The Woman in the Attic
Your character, a young doctor, inherits an old mansion from a relative they never knew. While exploring the house, they find a striking portrait of a beautiful woman painted in the attic. That night, the woman from the painting appears in their dreams, revealing she’s cursed to live within the painting, initiating a nightly ritual where your character strives to break her curse as they delve deeper into love.
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 from the point of view of the one who falls first.
- Write the first meeting so it goes badly, in a way they'll laugh about later.
- Show the moment one of them almost walks away.
Writing romance books
Not whether they end up together, but how.
Romance puts a love story at the center and promises a happy ending: happily ever after, or at least happy for now. Readers know where it's going. The pleasure is in the obstacles, the banter and the moment the two leads finally stop fighting it.
What readers expect
- Two leads the reader roots for
- Obstacles that keep them apart
- Emotional growth, not just attraction
- A happy ending, guaranteed
A tip before you start
The happy ending isn't optional. Without it you've written a love story, and romance readers will tell you so.
More Paranormal Romance prompts
- Love Beneath the EclipseDuring a total solar eclipse, you find yourself inexplicably drawn to a mysterious figure in the crowd. As soon as your eyes meet, visions of past…
- The Unmatched RebelIn a world where people are paired with a destined soulmate by a benevolent spirit at birth, one young rebel discovers they have no such match.…
- The Developer's Vampire DreamsYour character, a software developer by day, begins experiencing vivid dreams about living in a different era as a different person - a Victorian lady…
- The Lighthouse LoversThe new lighthouse keeper on a small, mist-covered island finds out the lighthouse is haunted by two lovers split by tragedy a hundred years ago.…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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