Spells Beneath the Bookshop
Write about a character who inherits an antique bookstore and discovers a secret basement full of manuscripts that contain spells. As they begin to read and perform the spells, they realize the literature can alter their reality in ways they hadn’t anticipated.
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.
- Give your main character a job you know well, and use its details.
- Let a minor character change the ending.
- Set it all in one day.
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 Contemporary Fantasy prompts
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- The Dream Magic BookImagine a world where people are born with unique magical abilities that determine their careers and social status. One day, your protagonist, born…
- The Naiad and the Rising RiverIn a bustling modern-day city, mythological creatures hide in plain sight as regular citizens. Write a story from the perspective of a young naiad who…
- The Town Beneath the TideA small coastal village hosts a secret every full moon: the sea inexplicably recedes to unveil an ancient, submerged town only accessible for a single…
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