20 Fiction Writing Prompts for Your Next Self-Published Book

Writing prompts are a great way to get warmed up and primed for a productive day of writing. The main purpose of writing prompts is to write about something in a thoughtful way. Incorporating this simple activity will wake up your mind critically and creatively.

When you’re writing your next book, consider incorporating a writing prompt into your routine to get warmed up for the day. Whether you’re struggling with writer’s block, want to challenge your creative thinking, or just feel like writing, writing prompts can help inspire new ideas, while fine-tuning your creative writing skills.

So, how do you find writing prompts? Writing prompt generators are popular on the Internet, so a simple search should yield many results.  However, to help you sift through the web, we will be providing some fiction writing prompts to help kick start the writing muscle.

20 Fiction Writing Prompts for the Self-Publishing Author:

·      The detective turns out to be the killer.

·      The fortuneteller was mistaken...

·      Write a story about a scientist.

·      Write about a villain that ends up saving the hero.

·      Set your story in a haunted forest.

·      “I heard a knock then a scream…”

·      You’re on a family beach vacation when you see something peculiar peeking out of the water.

·      Write a story titled, “The Flower Door.”

·      Set your story in the distant future.

·      Your character wakes up in a space pod with no idea of how they got there.

·      Write a story involving a love triangle.

·      Write a story about a person overcoming their fears.

·      “You had to be there to believe it.”

·      In the distance, she saw her childhood home. It had been 16 years and she never thought she’d be back.

·      “The air smelled like honey and lavender; it was the most enchanting place in the world.”

·      Jimmy was a nice kid, but he seemed to always find trouble.

·      Write about a character being forced to start over at a new school.

·      Your character faked their own death. Why?

·      You find footprints that disappear when you get too close to them.

·      Write about your curious new neighbor.

Benefits of Freewriting

Freewriting is another great exercise to induce productive writing. Freewriting is a prewriting technique where you write continuously without regard to proper spelling, grammar, or topic – kind of like journaling.  You can choose to take an idea or scenario from your book or stray completely. The point is to prevent writer’s block, self-criticism, or lack of writing motivation. Even if the material is unusable, it may spark new story ideas.

We’re Here to Help

48 Hour Books will always be here to help you on your self-publishing journey. If you’re just getting started, we recommend checking out these self-publishing resources:

·      Self-Publisher Checklist: Our comprehensive checklist will help answer important questions you will have during the self-publishing process. Use this as a guide for formatting, ISBNs, and more.

·      Book Genre & Styles: It’s important to research your book genre before you go forward. Knowing how to categorize your book will help you choose the right style when you print your book.

·      Editing Resources: All authors should have a professional round of editing done, prior to finalizing their manuscripts.  We have provided some freelance editors we recommend to help narrow your search.

For more help, contact us! Our customer service reps are here to answer all of your questions – no matter what stage of the process you’re in.