100 Easy Things to Write About When You’re Stuck

100 Things to Write About When You’re Stuck — Never Run Out of Ideas Again

Every writer hits the wall. The ideas that came so easily last week have completely dried up. You open a blank document and stare at it. Nothing comes. You are not broken. You are not out of ideas. You simply need a different door into the story.

This list gives you 100 of them.

The first 30 or so will feel easy — you will recognise them immediately as things you have already been meaning to write. Push past those. The ones from 50 onwards are where it gets interesting. That stretch is where your most original writing lives.

Before you dive in, if you are looking for specific prompt formats read our 50 story starters to break writer’s block — Article 1 in this series — and our 30 powerful writing prompts for African writers for prompts rooted in African storytelling.

Section 1 — Things to Write About When You’re Stuck Now (1–25)

These require no planning, no research and no special setting. You can start any of these today with nothing but a pen and whatever is in your memory.

1. The most important conversation you have ever had — written from the other person’s perspective.

2. A memory from childhood that you have never been able to fully explain.

3. The person who changed the direction of your life — and whether they know it.

4. Something you believed completely until the day you didn’t.

5. The version of yourself from five years ago — what they would think of you now.

6. A place that no longer exists the way you remember it.

7. Something you have been meaning to say to someone for years.

8. The best advice you ever received — and the first time you actually used it.

9. The worst advice you ever received — and what happened when you followed it.

10. A moment where everything changed in a single sentence.

11. Something ordinary you do every day that you have never examined closely enough to write about.

12. A fear you have never told anyone about in full.

13. The person you were in your most difficult season — and what they needed that nobody gave them.

14. A dream you had that stayed with you long after you woke up.

15. The first time you felt truly proud of yourself — what led to it and what happened after.

16. Something you lost that was never replaced — not a person, but a feeling, a season or a version of yourself.

17. A goodbye you never got to say properly.

18. The moment you first understood that adults did not have all the answers.

19. A lie you told that took on a life of its own.

20. The best day you have had in the last twelve months — written in full sensory detail.

21. Something your mother, father or guardian used to say that you now catch yourself saying.

22. A habit you developed during a difficult period that you have never stopped.

23. The last time you laughed until it hurt — who was there and what happened.

24. A moment you witnessed between strangers that has stayed with you.

25. The thing about yourself that took the longest to accept.

Section 2 — Things to Write About That Require a Little Thought (26–50)

These need you to reflect, research a memory or imagine forward. They are worth the extra effort.

26. What you would do with an ordinary Tuesday if money and obligation completely disappeared.

27. A place you have always wanted to visit — write the version of yourself who has just arrived there for the first time.

28. Something you want to learn that you have talked yourself out of starting.

29. The person in your life who taught you the most without ever intending to teach you anything.

30. Your five-year goals — written not as a list but as a story told by the version of you who achieved them.

31. A skill you have that you consistently undervalue.

32. What forgiveness actually feels like from the inside — not the idea of it, but the physical, emotional experience of it.

33. Something you do differently from how you were taught to do it — and why.

34. The relationship in your life that has changed the most over time and what caused each change.

35. A decision you made that took five seconds but changed years.

36. Something you take completely for granted that millions of people in the world do not have access to.

37. Your ideal day from the moment you wake up to the moment you sleep — in full honest detail, not the curated version.

38. A recurring argument you have had with yourself that you have never resolved.

39. The most beautiful thing you know about — written in a world where it is considered ordinary.

40. A childhood game or ritual that made complete sense at the time and makes no sense now.

41. Something your body has been trying to tell you that you have been ignoring.

42. A friendship that ended without a proper ending.

43. The first thing you remember wanting to be when you grew up — and the moment that changed.

44. Something you have made peace with that took longer than it should have.

45. The most interesting thing about the city, town or neighbourhood you grew up in that nobody writes about.

46. A food, a smell or a sound that takes you immediately somewhere specific — write where it takes you and why.

47. Something you know now that you wish you had known at 18.

48. A moment in your life that felt small at the time but turned out to be significant.

49. The thing you most want your children or the next generation to understand about the world you grew up in.

50. Something you have changed your mind about completely — and what caused the change.

Section 3 — Things to Write About for the Long Term (51–75)

These are bigger ideas — the ones that might become a series, a book or a project you return to over months.

51. The full story of how you became who you are — not a summary, but the scenes that actually made you.

52. A place that shaped you — its smells, its sounds, its specific light at a specific time of day.

53. Something that happened in your community, city or country that nobody wrote down properly at the time.

54. A family story that has been told for generations — written from the perspective of the person it happened to.

55. The life of someone in your family who died before you were born or when you were too young to know them.

56. A career you dreamed about as a child — write the life of someone who actually lives it.

57. Something you have watched change over your lifetime — a technology, a relationship, a neighbourhood, a belief.

58. The story you have always said you would write one day — begin the first scene today.

59. A period in your life you have never written about because it was too raw — start with one small scene from the edges of it.

60. What you want the last chapter of your life to look like — written as fiction, as hope.

61. A relationship that deserves more than a single story — write the first of a series.

62. Something about your culture, your language or your people that is disappearing and that you want to preserve in writing.

63. A letter to your future grandchildren about the world as it exists right now.

64. The version of your country or city in the future — written as speculative fiction from fifty years ahead.

65. A question you have been carrying for years that you have never found the answer to — write the story of someone who finds it.

66. Something that makes you angry about the world — write the story of the person doing something about it.

67. A topic you know more about than almost anyone else in your circle — write the piece that teaches it.

68. Your origin story as a writer — when it started, what almost stopped it and what kept you going.

69. The most important lesson your career has taught you that nobody puts in the job description.

70. Something you would do differently if you started your life over with everything you know now.

71. A place you love that not enough people know about — write the piece that changes that.

72. The story behind a scar — physical or emotional — that you have never told in full.

73. A person from your past who deserves to be remembered — write them back to life.

74. Something you are afraid might disappear from the world in your lifetime — write about it while it is still here.

75. The thing you most want to be remembered for — and whether you are building it yet.

Section 4 — Abstract and Unexpected Things to Write About (76–100)

These are harder to pin down but often produce the most surprising and original writing. They ask you to feel your way toward the idea rather than think your way there.

76. What unconditional love actually feels like from the inside — not the romantic version but the real one.

77. The moment you felt most like yourself — what you were doing, who you were with, what made it different.

78. Something that is impossible to plan for but that you hope happens before your life is over.

79. What the silence in your home sounds like — and what it means.

80. A colour and everything that colour makes you feel, remember or imagine.

81. Something small that consistently makes your life better that you have never properly appreciated.

82. What rest actually feels like for you — not sleep, but genuine rest.

83. The version of yourself that almost existed — the path you nearly took.

84. What you would say if you had five minutes and the whole world was listening.

85. Something you know is true that you cannot fully explain or prove.

86. What home means to you — the feeling, not the place.

87. A word in your language or your family’s language that has no direct translation — write around it until the meaning becomes clear.

88. The last time you did something for the very first time — and what it opened in you.

89. Something you want to forgive yourself for — not the full story, just the moment you decide to.

90. What you want your last words to the people you love to be — and whether you are living in a way that makes them true.

91. The sound of a specific time in your life — what was playing, what you were doing, who was there.

92. Something invisible that you carry everywhere you go.

93. What your name means to you — not its dictionary definition but what it means to be you with that name in the world.

94. The most honest sentence you could write right now about how you are doing.

95. Something you did for the last time without knowing it was the last time.

96. What you notice that other people seem to walk past without seeing.

97. A small act of kindness you witnessed that has stayed with you longer than it should have.

98. The question you are most afraid to answer honestly — write around it until you can answer it directly.

99. Something you hope never changes about yourself.

100. Write the first sentence of the story you have been too afraid to start — just the first sentence. Nothing more.

How to Use This List

Do not try to work through all 100 in order. Read through the list slowly and notice which ones make you pause — those are the ones that have a story in them for you right now.

The ones that feel slightly uncomfortable are usually the most important. The ideas that create a small flutter of resistance are the ones worth starting with.

When you have your piece written publish it on Inkwrit — Africa’s free writing platform where your work gets indexed by Google and found by real readers. A well-written piece published on Inkwrit can begin ranking within two weeks of publication.

For more writing inspiration explore our complete prompt library on Inkwrit: 50 story starters to break writer’s block, 100 unique creative writing prompts, amazing 101 writing ideas and short story prompts, 30 dialogue prompts to make your characters sound real and 30 general writing prompts for all genres.

And if you want to build a writing career from the ideas you are developing, start with our guide on how to build a free writing portfolio as an African writer — because the best time to start publishing is while the ideas are still fresh.