# Story Starter Prompt Pack **Prepared by Ryan Ellis | Scripting Horizons** *15 simple prompts for finding story ideas, building characters, writing stronger openings and dialogue, and giving your first draft a clean self-edit.* ## How to Use This Pack - Copy a prompt, paste it into any AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or similar), and replace each [BRACKETED] part with your own details. - Treat the answers as raw material. Pick what sparks something, change the rest, and write the story in your own voice. - For the editing prompts, paste only your own writing, a page or a scene at a time. - If an answer feels generic, reply with more detail about your genre, your characters or the tone you want, and ask for another round. > **Note:** AI suggestions can echo familiar stories and tropes. Check anything you plan to use against existing published work, and keep the final choices and the final words yours. ## Ideas and Premises ### 1. Spark Ideas From What I Know ``` I'd like to write a [GENRE] story. Things I know about or find interesting: [LIST 3 TO 5, E.G. A JOB, A PLACE, A HOBBY, A PERIOD OF HISTORY]. Give me eight story ideas, each in one or two sentences, that draw on those interests. ``` *Tip: The best ideas often come from things you already know well.* ### 2. Turn a What-If Into a Premise ``` Here is my what-if: [WHAT IF ...?]. Turn it into a one-paragraph premise that names the main character, what they want, what stands in their way, and what's at stake. Then give me three different directions the story could take. ``` *Tip: A good premise makes you curious about what happens next.* ### 3. Test My Idea ``` Here is my story idea: [DESCRIBE IN 3 TO 5 SENTENCES]. Ask me eight questions that would expose gaps or weak spots, such as unclear stakes, missing conflict or a hard-to-believe turn. Don't answer them yourself. Wait for my replies. ``` *Tip: Answer the questions in your notes before you start drafting.* ### 4. Choose Between Two Ideas ``` I'm torn between two ideas. Idea A: [DESCRIBE]. Idea B: [DESCRIBE]. Compare them on how much conflict each offers, how easy each is to sustain over [SHORT STORY / NOVELLA / NOVEL] length, and how excited I seem about each from my descriptions. Then ask me one question to help me decide. ``` *Tip: Whichever one you keep thinking about in the shower is a good clue.* ## Characters ### 5. Meet My Main Character ``` My main character is [NAME OR DESCRIPTION] in a [GENRE] story set in [SETTING]. Ask me ten questions, one at a time, about their daily life, habits, fears and secrets. After my answers, write a half-page profile I can keep beside my draft. ``` *Tip: Answer from your gut. You can always change a detail later.* ### 6. Want, Need and Obstacle ``` My character is [DESCRIBE]. Help me work out what they consciously want, what they actually need to learn or face, and what stands in their way. Give me three possible versions of each that I could choose from. ``` *Tip: A character who wants one thing and needs another gives you plenty of story.* ### 7. Build the Supporting Cast ``` My story is about [PREMISE]. The main character is [DESCRIBE]. Suggest four supporting characters who each create a different kind of pressure on the lead, and give each one a name idea, a goal of their own and one habit that makes them memorable. ``` *Tip: Give every side character something they want from the story.* ### 8. Names That Fit ``` I need names for [NUMBER] characters in a [GENRE] story set in [PLACE AND TIME]. Their roles are: [LIST ROLES AND A WORD OR TWO ABOUT EACH]. Suggest five name options for each that suit the setting, are easy to tell apart on the page, and avoid starting with the same letter. ``` *Tip: Say the name aloud a few times. If it trips you up, it will trip a reader.* ## Openings and Dialogue ### 9. Five Ways to Begin ``` My story is about [PREMISE] and the opening scene takes place [WHERE AND WHEN]. Write five different opening paragraphs, each starting from a different angle: action, a striking detail, a line of dialogue, a short summary of the situation, and a question the character is asking. Keep each under 100 words. ``` *Tip: Pick the opening that makes you want to write the second paragraph.* ### 10. Start Inside a Scene ``` Here is what happens in my opening scene: [DESCRIBE]. Suggest three places where I could begin the scene so the reader lands in the middle of something happening, and a one-sentence reason for each choice. ``` *Tip: Starting a little later in the scene than feels natural often works better.* ### 11. Two People, Different Goals ``` Write a short dialogue scene of about 200 words between [CHARACTER A] and [CHARACTER B] at [LOCATION]. A wants [GOAL] and B wants [GOAL], and neither says so directly. Keep the tone [TENSE / WARM / AWKWARD / FUNNY]. ``` *Tip: People rarely say exactly what they mean, and dialogue that skips around the point feels real.* ### 12. Fix Flat Dialogue ``` Here is a dialogue passage from my draft: [PASTE 10 TO 20 LINES]. Point out where it feels flat, repetitive or too neat. Then suggest three specific changes, such as cuts, interruptions or things left unsaid, and show one revised exchange. ``` *Tip: Read your dialogue aloud before you paste it. The clunky lines usually show up.* ## Your First Self-Edit ### 13. Read It Like a Stranger ``` Here is a scene from my draft: [PASTE 300 TO 800 WORDS]. Read it as a first-time reader and tell me, in plain language, where you felt interested, where you got confused, and where your attention drifted. Quote the exact lines you mean. ``` *Tip: Let a draft rest for a day or two before you ask. Fresh eyes spot more.* ### 14. Trim the Padding ``` Here is a passage from my draft: [PASTE 200 TO 500 WORDS]. Identify the sentences and phrases that could be cut without losing meaning, such as repeated ideas, filler and over-explaining. Show a trimmed version and list what you removed. ``` *Tip: If a cut makes you wince, put it back. Tight is the goal, and the story still needs room to breathe.* ### 15. Spot My Habits ``` Here is a longer sample of my writing: [PASTE 500 TO 1000 WORDS]. List any words, phrases or sentence patterns I seem to repeat, with a few examples of each, and suggest simple ways to vary them. Don't rewrite the passage. ``` *Tip: Everyone has habits. Finding yours is the first step to making them work for you.* --- If you'd like to see these ideas in action, Ryan Ellis's fiction is a good place to start: - [The Ghosts of AI](https://scriptinghorizons.com/books/the-ghosts-of-ai) - [Metamorphosis](https://scriptinghorizons.com/books/metamorphosis) - [The Strange Case of Juno and Darius](https://scriptinghorizons.com/books/the-strange-case-of-juno-and-darius) - [Kingdom of Likes](https://scriptinghorizons.com/books/kingdom-of-likes) [More from Ryan Ellis](https://scriptinghorizons.com/authors/ryan-ellis) Free from [Scripting Horizons](https://scriptinghorizons.com). Want more simple, useful tools like this? [Join the newsletter](https://scriptinghorizons.com/newsletter).