50 Awesome Creative Writing Prompts for High School
Creative writing is one of those things that can be surprisingly beneficial even though people might not expect it. Writers.com claims it helps people express themselves, which is important because communicating well is one of the most fundamental skills people can have. Furthermore, it helps them hone their empathy and their reasoning. As such, people might want to look into creative writing prompts for high school and other levels.
Here are 50 awesome creative writing prompts for high school use:
1. What Is the Animal That Best Represents You?
People often assign meaning to animals without grounding it in something factual. As such, it can be interesting to see what animals they choose to represent themselves.
2. What Are the Animals That Best Represent Your Loved Ones?
It can be even more interesting to see what animals people choose to represent their loved ones.
3. Describe an Elephant For Someone Born Blind.
This writing prompt calls for empathy. After all, it requires people to imagine what it is like to have been born blind. Otherwise, they cannot hope to answer this question.
4. Describe an Alien Lifeform.
NASA points out that astrobiology is a real field. So far, we haven’t found any extraterrestrial life. Still, that doesn’t prevent interested individuals from exercising their imagination.
5. Describe How an Alien Lifeform Sustains Itself.
Of course, every lifeform needs some way to sustain itself. That is presumably as true for extraterrestrial life as it is for its terrestrial counterpart.
6. What Is Your Zombie Apocalypse Survival Plan?
People get to set the rules for what the zombies are like in this zombie apocalypse. However, they will need to write about how they can discover those rules rather than just automatically have their assumptions be true.
7. What Are Five Must-Haves During a Zombie Apocalypse?
Any breakdown of society would have catastrophic consequences for the people living through it. As a result, it is interesting to see what items people would prioritize when they have so many needs to fulfill. Of course, the definition of a must-have can be quite stretchy. Thanks to that, people aren’t necessarily limited to just choosing items.
8. Do You Have Any Regrets?
Most people have regrets. After all, even small regrets are still regrets.
9. If You Have a Regret, Would You Change Anything About It If You Had the Power to Do So?
Interested individuals can choose to take this writing prompt in either a practical or a philosophical direction.
10. Does the Past Bind the Future?
This is one of those writing prompts for which how people interpret the question can be as interesting as how people answer the question.
11. Can a Person Change Their Nature?
Old philosophical quandaries are always worth asking. If nothing else, it is fascinating to see people retread the steps of their predecessors.
12. What Can Change a Person’s Nature?
Of course, if a person can change their nature, it remains to be asked what can convince them to do so.
13. How Does a Sea Centaur Differ From a Land Centaur?
As strange as it sounds, sea centaurs existed in Greek mythology. Theoi.com describes ichthyocentaurs, which are bizarre even by the standards of their land-bound counterparts. They are human from the waist up. However, they have equine forequarters combined with piscine tails.
On top of that, ichthyocentaurs have lobster claws rather than horns on their heads. With that said, people can answer based on their imagination rather than look this one up.
14. If You Could Own a Dragon, Would You?
Decades of fantasy have made it clear that many people think riding dragons is cool. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean they would think it would be a good idea for them to own one in real life.
15. How Would You Fare As the Owner of a Dragon?
Some of us make good pet owners. Others, well, suffice it to say there is a reason why SheKnows and other publications have articles that help interested individuals figure out whether they are living up to their responsibilities or not. It can be fun for people to imagine how they would be as pet owners when their pets are giant, fire-breathing nightmares that could be disastrous for everyone and everything around them if they mess up.
16. If You Had a Time Machine, Would You Visit the Past or the Future?
Wired points out people have been fascinated with time machines ever since H.G. Wells popularized the idea of time travel.
17. If You Could Meet Any Historical Figure, Who Would You Meet?
In many cases, this is a somewhat round-about way of asking people who their favorite historical figure would be.
18. If You Could Take Any Historical Object, What Would You Take?
Pop history tends to focus on people rather than things. Still, it shouldn’t be hard for people to come up with some possibilities by doing some research while exercising their imagination.
19. Name Three Items Stored in a Buried Chest.
Generally speaking, people can’t be bothered to bury chests unless they have good reasons. This is a chance for some brainstorming.
20. You Find Something Disappointing in a Buried Chest. What Is It?
With that said, people don’t value the same things. As a result, something precious to one person could very well be a massive disappointment to another.
21. Defend Your Dream Ice Cream Flavor.
Weirder ice cream flavors make for harder but perhaps more interesting assignments.
22. Describe the Steps For Making Your New Sandwich.
Describing the steps for preparing food can be surprisingly challenging.
23. Are You the Same Person You Were 10 Years Ago?
Asking how much someone can change while remaining themselves is a classic philosophical question.
24. How Have You Changed Over the Last 10 Years?
A bit of honest self-reflection can be healthy from time to time.
25. What Will You Always Remember About Your Childhood?
It is common for memories to fade over time. However, it is interesting to see what events people consider so important that they believe they will never forget them.
26. You Have a Robot. What Have You Programmed It to Do?
Robots hold enormous promise. This writing prompt asks how people would use them.
27. Can a Robot Be a Person?
AI is a much-talked-about topic. Consider whether there would be a point when AI can be considered a person or not.
28. Can an Animal Be a Person?
That question can also be asked about animals. Some people already think of certain animals as persons. For the time being, NPR reports that isn’t the case from a legal perspective in the United States.
29. What Personal Characteristics Would You Give Your Favorite Color?
We often associate colors with personal characteristics. This writing prompt could reveal much about someone’s inner thoughts and feelings.
30. What Personal Characteristics Would You Give Your Least Favorite Color?
Similarly, this writing prompt has the same goal in mind, even though it is working towards it from a different direction.
31. Nature or Nurture?
This is another classic philosophical question. However, this is one of those topics our advancing understanding of the natural world has shed much light upon.
32. How Have Your Loved Ones Affected Your Beliefs?
It is perfectly normal for people to be influenced by those around them. Still, it is a good idea to be aware of such things happening.
33. Who Do You Look Up To?
A person’s idol can say much about their beliefs and preferences.
34. Can Eye For an Eye Be Justifiable?
Nowadays, we tend to think of “eye for an eye” as a brutal rule. However, it is interesting to note that it tries to limit the damage done by requiring proportional retribution. There were historical societies that ran on such systems. Even so, people aren’t obligated to consider this justified. Interested individuals could go a wide range of ways with this question.
35. Do You Believe in Giving People Second Chances?
Some people are forgiving. Others are less so. People should know which category they fall under.
36. What Is Something You Should’ve Learned By Now?
Not everyone learns everything they think they are supposed to learn. One person might not know how to ride a bike. Another person might not know how to cook. Whatever the case, identifying issues is the first step for someone to correct them.
37. What Is Something You Want to Experience In Your Life?
It has become common for people to make bucket lists. Interested individuals might want to get started on that sooner rather than later.
38. What Planet in the Solar System Would You Want to Visit?
Space is the final frontier. As such, space exploration has a certain heroic appeal for a lot of people out there. This writing prompt can be a good way to stir their imaginations.
39. Should Pluto Be a Planet?
Things that people believe to be certain aren’t necessarily so. For instance, the definition of a planet is something that astronomers decided upon. As a result, people can argue over whether Pluto should be a planet or not without sounding silly in the process.
40. Would You Choose to Live On the Moon?
The colonization of the moon is a natural step in establishing a human presence in outer space. Unfortunately, living on the moon would be extremely hazardous. Due to this, some people might find the prospect fascinating, while others might find it more horrifying than anything else.
41. Describe a New Board Game.
Describing the rules of a new board game can be quite challenging. Never mind coming up with a new board game that people would want to play.
42. Are Board Games Still Worth Playing?
Video games dominate. Despite that, people might still find value in board games.
43. Is There Any Point in Playing Chess With the Computer At the Highest Difficulty?
Chess hasn’t been 100 percent solved. However, Cornell University says it is well known that computers have become better than humans at the game. Plenty of people enjoy playing computer opponents in chess anyway. The question is whether they see any point in playing chess against an opponent they cannot hope to prevail against.
44. What Is Your Reason for Getting Up in the Morning?
Knowing one’s motivations is necessary for living as fruitful a life as possible.
45. Do You Fit the Description of Your Zodiac Sign?
The joke is that zodiac profiles are so generic that everyone can fit into these descriptions. Still, it is interesting to see what people say about their personalities.
46. Name Three Rules to Live By.
Everyone has rules they consider important. If they are only aware of them on a subconscious level, they could benefit by becoming more aware of them.
47. Can a Good Choice Have Negative Consequences?
What makes a choice morally right is a question without a universal consensus. This writing prompt asks people to think about their definitions of what makes a choice morally right.
48. What Would You Do If You Were Alone For a Week?
Some would loathe the idea of being stuck by themselves for a week. Still, chances are good they can think of some way for them to pass the time. Of course, some would embrace the notion wholeheartedly. That is particularly true if they can ignore their normal obligations, meaning they can treat the week as a decent-lengthed vacation.
49. Name a Song That Gets Stuck in Your Head.
The songs that get stuck in people’s heads aren’t necessarily the catchiest ones out there. They can get lodged in there for other reasons, which can sometimes make for great stories.
50. What Would the World Be Like If Everyone Could Read Minds?
Imagining fantastic scenarios can help people exercise their sense of imagination.
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