Prompt Library 🎨 Creative Write a Full Short Story
Any 🎨 Creative Intermediate

Write a Full Short Story

Generate a complete, polished short story with full narrative arc in any genre.
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The Prompt

Write a complete short story with the following specifications:

Genre: [thriller / romance / sci-fi / fantasy / horror / literary fiction / magical realism / mystery]
Theme (the deeper meaning beneath the plot): [e.g. grief and acceptance / the cost of ambition / what it means to belong]
Setting: [time period, location, and atmosphere — be specific]
Protagonist: [name, age, one defining desire, one defining flaw]
Antagonist or opposing force: [person / nature / society / internal conflict / other]
Inciting incident: [the event that kicks the story into motion]
Target word count: [1000 / 2000 / 3000 words]
POV: [first person / third person limited / third person omniscient]
Tone: [dark / hopeful / wry / tense / melancholic / urgent]
Ending type: [resolved / ambiguous / bittersweet / twist]

Story requirements:
- Opening line must create immediate tension or curiosity
- Character must want something specific in every scene
- Include one moment of genuine surprise
- The theme must emerge from the action, never be stated explicitly
- Final line must resonate — do not summarise what just happened

Structure:
- Act 1: Establish character and world, introduce the central conflict
- Act 2: Escalation, failed attempts, a moment where all seems lost
- Act 3: Climax, resolution, final image

After the story:
- Identify the one line you are most proud of and why
- Suggest an alternative ending in 2 sentences
- Name one thing to improve in a second draft

📝 Fill in the blanks

Replace these placeholders with your own content:

[thriller / romance / sci-fi / fantasy / horror / literary fiction / magical realism / mystery]
[e.g. grief and acceptance / the cost of ambition / what it means to belong]
[time period, location, and atmosphere — be specific]
[name, age, one defining desire, one defining flaw]
[person / nature / society / internal conflict / other]
[the event that kicks the story into motion]
[1000 / 2000 / 3000 words]
[first person / third person limited / third person omniscient]
[dark / hopeful / wry / tense / melancholic / urgent]
[resolved / ambiguous / bittersweet / twist]

How to use this prompt

1
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2
Replace the placeholders

Swap out anything in [BRACKETS] with your specific details.

3
Paste into Any

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