When Nature Spoke
After a failed scientific experiment, you find that you can hear plants and animals speak. Initially, it's fascinating, but you soon learn they have grave concerns about the supernatural forces disrupting nature’s balance. Craft a story about how you use your new ability to restore harmony.
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.
- Write it as a document from the world: a letter, a field report, a warning sign.
- Make the magic or technology cost your hero something they can't get back.
- Give the villain a reason that would convince you, if you lived there.
Writing paranormal fiction
Vampires, ghosts and witches, just around the corner.
Paranormal fiction drops supernatural beings into the real, modern world. Unlike horror, the creatures aren't always the threat: they're often the heroes or the love interests. It overlaps heavily with romance and urban fantasy.
What readers expect
- Supernatural beings in our world
- A hidden society with its own rules
- Romance, danger or both
- Secrets ordinary people can't know
A tip before you start
Decide the rules early. Can your vampires cross running water? Readers will hold you to it.
More Supernatural and Paranormal prompts
- The Guardian Angel ReturnsIn your world, children are born with the ability to see their guardian angels, but lose this ability as they grow up. You're an adult who…
- The Cost of Paranormal PowerDevelop a story set in a future where paranormal abilities are not only acknowledged but have become commercialized. The main character is an…
- The Dreaming SeersCreate a tale centered around an ancient, underground society of seers who can manipulate dreams. They've been guiding humanity’s progress through…
- The Ghosts of Every AgeThe first human is born with the ability to see both past and future ghosts—spirits of those who have died and those who are yet to be born. Explore…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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