The Dream at Sixteen
Imagine a world where at the age of 16, everyone receives a glimpse of their future through a dream. Write about a teenager who gets a completely unexpected or unwanted glimpse and how they decide to confront or change their destined path.
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.
- Raise the stakes until the hero's identity is on the line.
- Give your hero a secret they're keeping from their best friend.
- Let your hero make a big mistake for a reason the reader understands.
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 Friendship and Relationship prompts
- The Summer PactWrite about a summer that changes everything for a group of friends. After establishing a pact to try new things, they each discover new passions and…
- The Lighthouse DiaryIn a small coastal town, a group of teens discovers an abandoned lighthouse and decides to turn it into their secret hangout. Little do they know, the…
- The Viral Secret BlogCreate a tale about a teen who starts a blog under a pseudonym to vent about life's frustrations and dreams. The blog goes viral, leading to…
- The Ancestral Scavenger HuntEvery year, your school hosts a legendary scavenger hunt with clues leading all over town. This year, you and your team discover that each clue not…
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