đź“ť Writing Prompts & Scenario Cards
Teacher Instructions
Purpose: These prompt cards provide structured creative writing scenarios for students to use during the AI-assisted writing lesson.
How to Use:
- Print and Cut: Print these cards on cardstock and cut them out for physical distribution
- Digital Distribution: Share this document digitally and have students choose their prompt
- Random Selection: Place cards face-down and have students draw randomly
- Differentiation: Direct students to prompts matching their skill level or interests
Prompt Categories:
- Core Prompts (Cards 1-8): Standard prompts suitable for all students
- Challenge Prompts (Cards 9-12): Complex scenarios for advanced writers
- Genre-Specific Prompts (Cards 13-16): Focused on particular genres
- Constraint Prompts (Cards 17-20): Include specific writing constraints to encourage creativity
Tips: Encourage students to modify prompts to match their interests. The goal is creative exploration, not rigid adherence to the exact scenario.
Beginner-Friendly
Science Fiction
A character discovers they can see exactly 24 hours into the future. They witness something they desperately want to prevent, but every attempt to change it seems to make things worse.
Consider exploring:
- What event do they see?
- Why can't they simply avoid the situation?
- What are the unintended consequences?
- Does knowing the future help or hurt?
AI Help Ideas: Ask AI for unexpected consequences, creative plot twists, or vivid descriptions of the character's emotions
Beginner-Friendly
AdventureDrama
Two people who can't stand each other are forced to work together to survive a dangerous situation. Through their cooperation, they discover why they were actually enemies.
Consider exploring:
- What's the dangerous situation?
- What caused their initial conflict?
- What skills does each person bring?
- How does their relationship evolve?
AI Help Ideas: Request dialogue suggestions, character backstory ideas, or creative survival challenges
Intermediate
ContemporaryDrama
A character tells what seems like a harmless white lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings. That small lie spirals into increasingly complicated situations, forcing difficult choices.
Consider exploring:
- What was the original lie about?
- How does it escalate?
- Who else gets involved?
- What's the moral dilemma?
AI Help Ideas: Ask for realistic ways a lie might escalate, consequences to consider, or dialogue in confrontation scenes
Intermediate
Science FictionMystery
Someone who believes they are the last person on Earth hears a knock at their door. Who—or what—is on the other side, and what do they want?
Consider exploring:
- Why does the character think they're alone?
- Who/what is really at the door?
- Is this a hopeful or ominous encounter?
- What has changed in the world?
AI Help Ideas: Brainstorm creative explanations, atmosphere descriptions, or surprising reveals
Beginner-Friendly
MysteryFantasy
A character finds an ordinary object (a key, a photograph, a letter) that turns out to have extraordinary significance. Following its mystery leads them on an unexpected journey.
Consider exploring:
- What object do they find?
- Where does it lead them?
- Who does it connect to?
- What truth is revealed?
AI Help Ideas: Generate ideas for object significance, mysterious clues, or journey obstacles
Beginner-Friendly
ContemporaryComing of Age
A character has hidden an unusual talent or ability because they fear judgment. A situation arises where revealing it is the only solution, but doing so will change everything.
Consider exploring:
- What is the hidden talent?
- Why has it been concealed?
- What crisis forces revelation?
- How do others react?
AI Help Ideas: Brainstorm unusual talents, emotional reactions, or consequences of revelation
Intermediate
ContemporaryComedy
A character accidentally sends a message meant for one person to completely the wrong recipient. The misunderstanding sets off a chain of events that changes multiple relationships.
Consider exploring:
- What did the message say?
- Who received it instead?
- How does the character try to fix it?
- What unexpected good might come from this?
AI Help Ideas: Request humorous misunderstanding scenarios, dialogue for awkward situations, or creative resolution ideas
Intermediate
FantasyScience Fiction
A character glimpses an alternate version of their life where they made a different choice years ago. They must decide whether to be satisfied with their current life or take a risk for change.
Consider exploring:
- What choice created the divergence?
- How is the alternate life different?
- Which version is "better"?
- What does the character learn?
AI Help Ideas: Brainstorm meaningful life differences, philosophical questions, or ways to show contrast
Advanced
PsychologicalMystery
Tell a story where the narrator's version of events slowly reveals itself to be incomplete or distorted. Readers must piece together the truth from contradictions and clues.
Consider exploring:
- Why is the narrator unreliable?
- What are they hiding or misunderstanding?
- How do you plant clues to the truth?
- What's the real story?
AI Help Ideas: Request subtle contradiction ideas, ways to reveal truth gradually, or psychological depth suggestions
Advanced
DramaThriller
A character must make a choice where every option has serious negative consequences. There is no "right" answer—only different kinds of sacrifice. Explore the ethical complexity.
Consider exploring:
- What are the options?
- Who will be affected by each choice?
- What factors influence the decision?
- Can the character live with their choice?
AI Help Ideas: Brainstorm complex ethical scenarios, perspectives to consider, or consequences of different choices
Advanced
Science FictionExperimental
Tell a story in non-chronological order where past, present, and future scenes interweave. Each time period illuminates the others, building to a powerful revelation.
Consider exploring:
- What event connects all time periods?
- How do you keep readers oriented?
- What does each timeline reveal?
- How do the pieces fit together?
AI Help Ideas: Request structural organization ideas, transition suggestions, or ways to maintain clarity
Advanced
ContemporaryLiterary
Two characters from vastly different cultural backgrounds must navigate a situation where their different values, traditions, or worldviews create both conflict and opportunity for growth.
Consider exploring:
- What are the specific cultural differences?
- What brings these characters together?
- How do misunderstandings arise?
- What do they learn from each other?
AI Help Ideas: Research cultural practices respectfully, brainstorm authentic interactions, or explore nuanced perspectives
Intermediate
Horror
A character keeps catching glimpses of something in their peripheral vision—in mirrors, in photographs, in the corner of rooms. No one else can see it, and it's getting closer.
Focus on:
- Building tension through atmosphere
- Using sensory details to create dread
- Leaving some things unexplained
- Character's psychological state
AI Help Ideas: Request creepy imagery, tension-building techniques, or atmospheric descriptions
Intermediate
Mystery
A valuable item vanishes from a room that was locked from the inside. There's no evidence of forced entry, no windows, no secret passages. Your detective character must solve the impossible.
Focus on:
- Planting clues fairly
- Creating red herrings
- Logical deduction process
- Satisfying resolution
AI Help Ideas: Brainstorm logical explanations, clue placement, or red herring ideas
Intermediate
Romance
Two people who were close years ago—but circumstances tore them apart—unexpectedly meet again. Old feelings resurface, but both have changed. Can they find their way back to each other?
Focus on:
- Authentic emotional development
- Obstacles that feel real
- Character growth and change
- Meaningful connection
AI Help Ideas: Request dialogue for emotional scenes, realistic obstacles, or ways to show character change
Advanced
Historical
A character from a marginalized group in history discovers or creates something significant, but must navigate the prejudices of their time to have their voice heard.
Focus on:
- Historical accuracy and research
- Authentic period voice
- Social constraints of the era
- Human resilience and courage
AI Help Ideas: Research historical context, period-appropriate language, or social dynamics of the era
Intermediate
Any Genre
Write an entire story that takes place in one location without leaving it. Make the setting feel alive and use it to drive the plot forward.
Constraint: Never leave the initial setting. All action, conflict, and resolution must happen in one place.
Choose a setting like:
- An elevator stuck between floors
- A coffee shop during a storm
- A hospital waiting room
- A lighthouse during a blackout
Advanced
Any Genre
Tell your entire story through dialogue alone—no narration, no description, no internal thoughts. Everything must be revealed through what characters say and how they say it.
Constraint: Use only dialogue and perhaps minimal dialogue tags. No exposition or narration allowed.
Tips for success:
- Give each character a distinct voice
- Use subtext and what's NOT said
- Let conflict emerge naturally
- Trust readers to infer setting/action
Intermediate
Flash Fiction
Tell a complete story with beginning, middle, and end in exactly 500 words. Every word must count. Practice the art of concise, powerful storytelling.
Constraint: Exactly 500 words—not 499, not 501. Make every single word purposeful.
Strategies:
- Start as close to the climax as possible
- Focus on one pivotal moment
- Use strong verbs, cut adjectives
- End with impact
Advanced
Experimental
Tell your story completely backward, starting with the ending and moving toward the beginning. Make the reverse structure serve the story's meaning.
Constraint: Story must work backward chronologically. Each scene should build anticipation for what came "before."
Make it work by:
- Creating curiosity about causes
- Building toward a revelation
- Using the structure thematically
- Making each "previous" scene feel earned
© 2025 Evolve AI Institute LLC - Free Educational Resource
These prompts may be freely reproduced and modified for educational purposes