The Pencil Every Child Gets
Picture a world where every child gets a magical pencil at the age of 10. Whatever they draw becomes real for one day. Write about the drawing that goes wrong.
Suggested length: A middle grade story: 2,000 to 5,000 words
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.
- Name the feeling the character has, simply and honestly.
- Read it out loud as you write. If it doesn't sound good, change it.
- Give every page or scene one picture worth drawing.
Writing middle grade books
Ages 8 to 12: friendship, family and figuring out who you are.
Middle grade novels are written for readers around 8 to 12, with heroes usually 10 to 13. The stakes are huge to the characters, the focus stays on their world, and any romance stops at a crush.
What readers expect
- A hero aged about 10 to 13
- Family, friends and school
- Humor and heart
- Hope, even in hard stories
A tip before you start
Kids read up. Make your hero as old as your oldest readers, or a little older.
More Middle Grade prompts
- The Scrap-Built Flying MachineEvery year, your town holds a legendary race where competitors use homemade flying machines. This year, you and your friends decide to enter with a…
- The Attic Game WorldDescribe an adventure of two friends who discover an old, dusty board game in their attic. When they start playing, they realise the game is magical…
- The Dog Who Spoke at MoonriseYou discover that your pet dog can speak, but only in the presence of a full moon. On a night of a full moon, you and your pet embark on an adventure.…
- Five Minutes in TimeYou inherit a strange, quirky watch from your eccentric uncle that doesn’t tell time; instead, it lets you jump forward or backward in time, but only…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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