146+ ‘Disaster’ Writing Prompts
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Wall Street Frenzy
Narrate the story of a banker or stockbroker in the buildup to and aftermath of the 1920 Wall Street Crash.
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New Year’s Eve Catastrophe
Describe a fictional disastrous New Year’s Eve party and how the characters recover from it.
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Climate Change Chronicles
Write about experiencing a natural disaster or a significant change in your immediate environment due to climate change.
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Collateral Damage
Write a scene that explores the aftermath of a superhero fight, focusing on the physical and emotional toll it takes…
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Liberation of the Cursed
Create a narrative about a witch or warlock born with a terrible curse, and their quest for liberation.
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The Galactic Refugee Crisis
Write a story about being an alien species forced to flee its planet due to war or ecological disaster and…
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Lights Out Disaster
Write about a Christmas shopping spree which abruptly ends due to a massive power cut.
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Caught in Decor Disaster
Narrate an incident when you’ve clumsily encountered a delicate display of holiday decor.
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The Deadly Diplomat
Create a female diplomat, their charm and wit concealing a deadly secret with potential to spell international disaster.
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Cryogenically Frozen City
A city decides to cryogenically freeze itself to escape a looming disaster and emerges thousands of years in the future.
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Ancient Relics
An ancient relic is unearthed, offering an unexpected solution to a kingdom’s looming catastrophe.
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Lava Love Story
Create a romantic short story involving two characters and a volcano as a symbolic entity in their relationship.
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Shadow of Coming Storms
Write a story surrounding a major catastrophe, dropping hints of the impending disaster from the very beginning.
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Holiday Hero
Craft a heroic tale around a character who saves a December holiday event from disaster due to unexpected weather.
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The Submerged Cradle of Humanity
In a future where humans evolve to live underwater, write a short piece outlining the turning point that forced them…
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Disaster Survival
Write a story about surviving a natural disaster from your past, but add a fantastical element to it.
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Hidden Time Capsule
Describe a group of friends who find a time capsule, but as they unravel its contents, they start suspecting it’s…
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Truth in the Reflection
Imagine a character starts seeing an alternate reality in every reflective surface. The reflections show actions that he/she hasn’t committed…
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The Watchful Phantom
Detail a story where a person is haunted by an invisible entity that seems to intervene only when a disaster…
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Survivor’s Guilt
Detail a survivor’s experience who left his famine-stricken village for a better life abroad.
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The Unthinkable Choice
Your superhero must decide between saving their closest loved one or preventing a disaster that could eliminate a city.
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Dessert Disaster
A world-renowned pastry chef creates a magnificent dessert, but something goes wrong.
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Portents and Predicaments
Write a short piece including a prediction, sign or portent that hint about an upcoming disaster or tragedy.
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A Change of Heart
Your protagonist is a terrorist plotting a major attack, but has second thoughts and attempts to halt the operation.
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The Skull’s Echo
Your protagonist stumbles upon a mystical skull that whispers prophecies of disaster, but nobody believes them until one prophecy comes…
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Time Predictor
Write a sci-fi thriller about an AI that predicts a disastrous event from the future.
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The Comedic Heist
Tell a story of a group of underdog thieves planning and executing a risky heist, while also dealing with hilariously…
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Time Travel Summer Disaster
Write a funny tale of a time traveler who miscalculates and ends up in the middle of the hottest day…
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Unexpected Companionship
Create a narrative about a person stranded in the wilderness who befriends a wild animal.
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The Horror of Chernobyl
Base your story on the real-life Chernobyl disaster and the ghostly accounts that have surfaced since.
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Cataclysm From Afar
Explore the fall of a galactic empire due to an overwhelming external power or disaster.
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Titanic’s Unsung Heroes
Write a fictional account of the Titanic disaster, focusing on the story of an unknown hero.
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The Unsinkable Woman: Molly Brown
Write about the life of Molly Brown before, during and after the Titanic disaster.
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Echoes from the Titanic
Choose a character aboard the Titanic and capture their life before, during, and if applicable, after the disaster.
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Eternal Shadows
Ponder on a disaster that has transformed the world’s population into shadowy undead figures.
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Runaway Train
A high-speed train with malfunctioning brakes is all the hype, with lives hanging in balance.
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A Vow Interrupted
Use this tragedy prompt to tell a story of a wedding ceremony which was dramatically disrupted.
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The Jade Emperor’s Decree
Write a story about an order from the Jade Emperor during an ancient Chinese dynasty that changed the course of…
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Cryptic Climate Patterns
A climatologist discovers a pattern that could lead to a cataclysmic weather event, but no one believes her due to…
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Veiled in Tradition
In a small town, an ancient prophecy predicts a disaster but is dismissed as folklore until eerie signs start becoming…
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Precognition Paradox
A gifted protagonist has visions of an impending disaster but sharing this information will change the outcome in ways their…
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Perfect Tsunami
Describe the perfect mark of a tsunami, from its inception to the moment it hits the shore.
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The Forgotten Monuments
In a world leveled by unknown catastrophe, write about survivors finding the remnants of famous monuments and interpreting their meanings…
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Diplomatic Disaster
Write about an incident where a human diplomat unintentionally offends an alien race, leading to rising tensions.
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Melting Warnings
Imagine a story where polar explorers uncover a catastrophic truth about climate change halfway through their expedition.
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The Last Tree Standing
Imagine a world where only one tree remains. Describe it and explain how people react to it.
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Alien Super Hero
Write a story about a non-human superhero from a different planet coming to Earth to save it from a looming…
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Rise of the Zombie Gods
Write a tale where Greek, Roman, Egyptian or any other gods are believed to be the cause of the zombie…
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The Harvest Sacrifice
In a small farming community, a gruesome murder coincides with the worst harvest in the town’s history.
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Time Capsule Conundrum
Imagine discovering a mysterious time capsule planted by someone from the past with a puzzling message for the future.
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Surviving a Disaster
Recount an experience where you faced and survived a severe natural or man-made disaster.
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Cracking the Code
Draft a flash fiction piece in which the protagonist must solve a cryptic message or puzzle in order to avert…
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Love Interlude of Jack and Rose
Write a tender interlude between Jack and Rose from Titanic during their voyage.
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The Puppeteer
Write about a benevolent character who unwittingly causes disaster due to manipulation by an evil entity.
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Titanic Twists
What if you were a passenger on the Titanic, but you survived? What would you do upon reaching New York?
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The Fallout of Apollo 13
What if the Apollo 13 mission, instead of barely escaping disaster, had led to a completely successful moon base?
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Laughable Love Potion Disaster
Describe a character who creates a “love potion” for their crush, only for it to produce farcically exaggerated outcomes.
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Taming the Bread Maker Beast
Write about a first-time bread-making experience that takes an unexpected turn.
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Invisible On All The Wrong Days
A semi-invisible protagonist realizes that their invisibility doesn’t really work on days ending with ‘Y’. How do they adjust their…
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Aberrant Harvest
Write about a small farming town whose bountiful harvest suddenly takes an unsettling twist.
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Great Storm of 1987
Detail your experience surviving the Great Storm of 1987 that occurred in Southeast England in mid-October.
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Marie Antoinette’s Dessert Disaster
Write a story of Marie Antoinette’s infamous quote, “Let them eat cake,” triggering a comically catastrophic cake-eating contest.
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Leprechaun-Pocalypse
Imagine a world where the leprechauns’ ‘pot of gold’ turns out to be a doomsday device, and a mischievous leprechaun…
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A Ghost in the Lighthouse
Write a story about a ghost that warns sailors about an impending disaster from an abandoned lighthouse.
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Thanksgiving Miracle
Write about a time when a Thanksgiving disaster turned into a memorable family moment.
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The Cursed Gift
Write a story about a character who receives a ‘magical’ gift that initially brings joy but ultimately leads to disaster.
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Moment of Unity
Focus on an event that brings together individual heroes into a unified faction, detailing the shared threat, individual motivations, and…
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“Climate Change Awakening”
A natural calamity forces a community to face the harsh reality of climate change.
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Festivus for the Rest of Us
Write a humorous account of a family’s holiday disaster and how they turn it into a fun, non-traditional celebration.
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Climate Change Chronicles
Write about a future where the effects of climate change are now the society’s daily reality.
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The Oracle of Delphi
Imagine being a high-ranking authority visiting the Oracle of Delphi for advice on an impending disaster.
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Disaster Day
Imagine a fictional world where Earth Day represents a pivotal event marking the survival of a major environmental catastrophe.
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Black Blizzards Ballad
Craft a narrative around a character that sees the disaster of Dust Bowl as an opportunity for change and hope.
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Storm on the Horizon
Create a tale set at the brink of the Dust Bowl era, revealing the changes in the environment and people’s…
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Silent Pandemic
As a new pandemic sweeps the globe silently affecting people’s minds, a psychologist races against time trying to find a…
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The Capsized City
Detective Blake must solve a murder in a city that’s steadily sinking into the ocean.
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City of Ashes
After a dormant volcano erupts, turning a city into a smoke and ash-filled ghost town overnight, a firefighter risks her…
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Love Potion Disaster
Create a spin on the classic trope of love potions going wrong on Valentine’s Day.
