Borrowed Emotions
Imagine a world where people can physically feel the emotions of those they are closest to. Write from the perspective of someone who struggles to maintain their own identity while being inundated by the feelings of others.
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.
- Keep what the hero wants and what they need in tension.
- Tell it through the messages, notes or voicemails the characters leave.
- Write the scene everyone else would skip: the morning after.
Writing literary fiction
Who is this person, really?
Literary fiction cares most about character, language and meaning. Plot still matters, but it serves the inner life. These are the books that win prizes and start arguments in book clubs, and they ask to be read slowly.
What readers expect
- Rich inner lives
- Prose that rewards attention
- Themes that linger
- Endings that may stay open
A tip before you start
Read your pages aloud. In literary fiction the rhythm of a sentence is part of what you're promising.
More Literary Fiction prompts
- The Heirloom JournalCraft a story centered around a family heirloom that gets passed from one generation to another. Each bearer of the heirloom is supposed to write down…
- New Start, Old Coffee ShopDevelop a story about a character who decides to start their life over in a new city after a sudden layoff. Document their journey through the lens of…
- One Day at the MarketWrite a story that unfolds over the course of a single day within a bustling farmers' market. Include vibrant descriptions of the surroundings and…
- Reunion on the Night TrainWrite a story about a chance encounter between two old friends on a delayed night train, revealing how drastically their lives have diverged since…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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