Story Prompt Generator

Story ideas in seven genres for young writers and grown-ups alike: a whole prompt, or just the character, setting, plot or twist you're missing.

Genre

Who is it for?

What do you need?

Press Generate Prompts for 8 story prompts.

Tap a prompt to copy it, or the bookmark to keep it.

black shadow = tap it

By Rich · Updated 24 October 2026

Example Story Prompts

A few prompts this generator came up with. Tap one to copy it, or press "Generate Prompts" above for more.

Fantasy · Kids · Full prompt

A baby phoenix who can't tell left from right wants to persuade a troll to let them cross the bridge, but the dragon has a cold and can't breathe fire. How will they manage it?
A witch's apprentice who keeps a secret map under their pillow has to find the missing ingredient for a very important spell. What will they do when their shadow has run off on its own?
A shy unicorn who is afraid of the dark has to find a new home for a family of fire sprites. What will they do when the only map is written in invisible ink?
A talking teapot who is terrible at magic but brilliant at maths sets out to wake a sleeping giant without making it grumpy. But there's a twist: the hero's grandma is under a spell and doesn't know it.

Mystery · Kids · Just a character

A nine-year-old detective who can read upside down
A ten-year-old reporter who never forgets a face
An amateur fossil hunter who can recognise anyone by their footsteps
A brand-new pupil in Year 6 who notices everything

Sci-fi · Kids · Just a plot

Before the sun goes down, your hero has to catch an escaped space hamster.
Without anyone finding out, your hero has to stop a time machine from sending the whole school back to the dinosaurs.
Before the space bus leaves for Earth, your hero has to hide an alien friend from the grown-ups.
Before the summer holidays are over, your hero has to explore a planet that nobody has ever mapped.

Spooky · Teens and adults · Full prompt

Your hero: a clockmaker who keeps losing an hour every night. Your setting: a village on the marsh where the fog smells of woodsmoke and roses. Your mission: bargain with whatever lives at the bottom of the well, with their worst rival as their only ally.
A boarding-school prefect who is the only person the ghost is afraid of wants to return something stolen from the churchyard a century ago, but the ghost wants something only they can give. How will they manage it?
Picture an abandoned seaside hotel where every mirror is covered at night. Here, a house-sitter who was born on the night the church bells rang by themselves must finish the novel a ghost started. The problem? The only way out is through the cellar.
Picture a boarding school where nobody will say the old owner's name. Here, a paranormal investigator who can hear voices on old tape recordings must find out who is knocking from inside the walls. The problem? Every night they lose another memory.

Adventure · Teens and adults · Just a character

A nineteen-year-old ship's captain who has never come back from an expedition empty-handed
A salvage diver who has been hired by both sides
A balloonist who has one chance to prove their father was right
An archaeologist who can navigate by the stars alone

Funny · Teens and adults · Just a plot

Before the vicar notices, your hero has to get to the airport after missing every possible train.
Before anyone finds out, your hero has to stop the office parrot repeating everything it has heard.
While hiding who they really are, your hero has to teach a tone-deaf choir to sing for a royal visit.
Even if it costs them everything, your hero has to return a dog they borrowed from a very important person.

How the Story Prompt Generator Works

It works from 4,358 prompts and name parts, which combine into over 1,100,000,000 possible results.

The choices:

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-fi, Spooky, Adventure, Funny, Everyday.
Who is it for?: Kids, Teens and adults.
What do you need?:
- Full prompt, e.g. Picture a candy-striped lighthouse where the rain tastes of lemonade. Here, a shy unicorn who knits jumpers for trolls must find out who keeps stealing the stars. The problem? They have only one wish left.
- Just a character, e.g. A forgetful fairy godparent who is the only one who can see the castle ghost
- Just a setting, e.g. A goblin market where the shadows have their own shadows
- Just a plot, e.g. With only a very old dog to help, your hero has to carry a secret message across the Whispering Mountains.
- Just a twist, e.g. The hero's teacher cast the spell in the first place.

Each press gives you 8 names. "Show 8 more" adds 8 you haven't seen yet. Once you've seen them all, "Start again" shuffles the whole list again.

A good story prompt gives you a character, a problem and a reason it's hard, and leaves the rest to you. The Story Prompt Generator makes a fresh one in a click. Pick a genre and an age group, then take a whole prompt or just the piece you need: a character, a setting, a plot or a twist.

Six story prompts to start with

All six came from the generator, for children and for older writers:

"A retired dragon who is the only one who can see the castle ghost sets out to return a library book that is 300 years overdue." Fantasy, kids.
"A baby phoenix who can talk to bees has to find a new home for a family of fire sprites." Fantasy, kids.
"A penguin who has hiccups that won't stop." A funny character on its own, for younger writers to build a story around.
"An insurance investigator who receives a letter in their own handwriting sets out to find out why the last lighthouse keeper vanished." Mystery, teens and adults.
"The planet they're terraforming already belongs to someone." A sci-fi twist to drop into a story you've already started.
"Your hero has to keep the family café going through a hard winter." An everyday plot, with no magic needed.

Genres, ages and parts

Seven genres: fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, spooky, adventure, funny and everyday. Spooky prompts for children stay friendly: a ghost train where the ghosts throw a party, not anything that keeps anyone up at night.
Two age groups: Kids (6 to 11) gives playful heroes and clear goals; Teens and adults adds complications, secrets and harder choices.
Five parts: a full prompt, or just a character, a setting, a plot or a twist. Use the parts on their own to fill a gap in a story you've already started, or roll one of each and put them together.

Turning a prompt into a story

Ask what the hero wants, and what's stopping them. The prompt gives you both; the story is how they get round it.
Plan the middle. Most stories go wrong halfway through, so decide on one thing that makes the problem worse before you start writing.
Save the twist for late on. A twist works best once the reader thinks they know what's going on.
In a classroom, give everyone the same prompt and compare how differently the stories turn out.

Every hero needs a name. Try the Fairy Tale, Wizard, Pirate and Superhero name generators, or the Villain Name Generator for whoever's causing the trouble.

For more characters, see all the character name generators.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good story prompt for kids?

One with a fun hero, a clear job to do and something in the way, like a baby phoenix who has to find a new home for a family of fire sprites. Choose Kids (6 to 11) and a genre for prompts like this.

Can I get just a character or a twist?

Yes. Choose Just a character, Just a setting, Just a plot or Just a twist to get one piece at a time, which is useful when you're stuck partway through a story.

Can I use these prompts in a lesson or a writing group?

Yes, they're free to use. Giving everyone the same prompt and comparing the stories is a good writing exercise.