21+ ChatGPT Prompts for Creative Writing [UPDATED]

Every writer knows the feeling: the intimidating glare of a blank page, a plot that’s tied itself in knots, or a character who just won’t speak. In these moments, what you need isn’t magic, but a creative partner. You need someone to brainstorm with, to challenge your ideas, and to help you see your story from a new angle.

This guide is designed to turn ChatGPT into that partner. Forget generic, one-line questions. We’ve built a comprehensive collection of powerful, adaptable prompts that follow the natural journey of writing a story. To use them, simply replace the [bracketed placeholders] with your specific details to get targeted, high-quality results.

From the first spark of an idea to the final polish of a sentence, these templates are designed to give you focused, practical help, letting you stay in the driver’s seat while your AI co-pilot navigates.

Phase 1: Ideation & Concept Development

Staring at a blank page? Use these prompts to generate and refine the core concept of your story.

1. The Concept Blender:
   Generate 5 unique story concepts by combining the following elements:
   • Genre(s): [e.g., Cyberpunk and Fantasy Noir]
   • Core Theme: [e.g., The nature of memory and loss]
   • A Central Object or McGuffin: [e.g., A music box that plays the sounds of a lost city]
   • A Character Archetype: [e.g., A disgraced detective]
2. The “What If” Engine:
   Explore 5 compelling plot scenarios based on this ‘what if’ question: What if [e.g., humans could no longer dream, and a black market for synthetic dreams emerged]? Focus on the societal impact, potential conflicts, and a possible protagonist.
3. Logline and Elevator Pitch Refinement:
   Act as a book editor. I will provide my story’s premise, and you will help me craft a compelling logline (1-2 sentences) and a short elevator pitch (3-5 sentences).
   • My Story Premise: [e.g., A cartographer in a dying world discovers that his maps can rewrite reality, but each change comes at a great personal cost. He is hunted by a faction that wants to use his power to erase history.]
   • My Attempted Logline (optional): [e.g., A mapmaker can change the world with his maps.]

   Help me make it more active, specific, and highlight the stakes.

Phase 2: World-Building

Create a rich, immersive world that feels real and consistent.

1. Foundational World-Building:
   Help me build the foundation for my [genre, e.g., high fantasy] world. I need you to detail the following aspects for a major city called [City Name, e.g., Aethelgard]:
   • Geography and Climate: [e.g., Built into the side of a dormant volcano in a frozen tundra]
   • Government and Power Structure: [e.g., A theocracy ruled by fire-wielding priests]
   • Economy and Key Resources: [e.g., Relies on geothermal energy and rare volcanic minerals]
   • A Major Internal Conflict: [e.g., A growing movement of non-magic users demanding political representation]
2. Designing Systems (Magic, Technology, etc.):
   Design a system of [magic, technology, or power, e.g., 'Hemomancy' (blood magic)] for my story.
   • Core Principle: [e.g., It's powered by the user's own life force and memories.]
   • Rules and Limitations: What can and can’t it do?
   • Costs and Consequences: What is the price for using it?
   • Societal Impact: How has it shaped culture, conflict, and social hierarchy?
3. Crafting Culture and Customs:
   Create a cultural profile for a specific group of people in my world: [e.g., The Sunken City dwellers of Marinen].
   • Environment: [e.g., They live in a massive, sealed biosphere at the bottom of the ocean.]
   • Core Values: [e.g., Community survival, tradition, and suspicion of the surface world.]

   Detail their unique festivals, social etiquette, funeral rites, and a common folk tale or myth that reflects their values.

Phase 3: Character Development

Breathe life into your characters, making them memorable and believable.

1. In-Depth Character Profile:
   Create a detailed character profile for my [role, e.g., protagonist, antagonist, mentor], [Character Name].
   • Core Motivation (Their ‘Want’): [e.g., To find a cure for a magical plague afflicting their sister.]
   • Core Misbelief (Their ‘Need’): [e.g., They believe they must achieve everything alone and that asking for help is a weakness.]
   • Fatal Flaw: [e.g., Reckless overconfidence in their own abilities.]
   • Backstory Summary: [Provide a brief 2-3 sentence summary of their past.]

   Flesh this out with their mannerisms, secrets, physical appearance, and how they would interact with an authority figure.

2. The Character Interview:
   You are now my character, [Character Name]. I will ask you questions to help me develop your voice and personality. Adopt the persona of a [describe personality, e.g., cynical, world-weary soldier who has seen too much combat]. I will start. My first question is: What is your most prized possession, and why?
3. Defining Character Relationships:
   Analyze the relationship dynamic between two of my characters.
   • Character A: [Name and a brief description of their personality and goals]
   • Character B: [Name and a brief description of their personality and goals]
   • Context: [e.g., They are rival apprentices competing for the same master's approval.]

   Describe how their relationship begins, a key turning point, and how it might end. What do they admire and despise about each other?

Phase 4: Plotting & Outlining

Structure your narrative for maximum tension and emotional impact.

1. Structured Plot Outline:
   Generate a plot outline for my story using the [select a structure, e.g., Three-Act Structure, The Hero's Journey, Save the Cat! Beat Sheet].
   • Story Premise: [Your logline or brief summary.]
   • Protagonist: [Character Name and their core goal.]
   • Antagonist/Conflict: [The main obstacle or villain.]
   • Key Plot Points I Have: [List any specific scenes or ideas you already have, e.g., the inciting incident, the midpoint twist, the climax.]

   Fill in the missing beats of the structure.

2. Brainstorming Key Scenes:
   I’m stuck. My protagonist needs to get from [Plot Point A, e.g., discovering the conspiracy] to [Plot Point B, e.g., being captured by the conspirators]. Brainstorm 5 potential scenes that could happen in between. Each scene should achieve at least one of the following:
   • Reveal a character’s true nature.
   • Introduce a new complication or raise the stakes.
   • Foreshadow a future event.
3. Weaving in Subplots:
   Develop a compelling subplot for my side character, [Character Name].
   • Main Plot Connection: The subplot should intersect with and complicate the main plot by [e.g., having the side character unknowingly possess an item the protagonist needs].
   • Thematic Resonance: It should explore the story’s main theme of [theme, e.g., loyalty vs. self-preservation] from a different angle.

Phase 5: Drafting & Writing Prose

Move from outline to page with prompts that help you write compelling scenes, dialogue, and descriptions.

1. “Show, Don’t Tell” Transformation:
   Take my ‘telling’ sentence and rewrite it in three different ways that ‘show’ the concept instead.
   • My Sentence: [e.g., The kingdom had fallen on hard times.]
   • Rewrite 1: Focus on a visual description of a street scene.
   • Rewrite 2: Write a short snippet of dialogue between two commoners.
   • Rewrite 3: Describe it from the protagonist’s internal monologue.
2. Crafting Authentic Dialogue:
   Write a dialogue scene between [Character A] and [Character B].
   • Context: [Where and when the scene takes place.]
   • Scene Goal: [What is the main point of the conversation, e.g., Character A must convince Character B to join their cause.]
   • Subtext: Character A is secretly desperate, while Character B is hiding the fact that they are terrified.

   Let their distinct voices ([A's voice, e.g., formal and eloquent] and [B's voice, e.g., blunt and sarcastic]) and the subtext shine through.

3. Writing Powerful Descriptions:
   Write a vivid, sensory description of a location: [Location, e.g., an ancient, overgrown library in the heart of a jungle]. Focus on engaging at least four of the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) and establishing a specific mood of [mood, e.g., awe and creeping dread].

Phase 6: Revision & Editing

Turn your first draft into a polished manuscript by using ChatGPT as an analytical tool.

1. Developmental Feedback:
   Act as a developmental editor. I will provide a passage from my manuscript. Please give me feedback on the following:
   • Pacing: Does the scene move too quickly or too slowly?
   • Clarity: Is anything confusing or unclear?
   • Emotional Impact: Is the intended emotion coming across effectively?
   • Dialogue: Does the dialogue sound natural for the characters?

   Passage: [Paste your text snippet here, ideally 500-1000 words.]

2. Strengthening Prose:
   Analyze the following paragraph and help me make it stronger. Identify passive voice, weak verbs, clichés, and repetitive sentence structures. Suggest specific improvements for each.
   Paragraph: [Paste your paragraph here.]
3. Style Emulation:
   Rewrite the following passage in the distinct prose style of [Author or Style, e.g., Ernest Hemingway, Jane Austen, Hardboiled Noir]. This is an exercise to help me see my own scene from a new perspective.
   Passage: [Paste your text here.]

Phase 7: Advanced Techniques & Problem-Solving

Once you’re deep into your project, you’ll encounter specific hurdles. This section provides targeted prompts to help you brainstorm solutions, refine key moments, and overcome writer’s block.

1. The Writer’s Block Diagnostic:
   Act as a story coach. I am stuck in my story and don’t know how to proceed. Here is the context:
   • The Last Thing That Happened: [e.g., The protagonist has just escaped from the villain's fortress.]
   • The Next Major Plot Point I Need to Reach: [e.g., The protagonist must find the hidden rebel base.]
   • The Problem: [e.g., I don't know what should happen in between. It feels boring and I have no motivation to write it.]

   Ask me 5 diagnostic questions about my protagonist’s motivation, the stakes, and the immediate obstacles they face to help me identify the core issue and brainstorm a more exciting path forward.

2. The Plot Twist Architect:
   Help me design and integrate a major plot twist.
   • The Intended Twist: [e.g., The protagonist's trusted mentor is secretly the main villain.]
   • The Reveal Scene: When and how will this twist be revealed? [e.g., During the climax, the mentor uses a phrase only the villain would know.]

   Brainstorm 5 subtle clues or moments of foreshadowing I can plant in earlier chapters to make the twist feel earned, not random. For each clue, describe the scene where it could be placed.

3. The Creative Naming Generator:
   Generate a list of 10 potential names for a [character, city, kingdom, magical sword, etc.].
   • Cultural/Linguistic Inspiration: [e.g., Based on Ancient Greek and Norse naming conventions.]
   • Connotation/Feeling: The name should sound [e.g., noble and ancient, short and menacing, mysterious and fluid]
   • For a character, add: [e.g., Their personality is wise and patient.]
   • For a place, add: [e.g., It is a bustling port city known for its trade and corruption.]
4. The Opening Hook & Closing Scene Crafter:
   Help me craft a powerful opening or ending.
   • For an Opening:
     • Genre: [e.g., Sci-Fi Thriller]
     • Mood: [e.g., Paranoia and urgency]
     • Story Premise: [Your 1-sentence logline.]

     Write 3 different opening paragraphs. One starting with action, one with intriguing world-building, and one with a character’s compelling inner thought.

   • For a Closing:
     • Main Theme: [e.g., The price of freedom.]
     • Final State of the Protagonist: [e.g., They have won, but have lost their best friend in the process.]

     Brainstorm 3 potential final scenes/images that would provide a satisfying, thematically resonant conclusion for the reader.

5. The Thematic Resonance ExplorerMy story’s central theme is [e.g., 'Sacrifice vs. Selfishness']. I’m writing a scene where [describe the scene, e.g., the protagonist has to cross a dangerous desert with a limited water supply while traveling with a rival].
   Suggest 3 ways I can use dialogue, character actions, and imagery within this specific scene to subtly reinforce my central theme without being too obvious.

Also, Check These Prompts:

• Ready to turn your creative sparks into a full-length novel? Supercharge your journey with our guide on Prompts for Book Writing.
• To give your writing a truly unique voice, you need to master different tones and styles. Elevate your prompts with our ultimate guide to Writing Styles for ChatGPT.