The Purple Sea Portal
A small coastal town holds a secret tradition: when the sea turns a peculiar shade of purple, a portal opens to an enchanted underwater kingdom. Write a story about a local librarian who, while trying to unravel the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, accidentally falls through the portal on the eve of the phenomenon.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Make the conflict something the reader has faced themselves.
- Keep what the hero wants and what they need in tension.
- Tell it through the messages, notes or voicemails the characters leave.
Writing fantasy books
Magic is real, and it costs something.
Fantasy builds a world where the impossible works: dragons, spells, gods who answer back. It might be a whole invented continent or one enchanted door in an ordinary house. Either way, readers come for the wonder and stay for the people paying the price for it.
What readers expect
- Magic or the supernatural, with limits
- A world that feels lived in
- Quests, wars or a power worth fighting over
- Myths and history under the surface
A tip before you start
Give magic a cost. Readers believe in a power when they can see what it takes from the person using it.
More Contemporary Fantasy prompts
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- Dreams Above the CityCreate a story about a city where everyone's dreams are projected in the sky above them while they sleep. One night, the dreams start swapping between…
- The Invisible Ship**A Name in the Wishing Well**: In a small coastal town, there’s a wishing well that everyone believes is a mere tourist attraction. However, when a…
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