The Neighborhood Dance Studio
After a life-altering incident, a woman in her thirties with a passion for dance opens a studio in a diverse urban neighborhood. She encounters a group of local women each grappling with their own struggles, and through the universal language of dance, they forge deep connections and empower one another to overcome their personal obstacles.
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.
- Set it all in one day.
- Make the conflict something the reader has faced themselves.
- Keep what the hero wants and what they need in tension.
Writing contemporary fiction
People like us, now, in trouble we recognize.
Contemporary fiction is set in the present day and deals with life as it's actually lived: families, marriages, friendships, work, loss. It sits between literary and commercial fiction, often shelved as book club or upmarket fiction.
What readers expect
- A present-day, realistic setting
- Relatable, flawed characters
- Emotional stakes over action
- Issues readers face themselves
A tip before you start
Today is your setting, so use it: the group chat, the parking ticket, the brand of cereal. Specifics make it feel true.
More Women's Fiction prompts
- The Bookshop LettersWrite a story about a woman who inherits an old bookstore in a small town and discovers letters between her late grandmother and a mysterious lover.…
- Writers at the Beach HouseDevelop a story about a group of women who meet every week at a beach house to write together. Each character has their own struggles and aspirations.…
- Her Startup Against the OddsImagine a young female entrepreneur who starts an innovative tech company in a male-dominated industry, facing not only the usual startup struggles…
- A Novelist Moves to ParisDescribe the journey of a woman who, after a successful career and an empty nest, decides to move to Paris on a whim, seeking inspiration for the…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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