Magic Beneath the Metropolis
In a bustling metropolis, a hidden society of magic users lives undetected among the average population. The protagonist, who has lived their whole life thinking they were ordinary, discovers they possess a rare, powerful form of magic that both factions of the hidden world seek to control.
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 Haunted Apartment LeaseIn your story, every city block has its own guardian spirit, and residents must negotiate with them for everything from parking spaces to noise…
- The Wish Rune on the WallIn a world where magical graffiti appears overnight, with symbols that can alter the fabric of reality, your protagonist, a novice street artist…
- The Time-Traveling SubwayTell a story about a subway system that doesn’t just transport people geographically but temporally as well. One day, an operator realizes the trains…
- The Cats Beneath the LibraryCats in the neighborhood have always been peculiar, but recently they've begun to display openly magical abilities. A local librarian discovers that…
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