Friends at the Old Hangout
Write about two childhood best friends who reunite after many years apart. One has achieved significant success while the other has quietly struggled. Explore their conversation at their favorite childhood hangout spot and the dynamics of envy, nostalgia, and the ties that still bind them.
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.
- Tell it through the messages, notes or voicemails the characters leave.
- Write the scene everyone else would skip: the morning after.
- End on a small gesture rather than a speech.
Writing short story collections
Many stories, one sitting each, and every one has to land.
A collection gathers short stories, usually by one author and often linked by theme, place or character. Each story is a complete world in a few thousand words, which makes them the hardest test of craft and the easiest way to start.
What readers expect
- Complete stories, read in one sitting
- A shared theme, voice or place
- Compression: every word counts
- Endings that resonate
A tip before you start
Most collections start as stories published one at a time in magazines. Send yours out: it builds the book and your track record.
More Short Story prompts
- The Four-Hour Train RideCreate a tale where two strangers share a four-hour train ride and discover they have more in common than they initially thought, leading each to…
- Save the Old BookshopWrite a story about a small town that comes together to save its oldest bookstore from closing, where each character shares a unique memory tied to a…
- The Neighborhood's Secret NightImagine a neighborhood that holds an annual, secret event that is not spoken of outside its bounds. Write about a newcomer's first experience of this…
- The Diner at the Edge of TownCraft a tale centered around a small diner at the edge of town that becomes the unlikely meeting place for two strangers who share a remarkable…
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