Writing prompt wheel
Thirty prompts for teen and adult writers that work as fiction, memoir or journal entries. Spin, set a timer on your phone, and keep your pen moving.
SpacespinCtrl+Enterspin while typingFfull screen
One entry per line. Add *3 after a name to give it three times the chance.
Winners show up here, newest first.
Colors
Ready-made list. Edit it to make it yours: changes stay on this device, and Reset brings the original back.Open in the main spinner →
Three ways to write from a prompt
- Ten-minute free write: spin, set a phone timer for ten minutes and write without stopping or editing. If you get stuck, write the prompt again and keep going.
- Flash fiction: a complete story in 300–500 words. Something must change between the first and last line.
- Journal entry: take the prompt personally. “A room you once lived in” becomes a page of real memory.
- Poem: circle the five strongest words from a free write on the prompt and build 12 short lines around them. Rhyme is optional.
Constraints that sharpen it
When a prompt feels too easy, add one rule. Make a second small wheel of these and save it in My wheels:
- Write in second person (“You open the door…”).
- Present tense only.
- No adjectives in the first paragraph.
- Exactly 100 words.
- Dialogue only, no description.
- Start with the last line.
For writing groups and classes
Spin once for the whole group and compare how differently people read the same prompt; that is usually the best part of the session. For high school classes, turn on Remove the winner after each spin for a term of weekly prompts. For younger writers, the story starter wheel has prompts built for kids.
Questions and answers
Are these prompts suitable for teenagers?
Yes. They are written for roughly 13 and up and avoid anything graphic. Some invite personal writing, so in a class setting let students choose fiction instead if a prompt feels too close to home.
What if the prompt doesn’t spark anything?
Write for three minutes anyway. Often the idea arrives once your hand is moving. If it still hasn’t after three minutes, press Spin again.