The Last Bus to Elsewhere
Every city bus is a portal to another dimension, but only the bus drivers know the secret routes. When a regular commuter accidentally stays aboard for the last stop, they find themselves in a world eerily similar to their own but plagued by supernatural occurrences. Now, they must navigate this parallel city to find a way back home.
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.
- Start in the middle of the strangest moment, and explain nothing for a page.
- 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.
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 Urban Fantasy prompts
- The City's Secret KeepersUrban myths are not myths at all but the secrets of the city guarded by a dedicated guild. A new recruit has just joined the ranks, eager to protect…
- The Enchanted Spray CansIn a bustling city where magical graffiti murals have the power to heal or harm, an underground artist discovers a series of enchanted spray cans that…
- Spell Codes in the CityDevelop a storyline where a hidden society of spellcasters lives among the bustling crowds of a busy metropolis. They use magic to manipulate…
- The Library Beyond the ShadowsDescribe a modern city where every full moon, the shadows of buildings stretch and transform into doorways to other dimensions. One night, a young…
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