock, and the space race. What hap- pens when a nation’s people are divided? What happens when minorities of people are oppressed? What happens when ordinary kids decide they don’t want to grow up and become just like their parents? Mix in the fact that there’s a war nobody understands and most people don’t believe in. Add drugs, flowers, and peace signs and you’ve got the sixties. Write a story set during this iconic decade. 

218. First dates can be filled with awkward moments. Write a funny story about a first date. 

219. Write a story for children explaining where food comes from. A good setting would be a ranch or a farm. 

220. High school lasts only four years but it feels like an eternity. Write a story that follows a group of four friends through high school with each year depicted through the perspective of a different character. 

221. The protagonist finds himself or herself stranded on a deserted island. But this island wasn’t always deserted. An abandoned village and a lighthouse, which may be the best chance for getting rescued, become the protagonist’s new home.  

222. Decades after reneging on an important political deal—a choice that destroyed a colleague’s career— a retired senator is murdered, and the Secret Service agent who had protected the senator for years is determined to prove who did it. 

223. Time travel goes crazy when people from history and the future start arriving in the present. What happens when unusual people from the past and future all show up in the here and now, and why have they come?  

224. Archaeologists discover an ancient city buried deep underground, filled with bones and artifacts that prove mythical beasts and magical creatures once roamed the earth. 

225. Turn ordinary animals into monsters that prey on humans: dog-sized rats, killer rabbits, or a pack of rabid mountain lions. Give the animals intelligence and set them loose. 

226. Write a classic romance story about two young lovers from different—even enemy—worlds. Will it be a tragedy? A comedy? Drama? A little of everything? 

227. In Nazi Germany, Hitler managed to get ordinary citizens to support his evil actions against Jews and other groups he deemed unfit for society. Write about one such ordinary citizen. Did this character go along with Germany’s actions out of fear? Loyalty? Was the character convinced by Hitler’s rhetoric? 

228. A couple decides to spend their honeymoon in a tropical paradise, but every- thing imaginable goes wrong.  

229. Children’s stories often impart ethical lessons. Write a story for kids that teaches a lesson in values.  

230. Write a story about two teens who get separated because one moves far away. Do they stay in touch or grow apart? A story like this could partially be told through e-mail correspondences. 

231. Unable to have children, one couple turns to the foster care system, believing they can fill their empty home and make someone else’s life better. They take in a troubled twelve-year-old youth.  

232. A bounty hunter is caught between a rock and a hard place when he or she finds out there’s a price on the head of someone he or she loves.  

233. Aliens are often depicted as either ferocious and terrifying or cute and cuddly. Write about aliens who are more complex, aliens from a culture more like our own.  

234. Werewolves are probably the most common shape-shifters in literature. Come up with a shape-shifter of your own, and write a story about it. 

235. A defining feature of horror is a tragic, disturbing ending. Write such a story about a virus that breaks out all over planet Earth.  

236. Write a story about a character who finds love later in life. Is it his or her first love? Third marriage?  

237. Write a story that is set around the assassination of an important, benevolent, historical figure: for example, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, JFK, or John Lennon. 

238. There’s a contest for the world’s ugliest dog every year in Northern California. Write a funny story about the competition, one of the contestants (and its human companion), or the winner. 

239. Write a story about a child who draws or writes stories and who believes his or her stories are real in some other world.  

240. Kids at the bottom of the social hierarchy in school get ignored, bullied, and picked on. What happens when one of those kids dies? How does it affect the other students, especially the ones who did the bullying? 

241. In a typical first-world suburb, one family struggles with poverty while trying to hide their dire financial circumstances. 

242. Two siblings who haven’t spoken for years are reunited when their widowed parent is found dead of unnatural causes.  

243. Science fiction often explores what would happen if robots or artificial intelligence (AI) surpassed human intelligence and then decided to take over the world. But what if they decided to take over in an effort to ensure the survival and betterment of humanity because they were programmed to do just that? 

244. An artist who sculpts and carves figurines learns he or she has magical powers that bring the figurines to life.  

245. Write a story about the Middle Ages with a horror twist (just think about all those horrifying torture devices they used). 

246. Some people look for love in all the wrong places. Write about someone who finds love in the wrong place. 

247. Write a story about a person, couple, or family who operates a lighthouse during the 1800’s. 

248. The kids are grown, off to college, or married and having kids. But all of them fall upon hard times—at the same time— and move back into the family home. Laughs ensue.  

249. Write a story about a little kid who talks all the time, even when alone, playing in front of adults, or with other children.  

250. Write a story about a student in junior high or high school struggling with a bigoted teacher. 

251. Mysteries and crime stories often include protagonists who are cops, detectives, or special agents. Write a story about one of these people but focus on their personal lives rather than their work.  

252. A team of FBI agents is assembled to take down a human trafficking ring. They do not get along with each other very well, but they have to learn to work together in order to save the victims and see justice done.

253. Humans discover they are compatible with an alien parasite that offers benefits: prolonged life, higher intelligence, and other desirable abilities. 

254. It’s not easy to get into the heads of animals— whether they’re farm animals or wild animals. Write a story about animal culture from the perspective of the animals themselves. 

255. A bunch of happy-go-lucky vacationers are horrified when their cruise ship re- turns to port to find that they are the only remaining survivors on Earth.  

256. What happens when two characters fall in love online? Is it real? Will they ever meet in person and find out? If so, are they who they claimed to be when they were safe behind their keyboards and monitors? 

257. Write a story set in a historical era when men and women’s roles were dramatically different than they are today.  

258. Write a comedy about a well-to-do family from the city that has lost all their wealth except an old, run-down farmhouse in the country. They are forced to move into it and learn to live humbly. 

259. Write a children’s story about a kid who struggles with nightmares.  

260. It’s not easy being the new kid. The protagonist has just moved to a new town, and if that weren’t bad enough, the people there are nothing like the folks back home. 

261. While their spouses are deployed overseas in a war that has no end in sight, a young man and woman meet and strike up a friendship that is centered around the struggles they’re facing as newlyweds with absent spouses. 

262. A young sports or entertainment celebrity known for partying and promiscuity is linked to a murder of passion. Only an experienced, top-notch lawyer can crack the case and prove the star’s guilt or innocence. 

263. Write a story set a hundred years in the future. What is the population of the planet? How far into space have we gone? What are we using for energy? Are we still separated by borders, race, and religion? 

264. A child living on a farm or ranch can hear the thoughts of animals—both the livestock and the local wildlife.  

265. Some say torture doesn’t work and is morally wrong. Others say it does work and is a necessity. Write a story about torture from the perspective of the tortured or the torturer.  

266. Write a story about a protagonist who has hallucinations and is in love with someone who doesn’t really exist. 

267. During the Crusades, people were brutally murdered because they did not fol- low the religion of the land. Write about someone who pretended to subscribe to Christianity in order to survive.  

268. One of the easiest ways to inject humor into a story is to make one of the characters funny— either because the character is naturally funny or is always saying and doing things that others laugh at. Write a story about one such character.  

269. Stories often teach children how to resolve issues. Write a story demonstrating how to solve conflict at school (preschool or kindergarten age).  

270. Write a story about a teenager frustrated by a younger sibling who copies everything and always wants to tag along. 

271. Two siblings are separated at a very young age when their parents decide to have nothing to do with each other ever again. Many years later, an unexpected event forces the siblings, who hardly remember each other, together again. 

272. One of the most sought-after assassins in the world is known for his or her ability to hunt down and kill wily targets. What happens when this assassin is hunt- ed by a younger but equally talented assassin?  

273. A disgraced star ship captain is kicked out of the interstellar military. He or she buys a run-down passenger ship and starts a business transporting people (including aliens) across the galaxy.  

274. Demons and monsters are, by definition, evil. But what if the demons and monsters are actually the good guys and humans are the bad guys? 

275. Write a story about a group of kids who are writing and filming their own horror film.  

276. The protagonist grew up sheltered in an overprotective family. What happens when he or she goes out into the world as a young adult and starts dating for the first time? 

277. Write a story about a character living in the American South during the Civil War.  

278. Three friends are retired and either single or widowed. They’re elderly and each one lives alone, but then they decide to share a house.  

279. Write a children’s story about siblings whose parents are getting a divorce. 

280. Kids these days—and their gadgets! Write a short story exploring how the next generation is plugged in all the time. Does technology cut them off from the real world, or does it allow them to connect with a larger circle of other people? 

281. A wife and husband have spent the last twenty years of marriage immersed in their respective careers. Other than the occasional dinner or romp in the sack, they’ve been living separate lives. When they both retire, they are forced to spend almost every waking hour together. They realize how far apart they’ve grown and try to remember what brought them together in the first place. 

282. What starts out as an ordinary investigation into the murder of a street criminal (a drug dealer or prostitute) evolves into a whirlwind mystery of white-collar crime.  

283. Imagine that violence on Earth is at an all-time high. By merely leaving your house, there is a 35 percent chance you will be killed. The farther you go from your house, the higher the odds that you will be murdered. A team of investigative scientists discovers that humanity’s violence is being driven by microchips that were secretly implanted in a large portion of the population at birth. Who did this? Why? And how can it be stopped? 

284. Write a story about a protagonist who discovers the fountain of youth and gains the gift of immortality. 

285. Some horror authors say they write to exorcise their worst fears or inner demons. Write a story that exorcises your worst fears or inner demons.  

286. The protagonist is married to his or her high school sweetheart—they’ve been together since they were fourteen. But a terrible accident leaves the protagonist widowed. How hard is it to find love again when you’ve only loved (and lost) one person? 

287. A passionate, dedicated history teacher inspires students to take an interest in his or her classes by telling vivid stories about the course material. 

288. A group of mean kids pulled a prank on another kid in junior high—a prank that made the target the laughingstock of the school all the way through high school. Now it’s time for their ten-year reunion—and it will be filled with laughs and retribution. 

289. The kids in the neighborhood are convinced there’s a monster that comes out and roams the streets at night. Some mornings, the garbage cans are turned over. Other mornings, the lawns are trampled. And then there are those weird noises they all hear when they’re trying to fall asleep… 

290. A brother and sister are only one year apart in age. What happens when they are teens and dating each other’s friends? 

291. While sorting through a three-month old pile of junk mail, the protagonist finds a handwritten letter—a letter that changes everything. 

292. When a federal judge is murdered, a team of investigators must find out if the murder was political or personal.  

293. Write a story set in the distant future when humanity is at a fork in the evolutionary road. Some humans are evolving; others are not.  

294. Most dragon tales take place in far-off lands, but what if a dragon somehow ended up in the here and now? How did it get here? Is it dangerous? What is its goal? 

295. What’s more horrific than a creepy, evil child? Write about a child who traumatizes everyone he or she comes into contact with.  

296. Write about a protagonist with a condition that causes him or her to fall in love with inanimate objects.  

297. What was it like before humankind traveled into space, before we landed on the moon? Write a story set just before or during the time we made these momentous advances. 

298. A charming street magician uses tricks and illusions to con people out of their money in a gritty metropolitan comedy. 

299. While digging in the garden, a child finds a magic ring that makes any wish come true. 

300. Write a story about a group of teens working at their first jobs. One is earning money to help his or her family. One is saving up for a car or college. One wants extra spending money. One wants an excuse to get out of the house. 

301. Write a story about someone who is about to lose his or her job because of technology. 

302. An ego-driven preacher decides the best way to combat sin and terrorism is to build a religious army by radicalizing his congregation.  

303. When aliens finally come to Earth, it turns out they want to use our solar system as an outpost because it’s in a strategic location for the war they’re fighting with another alien species.  

304. Write a story about a character who travels through time whenever he or she falls asleep. 

305. Horrific events often occur inside the walls of a prison. Your story could be about what happens among the prisoners and the guards or it could be about a group of prisoners who take over the prison and hold the guards hostage.  

306. Write a story about a protagonist who falls in love with a character he or she created for a story or video game. 

307. Throughout history, people have emigrated across land and ocean. Choose a time period of heavy human migration. Then choose a starting place and a destination and write the story of a character or group of characters who take the voyage. Focus on the journey, not the place of origin or the destination. 

308. Write a story about the shenanigans in a place of business where lots of young people work: a fast food restaurant, theater, or retail store. 

309. There’s a crazy new teacher at school who dresses funny, says things that don’t make sense, and always makes silly faces. 

310. A misfit teenager discovers a bookstore that nobody else can see. Every book in the store takes the reader on an adventure— a real adventure! 

311. It’s the weekend of a twenty-year high school reunion. A group of old friends decides to get together the night after the reunion at a restaurant where they spend a long evening sorting through the baggage and secrets of their past. 

312. A serial killer has clipped every instruction and rule from the Bible and is now killing people who violate its tenets—many of which are contradictory. The detective on the case is forced to work with a biblical scholar to solve it. 

313. In the distant future, the one-world government uses logic and statistics via technology to control everything: the education that people get, whom they marry, how many children they have, and even the genetic makeup of their children. But there’s also a population of outsiders—people who use technology but still live naturally and make their own decisions.  

314. Imagine a world where humans weren’t the only animals to evolve into intelligent beings.  

315. Scientists are developing a serum that would give humans superpowers, but the serum accidentally falls into the hands of a maniac who’s putting together a mob of crazed criminals. 

316. Write a story about a wealthy character who is tired of being used for his or her money and has stopped dating. 

317. During the witch burnings, many midwives and healers were burned as witches, and male doctors slowly took over their duties. Write a story about a woman healer who is accused of witchcraft by a male doctor who wants to take her business. 

318. Write a comedy about a writer who is struggling with writer’s block.  

319. Fed up with life, a little kid runs off and tries to join the circus. He or she spends a full day with the circus folk, working and learning about what it means to belong to a family. 

320. What happens when a teenager discovers a note in his or her locker from a secret admirer? 

321. When a young family from overseas moves into the apartment downstairs, a grumpy, elderly neighbor is annoyed by all the noise they make, the smell of their foreign cooking, and their otherness.  

322. After a long and harrowing workweek, the protagonist is pulled over for what seems to be an ordinary speeding violation, but things go from bad to worse when the protagonist is arrested for murder.  

323. What happens in the future when humans are settling in space among a diverse group of aliens and are confronted with cross-species culture wars? 

324. Create a monster. Write a vivid description of it and make it as vicious as possible. Then write a story about a protagonist who tames the monster.  

325. It’s the classic murder mystery with a twist of horror: A group of guests are invited to spend a weekend at a mansion. Terror is unleashed when they realize there’s a killer on the loose and they cannot leave the property.  

326. One couple has an enticing and thrilling sex life, but they can’t make their relationship work outside the bedroom. 

327. Write a story that is set around the death of a historical figure who was deemed evil: Hitler, Mussolini, etc. 

328. Paris is the city of lovers, but what happens when a group of tourists descends on the city, marring it with their ogling and unromantic ways? 

329. Write a story about a child who attends day camp. It can be any kind of camp (art, science, sports, etc.). The protagonist makes friends, encounters conflict, and learns a new skill. 

330. Some teenagers dare one of their friends to venture into a creepy place that everyone says is haunted (it could be an abandoned warehouse, a haunted house, or a graveyard). 

331. There are people we see every day—our best friends, immediate family, neighbors, and coworkers. And then there are people we only see occasionally but who are constants in our lives. Write a story set at a wedding, funeral, or other life event where people who have strong ties but don’t see each other very often come together. 

332. A small-town police chief attempts to cover up a murder because the prime suspect is a member of the chief’s family. 

333. In an attempt to curb the effects of global warming, scientists develop a way to control the weather—they cause or cease tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. Will the governments of the world now use weather for warfare? 

334. Seven angels are each assigned to a different sin: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. The angels’ job is to steer humans away from these sins.  

335. There are lots of stories about killers that are people, robots, aliens, animals, and supernatural monsters. Write a horror story about killer plants and trees.  

336. What happens when a serial heart breaker falls in love with someone who’s just not interested? 

337. The 1950’s are often painted as a simple and idealistic time in American history. One income could support an entire family. Jobs were plentiful. Moms stayed home with their kids. Divorce was scandalous. Write about a protagonist who didn’t fit the mold, whose life was difficult because of the cultural and societal conventions of the time. 

338. Write a comedy about the bartenders and patrons of a dive bar on the wrong side of the tracks.  

339. Write a story about a little girl who wants to grow up and become a ninja or a little boy who wants to grow up and become a nurse. 

340. When a teenager is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, friends, family, acquaintances, teachers, and even enemies step forward to show their support. 

341. When he was sixteen, he spent a summer out of state with his grandparents while his parents sorted through their marital problems. That summer, he hung out with the fifteen-year-old girl next door. When one of his grandparents dies five years later, he returns for the funeral and finds out the girl has a child—his child.  

342. The protagonist has a semi-successful career ghostwriting mystery novels. When a close family member is murdered, the protagonist gets caught up in solving a real-life crime. 

343. Almost all of humanity is wiped out in a single day—by plague, aliens, or war. But a few dozen humans survive. They can use technology to communicate but are separated by land and sea. Now, they’ll each embark on a dangerous journey to unite and rebuild.  

344. Write a story about a protagonist who leads a double life, coexisting in two dif-ferent worlds or times, and who constantly travels back and forth between them.  

345. The protagonist is paranoid and believes that people are watching and trying to kill him or her. Friends and family—even the psychiatrist—says these are delusions, but in the end, they are wrong. 

346. The royal monarch, who is young and widowed, falls in love with a servant in the castle. 

347. Many historical revolutions were started to gain independence from colonial overlords. Choose one such revolution from history and write a story about ordinary people living in those times.  

348. In a poor, rural area, a treasure map is discovered. All hell breaks loose when a bunch of locals get their hands on copies of the map and embark on a race to find the treasure first. 

349. The protagonist is a child whose parents run a candy store or bakery. All the other kids in the neighborhood always expect the protagonist to give them free treats. Some even make threats! 

350. Almost all teenagers have difficulties with parents: Some parents ignore their kids; others berate them. Some parents push their kids too hard; others spoil their kids rotten. Write a story about teens who come together and learn about each other’s familial struggles.  

351. An elderly person lives a rather lonely life that changes when he or she finds a puppy on the doorstep. But the puppy is a pit bull, and soon the neighbors demand that it be destroyed by animal services even though it hasn’t harmed anyone and has a sweet disposition.  

352. The protagonist is abducted and imprisoned by a psychopath. Write the story from the protagonist’s point of view while he or she is held captive, or write it from the abductor’s point of view. 

353. Write a story set in a world where the Internet is a virtual reality that is almost indistinguishable from the real world. Some people are plugged in all the time. Others won’t plug in at all.  

354. In our world, war is bloody and violent. But what if war was fought with wits and magic, and nobody got hurt?  

355. Write a story about a clairvoyant who can communicate with ghosts and other supernatural beings—but only beings who are dark and disturbed.  

356. The protagonist is a wild wanderer and avid traveler who never wants to settle down. But then, while on a trip, he or she gets stranded in a small town and falls for one of the locals. 

357. History is peppered with inventions that changed the course of human progress: the wheel, the wagon, the printing press, the train, the airplane, the computer, and the Internet. Write a story set during a time when one such invention was taking hold. How did it change culture, and how did it affect the marketplace? 

358. Write a story about a thirty-something bachelor or bachelorette who is perfectly happy with every aspect of life except the fact that friends and family keep trying to play matchmaker. 

359. There’s a child who wants nothing more than to grow up and become an astronaut. What kinds of things does the child do? End the story with a bang— admission to space camp or a meeting with a real astronaut. 

360. The teenage protagonist is wild—dabbling in sex, drugs, and stealing. 

361. An agoraphobic protagonist has not left his or her apartment in over a dozen years. But now the apartment building has been declared condemned. Staying there is no longer an option. 

362. Write about a protagonist who is a detective or agent and who chose that career because of a crime against a loved one many years ago. 

363. An interpreter or translator in the far-off future specializes in alien languages.  

364. What happens when a group of friends plays around with magic and gets it to work? 

365. The protagonist was born with a physical deformity that causes others to view him or her as evil (horns, mark of the devil, etc.). But the real cause of the evil that consumes the protagonist is having been shunned and treated like a leper his or her whole life. 

366. A clean-cut conventional character who follows all the rules falls in love with an edgy, tattooed punk rocker. 

367. Write a story about a young couple heading out west hoping to strike it rich during the California gold rush of the 1840’s. 

368. Pets and animals are always good for laughs. Write a comedy set in a veterinarian’s office.  

369. Mom and Dad are delighted because they are expecting. How does their first born feel about acquiring a sibling? 

370. Write a story about a teenager who is working hard and getting good grades because he or she desperately wants to go to college but whose family doesn’t have enough money to pay for an education. 

371. Every morning, the same customers show up at a quaint and cozy small town diner. Some are great friends, some loathe each other, and some barely know each other. One day, a stranger comes to town and becomes a regular at the diner, shaking up old relationships and rivalries.  

372. What happens when a top government official (president, senator, judge) be- comes the target for an assassin? Is the motive personal or political? Make it surprising! 

373. Write a survival story about one person or a group of people stranded on a distant planet, having lost all contact with Earth. How will these technology-reliant characters adjust to life without gadgets? 

374. In a magical world, it might be difficult to keep prisoners behind bars. Write a story about a group of prisoners living in a land of magic.  

375. Demons are usually horrific monsters, but what if a demon was living in the body of a human being? What if a human being was a demon?  

376. The protagonist is agoraphobic, never leaves the house, and falls in love with the package delivery person. 

377. Western stories tend to get rolling when a stranger comes to town. Write a western without the token stranger. Instead, explore the lives of the people who lived in the Wild West. 

378. Write a comedic story about a nuclear family living in the modern world, but write the father as king, the mother as queen, the daughter as princess, and the son as prince. Dad’s chair in front of the television is the throne, the family dog is the court jester…You get the idea. 

379. It’s important for children to learn the alphabet. Write an ABC book. You can write a separate vignette for each letter, write a story linking them all together, or write a nonsense rhyme for each one.  

380. Write a story about a teenager who is forced to spend a weekend at a big family reunion but who would rather stay home and hang out with his or her friends. 

381. The protagonist is a dedicated grad student with no social life. He or she finally caves in to peer pressure and sets studies aside for one night out on the town. It turns out to be a night filled with danger and adventure.  

382. Most mystery stories are written from the perspective of whoever solves the crime—a hero. Write a story from the perspective of the criminal, the villain. 

383. The protagonist is special. He or she can control electronics remotely, using the power of the mind. What happens when the protagonist finds out he or she is a prototype—an experiment in biotechnology? 

384. The two-thousand-year-old protagonist is finally about to die but will first tell the story of his or her life to a disbelieving journalist.  

385. Turn your favorite fairy tale, myth, or legend into a horror story. Make sure there’s plenty of terror and gore. 

386. What happens when a conservative lobbyist falls in love with a liberal politician? 

387. Write a story set in your hometown one hundred years ago. 

388. When a string of petty robberies sweeps across middle-class suburbia, the residents band together to try and snare the culprits. Include a surprise ending revealing who the culprits are and what they’re really after. 

389. Write a children’s story about siblings who have lost one or both of their parents and have to go live with relatives. 

390. The teenage protagonist is a misfit who works very hard to be invisible— sitting in the back of class, spending lunch in a dark corner of the cafeteria, and generally blending in so nobody will notice.  

391. After being convicted of a serious white-collar crime but making a deal to avoid prison time, the protagonist is shunned by colleagues, friends, and family. It’s a long, hard fall from the penthouse to the poorhouse.  

392. The military handles crimes within its factions internally. But when a series of violent assaults extends beyond the confines of the military, a public prosecutor ex- poses crime and corruption in the military justice system. 

393. Two people from the distant future time-travel back to the present day with a dire warning for humanity. While here, they are as shocked by how we live as we would be if we traveled back to the Middle Ages.  

394. Literature is full of stories about witches—all kinds of witches. Some of them have become rather stereotypical. Create a witch of your own—aim for creating a unique witch unlike any we’ve seen before, and then write a story about him or her. 

395. Write a story about a cult or underground organization that is actively working to bring about the apocalypse.  

396. Write a story about two characters who fall in love while staying in a hospital for the mentally unstable. 

397. World War II gave rise to what journalist Tom Brokaw called “the greatest generation.” Create a cast of compelling characters and write a story showing how circumstances forced them to become great. 

398. The worst day ever starts when the protagonist wraps up the job interview of a lifetime—only to realize as he or she is exiting the building that there was toilet paper hanging out of his or her pants during the entire interview.  

399. Write a story about a child who loves to do something (dance, draw, play sports, etc.). One adult in the child’s life keeps saying it’s a waste of time or the child is no good at it. Another adult provides support and encouragement. 

400. A student is found murdered on a high school campus. Will the victim’s friends solve the murder before the cops do? Is one of them next?