Writing an adventure story can be very exciting, but the journey takes a bit of planning. The following are some adventure story writing prompts to help you brainstorm.
Feel free to add other elements, or to use the prompts as a springboard into another idea that you think might work better for your story.
1. Writing prompt about bad luck
Write about a character who does not have the best of luck. Their life is full of misfortune and bad situations, but one day they come across an opportunity to make a wish on a genie’s lamp. A twist: the genie is actually a trickster, and grants their wish in a way that will cause more problems down the road.
2. Writing prompt about struggling at school
Write about a character who must attend a class in which they do not excel. Their teacher is tough and demands excellence, so the student tries to go above and beyond to show their dedication to learning. However, when they start putting too much effort into their work, bad things start happening around them for no reason.
3. Writing prompt about being chased
Write about a character who has the opportunity to win a multi-million dollar prize by beating another contestant in a contest. However, they are also being chased by someone or something intent on causing them harm. They may not be able to rely on anyone else for help, either.
4. Writing prompt about proving yourself to your family
Write about a protagonist who wants to prove themself to their family, so they embark on a mission to find a long-lost artifact. Things become complicated when the other people who want it start hunting the protagonist down as well.
5. Writing prompt about lying
Write about a character who is offered a job that seems too good to be true, and for which they must lie about their qualifications. However, they do not think anything of it until the job starts requiring more and more from them.
6. Writing prompt about animal cruelty
The protagonist is an animal handler at a circus, but she hates her job because she feels the animals aren’t being treated well enough. One night there’s a fire, and everyone freaks out except for one lion tamer.
7. Writing prompt about magic
The protagonist stumbles upon a magical item that grants him any three wishes he desires.
8. Writing prompt about finding a snake
The protagonist has just moved into a new apartment. While walking around the apartment complex, they find their neighbor’s pet boa constrictor on the ground. What does the protagonist do?
9. Writing prompt about an airplane incident
The protagonist is on an airplane when something goes wrong. What do they do?
10. Writing prompt about disaster
The protagonist’s life is great; they have a wonderful family, lots of friends, etc., until one day when everything changes for worse.
11. Writing prompt about monsters under the bed
The protagonist believes that there are monsters under their bed/in their closet/etc.; at first everyone thinks they’re crazy, but eventually someone believes them and comes up with a way to get rid of the monsters once and for all…but the protagonist doesn’t want the monsters to be gotten rid of.
12. Writing prompt about change
The protagonist is a successful businesswoman/entrepreneur who starts to feel like nothing’s going her way, and she wants to lose herself in something (or someone) else for a while.
13. Writing prompt about art
The protagonist has always had an appreciation for art, but after an incident they’re seriously scared of it. What happened?
14. Writing prompt about camping danger
The protagonist is out camping at night when suddenly something goes wrong (e.g.: an animal attacks them; it starts raining; someone is trying to hide them), and they have to escape.
15. Writing prompt about a vampire
A rich, lonely man invites the protagonist over for dinner; shortly after arriving at his home, he reveals that he’s a vampire who wants them to be his next victim.
Tips for using these prompts to write an adventure story
Use the story prompts as a jumping off point for your own ideas, and spice it up with more dialogue/description/action.
If you find yourself stuck or needing help, come back to this list and choose another prompt. If one of them sparks an idea in your head, run with it!
There are no right or wrong ways to write a story, so just have fun with the prompts you choose.
And don’t forget to submit your story to our story writing competition.