Capturing the attention of a writers creativity, so that a story starts to weave its way into existence is a wonderful thing.
Consider a superhero, whether with fantastic powers beyond human ability, or simply an extraordinary character with a driving force to their actions.
Yes, the superhero is a concept enough to grab the attention of even the most reluctant writers!
How should you use story starters like these?
Writing can be inspired through all sorts of ways.
One very effective method is through the use of writing prompts, to throw ideas up in the air, and see which your creativity grabs and runs with.
- Pick a number at random between 1 and 17, write a short story right now using the corresponding writing prompt below!
- Naturally you could also just use the entire list as a flood of ideas to see which your imagination runs with.
- Why not try allocating one to each day of a week that you’re aiming for writing output to be consistent?
Why use writing prompts?
It all comes back to inspiration, and practice.
Like any skill, practice makes perfect – and if you enjoy the process, you’re much more likely to put the time in and keep getting better!
So write.
And write often.
However you (or your students) find your inspiration to want to write a story, do that.
And through this, the writing ability (and all the good things that come along with it) will just be a matter of time.
17 Superhero Writing Prompts:
- And without warning, she appeared to shimmer briefly, before disappearing entirely…
- As the plane continued on its journey, I glanced out the window to look at the night sky, and saw to my amazement a man sitting on the wing, looking back at me…
- The truck was teetering on the edge of the cliff, and suddenly the stranger started pulling the giant vehicle back from the edge, as the crowd looked on amazed…
- She stood in front of the building looking in at us for a moment, making eye contact, before crouching and then suddenly leaping up out of sight with such force that it knocked over a nearby trashcan…
- The high speed train was taking us quickly to the next city. I looked at the blurred countryside passing by outside, and then to my amazement saw a man running up alongside the train keeping pace with us! He was gesturing wildly at me, was he trying to warn us of something?
- The scientists sank even deeper into the ocean depths. Suddenly there was a jarring clang, and the submarine juddered and stopped moving. Scrambling to look out the port holes they were astonished to see a person looking back at them, who seemed to be breathing underwater…
- The courier driver waited as I signed for the parcel in the street outside my apartment building, then suddenly seemed to hear something with a starled look on their face. Before I could react they tackled me backwards into the building, as an airconditioner unit smashed into the pavement where I had been standing… how had they heard it coming?!
- The cruiseship was out of control and could not stop in time, as the onlookers watched in shock. It was headed right for the restaurants on the pier! An unusual figure stepped out from the growing crowd, until he was right in front of the oncoming runaway ship… he held out his open hand at arms length as if trying to stop the ship in its tracks…
- The search and rescue team had been hunting for the lost skier all over the snow covered mountain for hours, and light was fading. Things didn’t look good, but they could find no trace of them. One of the searchers felt someone push past them on the dimly lit mountainside, and they seemed to be looking out into the darkness across the surrounding mountains. They suddenly stopped scanning, pointed to a mountain crag, and said one gruff word… “There.”…
- The gang of thugs surrounded the elderly man, and demanded his money. A few passers by scurred away, knowing there was nothing they could do to help him against such a large group. Then, a shadowy figure emerged from a nearby alleyway, grabbing the gang leader, who seemed unable to move despite his size. He was thrown back, and the gang scattered into the night. The old man looked up to thank the mysterious figure who had saved him… but the street was empty…
- Joey had gone to visit his dad at work, and they were over 100 floors up in the skyscraper office building where he worked. Waiting in his dad’s office, he turned to look out the window and down at the city, but what he saw made no sense! There was a man outside the window, climbing with bare hands and feet somehow sticking to the glass…
- The group of kids were playing on the jungle gym, laughing in the sunshine, as others in the park relaxed on the grass. Suddenly one of the kids slipped, and fell backwards from the highest bar, as his friends cried out! But before he struck the ground, time suddenly seemed to slow, and the entire scene was frozen, the falling kid suspended above the ground with a surprised look on his face…
- The hikers were lost in the woods, many days travel from civilization. The rain set in as they formed a ragged group huddling for warmth as night fell, but without a fire how would they cope with this they wondered? A quiet member of the group leant forward, gathering some sticks and dry moss into a pile. He clicked his fingers and sparks leapt from his finger tips and ignited the small campfire as the others wondered at what they were witnessing!
- From this day forth, she decided, she would watch over the good people of the world, protecting them from those who were not as good.
- A new song came pouring out of her whenever she opened her mouth. Her superpower could stun anyone nearby with songs of such beauty it would leave them powerless…
- “It’s going to be ok…”, the words formed in my mind – but they were not my own. I looked up sharply, and made eye contact with a strange hunched figure, as they moved to protect me…
- The dry town was choking in dust. The stranger stepped forward, gestured to the sky, and clouds quickly formed over us. One more wild gesture downward, and the rain hit us with torrential force…
Download a PDF of all 17 prompts!
Get inspired to write a story
I hope you find plenty of inspiration from these story starters, and get that creative writing flowing.
We’re always interested to hear how people are using our resources, so please feel free to get in touch!
Thanks,
Matt & Hayley
