Prompt Archive
Please note that we are no longer accepting submissions for prompts from previous years. Our next project takes place on 15 June 2024.
The live prompts will be posted on the front Write-In page, one per hour on National Flash Fiction Day. On Sunday, 16 June 2024, they will be posted on their own '2024 Prompts' page, accessible from the main menu.
2023 Writing Prompts
0: Time to Start....
Write a story involving a conversation in which no one finishes their sentences. Or, if you prefer, write a story in which you don't finish any of the sentences.
1: Twenty-Four Seven
2: Period!?
Write a flash that does not use a full stop or period as a punctuation mark. You can use any other end punctuation you like, or none at all, as long as you avoid the '.' mark.
What about ellipses you ask? Oh, sneaky. Go on then. If you must.
3: Third Time’s a Charm
Write a piece in which you have three sets of three repeated lines or phrases. How you structure the piece is up to you, as long as you include three things that are each repeated three times.
4: Time Travel **
You’ve travelled through time and encounter a younger version of yourself. You want to leave them an anonymous note. What life lesson would you share? Feel free to write from the point of view of yourself or a fictional character, whichever you prefer.
5 Split Second
Write a triptych (three flashes meant to be read together) or a three-part flash (one flash made of three distinct parts) where each section takes place in the same moment of time. Maybe each section is written from the point of view of a different character, or maybe it's the same character or situation, but things are a little different in each telling.
We appreciate it's tricky to write a triptych in 300 words, so if you're writing a triptych, you can have up to 150 words per section (450 words total).
6: Time will tell....
Write a flash in the form of a daily planner page, a weekly to-do list spread, or a timetable. (If you use visual elements, feel free to send us an image of your piece.)
7: Once upon a time....
Write a version of a traditional fairy tale, folk story or fable, but set it in more modern times. What would be the same? What would be different? Feel free to interpret and play!
8: No Time Like The Present
Write a flash set at least 100 years in the past, but write it in the present tense, as if it the story is unfolding right now. (Bonus points for each century back you dare to go!)
9: Roll Back the Clock
Write a story in which the action happens backwards, e.g. you move farther back in time as the story progresses. Each sentence or each paragraph (your choice) should describe events that happen earlier in time than than the one before.
10: Desperate Times **
Write about a moment where you were afraid to do something but did it anyway. You are welcome to write about yourself or a fictional character.
11: Just a Moment....
Write a 'breathless paragraph' flash where the whole story takes place in just one moment. This could be right before, right after, or right as something happens. It's fine to allude to things that have happened or will happen, but the story itself must take place in the moment.
A 'breathless paragraph' is a flash that is written in one paragraph. It often is written as one big, long run-on sentence, or with no punctuation at all.
12: Sands of Time
To celebrate the launch of our 2023 Anthology, Prompt #12 takes its inspiration from the cover art and the 100-word limit of our annual microfiction competition (published within). Write a flash of exactly 100 words that uses the phrase 'sands of time' somewhere within the story (and not the title). You can make the story 100 words exactly with or without the title included in the word count.
13: Time Out!
For this prompt we're borrowing inspiration from the Oulipo tradition, and trying our hands at some constrained writing.
Try writing a short piece without using the letters T, I, M or E.
(If you're having trouble getting started, you may wish to consider experimenting with writing in the second person....)
14: In the Foreseeable Future
In this prompt, it’s time to loosen up, let your hair down, and embrace the cliché!
Find a time-related idiom or phrase and use that as the title for your piece, and feel free to use every cliché, idiom, or well-worn phrase you can think of. Feel free to get silly.
It’s not required, but bonus points are available if you do so in the context of a genre piece.... Maybe it’s a whodunnit called ‘Killing Time’, a Western called ‘Spur of the Moment’, a courtroom drama called ‘Just in Time’, a space opera called ‘Once in a Blue Moon’, or a comedy called ‘A Laugh a Minute’. (Feel free to use these if you like, or come up with your own.)
16: Show Time **
Write a story in the form of a film trailer. You can focus just on the text of the trailer, or if you wish, you can intersperse descriptions of the images that would display alongside your text.
17: Happy Hour
Write a flash with a joyful, happy ending.
18: Off Season
Write a flash that takes place at a location during an off season. Perhaps it's a seaside resort in the winter, a ski slope during a summer heat wave, or a children's theme park during term-time. Whatever the case, try to make the location and the off-seasonness feature prominently in your story.
19: Time Warp!
Write a flash in which time doesn't pass in the expected way. This can be due to a character's perception, supernatural forces, a scientific rational (realistic or otherwise), for a reason unexplained, or for whatever reason you might imagine. Feel free to explore science fiction, fantasy, dreams, surrealism, magical realism if you like, or stick to the every-day world...whatever you prefer.
20: Keeping the Minutes… **
Write a flash in the form of minutes from a meeting. This could be a business/work meeting, or a meeting for which minutes would not normally be taken. Feel free to have fun!
21: It's Different Every Time
Write a story of at least 100 words in which you do not use any word more than one time. And yes, this includes words like 'I', 'he', 'it', 'the', 'and', and 'is', etc.!
22: There's a First Time for Everything **
Write about your first time doing something. You can write from the point of view of yourself or a fictional character.
23: Countdown
We're nearing the end; only one more prompt to go after this. In anticipation, this prompt is all about anticipating the end. Write a flash that involves a countdown. If you can, weave the countdown throughout the story to build the tension or up the stakes.
24: Time to Call it a Night
To finish off our 2023 prompts, we invite you to write a story of 50 words or fewer about some sort of ending. Make sure you include a title for your piece.
The title does not count towards the word count. Hyphenated words count as one word. For example, ‘five-o’clock shadow’ would count as two words.
2022 Writing Prompts
0. Short and Sweet
This is National Flash Fiction Day's eleventh anniversary, so this
year, all our prompts have something to do with the number 11....
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Without further ado, here is the first challenge:
Write a flash of exactly eleven words.
No title is necessary, but if you have one, it does count toward the eleven-word total. Hyphenated words count as one word (so 'self-imposed' counts as one word and 'short-term plans' counts as two words).
Your flash needs to be short, but despite the title, it need not be sweet!
1. Reactions!
Sodium has an atomic number of 11, and it's so highly reactive, it's never found on its own in nature, only in compounds with other elements.
For this prompt, write a flash that involves some sort of huge reaction. This doesn't have to be a chemical reaction; it can be a unexpected emotional response, stock market fluctuations, a literal explosion, or whatever else you can come up with.
2. Once Upon a Time...
Although our 11th National Flash Fiction Day Anthology contains all manner of stories, styles, genres and themes, the title conjures fairy tales and fable.
Just for fun, we challenge you to run with this and write your own fairy tale or fable. It can be set 'once upon a time' or be a modern day (or future!) rendering.
And, of course, if you don't yet have a copy of this year's anthology, you can find it at the National Flash Fiction Day Bookshop.
3. Numbers Game
How easy is it to count in binary? It's as easy as 1, 10, 11!
For this prompt, write a flash in which one of the main characters is a computer, phone, robot, or other programmable device.
5. Hit the Highway
You can find Highway 11s and Route 11s all over the world; some of them are listed here.
For this challenge, write a story about someone (or something!) travelling on a real-world Route 11. This can be a highway, a bus route, a path, or whatever you like, as long as it's labelled '11' in the really real world.
Use at least one specific place name in your story, to tie the action down to a particular route.
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Jackson Pollock's painting Blue Poles is also known as Number 11, 1952. The choice of title has been the subject of much discussion; from Wikipedia:
According to art historian Dennis Phillips, the specific rather than ambiguous title "limits our field of comprehension and does the painting a singular disservice. Because we look for the poles and miss much of the rest, the name is simply too distracting."
For this prompt, we challenge you to write a flash and find two different titles for it. Each title should bring out something different in the flash, or make the reader think about it in a different way. (You are welcome to veer into prose poetry or hybrid work if you like.)
7. Steel Anniversary
This is
National Flash Fiction Day's eleventh anniversary, so this year, all our
prompts have something to do with the number 11....
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According
to those lists that try to get you to spend lots of money on
anniversaries, the traditional gift for eleventh anniversaries is
steel. (The modern gift is apparently fashion jewellery, but we
digress.)
For this prompt, write a story about an eleventh anniversary, and a gift that misses the mark.
8. Living in the Past
This is
National Flash Fiction Day's eleventh anniversary, so this year, all our
prompts have something to do with the number 11....
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Write a historical flash based on something that happened exactly eleven years before you were born.
9. A Picture is Worth...
A picture is worth way more than 100 words, but for this writing prompt, 100 words is all you have!
1.
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10. One Little Paragraph
Write
a flash in the form of a single paragraph with exactly eleven
sentences, where each sentence is no more than eleven words long. (They
are allowed to be shorter, but extra points if they're all exactly 11
words!)
11. Elevenses
If you're joining us from the UK, it's now about time for elevenses*...which seems to us like a perfect time for a spot of tea and some flashy nibbles.
Write a flash in the form of a recipe,
ingredients list, shopping list, menu, wine list, or something else that
has to do with food or drink.
* For those not familiar with elevenses, it is a very sensible eleven o'clock break for tea or coffee, and possibly a snack.
12. The Back Catalogue
This
is National Flash Fiction Day's eleventh anniversary, so this year, all
our prompts have something to do with the number 11....
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To
start us out, write a flash using at least three of the titles of the
National Flash Fiction Day anthologies in your story. Here they all
are!
2012: Jawbreakers
2013: Scraps
2014: Eating My Words
2015: Landmarks
2016: A Box of Stars Beneath the Bed
2017: Sleep is a Beautiful Colour
2018: Ripening
2019: And We Pass Through
2020: Root, Branch, Tree
2021: Legerdemain
2022: And We Lived Happily Ever After
(If you're missing any of these from your collection, you can purchase print or electronic versions of these titles at the National Flash Fiction Day Bookshop.)
13. That's Not Cricket!
The word 'eleven' can refer to a cricket team...but what if the cricket team was made up of actual crickets?
For this prompt, pick a phrase, expression, or idiom and interpret it literally. If it's raining cats and dogs, let's see the fur fly. If you're stealing someone's thunder, maybe the victim is Thor. If it's the last straw, then show us what happened after all the vegetation apocalypse. Feel free to play with magical realism, fable or down-and-out silliness, whatever you fancy!
14. Make a Wish!
Some people say that 11:11 is a lucky time, and that if you see this time on the clock and make a wish, your wish will come true. Write a flash in which someone makes a wish that comes true in an unexpected way....
To
mark our ten year anniversary last year, NFFD hosted our first ever
novella-in-flash competition. To celebrate our eleventh anniversary,
we're launching the winning novella, Sybilla, by Joanna Campbell.
While
writing an entire novella-in-flash is a bit ambitious for a project
with a 24-hour turn-around, we can at least get you started....
For
this prompt, write not one but two separate flashes of up to 150 words
each (shorter is more than fine). Both flashes should be completely
separate, stand-alone pieces, but there should be an element that
connects them. Maybe the main character in the first appears in the
second. Maybe they take places in exactly the same location, 11 years
apart. Maybe they each involves the same selection of strange, unusual
words....
If you haven't already bought a copy, you can find Sybilla in the National Flash Fiction Day Bookshop.
16. Downing Street
Here in the UK, Number 11 Downing Street is the address of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. For this prompt, embrace your inner treasury and write a flash that includes — or is in the form of — of a financial document. This could be a budget, tax forms, a price list, a chequebook register, or anything else money-related that you might fancy writing about.The theme for this year's National Flash Fiction Day Anthology is 'freedom'. As editors Karen Jones and Christopher Drew put it:
Flash fiction offers the writer a freedom not often seen in traditional, longer form fiction. Freedom with language, with structure, with character and point of view. Freedom to experiment and to arrange thoughts on the page in new and surprising ways.
For this next prompt, we invite you embrace this freedom and sense of exploration.... Write a flash about a very unusual freedom.
And, of course, if you don't yet have a copy of this year's anthology, you can find it at the National Flash Fiction Day Bookshop.
18. Up to Eleven
The amps in This is Spinal Tap go up to eleven instead of ten. ("It's one louder, isn't it?") For this prompt, write a flash in which someone goes beyond what is possible (literally or metaphorically).
19. Fast Forward
We've gone back in time; now it's time to flash forward!
Write a flash set eleven decades in the future.
20. By the Year
21. The Beginning's End
22. Repeat After Me...
If
you've been following our prompts all day, are you bored of the number
eleven yet? Fear not! We're nearing the end...though we're not quite
there yet!
For the final task, let's embrace this ridiculous eleven fixation by writing a flash that uses the word 'eleven' in it...eleven times.
23. The Eleventh Hour
We're nearing the end of this year's series of Write-In prompts (though stay tuned; we'll have a bonus prompt at midnight).
For this prompt, write a flash about someone who is trying to finish something at the very last moment.
24. Happily Ever After
This
is the final eleven-related writing prompt of the year for National
Flash Fiction Day, and what better way to end this year's series of
Write-In prompts than with the title of our 11th National Flash Fiction
Day Anthology: And We Live Happily Ever After, named after Damhnait Monaghan's story by that title within.
Write a microfiction of no more than 50 words in response to the prompt 'And We Live Happily Ever After'. (You do not need to include these words in your flash.)
And, of course, if you don't yet have a copy of this year's anthology, you can find it at the National Flash Fiction Day Bookshop.
2021 Prompts
Here are all the 2021 writing prompts, collected together in one place. If any (or all!) of them inspire, you have until 23:59 on Sunday, 27 June 2020 to submit your work for possible publication here at The Write-In. Happy writing!
NFFD 2021: Prompt #0
Happy National Flash Fiction Day 2021 and the tenth anniversary of NFFD UK! We've got a long 24 hours of prompts ahead of us, so let's dive right in with a writing prompt.
The very first Write-In published 117 stories in its inaugural event, so your first challenge today is to write a flash with 117 words and 10 paragraphs.
If you want an extra thematic challenge, make your flash about beginnings....
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 0: And so it begins....
NFFD 2021: Prompt #1
It's National Flash Fiction Day's tenth anniversary, and also ten years since the first Write-In. For this prompt, we're going back to our roots and directing you to one of our earliest prompt posts.
Have a look at this post from 2012 which offers a whopping 200 prompts. Instead of picking one prompt though, your challenge this year is to write a flash incorporating ten prompts from the list!
Want
an extra challenge? Pick a random place to start in the list and then
either choose a run of ten consecutive prompts or find your collection
of ten prompts by picking every tenth prompt.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 1: Tenth Anniversary.Photo credit: 'Anniversary' by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
NFFD 2021: Prompt #2
Jawbreakers
Jawbreakers was the first National Flash Fiction Day anthology, published in 2012.
For this prompt, embrace the jawbreaker structure and write flash that involves at least one story within a story.
If you'd like an extra challenge, embed multiple stories within stories, but keep your piece under 300 words.
NFFD 2021: Prompt #3
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Bathroom
This prompt was sent to us by Linda Irish in response to Prompt #24 in
the NFFD 2020 Write-In, which challenged writers to come up with their
own prompt.
Write a story set in an unfamiliar bathroom, or where a bathroom features. Why is your character here?
For an additional challenge, write from the POV of the room.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 3: Bathroom.NFFD 2021: Prompt #4
Scraps
Scraps
was the second National Flash Fiction Day anthology, published in
2013. In a nod to this past title, have a rummage through your home and
find some scraps of paper. These can be old grocery lists, scribbled
notes, food packaging in the recycling bin, or any old, unwanted paper
that has already served its purpose.
Write a flash incorporating text from at least three different scraps that you find.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #5
Allsorts
What's better than one writing prompt? That's right, three writing prompts! These prompts were sent to us in response to Prompt #24 of the NFFD 2020 Write-In, which challenged writers to come up with their own writing prompt.
Is this irritating or helpful in addressing the situation presented?
#3 Animal Dreams (by Cath Barton)
When your cat or dog is sleeping, you see them twitching, having a dream. Write their dream.
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| Feely Sleeping by Cath Barton |
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 5: Allsorts. (Let us know which of the three you choose as well!)
You can submit responses until 23:59 BST on Sunday, 27 June 2021 for a
chance to be published here at The Write-In. (And yes, there will be
opportunities to submit your own prompts this year as well. Check back
around midnight on Saturday, 26 June for details!)
Photo of Allsorts by David Edgar via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo of Feely Sleeping by Cath Barton.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #6
Eating Words
Eating My Words was National Flash Fiction Day's third anthology, published in 2014. For this prompt, we're embracing its title....
Write a flash in which the things the characters don't say are much more important than what they do say.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #7
Double Up
Yeah, we're excited about our tenth anniversary. So excited that our next prompt involves two tens!
Write a 10-word flash with a 10-word title (so 20 words in all).
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #8
Landmarks
National Flash Fiction Day's fourth anthology, Landmarks, was published in 2015.
For
this prompt, take an expression or idiom and write a flash in which you
interpret it literally. Landmarks are literally marks on land.
Jawbreakers break jaws. If it's raining cats and dogs, the animal
services need to get involved. Feel free to delve into the magical or
the ridiculous if you so desire.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #9
The Inscription
This
prompt was sent to us by J F King in response to Prompt #24 in the NFFD
2020 Write-In, which challenged writers to come up with their own
prompt. We thought it was highly appropriate for our anniversary year,
so here it is!
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #10
Stars Beneath the Bed
National Flash Fiction Day's fifth anthology, A Box of Stars Beneath the Bed was published in 2016.
For
this prompt, write a flash in which you treat something that is
impossible in real life as completely normal and unremarkable.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #11
Prelude
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of National Flash Fiction Day, we're running our first ever novella-in-flash competition. Whilst writing an entire novella-in-flash might be a little much for a single writing prompt with a turn-around-time of 24 hours, we'd love for you to spend a few minutes dreaming up ideas for a novella-in-flash you'd like to write.
Then, for this prompt, write a sort piece of
microfiction -- 100 words or fewer -- that could serve as a prelude or
an endnote for your novella-in-flash to be. (Or, if you fancy writing
something longer, a first or last chapter...though keep it to 300 words
or fewer if you wish to submit your work to The Write-In!)
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 11: Prelude.
Photograph of Basilica di Santa Maria Novella by Photo2121 via Wikimedia Commons.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #12
Sleep is a Beautiful Colour
Sleep is a Beautiful Colour was
National Flash Fiction's sixth anthology, published in 2017. It is
also the motto of all of us NFFD volunteers, and therefore worth
celebrating with a prompt.
Write a flash in which a character
perceives or experiences non-physical things, ideas, or concepts with
one or more of their five senses.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #13
It's
National Flash Fiction Day's tenth anniversary, and we'd like to
celebrate ten years of microfiction competitions. We've had amazing
writers and judges join us over the years, and you can read our entire
archive at the NFFD website, under the 'Competitions' tab.
Our microfiction competition has a maximum word limit of 100 words (excluding title), so for our next 2021 prompt, we'd like to challenge you to write a flash of 100 words or fewer that spans a decade. Feel free to employ flashbacks, flash forwards, segmented flash, jumping through time, or any other means to pack a ten-year time span into a mere 100 words.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 13: The Decennial.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #14
Ripening
National Flash Fiction Day's seventh anthology, Ripening, was published in 2017.
For
this prompt, write a flash in which an irreversible process reverses.
Someone gets younger instead of older. Clouds reclaim their raindrops.
Ripe fruit reverts to the seed.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #15
From the Archives
For the next prompt of our Tenth Anniversary NFFD Write-In, we bring you the set of prompts that were set for the 2014 Write-In, run by NFFD Founder Calum Kerr and team. In those days, instead of posting a prompt an hour, all prompts were posted at once, and writers had only hours to craft and submit a response. This year, you have over 24! Enjoy a blast from the past and have a go at one of the prompts below....
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 15: From the Archives. (If it's not obvious, let us know in your email which image, theme or picture sparked your story!)
You can submit responses until 23:59 BST on Sunday, 27 June 2021 for a chance to be published here at The Write-In.
Archive of 2014 Write-In Prompts
- back window
- lost (and found?)
- folded
- TV highlights
- torn curtain
- nobody agrees
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #16
Passing Through
2019 marked the eighth National Flash Fiction Day anthology and the first year of the new team of NFFD Co-Directors.
For
this prompt, write a story about someone just passing through a place, a
situation, a role, or a stage of life. It's up to you whether to tell
the story from the point of view of the passer-through, or from the
point of view of someone stuck in that place, situation, role, or stage
of life.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #17
Flash Walk
When
National Flash Fiction Day was first founded, many of the annual
celebrations took place in Bristol. (We celebrated in Coventry in 2019,
and have been online-only for the past two years.) One lovely event
that happened a few times in Bristol was the Flash Walk in which anyone
interested could join a walk around Bristol to hear actors read flashes
between 40 and 400 words that were inspired by physical places in
Bristol or the theme of Urban Landscape.
While we aren't holding in-person events this year for obvious reasons, there's no reason why we can't hold our own virtual Flash Walk this year.
Write
a flash based on a place near you (or one from your hometown if you
prefer). If you can, send us a picture that we can publish alongside
your flash. (It needs to be your picture, or one that is in the public
domain or licensed for us to reuse.)
If you're looking for some inspiration, Judy Darley ran the 2018 Flash Walk and has recorded the stories with some photos on her website, SkyLightRain.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 17: Flash Walk.
Photograph of Bristol viewed from Windmill Hill (30 April 2011) by Nick via Wikimedia Commons. (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #18
Root, Branch, Tree
Root, Branch, Tree, published in 2020, was National Flash Fiction Day's ninth anthology.
Write a triptych flash (three separate flashes that complement each other when read together) or a segmented flash in three sections.
Title your flashes or segments with titles that are somehow related to each other.
You're
welcome to think about the relationship between 'Root', 'Branch', and
'Tree' as a starting point, but feel free to explore whatever works for
your story.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #19
The Big Picture
A picture may be worth 1000 words, but can you do one justice in 300 (or fewer)?
We would be remiss in celebrating our tenth anniversary if we didn't raise a glass to our National Flash Fiction Day Artist in Residence, Jeanette Sheppard, who joined us in 2019 and has provided us with beautiful logos, anthology covers, and writing prompt images ever since. You can read our interview with Jeanette on the NFFD website.
At the bottom of this post are some of Jeanette's sketches and artwork that have been used as prompts in Write-Ins past. Choose one and write a flash in response.
If you'd like an extra challenge, incorporate a
'big picture' in your flash, in some sense. Maybe your story is about a
large group of people rather than a single character. Maybe you 'zoom
out' at the end and cover a long period of time. Maybe you have another
way to interpret 'big picture' and relate it to one of the prompt
images....
Some Image Prompts from 2019 & 2020
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 19: The Big Picture.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #20
Legerdemain
2021 marks National Flash Fiction Day's tenth anniversary and tenth anthology, Legerdemain.
For
this prompt, write a micro incorporating one or more non-English
words. These can be words from a different language, or words that you
make up -- without providing a definition in the text of the story. See
if you can make the meaning or impact of the word clear enough to a
reader who isn't familiar with it, without relying on obvious
definitions.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #21
Screen Fatigue
Until 2020, National Flash Fiction Day held live events with workshops, flash walks, and of course the annual anthology launches. For obvious reasons, we've been online-only these past two years. Overall, we've been delighted with the result; people from all over the world can celebrate with us. However, there are some things that just don't translate to the screen....
Your challenge for this prompt is to
write a flash that would lose something if it were 'just' displayed as
text on a screen. Maybe handwriting plays a role in character
development. Maybe the flash requires big, long, unbroken lines of text
that couldn't easily be displayed on a screen. Maybe it's a
scratch-and-sniff flash. Maybe your flash has tabs that need to be
pulled, or flaps that need to be lifted, picture-book style.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #22
Archeology
For our tenth anniversary celebrations, we've been searching back through the NFFD archives that have accumulated over the years, but we have some gaps, particularly with The Write-In where new prompts used to overwrite old prompts. We've found all of them except for 2014, although we have recreated what we think the prompts were from the evidence left behind....
We think there were at least three 'word' prompts:
- Orchard
- Cheapskate
- Row
We think there were several image prompts including:
- A beach scene
- Butterflies
- A train carriage
- Explorers on a mountain range
For
2021, your challenge is this: choose one or more of the prompts above,
and use it/them to write a flash about something lost.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #23
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Arriving
This prompt was sent to us by Linda Irish in response to Prompt #24 in the NFFD 2020 Write-In, which challenged writers to come up with their own writing prompt. Since anniversaries are as much about where one is as where one has been, we thought it was a highly appropriate prompt for our anniversary year, so here it is!
Write a story inspired by this picture.
For an additional challenge, write a story where there is something inappropriate about your character’s arrival somewhere.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 23: Arriving.
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NFFD 2021: Prompt #24
The Prompt Prompt
Write your own writing prompt.
We'll post as many as we can for writers to enjoy throughout the year,
and we'll even pick a few to use for the 2021 NFFD Write-In (crediting
you, of course).
If your prompt requires an image, sound or video file, send it or a link
to it in your email, and also be sure to send in links or full details
of the source. We must either have permission from the artist, or the
work must be in the public domain or otherwise licensed for reuse.
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2020 Prompts
Write a short flash in which the first sentence is one word long, and each sentence after is longer than the one before.
Optional: include the word 'snow', 'bark', and/or 'thrum'.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 0: First Steps.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 1: Storm at Sea.
Thank you to writer and artist Joanna Campbell for this prompt and image.
Write a story based on an idiom, proverb or folk saying, taken literally.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 2: Say What You Mean
Write a flash that involves at least once sentence that is repeated at least four times over the course of the story.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 3: Chorus Line.
Write a flash in which the only dialogue in -- and the main focus of -- the story is a conversation overheard by the main character.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 4: Overheard.
Write a story in the form of a menu, or in which a menu plays a critical role.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 5: Menu
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 6: Lucky Dip.
Thank you to writer and artist Joanna Campbell for this prompt.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 7: Top Down Structure.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional challenge: include a character who is fixated on an unusual detail.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 8: Ignored.
Sketch kindly provided by Jeanette Sheppard, National Flash Fiction Day's Artist-in-Residence.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 9: Reversi.
If you are submitting to us, be sure to choose a source that's old enough to be in the public domain, and make sure to tell us about your source material.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 10: Weaving.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 11: Playing by the Rules.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional challenge: make the building one of the characters in the story.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 12: Shack.
Sketch kindly provided by Jeanette Sheppard, National Flash Fiction Day's Artist-in-Residence.
Write a story using only questions.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 13: What Was That?
You know that novel you've never actually written or that story idea that you've had on the back burner for a decade? Spend five or ten minutes journalling about the idea and where it might go and why it hasn't ever quite been the right time to write it up. Then craft that free-writing into a story. (It needn't have anything at all to do with the original idea and yes, it can be as fictional as you like.)
If you're stuck, Jonathan Cardew's essay on the NFFD blog might help. (And yes, both bullet points and paragraphs are allowed.)
If you don't have a novel hanging over your head, all's the pity; you'll have to make one up really quickly for this prompt!
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 14: The Big Idea.
Small Green Shoots has been celebrating flash fiction all week with their Flash Fiction Week celebrations, and we've all been exploring the theme of 'family' in our projects.
This prompt is quite open-ended. Have a look at some of the work that has come out of Small Green Shoot's Flash Fiction Week and see what inspires you. Write a short flash using that as a starting point. You can see what's going on by checking out their Instagram @smallgreenshoots and Twitter @smallgreensh00t.
Small Green Shoots is an arts organisation dedicated to running transformational arts projects to improve life chances for young people. You can find out more about their story, their work, and ways to support them here.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 15: Celebrating Together
The challenge, in both cases, is to make the flash sound natural!
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 16: Alphabetically Speaking.
Thank you to writer and artist Joanna Campbell for this prompt.
Choose a famous fairy tale, fable, folk tale or legend. Write a modern interpretation, set in the present day, in a location that is very familiar to you.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 17: Mirror, Mirror.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional challenge: deploy colour words in unusual ways, for example to evoke emotion or to describe a character's experience of senses other than sight.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 18: Colour Vision.
Write a flash that starts at the end and tells the story in reverse.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 19: Reverse It
Write a story that involves a positive vision of a more green, sustainable future, as inspired by the Green Stories project. (This can be in the background or a primary element of your story, whichever you prefer.)
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 20: Green Stories.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
If you are up for a challenge, avoid all dialogue, internal monologues, and any descriptions of feelings or emotions. Let the characters mood be communicated solely through their actions and what they notice and don't notice in the world around them.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 21: Exteriors.
Sketch kindly provided by Jeanette Sheppard, National Flash Fiction Day's Artist-in-Residence.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 22: Hidden Places.
Thank you to writer and artist Joanna Campbell for this prompt and image.
Imagine you find an abandoned bag, suitcase, purse or wallet. What 5 objects are inside? Write a flash inspired by the contents.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 23: Bag It
Write your own writing prompt.
We'll post as many as we can for writers to enjoy throughout the year, and we'll even pick a few to use for the 2021 NFFD Write-In (crediting you, of course).
If your prompt requires an image, sound or video file, send it or a link to it in your email, and also be sure to send in links or full details of the source. We must either have permission from the artist, or the work must be in the public domain or otherwise licensed for reuse.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 24: Your Turn.
2019 Prompts
Here are all the 2019 writing prompts, collected together in one place. If any (or all!) of them inspire, you have until 23:59 to submit your work for possible publication here at The Write-In. Happy writing!
Choose a nursery rhyme or other short poem, verse or proverb. (Choose something old enough to be in the public domain.) Let that nursery rhyme inspire a flash, but make your story about something beyond the situation and characters in the rhyme.
You can keep the nursery rhyme at the beginning of your piece, or interweave your prose with the lines of verse.
To get you started, here is a list of nursery rhymes.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 1: Nursery Rhymes, and make sure you let us know what nursery rhyme, poem or proverb inspired your story if it's not included in your final piece.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above, in 50 words or fewer.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure you note that this is a response to Prompt 2: Brevity.
'Reading in the Library' is the first of six images created by Jeanette Sheppard, the National Flash Fiction Day Artist in Residence that feature in the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day Write-In.
Think back to a wallet, purse, handbag, change jar, swag bag or other item you've owned that's intended for containing currency. Write a story about it and the money it contains — or does not contain.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure you note that this is a response to Prompt 3: Money Matters.
Bonus points if you can use words that you've been meaning to look up for a while now, but haven't yet got around to it.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 5: Take Note.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional Challenge — write a story about your main character's relationship to a place. Don't include any dialogue or interactions with other people; keep the focus on the main character and the setting.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure you note that this is a response to Prompt 6: Interiors
'Fargo' is the second of six images created by Jeanette Sheppard, the National Flash Fiction Day Artist in Residence that feature in the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day Write-In.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 7: Narrowing the Field.
*
Extra challenge: be nice to your characters and don't look down on them for having such dubious taste!
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 8: Grin and Bear It.
Write a microfiction version of a story, poem or novel you’ve already written.
Or, write a microfiction version of your favourite novel written before 1900. (Feel free to change whatever details you like and make it your own.)
In either case, don’t reread the original before starting!
(What is microfiction? For our purposes, let's call it 100 words or fewer — but feel free to go shorter, if you like!)
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure you note that this is a response to Prompt 9: Short Shrift and let us know the title and author of the work you're microfictioning.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional Challenge — incorporate the following five words: nuance, lift, door, lilt, zinc.
(Yes, you can use variations of these words or use the words as parts of compound words or phrases; lilting, lift-off, doorway, etc. are all fine.)
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 10: Cityscape.
This cityscape of Coventry is the third of six images created by Jeanette Sheppard, the National Flash Fiction Day Artist in Residence that feature in the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day Write-In.
For extra credit, only let the reader 'hear' one side of the call....
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 11: Call To Order.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 12: The New Normal.
- He says
- She says
- They say
- Ze/Xe says
- It says
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Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional Challenge — incorporate something you overhear in your flash. (This can be something you overhear as you go about your day, or words you catch from the television, radio, or computer.)
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure you note that this is a response to Prompt 14: Stop, Look, Listen
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 15: Pay to Play.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 16: Rear-View Mirror.
Look around you for any and all words you can see from where you are right this moment. These can be on packaging, papers, your phone or computer desktop, lettering on your lightbulbs, calendar, or fuse box, or logos on your take-away coffee cup. Pick ten of the most interesting of these words and use them in a story of no more than 200 words.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure you note that this is a response to Prompt 17: Word Search.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional Challenge — write a story in which colour plays an important role
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 18: True Colours.
'Field Box' is the fifth of six images created by Jeanette Sheppard, the National Flash Fiction Day Artist in Residence that feature in the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day Write-In.
Write a story set at least 500 years ago.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 19: History in the Making.
You're allowed to use: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M.
But these letters are forbidden: N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, X
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 20: Alphabet Soup.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 21: Converging Lenses.
Write a story that responds in some way to the picture above.
Optional Challenge — write a story about the story you would write if you had time to write it.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 22: Under Construction.
'Building Site' is the last of six images created by Jeanette Sheppard, the National Flash Fiction Day Artist in Residence that feature in the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day Write-In.
Write a story about your day in the style and/or form of a fairy tale or fable.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure you note that this is a response to Prompt 23: Once Upon Today.
Write a flash with a happy ending.
If you’re submitting this to us, make sure to note that this is a response to Prompt 24: Happy Endings.
2014 Write-In Prompts
- back window
- lost (and found?)
- folded
- TV highlights
- torn curtain
- nobody agrees
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