Rival Musicians in Harmony
Craft a story about two rival teen musicians who must collaborate on a school project. Detail their initial conflicts, gradual respect for each other's talents, and eventual friendship that leads them to uncover personal struggles that they help each other overcome.
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.
- Let your hero make a big mistake for a reason the reader understands.
- End with a choice only this hero would make.
- Make the adults well-meaning but wrong.
Writing young adult books
Ages 12 to 18: firsts, identity and everything at stake.
Young adult fiction is written for teens, with protagonists usually 14 to 18. Every genre lives here, from fantasy to thrillers to romance. What makes it YA is the voice: immediate, intense and inside a teenager's head.
What readers expect
- A teen protagonist
- An immediate, close voice
- Identity and independence
- Big feelings, taken seriously
A tip before you start
Write from inside a teen's head, not from an adult looking back. That immediacy is what separates YA from an adult book with a young hero.
More YA Drama prompts
- The Filmmaker's Class ProjectImagine a teenager who dreams of becoming a filmmaker. For their final school project, they decide to document the stories of their classmates, only…
- The Attic DiaryAfter discovering an old diary in the attic of their new home, a teenager uncovers secrets about a past resident that mirror their own life in eerie…
- The Injured Record-BreakerA young athlete is set to break a long-standing school record, but an unexpected injury puts their future in jeopardy. Struggling with the possibility…
- The Best Friend's SecretWrite a story where the main character discovers that their best friend is keeping a significant, life-altering secret. As they struggle with whether…
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