Fantasy writing opens doors to infinite possibilities, but sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start. Whether you’re crafting epic worlds with complex magic systems or writing intimate character-driven fantasies, the right prompt can unlock stories you didn’t know you had in you.
These fantasy writing prompts aren’t your typical “write about a dragon” exercises. They’re inspired by real questions people ask on forums, cultural myths from around the world, and the kind of “what if” scenarios that keep writers up at night. Each one is designed to give you enough structure to start writing immediately, while leaving room for your imagination to run wild.
At Inkwrit, we have a writer who goes by the pen name WolfGang, through his works we discovered that this writer lives practically in his own fantasy world. It gives us the joy to have such a writer living his dream and skill as a fantasy writer and so can you.
To this effect we have compiled 30 fantasy writing prompts to make your fantasy world a memorable one but before you dive into our fantasy writing prompts we have a question for you:
ARE YOU READY TO START WRITING?
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How to Use These Fantasy Writing Prompts
Set a Timer: Give yourself 15-20 minutes per prompt. Don’t edit while you write—just let the story flow.
Start Small: You don’t need to build an entire world before you start. Pick one prompt and write one scene. The world-building can come later.
Mix and Match: Combine two prompts if you’re feeling ambitious. Some of the best stories come from unexpected mashups.
Any Genre Works: These prompts lean fantasy, but many can be adapted to sci-fi, magical realism, or contemporary fiction with a twist.
Share Your Work: The inkwrit community loves reading what writers create. Share your stories and get feedback from fellow writers and readers.
30 Fantasy Writing Prompts (Inspired by Real Stories and Questions)
Magic & Power
1. Your grandmother has been doing the same ritual every full moon for as long as you can remember—lighting candles, speaking words in a language you don’t recognize, burying something in the backyard. Today, you followed her. Write what you discovered she’s been protecting the family from.
2. Everyone in your city was born with a prophecy tattooed on their wrist. Yours says “The one who breaks the cycle.” You’ve spent your whole life trying to figure out what cycle. Today, you accidentally started the apocalypse. Write what happens next.
3. In your world, magic is inherited through bloodlines. You’re from a non-magical family. But yesterday, you made it rain indoors during a job interview. Write about trying to hide your magic in a society that tracks magical lineage obsessively.
4. Your best friend has been “blessed” by the gods—chosen for a great destiny. You’re the one who has to follow them around and keep them alive because chosen ones are terrible at common sense. Write about the real hero: the babysitter of destiny.
5. You bought a used book from a street vendor. Inside, someone has written notes in the margins—instructions for spells that actually work. The last entry says “DO NOT attempt page 47. I’m sorry for what I’ve done.” Write what happens when you turn to page 47.
Folklore & Mythology (African & Global Influences)
6. The masquerade spirits that appear during your village festivals aren’t costumes—they’re real. Everyone pretends otherwise. You’re the first person in generations who can see them for what they are. Write about the conversation they want to have with you.
7. Your family believes a particular type of bird is a messenger from ancestors. One has been following you for three days, trying desperately to communicate something. Write what happens when you finally understand its warning.
8. There’s a tree in your neighborhood that everyone avoids after dark. Your friend disappeared near it last week. Tonight, you’re going to sit under it until something—or someone—explains what happened. Write that night.
9. Anansi the spider appears in your bedroom and says he needs help with a story that went wrong in the real world. A tale he told decades ago has started manifesting as reality, and only you can write the ending. Write what happens next.
10. You inherited your grandmother’s wrapper (traditional fabric), but when you wear it, you can see things that happened in the past wherever you walk. Yesterday, you saw something no one was supposed to know about your family. Write what you do with this knowledge.
Chosen Ones (Subverted)
11. Everyone in the kingdom was chosen for something—except you. You’re the only person born without a destiny. While everyone else chases prophecies, you’re the only one with actual free will. Write about what you do with that freedom.
12. You were supposed to be the chosen one, but you failed the test. Someone else got picked instead. Now you have to train them, knowing you were the backup plan. Write about watching your replacement succeed where you failed.
13. The chosen one defeated the dark lord ten years ago. Everyone forgot about them after the parade. Now the dark lord’s sibling has shown up for revenge, and the chosen one is working at a convenience store with no health insurance. Write about the comeback nobody wanted.
14. You’re the chosen one’s older sibling. You’re not magical, not special, not prophesied. But you’re the one who’s been keeping them alive since childhood because destiny doesn’t teach common sense. Write your side of the story.
15. Five children were chosen by the gods. Four of them are heroic and noble. One is your best friend, who’s chaotic, sarcastic, and accidentally keeps saving the day by breaking every rule. Write about being the only non-chosen one in the group.
Loving these prompts? Join InkWrit for daily fantasy prompts and connect with writers like WolfGang who are building their fantasy worlds every day. [Sign up free →]
Dark & Twisted
16. A stranger offers you a deal: they’ll solve your biggest problem, but someone you love will forget you completely. You took the deal. It’s been three years. Today, the person who forgot you needs your help desperately, and you’re the only one who can save them. Write what happens.
17. You can see how everyone will die—a flicker of their death hovering around them like a shadow. You’ve learned to ignore it. Until you meet someone with no death-shadow at all. Write what that means.
18. There’s a door in your house that no one else can see. You’ve never opened it. Last night, someone knocked from the other side and called your name. Write what happens when you finally answer.
19. Your reflection has been moving differently lately—half a second delayed, making choices you didn’t make. This morning, you woke up to find your reflection standing at the foot of your bed. Write the conversation.
20. Every lie you’ve ever told has become a person. They all live in a city you can visit in your dreams. Last night, they held a meeting about you. Write what they decided.
Romance & Relationships (With a Fantasy Twist)
21. You can see the red thread of fate that connects soulmates. Yours is tangled in knots, looped around your own wrist, leading nowhere. Then you meet someone whose thread is severed completely. Write what happens when two broken fates collide.
22. You’re a matchmaker witch—you can see romantic compatibility and create love spells. You’ve never been able to see your own match. Until today, when you see your thread leading to someone completely wrong for you on paper. Write about choosing between magic and chance.
23. Your partner is a shapeshifter who’s been hiding it from you for two years. You’ve known for one and a half years. Neither of you wants to bring it up. Write the night it finally comes out.
24. Every time you fall in love, you forget the previous person completely—names, faces, memories gone. You keep a journal to remember. Last night, you read an entry about someone you supposedly loved desperately. You don’t remember them at all. Write about trying to find them.
25. You’re a time traveler who keeps meeting the same person in different eras. They never remember you, but you’ve fallen in love with every version of them. Write about the moment they finally remember.
World-Building Starters
26. In your world, everyone’s emotions manifest as weather around them. Anger is thunder, sadness is rain, joy is sunshine. You’re the first person in history whose emotion is snow in a tropical country. Write what that means.
27. Magic is illegal and monitored by the government, but you run an underground network helping illegal magic users escape to the border. Write about the day you discover your little sister has magic.
28. Your city exists in two realms simultaneously—day and night versions that never meet. You’re the only one who remembers both. Write about trying to solve a murder that happened in one realm but affected the other.
29. Everyone gets one magical ability on their 18th birthday. Useful ones: flying, healing, super strength. You got the ability to know exactly how long someone has been lying about something. Write how you use this incredibly specific power.
30. Plants have started growing with human consciousness. Your houseplant has been watching you for three years and has Opinions about your life choices. Write the conversation when it finally learns to speak.
Start Writing Today
These prompts are just the beginning. The best stories come when you let yourself explore without judgment. Pick one prompt, set a timer, and write without editing. You can always revise later—but first, you have to get the story out of your head and onto the page.
Writing can only get easy when you stop staring at your blank page. The best is, with inkwrit’s writing prompts like the ones in this very article here: Amazing 101 Writing Ideas And Short Story Prompts, your writing becomes easy and fun.
Want fresh prompts like these delivered daily? Join our tiktok community of writers and let’s grow together. No pressure, no judgment—just daily prompts and a supportive community.
Author: Bridget Austin
Ifeoma, who writes under the pen name Bridget Austin, is the founder of Inkwrit — a freelance writing platform built for African writers and storytellers. With a background in copywriting and content strategy, she created Inkwrit to give African voices a professional home to publish, build portfolios, and grow their writing careers. When she's not building the Inkwrit community, she writes about freelance writing, African literature, and the business of creative work.
