The Summer Internship
Write a story about a teenager who discovers a hidden talent during a summer internship that changes their perspective on their future.
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 Coming-of-Age prompts
- The Job Nobody WantedThe protagonist fails the test spectacularly and is assigned a job no one wants. Detail their journey to find passion and success in the most…
- The Scholarship and the SketchbookEnvision a teenager who wins a prestigious scholarship to the school of her dreams, only to realize she's lost touch with her creative roots that…
- The Last Summer Road TripCreate a story where the main character goes on a summer road trip with friends before they all head to different colleges. Along the way, they must…
- The Graduation Time CapsuleWrite about a group of high school friends who create a time capsule on their first day of freshman year and vow to open it on graduation day. Narrate…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
Chapterly gives a draft somewhere to grow: chapters, daily word goals, and readers when you're ready.
Plans from $9.99 a month. Cancel any time. Your words are always yours.