Rivals for the Community
Two rival high school students are forced to collaborate on a significant project that addresses social issues within their community. As they navigate their differences, they uncover secrets about each other's lives that challenge their perceptions and force them to reconsider what it means to truly understand someone.
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.
- Make the adults well-meaning but wrong.
- Use the way your hero texts to show who they are.
- Write in close first person, as if it's happening right now.
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 Teen PodcastDuring the summer vacation, a group of friends decides to start a podcast about the everyday challenges teens face, like crushes, conflicts with…
- The Dream at SixteenImagine 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…
- 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…
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