Creative writing has many benefits for kids. They learn to appreciate how stories work, they hear the wonderful way sounds can match with rhymes, and their love of reading grows as they become writers. Some children may be so inspired that they dream of being authors when they grow up! Creative writing helps children develop:
- Imagination and creativity
- Self-expression
- Self-confidence
- Communication and persuasion skills
Also, it’s just plain fun!
What exactly is creative writing? It’s writing where you can just let your imagination fly. Your child can make up a story, a poem, or a song to explore their feelings or to simply tell a good story.
Here are 52 of the best creative and fiction writing prompts for children. These creative writing prompts are one way to help your child dream up something new every time they pick up a pencil. Encourage your child to write the story they would want to read.
52 of the Best Fiction Writing Prompts for Kids
Your children can use these ideas as creative inspiration as they practice writing words and sentences. PreK and early elementary-aged children who haven’t learned to write yet might enjoy drawing pictures to tell their stories, or they could tell a story out loud to their family.
Creative Writing Prompts for PreK Children
1. Young readers can use these Rusty and Rosy printable coloring pages to create their own stories by filling in the blanks.
2. Use this sentence starter activity as a prompt for beginning writers to craft their own sentences.
3. Imagine it snowed overnight. How would you spend the next day having fun in the snow?
4. Write a poem about your family. What are some words to describe your loved ones?
5. You wake up with the ability to talk to animals. What do the birds outside your window have to say?
6. There’s a dolphin in your bathtub. How did it get there and how will you get it back home to the ocean?
7. You’re president for a day. What do you do?
8. You’re a veterinarian for a dragon who has a sore throat. How will you help them?
Creative Writing Prompts For Elementary-Aged Children
9. Suddenly you’re nocturnal and stay awake all night long. What happens late at night that’s different from daytime?
10. Write a superhero story where the villain wants to become good. How do they convince the superheroes to trust them?
11. It’s the first day of school for robots. What do you learn at robot school?
12. You get to make a new national holiday. What is it about and how do you celebrate?
13. You get $100 but you have to spend it by the end of the day. What do you do with it?
14. You are an inventor whose job is to create the best toys. What will you make?
15. Suddenly ducks don’t like you. They quack at you and chase you away at the park. How do you get them to like you again?
16. Oh, no! Suddenly ducks love you and won’t leave you alone! How do you get them to let you be?
17. You go back in time and meet your parents when they were your age. What do you tell them?
18. You’ve just won the world championship. What did you win it in? Describe the competition.
19. You’re the world’s greatest detective. Describe your favorite unusual case. Did you solve it or is it still a mystery?
20. Write a story about a superhero who loses their powers but still has to find a way to be a hero.
21. You trade places with your parents for a day. What would you do?
22. Rewrite the ending of your favorite book. Will it be happy or sad?
23. One morning, the world doesn’t have electricity any more. What are your days like now?
24. Space aliens land and it’s your lucky job to show them around. Where will you take them?
25. The chicken finally tells you why it crossed the road. What is the secret?
26. You’re the mayor. What will you do to make your community better?
27. Tonight you cook dinner for your family. What interesting food is on the menu that will surprise them?
28. You wake up stuck in the last movie you watched. What is it, and what do you do?
29. Write about the best magic trick you can imagine.
30. You’re the star of your favorite sports team, and you’re playing for the championship. Write about the game.
31. Write a letter to your favorite author telling them what you like about their books! Use this free printable template.
32. There’s a light switch in your home but nobody knows what it’s for. One day, you discover the secret. What does it light up?
33. You have a pet dinosaur. What’s your dinosaur’s name? What’s your day together like?
34. You can fly like a bird. What kind of fun would you have soaring in the clouds?
35. Describe yourself with rhyming words!
36. Your family takes a big road trip that goes wrong in the funniest way possible. What happens?
37. You discover an island no one has ever seen before. Describe what it’s like.
38. Rewrite the ending of your favorite movie the way you want it to be.
39. You show up to the first day of school and discover that your new teacher is a wizard or a witch. What will they teach in class?
40. You find a mysterious treasure map. How would you start your treasure hunt?
41. You’re a paleontologist and find a new type of dinosaur. What did it look like, and what did it do back in the past?
42. Your favorite superhero needs your help! What can you do to save the day?
43. You’re the world’s youngest astronaut and get to fly to the moon. Describe your space trip.
44. You get to build your own dream treehouse. Describe what it’s like.
45. One night, you discover that garden gnomes come to life until the sun rises. What fun do they have all night long?
46. Practice writing letters with this printout. Imagine you’re living on a moon base. Write a letter to your cousin on Earth describing how things are going.
47. You get to go shopping at a magical grocery store with your family. What special treats would you buy?
48. You have a magic wand. What spells will you cast?
49. What does your shadow do when you’re not around?
50. You can have the powers of any animal in the world. What animal is it? What would your powers be?
51. Write a journal entry from the point of view of a time traveler who visits 100 years into the future. What surprises them in that different world?
52. You get to spend the night in a museum. What kind of museum? How will you have fun?
Creative writing is just one kind of writing exercise. You can also find a great list of journal prompts for kids, one for each week of the year, to help kids practice writing while learning to express their ideas and opinions.
