The Musician's Enchanted Instrument
Create a story in which music is the key to unlocking magical abilities. A struggling street musician finds an unusual instrument in an antique store and soon realizes that playing it can manipulate the emotions and actions of people around them. Explore how they come to terms with this power and the ethical dilemmas that follow.
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.
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- 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…
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