100 creative writing assignment ideas you’ll love

Everyone struggles with creative writing, thinking of it as a cruel and unusual punishment. Instead of following the familiar rules and structure, you struggle to let go of the formal style, and writing off the top of your head instead of using sources seems impossible. In the end, you put off the task until the last possible moment only to miss the deadline and lose the points for late submission.

If you feel like that, you just didn’t come across great prompts. In this post, we’ll change your mind with our inspired creative writing assignment ideas that will have you itching to start typing. 

Besides, you can learn how to write a creative essay using our detailed guide. But if you need more college paper help, get a professional writer to take over.

Why try creative writing?

Creative writing is different from other types of essays. You can break every rule you’ve learned and still get an A. Besides, creative writing is an invaluable tool for honing your writing skills, developing a love for writing, and beating writer’s block. 

This type of assignment isn’t just useful for those who are considering going into professional writing programs or careers. Developing creative writing skills will also help in any other career path that involves writing reports, memos, or even emails. Moreover, the skills you develop can come in handy if you decide to try journaling or blogging for personal mental well-being. So, instead of dreading the creative prompts, try to embrace them and see the task as an opportunity for growth and development.

The key to successful creative writing is to have fun and experiment with literary and narrative devices. Your goal is to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. That’s why we don’t recommend going after the topics you’re familiar with or those that come easily. For the most effective writing workout, focus on the prompts you would otherwise ignore or overlook. Working on those will be harder but much more rewarding.

Writing tip from SpeedyPaper

100 Creative writing assignment ideas

We asked SpeedyPAper writers to come up with a hundred creative assignment ideas to inspire you and help you beat writer’s block. You’ll find even more topics and prompts in our collection of free creative essay samples. Check them out to get a better idea of the writing style, narrative and literary devices you can use. Get inspired, but don’t dwell on the examples too long, or you’ll be tempted to procrastinate instead of working on your assignment. 

Finally, if none of the creative writing assignment ideas below suits your needs, get our essay writer to develop an original prompt. You can detail your requirements in the order form and discuss the specifics with your writer after placing the order. 

“What if” creative writing prompts

You can come up with endless creative writing assignment ideas starting with “what if”. You can apply it to your everyday life, your favorite fictional characters, or celebrities. The more outlandish and unrealistic creative writing ideas, the more fun you’ll have writing about them. Here are a few options to get your creative juices flowing:

1. What would humanity do if the ice age began tomorrow?
2. What would happen to your friendships if the Internet crashed for a year?
3. What if animals could talk? Would everyone become vegetarian?
4. What if everyone in the world spoke the same language?
5. What if people could understand each other's emotions better than words?
6. What would families look like if the concept of marriage didn’t exist?
7. What if the aliens came and solved humanity’s every problem?
8. What would you do with an extra fifty years to life expectancy?
9. What if space travel and exploration were impossible?
10. What would we eat if every season was the same?
11. What if we only had to sleep one hour a day to feel great?
12. What would you do if you could control the speed of the passage of time?
13. What if any of your favorite fictional characters could come to life?
14. What would cities look like without public transport?
15. What if you could choose who to be in your next life?
16. What if you could make only one wish come true instantly?
17. What if every drug could cause an instant addiction?
18. What if bars stopped serving alcohol?
19. What would a world without music sound like?
20. What if you could forever delete one class from the school curriculum? Which would you choose?

Character-based writing ideas

Descriptive essay writing can be especially fun when you’re doing character work. If one of the other creative writing ideas appeals, consider character studies and development for your creative writing task. For example, write a character who:

1. Beat impossible odds
2. Survived a huge catastrophe that killed everyone else
3. Developed a superpower
4. Learned a new skill they didn’t need
5. Fell in love for the first time
6. Discover everything they believed to be false
7. Was unlawfully incarcerated
8. Discovered the cure for all diseases
9. Is laid off after decades of dedicated work
10. Overslept on the most important day of their life
11. Cannot learn how to drive
12. Does not understand sarcasm
13. Cannot tell the truth
14. Compulsively cleans everything around
15. Works for an assignment writing service
16. Refuses a once-in-a-lifetime offer
17. Falls in love with their best friend
18. Get good news immediately after the bad
19. Doesn’t understand the concept of a birthday celebration
20. Lived the last ten years on an uninhabited island

First-sentence writing prompts

When professors get tired of coming up with creative writing assignment ideas, they will take a random assortment of phrases and sentences and make each one into a creative writing prompt. If you’re lucky, you can simply incorporate them into your creative writing stories. If not, you have to use the prompt to start your piece. Here are some of the most exciting story beginnings we thought up:

1. My first-ever memory is…
2. It was the gloomiest day of the fall…
3. Two things happened at the same time…
4. Every weekend, our family…
5. The thing that annoys me the most is…
6. I remember telling Abraham Lincoln to…
7. The longest trip I’ve ever taken…
8. If my beaten-up sneakers could talk…
9. It was the day to wear the lucky socks…
10. The first friend I ever made was…
11. It was the most peculiar smell…
12. Tingles raced up my back when…
13. The door slammed shut and…
14. His (her) jaw dropped when…
15. I ripped the envelope and…
16. I couldn’t believe my eyes when…
17. My biggest fear came to life when…
18. Stuck in a six-by-six elevator…
19. My tastebuds have never been happier…
20. After digging through cabinets, I found…

Creative writing prompts on abstract ideas

One of the benefits of creative writing prompts is that you can interpret them and work them into your assignments in any way you want. That’s especially true for creative assignment ideas dealing with abstract concepts and issues, such as:

1. Think about beauty and write about its influence on a person’s mentality.
2. Write about the spread of gossip and rumors like it’s a virus. What would a gossip pandemic look like?
3. Write about an event that simultaneously turns a good person evil and vice versa.
4. Tell a story demonstrating the differences between having faith and going to church.
5. Explain the negative sides of optimism and the positives of being a pessimist.
6. Consider the implications of space travel for the divide between the rich and the poor.
7. Write about the dangers of inventing time travel and making it universally accessible.
8. Tell a funny story about the inception of a conspiracy theory.
9. Talk about the different love languages that don’t involve speech, like acts of service or gifts.
10. Consider the concept of white lie and provide examples of its positive uses.
11. Write about the endless battle between personal freedoms and public safety.
12. List all the ways freedom of speech can harm individuals and society.
13. What makes the difference between a house and a home?
14. What is “greater good”? Who and when benefits from it?
15. Write a scene from a world where politeness and manners don’t exist.
16. How much is dignity worth? Who would buy (or sell) it, and for how much?
17. Write about a character before and after complete memory loss. How would amnesia change their personality?
18. Write about the differences between blood and found family.
19. Tell a story of infatuation growing into love, which evolves into hate.
20. Where do emotions come from? Write about the conception of anger, fear, or happiness.

Form-specific writing ideas

Unlike academic essays, creative writing takes many forms. You don’t have to stick to the beaten 5-paragraph structure and carefully craft thesis sentences. If you want to experiment with different literary or narrative devices, try one of these creative writing assignment ideas:

1. Write a love story using only one-sentence dialogue without using any names or pronouns.
2. Write a poem or a nursery rhyme about your morning or evening routine.
3. Tell a story that focuses on eavesdropped conversations and misdirections.
4. Use only one-syllable words to tell a short story about a complex issue.
5. “Transcribe” debate arguments and counterarguments in dialogue form.
6. Write a story, starting each paragraph with a line from your favorite song.
7. Tell the same story from the perspectives of two different characters.
8. Tell a story about your latest trip in a five-act play.
9. Write a meta-story about a character who is aware he is fictional, like Deadpool.
10. Write down five random sentences you hear throughout the day and work them into your story.
11. Write a speech you would give as a Presidential candidate to convince your opposition.
12. Tell a story about a recent event like CNN and Fox News reporters would.
13. Write an opening monologue for a late-night talk show.
14. “Transcribe” an interview with a celebrity after a scandal.
15. Write an X thread to narrate your biggest adventure.
16. Write a script for a YouTube ad to promote the weirdest product you’ve ever seen.
17. Incorporate a shopping list into your short story, but make it a narrative device.
18. Rewrite your favorite story in the form of the text chain.
19. Write the movie credits only for your life instead of a movie.
20. Write a warning label for first love that would scare teenagers. 

Conclusion

There you have it: 100 creative writing ideas you can use as-is or tweak and adjust to suit your fancy. Hopefully, our suggestions inspire you to develop endless prompts and work on your writing skills. But if you need more help developing a creative writing idea into a full piece for grading, let SpeedyPaper experts help. Type “write a paper for me” into the live chat box, and we’ll find the best solution to your writing troubles.