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Make It Fun: Teach Adjectives Using These 9 Creative Writing Ideas

Creative writing can be a powerful tool for increasing your students’ vocabulary..

Having fun whilst learning is an objective that most teachers aim for and this can be achieved during a lesson with a focus on writing. Getting your students’ creative juices flowing will result in fun lessons and lots of opportunities for learning new vocabulary. Adjectives are just one area of vocabulary that can benefit from writing creatively.

Many students may claim that they don’t know where to start with creative writing but giving clear instructions and suggested themes will start the ball rolling. Using a story telling exercise to teach topic vocabulary is just one way of getting their creativity going. Don’t be disheartened if they don’t take to the idea immediately, they will once they see how easily a story can evolve from a simple prompt!

Try these creative writing ideas to help your students to expand their bank of adjectives:

Use These Ideas for Teaching Adjectives in an Efficient Way

Character adjectives warmer.

Ask students to pair up with a student they don’t know well and write ten adjectives to describe what they think the other student is like. For example they may choose friendly, serious, clever etc. When they have written ten adjectives they should compare their lists and see whether they are correct.

Making Assumptions

We all make assumptions when we first meet someone and this is a good ‘getting to know you’ exercise. Describing character is an essential part of creative writing and one in which you can have lots of fun. In pairs ask your students to make assumptions about another pair that they don’t know well. Give them prompts ie Do they like Chocolate? Do they play football? Who is their favourite band? Make sure you give them some suggestions and make it clear that they’re not writing what they know but what they think! When they’ve made their assumptions they should join up with the other pair and discuss them to see which are true and which are not.

Character Adjectives

Tell your students that they are now going to create their own character. First they have to decide the following; age, gender, appearance, interests/job. Then give them a list of around ten questions to consider. For example: How would they feel if their best friend had a party and didn’t invite them? What would they do if somebody fainted in front of them? How do they feel when they watch a scary movie? When they have answered these questions they will have a good basis for a character which can then be developed.

Describing Celebrities

The idea is to get your students to describe a famous person in as much detail as possible. Put the students in pairs and ask them to choose two famous people and brainstorm as many descriptive adjectives as they can to describe them. Give prompts such as hair colour, physical build, eye colour etc. but stress that this is about appearance not personality. When complete do the same with descriptive adjectives about personality, job, nationality. They are only allowed to use adjectives – allow them to use dictionaries if necessary. When they have at least ten adjectives the pair should join with another pair and try to guess each other’s celebrity from the descriptive adjectives.

Sensory Descriptions

If possible take the students out of the classroom. Let them look around them and brainstorm as many adjectives as they can to describe what they can see, smell, hear and touch. Then back in the classroom get them to find synonyms for the adjectives they have come up with and construct a poem or short descriptive passage using the new adjectives.

Where I live

In mixed nationality classes ask the students to brainstorm as many descriptive adjectives as they can about the town/city where they live. Alternatively they could write an acrostic and find an adjective to represent their town/city for each letter of the name. Check out https://m.busyteacher.org/6712-n-fun-esl-activities-you-can-do-with-a-name.html for other activities using acrostics.

Musical Prompts

Students often like to use music in lessons and a good way to elicit some adjectives for mood is to play a piece of music and ask your students to write a few adjectives to describe how it makes them feel.

People Watching

People-watching is a large part of any writer’s life and can make a fun homework activity . Ask your students to look around them when they are next on the bus or walking around outside of the school. Ask them to look for someone who looks interesting to them and write down some of their observations. Ask them to think about appearance, personality, feelings and background. They can then use their observations to develop a character.

Substitution

Give your students a descriptive passage from a book, magazine or newspaper. Blank out all the descriptive adjectives in the passage and ask you students to add their own. They can then join another student and compare their passages.

All of these ideas will expand your students’ bank of adjectives.

Getting them into the habit of looking for synonyms when they learn a new word and to step away from the use of favourites they’ve already learnt can only enhance their learning experience. It is not always necessary to stress that an activity is focused on vocabulary but let the vocabulary come naturally from a descriptive or writing exercise. Most students are enthusiastic about learning new words and will participate fully in any activity which helps them to do this. Most of all have fun!

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Use your creativity: 10 ways to bring creative writing into the esl classroom.

What Does She Look Like? How to Teach Students to Describe People

10 Fun, Fabulous Activities for Practicing Adjectives

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300 Creative Story Starters

Regular price $10.00

300 unique ideas that will serve as a platform for discussion and prompts that help your ESL students write unique, creative stories.

Sounds interesting! How does it all work?

Ideal for storytelling, not just creative writing! This is a 27 page PDF e-book with 300 ideas to help your ESL students start their most imaginative stories ever.

• 100 ideas that can easily be turned into multiple part assignments
• several creative story starters that can become semester writing projects (writing movie sequels, historical perspectives, alternative endings, etc.)

How is it different from your other 'creative prompts' titles?

Unlike our books of creative prompts, these are story starters. They serve two purposes. First, if you're teaching ESL creative writing, then you may have already discovered that story writing calls for a different kind of prompt - something that provides a full framework for students. The second purpose of these starters is their relevance not just for ESL creative writing teachers, but for all teachers. In some of our titles about teaching topics like a pro, we cover the importance of storytelling as a tool for getting topics to really sink in. It's hard to get students invested in storytelling until you allow them to become part of the process of creation . These story starters will help your students build their confidence by providing them with a safe frame for telling stories, because they'll be working from the same foundation as all their classmates.

300 ways to bring English skills to life

These aren't just story starters. They are 300 ways for your students to use their English skills to create a world of their own choosing. Their imagination can help them feel like they have control over things that may previously have stressed them, like spelling and grammar.

When will I get it?

This is a PDF e-book, so you won't have to wait days for delivery. You'll receive your personalized download link immediately after payment.

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60 Free Writing Prompts (and when to use them in your classroom)

Right now, some of my long-time followers are thinking that I have lost my mind. “Writing prompts? But, Jamie, you hate writing prompts!” It’s true. I have spent several years teaching about the reasons that I don’t use prompts in my writing workshop. I will keep spreading the word, but I also recognize that there is a time and a place for a writing prompt. And so I want to share 60 free writing prompts with you and help you to use them in your classroom!

But first…

Why I Usually Don’t Use Writing Prompts

I will keep this short, because I know that you came to grab the freebie. But I feel passionately about this and so I can’t give prompts without sharing why I’m not the biggest fan of them.

• When we tell students what to write about, we take away some of their excitement and engagement. It’s hard to learn to love writing if you don’t love the topic you are writing about.
• Students don’t put as much effort into a piece of writing if they are not engaged in the topic.
• Often, when we give a prompt, we spend more time teaching students how to be successful with that one exact piece of writing. They don’t know how to apply the lessons to other topics.
• Using prompts means that we don’t have to teach students to generate their own topics. This skill of being able to come up with their own ideas is one that they need in high school, college, and future jobs.
• Grading 25 papers about the exact same topic is pure torture for you.

So why are you giving us writing prompts?

Although I don’t use writing prompts on a daily basis, there are definitely times when a prompt is a great tool!

When to Use a Writing Prompt

Pre-assessments and post-assessments.

At the start and the end of each of my writing units, I have my students complete an on-demand writing assessment. The point of the assessment is to decide on needed lessons and support and then verify growth. It’s super helpful and keeps me from getting discouraged when student writing is not perfect. I give prompts because students have a limited amount of time to complete this writing sample. I don’t want them to spend half of their time trying to decide on a topic. (And during the pre-assessment they may not even understand the genre well enough to choose a topic.)

Substitute Plans

My writing units include lesson plans that are so simple that I have been able to leave them for substitutes. However, sometimes I REALLY want to be the one delivering the lesson. Or, it might be a tricky skill that I don’t think a substitute will be as equipped to cover. In times like this, a quick writing prompt is perfect! My students love to have a simple change of pace and it’s a piece of cake for a sub to teach and monitor. Prompts are always included in my emergency plans as well!

I am no Scrooge! I love holidays and I love to share the excitement with my students. Right before a holiday or a long break, I think it can be fun to do a themed prompt. I don’t spend TOO much time on these kinds of writing projects, but a day here or there can be so much fun!

Fast Finishers

We will always have students who complete an activity before the rest of the class. I keep fast finishers options SUPER simple. You can write, read, or practice math facts. Many of my students would choose writing and continue writing stories or reports with topics that they generated. But I always had a few that wanted to write, but didn’t want to work on their writing workshop masterpiece. They were looking for an easier prompt. I loved to have a basket or binder that they could grab one from quickly. It wasn’t something that I graded. It was more for fun and extra practice.

I always had something very simple for my students to work on when they came in the room and finished unpacking. This gave me some time to take attendance and read notes from parents. It was only a 10 minute time frame and so I think a quick prompt is a perfect activity to get students warmed up and ready for their lessons. Maybe once per week?

Grab 60 Free Writing Prompts

Gifting is my love language. I am always looking for ways to make a teacher’s life just a tad easier. I knew that I needed to create some prompts for you to use in your classroom!

I wrote 60 different prompts—five for each month. (Although many of the prompts can be used any month.) You will receive them in two formats: Google Slides and a printable PDF. This will make it even easier to use in your classroom! You can display them on your whiteboard, assign them in Google Classroom, or print and copy them. Easy!

Want more inspiration for teaching writing? Check out these tips to make writing fun .

Have a Not So Wimpy Day,

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Reader Interactions

December 14, 2020 at 12:46 pm

I am a substitute teacher. I would like to know which of your 60 writing prompts are your top 5 to leave for the substitue.

December 17, 2020 at 4:37 pm

Any of them could work well for a sub!

January 23, 2021 at 8:35 pm

Great resources! Epecially for new teachers!

March 5, 2022 at 3:15 pm

Great idea to help students to write!

March 7, 2022 at 11:33 pm

Thank you, Carol!

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• Helping a student to discover their love for reading is a privilege that I never get tired of.
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100 Creative Writing Prompts for Middle & High School – 2024

April 15, 2024

Some high school students dream of writing for a living, perhaps pursuing an English major in college, or even attending a creative writing MFA program later on. For other students, creative writing can be useful for school assignments, in English and other subjects, and also for preparing their Common App essays . In a less goal-oriented sense, daily freewriting in a journal can be a healthy life practice for many high schoolers. Not sure where to start? Continue reading for 100 creative writing prompts for middle school and high school students. These middle/high school writing prompts offer inspiration for getting started with writing in a number of genres and styles.

Click here to view the 35 Best Colleges for Creative Writing .

What are Creative Writing Prompts?

Similar to how an academic essay prompt provides a jumping-off point for forming and organizing an argument, creative writing prompts are points of initiation for writing a story, poem, or creative essay. Prompts can be useful for writers of all ages, helping many to get past writer’s block and just start (often one of the most difficult parts of a writing process).

Writing prompts come in a variety of forms. Sometimes they are phrases used to begin sentences. Other times they are questions, more like academic essay prompts Writing prompts can also involve objects such as photographs, or activities such as walking. Below, you will find high school writing prompts that use memories, objects, senses (smell/taste/touch), abstract ideas , and even songs as jumping-off points for creative writing. These prompts can be used to write in a variety of forms, from short stories to creative essays, to poems.

How to use Creative Writing Prompts

Before we get started with the list, are a few tips when using creative writing prompts:

Experiment with different formats : Prose is great, but there’s no need to limit yourself to full sentences, at least at first. A piece of creative writing can begin with a poem, or a dialogue, or even a list. You can always bring it back to prose later if needed.

Interpret the prompt broadly : The point of a creative writing prompt is not to answer it “correctly” or “precisely.” You might begin with the prompt, but then your ideas could take you in a completely different direction. The words in the prompt also don’t need to open your poem or essay, but could appear somewhere in the middle.

Switch up/pile up the prompts : Try using two or three prompts and combine them, or weave between them. Perhaps choose a main prompt, and a different “sub-prompt.” For example, your main prompt might be “write about being in transit from one place to another,” and within that prompt, you might use the prompt to “describe a physical sensation,” and/or one the dialogue prompts.  This could be a fun way to find complexity as you write.

Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School & High School Students (Continued)

Write first, edit later : While you’re first getting started with a prompt, leave the typos and bad grammar. Obsessing over details can take away from your flow of thoughts. You will inevitably make many fixes when you go back through to edit.

Write consistently : It often becomes easier to write when it’s a practice , rather than a once-in-a-while kind of activity. For some, it’s useful to write daily. Others find time to write every few days, or every weekend. Sometimes, a word-count goal can help (100 words a day, 2,000 words a month, etc.). If you set a goal, make sure it’s realistic. Start small and build from there, rather than starting with an unachievable goal and quickly giving up.

100 Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School & High School Teens

Here are some prompts for getting started with your creative writing. These are organized by method, rather than genre, so they can inspire writing in a variety of forms. Pick and choose the ones that work best for you, and enjoy!

Prompts using memories

• Begin each sentence or group of sentences with the phrase, “I remember…”
• Describe a family ritual.
• Choose an event in your life, and write about it from the perspective of someone else who was there.
• Pick a pathway you take on a regular basis (to school, or to a friend’s house). Describe five landmarks that you remember from this pathway.
• Write about your house or apartment using a memory from each room.
• Write an imaginary history of the previous people who lived in your house or apartment.
• Write about an ancestor based on stories you’ve heard from relatives.
• What’s your earliest memory?
• Who was your first friend?
• Write a letter to someone you haven’t seen since childhood.
• Write about yourself now from the perspective of yourself twenty, or eighty, years from now.
• Write about the best month of the year.
• Write about the worst day of the year.
• Rant about something that has always annoyed you.
• Write about the hottest or coldest day you can remember.
• Visualize a fleeting moment in your life and as though it’s a photograph, and time yourself 5 minutes to write every detail you can remember about the scene.
• Draw out a timeline of your life so far. Then choose three years to write about, as though you were writing for a history book.
• Write about a historical event in the first person, as though you remember it.
• Write about a memory of being in transit from one place to another.

Objects and photographs as creative writing prompts

• Describe the first object you see in the room. What importance does it have in your life? What memories do you have with this object? What might it symbolize?
• Pick up an object, and spend some time holding it/examining it. Write about how it looks, feels, and smells. Write about the material that it’s made from.
• Choose a favorite family photograph. What could someone know just by looking at the photograph? What’s secretly happening in the photograph?
• Choose a photograph and tell the story of this photograph from the perspective of someone or something in it.
• Write about a color by describing three objects that are that color.
• Tell the story of a piece of trash.
• Tell the story of a pair of shoes.
• Tell the story of your oldest piece of clothing.

Senses and observations as creative writing prompts

• Describe a sound you hear in the room or outside. Choose the first sound you notice. What are its qualities? It’s rhythms? What other sounds does it remind you of?
• Describe a physical sensation you feel right now, in as much detail as possible.
• Listen to a conversation and write down a phrase that you hear someone say. Start a free-write with this phrase.
• Write about a food by describing its qualities, but don’t say what it is.
• Describe a flavor (salty, sweet, bitter, etc.) to someone who has never tasted it before.
• Narrate your day through tastes you tasted.
• Narrate your day through sounds you heard.
• Narrate your day through physical sensations you felt.
• Describe in detail the physical process of doing an action you consider simple or mundane, like walking or lying down or chopping vegetables.
• Write about the sensation of doing an action you consider physically demanding or tiring, like running or lifting heavy boxes.
• Describe something that gives you goosebumps.
• Write a story that involves drinking a cold glass of water on a hot day.
• Write a story that involves entering a warm house from a cold snowy day.
• Describe someone’s facial features in as much detail as possible.

Songs, books, and other art

• Choose a song quote, write it down, and free-write from there.
• Choose a song, and write a story in which that song is playing in the car.
• Choose a song, and write to the rhythm of that song.
• Choose a character from a book, and describe an event in your life from the perspective of that character.
• Go to a library and write down 10 book titles that catch your eye. Free-write for 5 minutes beginning with each one.
• Go to a library and open to random book pages, and write down 5 sentences that catch your attention. Use those sentences as prompts and free-write for 5-minutes with each.
• Choose a piece of abstract artwork. Jot down 10 words that come to mind from the painting or drawing, and free-write for 2 minutes based on each word.
• Find a picture of a dramatic Renaissance painting online. Tell a story about what’s going on in the painting that has nothing to do with what the artist intended.
• Write about your day in five acts, like a Shakespearean play. If your day were a play, what would be the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution?
• Narrate a complicated book or film plot using only short sentences.
• Read a short poem. Then write a poem that could be a “sister” or “cousin” of that poem.

Abstract ideas as creative writing prompts

• Write about an experience that demonstrates an abstract idea, such as “love” or “home” or “freedom” or “loss” without ever using the word itself.
• Write a list of ways to say “hello” without actually saying “hello.”
• Write a list of ways to say “I love you” without actually saying “I love you.”
• Do you believe in ghosts? Describe a ghost.
• Invent a mode of time travel.
• Glass half-full/half-empty: Write about an event or situation with a positive outlook. Then write about it with a miserable outlook.
• Free-write beginning with “my religion is…” (what comes next can have as much or as little to do with organized religion as you’d like).
• Free-write beginning with “my gender is…” (what comes next can have as much or as little to do with common ideas of gender as you’d like).
• Write about a person or character that is “good” and one that is “evil.” Then write about the “evil” in the good character and the “good” in the evil character.
• Write like you’re telling a secret.
• Describe a moment of beauty you witnessed. What makes something beautiful?

Prompts for playing with narrative and character

• Begin writing with the phrase, “It all started when…”
• Tell a story from the middle of the most dramatic part.
• Write a story that begins with the ending.
• Begin a story but give it 5 possible endings.
• Write a list of ways to dramatically quit a terrible job.
• Write about a character breaking a social rule or ritual (i.e., walking backwards, sitting on the floor of a restaurant, wearing a ballgown to the grocery store). What are the ramifications?
• You are sent to the principal’s office. Justify your bad behavior.
• Re-write a well-known fairytale but set it in your school.
• Write your own version of the TV show trope where someone gets stuck in an elevator with a stranger, or a secret love interest, or a nemesis.
• Imagine a day where you said everything you were thinking, and write about it.
• Write about a scenario in which you have too much of a good thing.
• Write about a scenario in which money can buy happiness.
• Invent a bank or museum heist.
• Invent a superhero, including an origin story.
• Write using the form of the scientific method (question, hypothesis, test, analyze data conclusion).
• Write using the form of a recipe.

Middle School & High School Creative writing prompts for playing with fact vs. fiction

• Write something you know for sure is true, and then, “but maybe it isn’t.” Then explain why that thing may not be true.
• Write a statement and contradict that statement. Then do it again.
• Draft an email with an outlandish excuse as to why you didn’t do your homework or why you need an extension.
• Write about your morning routine, and make it sound extravagant/luxurious (even if it isn’t).
• You’ve just won an award for doing a very mundane and simple task. Write your acceptance speech.
• Write about a non-athletic event as though it were a sports game.
• Write about the most complicated way to complete a simple task.
• Write a brief history of your life, and exaggerate everything.
• Write about your day, but lie about some things.
• Tell the story of your birth.
• Choose a historical event and write an alternative outcome.
• Write about a day in the life of a famous person in history.
• Read an instructional manual, and change three instructions to include some kind of magical or otherwise impossible element.

Prompts for starting with dialogue

• Write a texting conversation between two friends who haven’t spoken in years.
• Write a texting conversation between two friends who speak every day and know each other better than anyone.
• Watch two people on the street having a conversation, and imagine the conversation they’re having. Write it down.
• Write an overheard conversation behind a closed door that you shouldn’t be listening to.
• Write a conversation between two characters arguing about contradicting memories of what happened.
• You have a difficult decision to make. Write a conversation about it with yourself.
• Write a conversation with a total lack of communication.
• Write a job interview gone badly.

Final Thoughts – Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School & High School 

Hopefully you have found several of these creative writing prompts helpful. Remember that when writing creatively, especially on your own, you can mix, match, and change prompts. For more on writing for high school students, check out the following articles:

• College Application Essay Topics to Avoid
• 160 Good Argumentative Essay Topics
• 150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics
• Good Transition Words for Essays
• High School Success

Sarah Mininsohn

With a BA from Wesleyan University and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sarah is a writer, educator, and artist. She served as a graduate instructor at the University of Illinois, a tutor at St Peter’s School in Philadelphia, and an academic writing tutor and thesis mentor at Wesleyan’s Writing Workshop.

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We Can’t Teach Writing if We Don’t Do It Ourselves

Five prompts to get teachers’ creativity flowing.

You must do the writing you ask of your students. It’s nothing new, but did you know it’s the single most effective way to get kids writing? If you take the time to do the following five writing assignments, you’ll start to see why finishing this work has a big payoff for teaching it. Bonus points for keeping a notebook about any thoughts and feelings you have while creating these writing examples because you probably won’t remember when you get in front of your students!

Without further ado, here are writing prompts for teachers that you can try now so you have examples to share next year:

1. Share your heart

I first learned this from poet Georgia Heard , but I’ve seen many writing teachers share it. Draw a heart, then write all the things you love inside. Use this heart throughout the year to remind you of writing topics or to help you go deeper when you can’t get enough words on the paper.

Source: @heartmaps

2. Trace your hand and write

Similar to the heart map, writers trace their hand and then write about things they touched that day. This is an exercise writing teachers can do once a month or more since there are so many things to discover inside this five-fingered structure. You’ll find that once your hand starts writing along the fingers, you’ll want to move onto a bigger sheet of paper to keep it going.

Source: @pennykittle

3. Write a story from a photo

Find a photo with a person or several people in it. It can be one of you or it can be one with strangers. Set it down in front of you and write the story of the photo from the perspective of one of the subjects who were photographed. Get inside the head of that person and write everything you can think about that moment in time. Use all of your senses to bring the scene to life.

Teaching tip: If you do this with kids, display the same photo for the entire class to see. Have them each write their own stories to show how differently one scene can be portrayed.

Source: @old_photos

4. Write beside a poem

Choose a poem you enjoy reading. If you don’t read poetry very much, google poems by Mary Oliver or Billy Collins who write very accessible poetry for everyone. Re-write the poem on one side of a piece of paper. Draw a line down the middle of the paper. Then, write your thoughts or your own poem on the other side of the paper. Don’t be afraid you’ll do it wrong. There is no right or wrong, this is for you. Use this risk-taking assignment to talk with your students later about how you felt while you wrote.

Source: @lucyrobertsyoga

Once you’re done with each of the assignments, put them in a folder or in a notebook to use with your students. When kids see that you’ve done the work you’re asking of them, they will trust you more. They will trust that the process is considered valuable. You may also find you are better able to navigate their journey. Consider how many times you questioned yourself. Think about what problems you had to solve to get yourself to complete the activities. This thought process and experience (especially if you share it out loud) will help your students solve their own writing problems as they creep up.

Do you make different writing samples to share with your students? We’d love to hear about what you do in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus, How I Use Vignettes to Jumpstart Students’ Narrative Writing .

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70 Picture Prompts for Creative Writing (with Free Slides)

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Visual writing prompts help young writers generate new ideas and overcome writer’s block. We’ve put together 70 picture prompts for creative writing that you can use in your writing centers or lesson plans to get your students’ creative juices flowing.

Picture Writing Prompts for All Ages

Writers of all ages and experience levels can get stuck thinking about what to write. Writer’s block is not just a challenge for reluctant writers. Even professional writers have days when they feel less than inspired.

Visual prompts can result in a vast array of story ideas. A single image viewed by ten writers will result in ten completely different stories. Even if you use verbal cues to get students thinking about the picture, each student will still write a unique response to the image.

Visual creative writing prompts are fantastic for elementary school because younger students often relate more to a pictorial prompt than a written one, but don’t shy away from using these with high school and middle school students as well. Pictures make a fun alternative to your typical writing prompts and story starters and can help shake up your regular routine.

How to Use Picture Prompts for Creative Writing

There’s no limit to the ways you can use writing prompts. Here are some of our favorite ways to incorporate image prompts into your weekly lesson plans .

• Writing Center. Print cards or writing pages with these images on them and put them in a writing center for your students to discover at their own pace.
• Specific Skills. Use story picture prompts to help kids work on specific writing skills. For example, you could work on descriptive writing by having them describe the setting of the picture in detail. Or you could work on character development by having them make up a history for a person in a picture.
• Warm-up Activity: You could pop the pictures into Google slides and project an image on a screen or whiteboard for the first fifteen minutes of class and have students work on a short story as soon as they enter the class.

No matter how you decide to use them—whether at home or in the classroom—photographic writing prompts are a great way to cultivate a daily writing habit and encourage kids to explore new topics.

70 Pictures for Writing Prompts

We’ve selected 70 of the most interesting pictures we could find for this exercise. When choosing photos for writing prompts, we look for high-quality photos with intriguing subject matter, but we try to go beyond that. We want to share images that suggest a story, that make the viewer ask questions and wonder why things are the way they are.

We want to feel propelled to explore questions like, What happened before the photo that led to this moment? What are we witnessing in this photo? What’s about to happen?

A photo doesn’t make much of a story starter if it doesn’t suggest that there might be a bigger picture lurking beneath the surface.

We hope you and your students love these picture prompts for creative writing as much as we do. If you love them, go ahead and scroll to the bottom to grab your own copy.

We’ve included a couple of questions with each picture that you could use to spark pre-writing conversations in your classroom, which can be helpful when working with younger students who might need a little more direction.

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Whose cat is this? What is he looking at? Where is he?

What is the owl thinking about? Is he alone? What does he hope to eat for dinner?

Who are these frogs? What is their relationship with each other? Why are they taking photos?

How did the dog get a phone? Why is he taking selfies? What is he doing with the pictures he takes?

This cat doesn’t look too happy. What’s bugging him? Did he get too many phone calls or is he waiting on an important call that’s taking too long to come?

What do these chicks think of the dog? What does the dog think of the chicks? Do you think they can communicate with each other? If so, what would they say?

Where do these lemurs live? What are they looking at? What is something unusual that might happen to them?

What is this fox doing? Is he yawning and stretching or is he trying to scare someone away? What kind of mischief does he like to get up to?

Is this wolf alone? If not, who is with him? What is he planning to do? Does he have a family to feed or protect?

What is this child doing on the laptop? Can he actually read and type or is he just playing? If he can read and type, how did he learn that at such a young age? What other cool things can he do?

Where is this woman? Is she lost? How did she get to this street? What interesting things might she discover as she explores this new city?

Why is the dog wearing glasses? Can he see through them? What are he and the girl doing? How does he feel about it?

Who are these two little boys? What is their relationship with each other? What is the teddy bear’s story?

Who are these children? Why are they running? Is it a race or are they playing a game? Who’s going to win?

Whose horse is this? Does the little boy own it or does he just visit it? Can the horse talk? How does the boy feel when he’s with the horse?

What is this boy reading? Does the book have magical powers? Does the boy? Do the stories in the book become real or does something else special happen?

Where is this man? How did he get there? What is he looking for?

Who is walking over the bridge? What’s on the other side? Is it worth the risk?

What are these people doing on the elephant? Where are they? Are they tourists or is the elephant their pet? What would life with an elephant be like?

Who made this map? It looks old. Has it been hidden away for a long time? Who discovered it and how? What does it lead to?

Whose typewriter is this? What important or secretive thing might they be working on? What could happen if the wrong person finds their work?

Who are these three stuffed animals? Are they living? What is their story?

Whose ukulele is this? Why did they leave it here? Who might find it?

Where is the owner of the bike? Where does this path lead? What if the bike’s not there when the owner returns?

Whose shoes are these? Why did they leave them here? Why are they so dirty?

Who was reading the newspaper? What was the most interesting thing they read? Where have they disappeared to?

Who put this sign on the old truck? What do you think of it? How did the truck end up in its current condition and location?

Who set the table? Who are they expecting? What special occasion are they celebrating? What could go wrong?

Whose birthday cake is this? Are they having a party? Who is there? Who did they want to have there that didn’t show up?

Who lives here? How do they access their home? What is their life like?

Who built the igloo? Where is it? How does it feel to spend the night inside it?

What is the history of this castle? Who lives in it now? Does it have any special or magical features?

Is this barn abandoned or do people live on the property? What kind of animals might live here? How do they keep themselves entertained?

What is it like living on a houseboat? What kind of community do you think forms among the neighbors? Imagine you live on one of these boats and think about how your daily life might change. What interesting things could you do if you lived here? What would you miss the most?

Where is this hut? Who lives here? What mystery might unfold if a stranger came knocking at their door?

What is this lighthouse called? Who runs it? How often do they leave? What is the most memorable experience they’ve had as a lighthouse operator?

How did this house get here? Does anyone live in it? What would life be like here?

Where is this festive street? Are the people there celebrating something? Where is everybody?

Who lives here? How did they build this house? Are they hiding from something? What does it look like inside?

Whose notebook is this? Why did they leave it here? What’s written in it and how might it change the life of the person who finds it?

What are these women doing? What are they supposed to be doing? Will they be in trouble if they get caught?

Who might be represented in this statue? Why is she being pulled by lions? What amazing things might she have done to deserve a statue in this prominent place?

Where is this? Who is riding in the hot air balloons? Where are they going and why?

How old is this tree? Where is it? What are some of the most fascinating stories it could tell?

Where is this carousel? Who is riding it? Can you think of a special or strange story about how it came to exist in this particular place?

What are these people thinking about? What’s at stake for them? What happens if one of them sneezes?

Where are these penguins? What are they talking about? Which one of them is the leader?

What is this place? Was it designed to be open like this or was it once part of someone’s home or a public building? How have people’s opinions of this place changed over time?

Who are these kids? Is this what they’re supposed to be doing? What happens when their teacher sees them?

Who is supposed to ride in this boat? Where are they going? Will they make it there?

Is this plane special to someone? What did they have to do to get it/build it? Where will they fly to in it?

Who decorated this train car? Which passengers will fill it up? What will they talk about?

Whose skis are these? Why are they sticking out of the snow? How did their owner get down the mountain without them?

Where does this gondola go? Who rides it? How does it feel to ride it?

Who’s driving the monster truck? Why is it at the beach? What is it going to crush? Who is watching?

Where is the boat going? Who is on it? What is their mission?

What city is the helicopter flying over? Why? Is the driver looking for something specific or do they have a special delivery?

What’s the little boy doing in the boat? Is he alone or is someone with him? Where is he trying to go?

Who is in the sub? What’s it like inside? What are they doing?

Whose book is this? What’s it about? What’s happening to it?

How did that piece of land with the house on it break off from the rest of the world? Why? Where is it going? Is anyone in the house?

Who is this girl? Where is she? Who is she shooting at?

Where does this scene take place? Is the lizard/dragon good or bad? What is its relationship with the girl?

What do these books represent? What kind of world is this? What (or who) is inside the books?

What are these dinosaurs discussing? Where are they? What do they do for fun?

Whose cottage is this? Do they still live there? If not, where have they gone? If so, what do they do there?

What is the moth thinking about? Is it alone? What’s the biggest challenge it faces in this moment?

Who is the owl looking at? Has it read these books? What is its greatest talent?

Where are these trees? Why are they pink? Do they have any special powers or features?

What do you think? Which kind of pictures do you like best for creative writing prompts ? Let us know in the comments.

Tuesday 5th of March 2024

I LOVE these! My daughter has always struggled with written story prompts and an internet search this week convinced me of the value of picture prompts for reluctant readers/writers (https://youcanjournal.com/journal-picture-prompts/ if you're interested!). I'll definitely be using these to help improve her writing skills. Thanks so much!

Tuesday 26th of December 2023

I think the idea of using picture prompts is a great idea. It initiates oral language thus building vocabulary. It allows lends itself to students working in small groups to stimulate new ideas. The prompts engage the students and gives the teacher the opportunity to focus on specific writing skills.

luke elford

Wednesday 13th of December 2023

cloey mckay

Tuesday 17th of October 2023

I tried this with myself and my 6th-grade students, and they love it. it gives room for so much creativity.

Nayyar Abbas

Tuesday 30th of May 2023

This is very good idea and it really works, viewing these one try to think one's own way that what these pictures are telling or asking? I also recommend that this idea should also be given to the students for building their creative instinct.

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