Some people ask me how I come up with ideas for my stories. The answer is: I don’t. the ideas come to me, frequently when I’m not expecting it or looking for an idea.

I know that some writers struggle a bit more with the initial idea for a story. And even the most abundantly creative person can hit a dry spell (which has happened to me before). Some people just want to try their hand at something new – a new idea, a new genre, a new style of writing.

Enter the story prompt. A picture, a word, a phrase – all of these can prompt an idea. My intent with this post is to give a boost to a fellow writer, to get you over that hump if your creative juices have run dry. A story prompt can also be very useful if you’re new at writing, if you want to tell a story but you don’t know what to write about or where to begin.

A note: most of these story prompts have a fantasy slant, because that what I write. A prompt, though, is just that – the seed of an idea, intended to prompt you to think on it and develop it. A picture of a dragon does not have to prompt a fantasy tale, just as a picture of a happy modern couple in a sports car does not have to prompt a contemporary romance.

Here are some ideas:

The famous artist who says that his pet dragon actually does the art

A lonely basilisk

A boy and his best friend, a cloud

Demons swim in all the sacred places

It was two days before Christmas when the spaceships landed outside of town.

As the choke of midnight comes, the trees grow and the darkness begins to cry.

In that silent future after the world has ended, a child is born.

Where is this place? What happened here?

Now go write!