212+ ‘Pain’ Writing Prompts
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Yearning for the Past
Narrate the sentiment of longing for the lost civilization through the perspective of a character.
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Echoes of My Lonesome Spirit
Write a letter to your solitude, expressing your feelings and the effect of this solitude on your life.
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Sympathetic Motivations
Craft a backstory for a villain where their evil actions stem from a sympathetic situation or event.
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Curing the Wound
Write about a personal pain, trauma or a life-altering event and how you made peace with it.
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Ocean of Tears
Write a letter to your tears, recognizing each one of them as symbols of your pain, agitation, and love.
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Gone with the Snowflakes
Create a narrative about an old man watching the year’s first snowfall from his window and reminiscing over his lost love.
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Mercy of the Sunlight
Write about a vampire who is in love with the sunrise, something they can’t witness without suffering harm.
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The Bloodless Vow
Pen a tale about a vampire striving for redemption by abstaking from consuming human blood.
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Enduring Eternity
Write about a vampire who is grappling with the weight of watching the world progress over centuries.
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Unrequited Valentine
Immerse yourself in the shoes of a person who is in love with someone who doesn’t reciprocate their feelings.
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Thorns of Love
Write a symbolic tale about a rose bush which blooms only for those who’ve experienced true love.
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The Healing Path
Contemplate and write about how would you cope with the pain associated with unrequited love.
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Flesh and Blood
Write from the perspective of a villain, considering not just their sinister actions, but also their human characteristics and vulnerabilities.
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Emotional Resilience
Describe a time when you rose above your emotional pain, and how it changed you.
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Dissecting Heartbreak
Write about a moment of heartbreak and detail what you felt at that exact moment.
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Broken Hearts Club
Write a story about an exclusive club that only admits heartbroken people on Valentine’s Day.
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Deadly Vows
A couple recites their vows on Valentine’s Day, not knowing it would be their last day together.
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Prodigal’s Hidden Resolve
Walk in the shoes of a seemingly weak character returning to a place of great personal pain or trauma, only to reveal unexpected strength.
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Amnesia in Love
Write about a character who falls in love again with their partner after suffering through an episode of amnesia.
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Time Traveler’s Memoir
Write a letter from your future self to your present self, detailing how you’ve healed from this heartbreak.
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Rooting Through Rubble
Write about a moment of strength or growth that emerged from your heartbreak.
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Tear-Stained Windows
Visualize your emotions as weather. Is your heartbreak a raging storm or a gentle drizzle? Write about this weather pattern and its journey.
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The Break-Up Playlist
Create a playlist of songs that encapsulate your feelings of heartbreak, and write about why each song speaks to your experience.
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Embracing the Sorrow
Write a letter to your heartbreak, acknowledging the pain and thanking it for the lessons.
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Time-Traveling Poet
Turn your past pain into future strength with a reflective letter to your future self.
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Riding the Emotional Wave
Transcribe your emotions into stanzas, beginning with the initial pain and ending with peace or acceptance.
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Unwanted Superpower
Write about a superhero who views their superpower as a curse due to a traumatic event.
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Sacrifice of Normalcy
Imagine a superhero who yearns for an ordinary life, but their powers and responsibilities prevent them from having it.
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Scars of the Past
Write a story about a character who carries a tragic past and how it shapes their present.
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Releasing Bottled Feelings
Write a letter to someone you’ve always wanted to forget, but never could.
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Unveiling the Mask
Imagine a stereotypical villain who reveals a shockingly sympathetic side to their character. How do they maintain their terrifying facade while battling with their own inner demons?
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Unlikely Comfort
Describe a painful moment where you found comfort or solace in something unexpected.
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The Portrait of Resilience
Write a character portrait of yourself in a time of pain that accentuates your strength and resilience.
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A Letter to My Old Self
Write a letter filled with compassion and wisdom to your younger self, who has just experienced heartbreak.
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Echoes of the Deceitful Dead
Spin a tale about the deceitful spirit of a person who had been betrayed while alive and now seeks revenge on the betrayers.
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Lone Wolf Syndrome
The protagonist chose a solitary survival path, to avoid the pain of loss, only to find themselves wracked with guilt over those they could have helped.
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Emotional Payload
Write a fight scene between a superhero and villain who share a deep emotional connection.
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The Cost of Power
Describe in great detail the physical and emotional toll a superhero battle takes on the hero.
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Retracing Happy Steps
Write about an accomplishment or happy moment that happened before your heartbreak.
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Feeding the Soul
Detail a spiritual or creative practice that you’ve turned to for solace in times of emotional pain.
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A Letter to my Broken Heart
Pen a compassionate letter to your own broken heart, acknowledging its pain and the lessons learned.
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Cosmic Friend
You discover a small, wounded alien creature and decide to take it home. What happens next?
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Ghost of the Past Loves
Write about a character struggling with the memories of a past romantic relationship.
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Reverse The Pain
Choose a difficult memory from your past, and creatively write it as a story with a pleasing outcome.
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The Alternate Pathway
Describe an alternate reality where your loss never happened. How would it affect your present life?
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Keys To Forgiveness
Write about a character learning how to forgive after being betrayed by a loved one.
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A Conversation with Mother Nature
Imagine if Mother Nature could talk to us. What would she say? What questions would you ask her?
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Leaving the Door Open
Write a heartfelt letter to your future self explaining what you learned from your heartbreak.
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Life’s Silver Lining
Write about a difficult situation you have faced and how it has positively shaped you.
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Love Letters from the Afterlife
Imagine a widow getting love letters, posthumously penned by her departed husband.
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Cynthia’s Shoes
Imagine stepping into the shoes of someone who has broken your heart or hurt you deeply, and write about why they may have acted the way they did.
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Mapping the Healing Journey
Create a timeline of your emotions and experiences from the moment your heart was broken till today.
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Atoning for Misdeeds
Create a narrative about a character who’s seeking ways to make amends for a past action that caused emotional pain to someone they care for.
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Carousel of Time
Narrate a story about a seemingly normal carousel that spins in the reverse direction, taking its riders back in time.
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The Love Letter Never Sent
Craft a monologue in form of a love letter that will never be sent, full of heartfelt confessions, unrequited love, and heartbreaking nostalgia.
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The Turncoat’s Testimony
Write a monologue from the perspective of a person who caused heartbreak by ending a relationship, expressing their guilt and wavering doubt about their decision.
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The Candy Comparison
Reflect on the sweetness and indulgence of Easter and how it contrasts with the solemnity surrounding the crucifixion.
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Radios and Road Trips
Write about a song or music album that instantly snaps you back to a certain phase or moment in life.
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The Handwritten Letter
Write a letter to the person who broke your heart, expressing everything you wished to say but haven’t.
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Sea of Memories
Create a list of memories you shared with the person you lost, whether bittersweet or joyful, detailing the emotions each memory elicits.
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Turning Pain Into Power
Imagine your grief as an unwanted superpower, and write about how you would cope, adjust, or benefit from this peculiar trait.
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The Rays of Resilience
Write a story, using the healing power of sunlight as a metaphor, about a character who regains their strength after a traumatic incident.
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Bitter Bite
Write about the first painful moment when your character has been bitten and is slowing turning into a zombie.
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Fading Memories
The protagonist is in love with someone who forgets about them every day due to a magical curse.
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The Silent Treatment
Imagine if your heart had a voice, what would it say to you in the face of heartbreak?
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Unseen Wounds
Write a letter to a person who broke your heart letting them know the impact they’ve had on you from a wound they cannot see.
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Loss and Regeneration
Write about a character who experiences a devastating loss and how they piece their life back together.
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Ballads of the Heartstruck
Pen down a song about a person experiencing the exquisite pain and pleasure of love for the first time.
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Rediscovering Joy
Write about a moment when you experienced pure, uninhibited joy after a phase of heartache.
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Healing Through Self-Love
Write a letter to yourself about your heartbreak, how it made you feel, and how you will rise above.
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Ageless Love in a Fleeting World
A vampire finds their heart won only to be broken again and again when their mortal lovers grow old and perish.
