121+ ‘Adult’ Writing Prompts
-
5. From Ordinary to Executive
Overnight, your high school protagonist finds themselves promoted to a high-stakes executive position.
-
3. Reversing the Curse
Your protagonist is living under a curse they desperately want to reverse. What is the curse, and how does it affect their daily life?
-
2. A World Divided
Craft a story around a dystopian world where society has changed drastically. Your protagonist is a teenager trying to navigate this world.
-
1. The Day Everything Changed
Describe a momentous day in your character’s life when the ordinary became extraordinary and everything they thought they knew was turned on its head.
-
Post-Apocalyptic Survivor
In a world ravaged by an apocalypse, a young adult must use their ingenuity and strength to survive and find other survivors.
-
A Day as an Adult
Write about a day when you took up an adult responsibility and how it made you feel.
-
Ticket to Adulthood
Reflect on a moment in high school where you felt you were stepping into the adult world.
-
Past and Present Perspectives
Write about a childhood memory that you view differently now as an adult.
-
Childhood Loyalties
Write a narrative about two best friends from childhood navigating through adulthood.
-
Rekindled Flame
Describe a scenario where two childhood sweethearts are reunited after years of being apart.
-
Whispers of the Classroom
Recall a time in your childhood when you felt afraid or anxious because you didn’t understand something in school.
-
Ripped From The Pages
Create an origin story for your villain based on a book that greatly influenced their ideology.
-
Fantastic Future
Imagine you can see into the future. Write a detailed story about what your life looks like 10 years from now.
-
The Chronicles of Friendship
Revisit your childhood best friend and what you learned from this relationship.
-
Childhood Dreams Revisited
Capture your childhood dreams, both literal and metaphorical, and their particularities.
-
Elusive Wish List
You are the only person who knows where everyone’s lost wish lists end up – tell their stories.
-
The Story of Your Hero
Write about who your childhood hero was and why they had such a profound impact on your life.
-
Puberty Perspectives
Write about your experience of puberty and how it has affected your emotions, relationships, and self-perception.
-
Lost Family Heirloom
Create a thrilling quest of a young adult searching for a long-lost family heirloom that holds a significant secret.
-
Childhood Secret
Write a story where your superhero had his/her powers from childhood and had to hide their identity.
-
Embracing Unfamiliar Paths
Write about the first big change in your life that you can remember from your childhood.
-
The Forgotten Playtime
Consider how the onset of a zombie apocalypse might abruptly push a young child into premature adulthood.
-
Letter to your Future Self
Write a letter to your adult self from the perspective of your child-self – what hopes, dreams and worries did you have for your future and how do you view them now?
-
Childhood Revisited
Write a detailed narrative about your earliest memory and how it may have influenced your life.
-
Forgotten Fears
Create a story where the protagonist’s forgotten childhood fear crawls back into their life.
-
Letter to my Grown-Up Self
Your inner child writes a letter to your future adult self, what does they say?
-
Stepping into Another’s Shoes
Imagine you are the protagonist of your favourite fairy tale. How would you react to the challenges faced by the character?
-
Tea Parties with Imaginary Friends
Write about a dream tea party with all your favourite fairy tale characters present there.
-
Shaping the Future
Write about any hobby from your childhood that influenced or encouraged the career path you have chosen as an adult.
-
Reruns of Favorite Childhood Shows
Write about a favourite TV show or movie from your childhood, and how it made you feel.
-
Easter’s Symbolic Significance
Reflect on your childhood understanding of Easter and how it has developed over time.
-
Fairy Tale Feelings
Rewrite a favorite fairy tale from your childhood from your current perspective.
-
Rekindling Wonder and Awe
Write about a memory of an event or phenomenon that deeply fascinated you as a child.
-
Your Innocent Nemesis
Ponder on the biggest obstacle or ‘villain’ you perceived as a child. How do you understand that ‘villain’ now that you’re older?
-
Rediscovering Innocent Joy
Write about a specific event from your childhood that brought you unimaginable joy. How would the child you were then react to your life today?
-
Journey to School
Write about your typical journey to school as a child and the people you encountered on this trip.
-
Should Juveniles be tried as Adults?
Discuss whether adolescent offenders committing heinous crimes should receive punishment equivalent to adult criminals.
-
Innocent Bystander
Narrate a story set in the Prohibition era from the perspective of a child who doesn’t fully understand the situation.
-
Renaissance of Animation
Write about the growing popularity and evolution of animation in film and entertainment.
-
Life Lessons from Elders
Write about the crucial teachings passed down from the elders in your household.
-
Reminiscing Mother’s Love
Write a letter to your mother expressing the most memorable moments of shared love and care.
-
Your Teacher’s Day
Imagine a day in the life of your teacher. Write about what you think they do before they come to school, during school, and after school.
-
Defining Moments with Parents
Write about a moment when you greatly admired or idolized your parents.
-
Influential Sports Figure
Write about a sports figure you admired growing up and the qualities they possess that you desired.
-
Childhood Hero/Heroine
Reflect on your favorite superhero or character from a book, movie, or TV show and analyze why you admired them.
-
Teachers Beyond School
Pen down about a non-traditional teacher from your childhood and share what you learned from them.
-
Childhood Mottos
Think about a phrase or piece of advice that you often heard as a child, explore how it made you feel and its influence.
-
Childhood Heroes
List some of your childhood heroes, imaginary or real, and explain why you admired them.
-
Unexpected Emotions
Identify a moment when you had an emotional reaction that seemed disproportionate to the situation. Explore possible links to childhood experiences.
-
Enjoying Your Childhood Delights
Write about your favorite childhood delight or treat, and how it made you feel.
-
Gradual Transformation
Create a multi-year narrative detailing the gradual transformation of an immature child into a responsible adult.
-
A Child’s Perspective
Develop a narrative through the viewpoint of a naive child living in a morally ambiguous environment.
-
A Sprinkle of Childhood Wisdom
Think about a piece of advice or wisdom you had as a child and how it holds up now.
-
Terrifying Toy Story
Reimagine a world where sentient toys from Toy Story are not friendly but are rather mysterious and creepy.
-
Cursed Childhood
A cursed object from your protagonist’s childhood resurfaces bringing doom and despair.
-
Forgotten Footsteps
Write about an unsolved mystery from your teenage years that returns to haunt you.
-
Hidden Happiness
Write about small moments or things from your childhood that brought you immense joy.
-
Chronicles from the Kiddie Table
Detail your experiences of Thanksgiving dinners as a child and the transition to the adults’ table.
-
Gifts from the Past
Recognize an attribute or trait from your childhood that has significantly contributed to your adult life.
-
Letters from Future
Write a letter from your current self to your younger self, detailing about your dream and how you pursued it.
-
Role Reversal
If you had to switch places with an adult in your life for a day, who would it be and why? How might the experience change your understanding of them?
-
Innocent Narrator
Create a story about heartbreak as described by an innocent third person, like a child or a pet.
-
The Impact of Childhood Experiences
Write in detail about an impactful experience from your early years and how it shaped you as an adult.
-
Snowed-In Fantasy
Write about the perfect snow day as an adult, where you are snowed-in and time seems to pause.
-
Metropolitan Malaise
Describe a day in the life of a burnt-out young professional living in a bustling metropolis.
-
Exploration of Past Fears
Identify your deepest childhood fear and explore how it has transformed in your adult life.
-
Seasonal Shifts
Write about how your perception of the changing seasons from summer to fall has changed from childhood to adulthood.
-
Spooked into Adulthood
Relive a memorable Halloween where circumstances forced you to assume more adult-like responsibility.
-
When I Grew Older
Imagine how you would be when you grow up, the profession you will choose, hobbies you will take, and places you will visit.
-
Heroic Self-Sacrifice
Consider a moment in your childhood when you had to give something up or lose something dear for the benefit of someone else.
-
Reviving Childhood Passions
Detail a time when you held a deep passion or interest as a child, something that made your heart beat faster.
-
Chocolate Dilemmas
Discuss your struggle with resisting Easter treats now as an adult in contrast to your indulgence as a child.
-
Easter Reflections
Write about your most poignant memory of an Easter celebration from your adulthood.
-
Invasion of Past Selves
Imagine you wake up to find everyone around you is yourself – but from different points in your past.
-
Pillars of Support
Describe a relationship with a teacher or an adult mentor instrumental in your personal and academic growth.
-
Wizarding Adulting Struggles
Describe the learning curve of a Hogwarts graduate adjusting to adult life in the wizarding world.
-
Becoming the Half-Blood Prince
Write about Snape’s school years, including how he earned the nickname, “The Half-Blood Prince”.
