140 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids

Creative writing is an important skill for young students to start learning. Not every child will grow up to be a professional writer, but there are many benefits to having children write. Here we have some useful and effective creative writing prompts for kids to get you started.

These are most suited for a teacher with a class of students. However, parents are welcome to use them as well, to get your kids writing at home.

The Benefits of Writing Prompts for Kids

Aside from creating a published masterpiece someday, there are many benefits to teaching kids to write. This can be done in part by stimulating their minds with some good writing prompts for kids.

Teaching them how to become a better writer will give them advantages in other areas of life.

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Animal Themed Writing Prompts for Kids

Most kids love animals. Even if they don’t, personifying and thinking about animals can spark wonderful creativity in kids. It can help kids learn how to become a better writer.

• Jack is a dachshund and stands out among his border collie siblings who bully him for being different. He is determined to prove that he can herd sheep just as well as them.
• 10-year-old Kaitlyn has the unique ability to communicate with all animals. She goes around helping trainers, vets, and researchers.
• Write a story about a family of rabbits living in the woods. What is their life like?
• Imagine you are a big, majestic lion living in a zoo. How do you feel being surrounded by people all the time?
• Do you have a pet? What do you like to do with them? If not, what pet would you love to have?
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• What would you do if you had an elephant for a pet?
• If you could be any animal, what would you choose?
• Your cat gets stuck on the roof. How do you get him down?
• A baby wolf gets lost in the forest. How does he find his family again?
• Write about a school of fish who live deep in the ocean.
• How do you think it would feel to fly like a bird?
• What would you and your pet talk about, if they could talk?
• What does a naughty puppy get up to while its owners are asleep?
• Imagine everyone had a horse to ride instead of a car to drive. What would life be like?

Fiction Writing Prompts for Kids

Though they might not understand the complex workings of character and plot development, kids can still start creating fiction. Their minds are capable of telling stories. Starting with short pieces of fiction can teach them how to become a better writer.

Writing longer pieces of fiction at a young age can be more difficult. Using a book writing template might help if they really want to try.

Whatever type of story you encourage them to write, use these simple but imaginative writing prompts for kids.

1. Look out the window for 30 seconds. Write a story about what you see and hear in those 30 seconds.
2. Write a story about a trip you would like to take with your family.
3. You and your friends build a treehouse. But, anyone who enters needs to follow some rules. What are they?
4. You are trapped in the mall for the night. What do you do in there?
5. Write a story about a magical pair of shoes.
6. Write about what would happen if you met your favorite character in person.
7. You find a time machine. Where do you go and why?
8. Write a story about your parents as teenagers.
9. Write a story about a tiny person.
10. What does a typical day look like for a mermaid?
11. Write about an astronaut who flies to space and discovers a new planet.
12. Write a story about a day in the life of the president of the United States.
13. A young girl finds a teleportation device abandoned across the street from her house. She soon figures out how to use it.
14. Someone your age sneaks onto a space ship going into space. What happens? Do they get caught?
15. Try to write a poem or a story in the style of Dr. Seuss.
16. You have an assistant for one week who will do whatever you want. What do you ask them to do?
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18. Write about something you and your best friend would do if you lived in the same house.
19. Tell a story about a kid who gets to go for a ride on Santa’s sleigh.
20. A kid gets to be invisible for one day. What happens?
21. Write a story using these three words: Train, Hat, Saturday.
22. A clown shows up at your door one day. What do you do?
23. Write about a day where your teacher forgot to wear shoes.
24. Write a story about your evil twin.
25. You find a treasure chest buried in your backyard. What’s inside?
26. Imagine you get to be the opposite gender for one day. What do you do?
27. Write a story about an imaginary sport. How does it work? What are the rules?
28. You have been asked to create a new holiday. What should the world celebrate?
29. Write a story where you get stuck inside your favorite video game or TV show.
30. A child has traveled back in time from 1000 years in the future. What do they tell you about their life?
31. Start a story with a character saying “I won’t do it, and you can’t make me!”
32. Two friends send secret notes to each other through a hiding place no one else knows about. What happens when a new note appears from someone else?
33. A family is camping and doesn’t have cell phone service. What do they do when someone gets sick?
34. Write a story about a kid who doesn’t have any homework to do on the weekend.
35. A kid and their dog are on an adventure in the forest. What happens?
36. Write about a kid who loves to play in the rain.
37. A family is going together to pick out the perfect Christmas tree.
38. What happens when a spaceship lands in your backyard?
39. A girl finds a magic door in her closet. What happens when she walks through?
40. You are stuck inside your school overnight. What do you do?
41. Write a story about a vampire who just wants to fit in with his friends.
42. A superhero wants to save the world, but he’s not very good at using his powers.
43. Your toys have come to life for one night only. What do you do with them?
44. A boy is walking down a deserted road. What does he see?
45. An older sibling is babysitting a younger sibling. The older sibling gets locked in a cupboard. What happens next?
46. Imagine you live in a world where humans don’t need to sleep. What do you do every night?
47. An old lady owns a costume shop. Everyone who buys or rents a costume has an adventure while wearing it. Write about one of these adventures.
48. Your character is the only survivor of a shipwreck. She is floating around on a raft. She finally finds an island. What’s on the island?
49. The sun decides not to go down for one night. What does everyone do overnight when it’s not dark?
50. Write about what you would do if you could read minds for one day.
51. You are able to spy on your friends and family for one day and they don’t know you’re there. What do you think you’d see?
52. Your grandma tells you a shocking secret and you’re not allowed to tell anybody else! How do you react to this crazy secret?
53. You are given one dart to throw at a wall map. Wherever it lands, you have to go there tomorrow. Where do you go? What happens?
54. Three kids climb a tree and find a whole new world at the top.
55. Write a story about someone who is working hard to keep his grades up so he will be allowed to participate in the annual principal-for-a-day event.
56. What would you do if you and your teacher switched places for a day?

Historical Writing Prompts for Kids

Writing stories about history can be a fun way for kids to learn some basic historical facts and events. Use these writing prompts to walk them through time in a way they can enjoy.

A book writing template may come in handy here as well. History can be complicated and confusing. It might be beneficial to have some information laid out in a structured way.

1. Imagine everything in a historical museum comes to life one night. What happens?
2. If you could have a conversation with one person from the past, who would it be?
3. Imagine your family ruled over an ancient kingdom. What would life be like as a prince or princess?
4. Write a story about the life of a child before TV was invented.
5. Write a story about a family traveling a far distance by horse and carriage – before cars were invented.
6. Imagine you were alive when the pyramids in Egypt were being built. What are they like in person?
7. What do you think would have happened if humans were alive at the same time as dinosaurs?
8. How do you think people in the past celebrated holidays?
9. If you could travel backward in time to before you were alive, where would you go and why?
10. If you could change any part of history, what would it be?
11. Many years ago, all the grades of a school would be in a class together. Would you like this? Why or why not?
12. Write about a building that no one has lived in for 100 years. What is left in the building? Who used to live there?
13. What do you think the worst thing is about being a king or queen?
14. Write about what kids did for fun in the old days.

Stimulating Writing Prompts for Kids

In addition to writing stories, many kids will benefit from other forms of mental stimulation. These can be done in a journal or essay writing exercise.

Use these prompts and questions to get them thinking. Encourage them to answer all questions with as much detail as possible.

1. Write a detailed description of your favorite toy.
2. How would you describe the color green to someone who is blind?
3. Where is your favorite place to hide during hide and seek? Why?
4. Write a letter to your grown-up self.
5. Imagine you are the first person to ever walk on the moon. Write a letter to your family about what it’s like up there.
6. Write about something you want to learn more about.
7. If the sky could rain any food for one day, which food would you want and why?
8. Someone has never heard of magic. Explain it to them.
9. A genie is going to grant you one wish. What is it?
10. You are in charge of your school for a whole week. What do you do?
11. What is the worst possible superpower someone can have?
12. If you had $1,000 what would you buy for yourself?
13. Which animal is your favorite? What do you like about it?
14. What would your life be like if you were a movie star?
15. Write about what life would be like without electricity.
16. If you could go anywhere for a school trip where would it be and why?
17. What do you want to do once you turn 16?
18. If you could ask your teacher one question and get an honest answer, what would it be and why?
19. Write about the weirdest dream you ever had.
20. Describe the happiest day of your life so far.
21. If you were in the circus, what would you do?
22. If you won an award, what would it be?
23. What is your favorite holiday and why?
24. If you could have one extra limb, what would it be and why?
25. What is your favorite season and why?
26. Write about what life would be like if you got your dream job as an adult.
27. If you could create a new animal, what would it look like?
28. What is your favorite day of the week and why?
29. Write about the person you admire the most.
30. What is the best joke you ever heard? Why did it make you laugh so hard?
31. You are in charge of inventing a new sandwich. What are you putting on it?
32. Write about three things you are good at.
33. If you could make anything grow on trees, what would it be and why?
34. What is your most unusual talent?
35. What’s the best book you’ve ever read? Describe the book to someone without spoiling the story.
36. What one thing would make your life easier?
37. Imagine you are 16 and your parents have bought you a car. What does it look like?
38. What one thing would make school more fun?
39. Describe what happens on the absolute best day you can think of.
40. What is your favorite thing to do for fun?
41. You are given $1,000 but you can’t spend it on yourself. What do you buy and for who?
42. You are creating the perfect town for you and your family to live in. What does the town have?
43. What is one talent you wished you had but don’t?
44. Write about your favorite music.
45. Describe your favorite movie without mentioning the title or the characters names. Can anyone guess the movie?
46. If you could control your own dreams, what would you choose to dream about tonight?
47. You can ask the government one question and they have to answer you honestly. What do you ask and why?
48. Do you think you could go a whole day without talking? What would be difficult about this?
49. If you could stop anyone else from talking for one day, who would it be and why?
50. If the world was going to end in one hour, what would you want to do?
51. What accomplishment in your life are you most proud of?
52. Do you have any toys right now that you think you will still play with when you are 20? Why or why not?
53. What would you do if you were the last person on earth?
54. Write about something you believed as a small child, but it turned out to be wrong. What was it? How did you find out?
55. What would you do if you suddenly woke up in another country and no one could understand you?

Writing Tools for Older Kids

As kids get a little bit older, they can start being introduced to some tools and programs that will help their writing. As they age, they will start to get a sense of how to write properly and they will develop a voice and style of their own.

Those who are serious about writing and/or show some real promise might benefit from the use of some writing software to help them become an even better writer.

We have created a list of 20 excellent tools for writers and gone over them in detail. But, a good place to start is with Squibler and Grammarly.

Squibler will help them figure out how to organize a book. It offers a place to take notes and record research. It then encourages the writer to break down their chapters and scenes for easy organization and editing.

Squibler also offers a series of templates that might be helpful to kids as they learn about story structure and character development. These templates will walk them through the writing of a book and offer guidelines and suggestions to make the story as effective as possible.

There are several style and genre options, but a good place to start is with the general fiction template:

Second, is Grammarly. Kids will often struggle with grammar and punctuation for a while. Grammarly is designed to help all types of writers fix and polish up their work from a grammatical standpoint.

It is largely intended for professional writers who do it for a living, or students who need to hand in perfect written pieces. But, that doesn’t mean kids can’t benefit.

As they go through their work in Grammarly and find their errors, they will learn from them. If they see the same thing pop up numerous times, they will learn not to do it anymore.

Get Kids Thinking With These Writing Prompts

The kids are the next generation of writers, authors, and creators. Start their skills early and encourage them to expand and improve. Teach them how to craft their words. Teach them how to paint a picture in someone else’s mind.

From writing descriptions to organizing thoughts and emotions, and even creating interesting characters – kids should be flexing their creativity muscles whenever possible.

Whether they go free form or you use a book writing template, encourage them to let their imaginations loose on a regular basis.

These writing prompts for kids will get them started, but if you’re looking for more, try using the scholastic website. They have a writing prompt generator with lots of variety. It also has a fun design if you’re using it with your kids.

This will give you an endless source of fun prompts for the kids to enjoy.

Josh Fechter

Josh is the founder and CEO of Squibler.