Narrative Writing Prompts
Low
1. If all the sea suddenly drained away, what would it look like?
2. Invent the best toy you can think of. Describe it.
3. Tell me about the last time you did something really kind.
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
5. What makes a best friend?
6. Which day of the week do you like best and why?
7. If you could ask your teacher one question about themselves, what would it be and why?
8. Which is your favourite season and why?
9. Tell me what you really like about where you live.
10. What’s the most important thing you would like to do this summer?
11. Go for a walk. Write a sentence about the walk you went on.
12. Write about a trick you would like to play on your mom.
13. What is your favorite thing to do when you play outside?
14. What is your favorite thing to do when you play inside?
15. Tell about what you will be when you grow up.
16. Write about what you would like to do for your next birthday.
17. If you could go on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
18. Tell about an animal you would like to have for a pet.
19. What would you do if there was a dragon stuck under your bed?
20. What is the funniest thing that you have ever seen?
21. What did you do today?
22. What is something you would like to learn more about?
23. What kind of pet do you think a teacher should get for their classroom?
24. What is the best movie you have ever seen?
25. Tell about your most favorite book.
26. What is something you love about yourself?
27. Make a list of the things you are most thankful for in your life.
28. Which season do you like the most?? Why??
29. Which season do you like the least, why????
30. You just won $1,000,000. What are you going to do first?
31. Tell about a time when you were kind to someone.
32. Write a story about the mysterious zizzybaloobuh that you just found in your bathtub.
33. What is something that makes you ANGRY!!!!!
34. Tell about the last time you cried.
35. You found a magic wand! What would you do with it?
36. Tell about your favorite food and why it is so good.
37. Have a family member write something about you today.
38. What would happen to you if you never went to school?
Narrative Writing Prompts
Middle
1. What is your favorite time of day? Explain why?
2. I’d like to see . . .
3. If toys could talk what would they say?
4. I am proud of myself because…
5. Tell about one thing you do really well?
6. Insects, insects everywhere!!! Describe what you see!
7. I’m happy when . . .
8. I am afraid to______because
9. What is your favorite room in your home and why?
10. Describe your best day ever?
11. What does a super-fun day look like to you?
12. The perfect place in the whole wide world is…
13. What can you do to help you feel better when you’re feeling blue?
14. Walking in the rain is…
15. Noisy times and quiet times are…
16. I like to make ______because…
17. I am always kind to______because
18. If I could choose a different name, I would choose _____ and this is why…
19. Let’s go ______. Describe your adventure in detail.
20. What would happen if animals could talk? What questions would you like to ask them?
21. Imagine that you can become invisible whenever you wanted to? What are some of the things you would do.
22. What would you do if you were in the middle of the ocean and your boat springs a leak?
Narrative Writing Prompts
High
1. You are walking home from a late movie, and you have to cut through a cemetery. Describe your experience.
2. You spent the day with your grandfather. Tell about your day.
3. You are visiting the zoo. You come across an animal that no one has ever seen before. Describe the animal.
4. If Superman came in and replaced your principal for a day, what would school be like? Tell about it.
5. Imagine you are walking outside. A spring storm is coming. Describe for your classmates what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.
6. Everyone needs help sometimes. Write a story about what happened one time when someone helped you.
7. Everyone has lost something. Tell about what happened the time you or someone else lost something.
8. Imagine you are on a magic carpet that takes you anywhere you choose. Think about where you would go and what you might do. Write a story about your adventure.
9. Pretend you are asked to spend the afternoon babysitting Howie, a pet monkey. Before you begin to write, think about the fun and adventures you have with Howie, the monkey. Now write a story about what happened the afternoon you babysat Howie, the monkey.
10. You are home babysitting your little brother. When you go out to get the paper, the door shuts and locks. Your baby brother is alone inside. Tell what you do.
11. You find a baby bear on the school playground. Tell about that day at school.
12. Describe how our pet behaves when it is being playful. Pretend if you don't have one.
13. You have just been rescued after being lost for 24 hours. Relate what happened that made you scared.
14. Tell what happened when you felt proudest of yourself.
15. Your penpal from Antarctica sends you a penguin. Tell about your first day with your new pet.
16. Your classroom's pet snake got loose inside the school. Tell what happened.
17. You and your mother are home alone when suddenly a tornado is spotted coming toward your house. Tell about your experience.
Narrative Writing Prompts
Advanced
1. Think of a real experience you have had that would be hard to forget. Think about what makes it so hard to forget. Tell what happened.
2. Think about your best holiday celebration ever. Write an essay to tell about this celebration and why it was your favorite.
3. Think about how you spend Saturdays during the school year. Pick out a particularly memorable Saturday, and explain exactly what you did that day and why it was especially memorable.
4. Remember the best school assembly ever. Write an essay telling what happened, how the audience responded, and why the assembly was important.
5. Write a letter to an old classmate about an event in elementary school that was the most memorable to you.
6. A flying saucer has been sighted over your town. You have never believed in flying saucers, but then you see it for yourself and... Write a science fiction story telling what happens next. Does the saucer land? Do you meet the crew? How do you communicate? What do they look like? Are they friendly? Puzzled? Shy? Suspicious? What about sounds? Sights? Smells? Make your story as interesting as you can for your reader. Create characters and describe the setting. Make your plot move along to a climax and a satisfying conclusion.
7. Pretend you were selected to receive a special award. Write the article that would be in the newspaper to announce your award.
8. Have you ever been stranded in a place you didn't want to be? Maybe your parents forgot to pick you up after a ball game, and you were left stranded long after everyone else had gone home.
9. You won a school contest that allowed you to be teacher-for-a-day. Write about your experience as teacher-for-a-day.
10. At an awards assembly you were surprised to hear your name called for a certain award. Afterward, when your teacher asked you to write in your journal, you decide to write about this experience.
11. One April Fool's day you played a safe but terrific joke on your best friend. Write about your April Fool's joke to your classmates.
12. You and your family went on a camping trip during the weekend. A friend of yours, who has never been camping, wants to know what it was like. Write a letter to your friend telling about one evening of your weekend camping trip.
13. Pretend your favorite book character or comic book character came to life for a day. Write a story for your classmates about the character that came to life for a day.
14. We all have memories connected to our experiences. Think about an experience you feel you'll always remember. Try to picture the time, the place, and the people involved. Try to remember everything you can about this experience. Write about the experience you remember. Be sure to include enough details so that your reader can share your experience. Show why this memory stands out for you.
15. Weather can affect your life. Think about a time in your life when you have been affected by some kind of weather. Write an article for a popular young people's magazine. Tell about your experience so that other young people can understand what it was like.
16. Choose something for show & tell, but rather than bringing your object to class, your job is to write a short story or poem that shows us the object and tells us why it's important to you. You'll need to use lots of details to demonstrate the significance of the object -- use your words to create images that show readers the object and why it is important to you.
17. Write about a time you experienced or learned something for the first time. It could be when you first rode a bike or learned a new game. It could have been your first day of school, your first train or plane ride, or your first trip to an amusement park. First experiences are special for some reason. They may be funny, scary, or exciting.
18. Write about a time when you were surprised. It could have been a birthday party or when you got something you had not expected. It could be when you planned something and it did not turn out the way you thought it would. It could have been when someone came for a surprise visit. Surprises can be funny, scary, or exciting.
19. Write about a time when you did something that made you feel good. It could be when you helped a team, sang, or played music for others. It could be a time when you were nice or did a special favor for someone. It could be when you did something you had never done before. The important thing is that you felt good about what you did.
20. Because you have been sick, out of town, or working on other homework, you didn't have as much time to study for an important test as you needed. Think of a specific test that you took that you felt unprepared for and narrate the events. Your paper should help readers understand what it felt like to be unprepared.
21. Think of an experience when you realized that you suddenly understood an idea, a skill, or a concept you had been struggling with. Write a narrative that tells the story of your movement toward understanding. Your paper should help readers understand how you felt to struggle with the idea or skill and then to understand.
22. Choose a vivid time from your childhood. Narrate the events related to the childhood memory that you've chosen so that your readers will understand why the event was important and memorable.
23. Think of a time when you achieved a personal goal. Tell your readers about the story of how you met your goal. Be sure that your readers understand why the goal is important to you.
24. Think about an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out to be good. Tell the story of the event that you experienced and help your readers understand how an event that seemed negative turned out to have valuable consequences.
25. Teaching someone else how to do something can be rewarding. Think of a skill that you've taught someone else how to do. Think about the events that made up the process of teaching the skill, and narrate the story for your readers.
26. Think of a change to a place that you know well, and narrate the events that occurred. Readers should know the details of the change, and they should know how you feel about the changes that occurred.
27. Choose a time when you did something that took a lot of nerve, a time when you didn't follow the crowd or a time when you stood up for your beliefs. Think about the details of the event and write a story that tells about what happened. Your narrative should show your readers why you decided to make a stand or try something that took nerve, give specifics on the events, and share how you felt after the event.
28. Think of a time when you disagreed with a decision that had been made and did something about it. Write a paper that narrates the events that occurred -- from the decision that was made to your response. Be sure that your paper gives enough details that your readers understand why you disagreed with the decision and why you felt that your response was appropriate.
29. Suppose aliens abducted you as you were walking to school. Write a letter to your best friend on Earth telling him or her about this experience.
30. Imagine yourself as a passenger on a bus. The bus driver announces "We're here! Everyone off." As the bus pulls away, you realize you don't know where you are. Describe to your family the surroundings in which you found yourself and the adventure you had trying to get home.