The Village Treasure Hunt
Your character and their friends decide to spend their summer vacation volunteering in a remote village. Amidst their work, they stumble upon a legend of an ancient treasure hidden nearby. They decide to go on a treasure hunt, leading to unexpected adventures and self-discoveries.
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.
- Write in close first person, as if it's happening right now.
- Put a first in the story: a first job, kiss, loss or lie.
- Raise the stakes until the hero's identity is on the line.
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 Teen and YA prompts
- Postcards Before SixteenEvery year, on their birthday, a teen receives a postcard from an unknown place around the world with a cryptic message. On their sixteenth birthday…
- The Summer Camp MapA group of teenagers at a summer camp discover an old, hidden map inside a forgotten cabin. As they follow the map's mysterious path, they encounter…
- Sixteen and Out of TimeIn a world where everyone receives a unique power on their 16th birthday, your character wakes up to find that they can manipulate time. Write about…
- The Feeling UndergroundImagine a futuristic society where emotions are considered a disease and teens are trained to suppress them. Your character, who feels emotions…
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