Advice from the Houseplant
An ordinary houseplant suddenly begins to give life advice to its owner, a down-on-luck freelancer struggling to find their purpose. Write a story about how this seemingly magical plant influences and transforms the lives of everyone in the apartment complex.
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.
- End on a small gesture rather than a speech.
- Give your main character a job you know well, and use its details.
- Let a minor character change the ending.
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
- The Talking TeacupWrite a story in which a mundane object in your protagonist's house begins talking to them. Despite the protagonist's initial fear, the object reveals…
- The Book in the Attic**The Book That Rewrites Itself**: A struggling author finds an old, dusty book in the attic of their new house. Upon opening it, they realize that…
- Tomorrow at the OfficeImagine a world where people can see 24 hours into the future but cannot change what they've seen. Your protagonist, a strategic planner at a large…
- Spells Beneath the BookshopWrite about a character who inherits an antique bookstore and discovers a secret basement full of manuscripts that contain spells. As they begin to…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
Chapterly gives a draft somewhere to grow: chapters, daily word goals, and readers when you're ready.
Plans from $9.99 a month. Cancel any time. Your words are always yours.