How to Get Kids Excited About Creative Writing: 49 Story Starters for Kids

If you’re looking for creative writing prompts to use in the classroom, we’re sharing 49 story starters for kids that help develop creativity, build expressive language, and improve handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar skills. We’ve included a mix of ideas, including journal prompts, personal essay inspiration, and fun fiction writing assignments. We’ve also included tips to get kids excited about writing, and ideas to maintain their interest and keep the momentum going!

Why Is Creative Writing Important for Kids?

• Helps kids express themselves. Journalling can be extremely therapeutic for both children and adults as it provides an outlet to work through feelings and emotions. Of course, writing private thoughts on paper can be risky – especially in a classroom setting – but with the right story starters for kids, teachers can find ways for their students to work through complex topics via fictional characters.
• Develops creativity. Creative writing exercises force children to stretch their imaginations and think outside the box, allowing them to consider alternative ways of thinking and helping them develop problem-solving skills.
• Improves writing and communication skills. Creative writing also helps kids work on their handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar skills, and when a child is interested and engaged in the topic they are writing about, they won’t even realize they are practicing!
• Promotes discipline and focus. Creating short stories requires a lot from kids. They have to come up with a plot, create their own characters, and organize it all into a beginning, middle, and end. This takes a surprising amount of discipline and focus – two skills that don’t come easily to young children.
• Provides solutions. There are tons of story starters for kids (see below!) that are designed to help children think about and work through topics they may be struggling with. As they write, they will inevitably start to come up with solutions to their own problems.

How to Get Kids Excited About Writing

• Offer a variety of writing prompts. One of the easiest ways to get kids excited about writing is to ensure they are interested in the topics they are writing about. Depending on the age of your students, you may be better off offering a selection of story starters for kids to choose from instead of just one.
• Allow creative freedom. Some children can focus on creative writing assignments for long periods of time, but others may find this tedious and difficult. While your end goal is for your students to practice their handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar skills, remember that this is an exercise in creative expression as well. Allow your students to animate their stories with drawings (these Draw and Write Journals are perfect!), and encourage them to verbally describe the details their pictures are trying to capture.
• Make it a group activity. There are tons of ways you can turn creative writing assignments into group activities within the classroom. For example, kids can brainstorm the plot and characters for a short story together, and then take turns writing parts of the story before sharing their finished piece to the class. Another option is for kids to work collectively to identify which aspects of the process each member of the group is better suited for, and then assign and delegate according. Or, students may prefer to work side-by-side, writing their own stories while bouncing ideas off of each other and sharing their work along the way. Working as a team is a great way to expose kids to different creative thinking styles, and it can be a great team-building activity to boot!
• Set a timer. A good way to keep children interested in creative writing is to set a time limit. Leaving the activity open-ended can feel daunting to some kids, especially if they’re younger. If you have a set time, your students may have an easier time focusing on the task at hand.
• Re-read old entries. Encourage your students to periodically look back over their writing assignments. It’s a great way for kids to see how their writing has improved, and reading through past thoughts and feelings can provide a lot of useful insight.

RELATED: 101 One-Page Story Starters for Kids

49 Story Starters for Kids

1. Today I woke up 10 years older than I was when I went to bed last night…
2. If I could fly…
3. It’s 1975. There are no cell phones or computers, and there is no internet…
4. If I was famous for a day I would…
5. ‘I have a secret’, she said, ‘but you have to promise not to tell anyone…’
6. It was his turn next. His heart was beating so fast and his hands were shaking. Could he do it? He wasn’t sure…
7. ‘I won a million dollars!’, she screamed, and everyone looked at her in disbelief…
8. I can’t imagine life without…
9. I opened the front door and there was a huge, mysterious box on my doorstep. Intrigued, I…
10. ‘Fasten your seat belts!’, she screamed to her friends…
11. The person I most admire…
12. If I was the president of the United States for a day, I would…
13. When I got home from school today, my stuffed animals started talking to me! They said…
14. My best friend’s dad is an inventor, and he developed a time machine that can take us anywhere we want for a day. We decided to travel back to…
15. I heard on the news this morning that it’s going to snow in August, and I can hardly believe it…
16. The year is 2045…
17. When I sat down at my desk this morning, my teacher made an announcement: our entire class is going to outer space for the day! I feel…
18. If I could do anything I wanted for the entire day today, I would…
19. A new family moved into the house next to ours, and there’s something strange about them…
20. If I had the power to make myself invisible, I would…
21. If I could talk to my 6-year-old self, I would say…
22. If kids ruled the world…
23. The biggest thing people misunderstand about me is…
24. My friends and I were trapped in the mall last night and we…
25. The rain is coming down hard, the thunder is loud, and the lightening keeps illuminating the sky. Our power went out an hour ago and it could be down for days. My cell phone only has 10% battery power left, and…
26. The most important thing I learned so far this year is…
27. If I could get stuck in a book, I’d choose the book ______ and the character ______ because….
28. Billy is the biggest bully in the whole entire world, and I wish I had the courage to tell him…
29. When I feel worried about something, I…
30. My favorite day of the week is ______ because…
31. This is bananas! We’re moving to the zoo!
32. If I could break one rule today, I would ______ because…
33. I’ve never told anyone this, but I have a secret superpower. Did you know I can…
34. There’s a crocodile living in our bathtub and…
35. If I could spend a day in the future, I would…
36. Did you know there’s a secret door in my closet? If you open it…
37. I closed my eyes and wished…
38. Emily was babysitting her little sister, and while they were digging in the sandbox at the park, they found a gold box. They opened it up and found…
39. ‘Wait for me!!!!!’ he yelled as he came running down the stairs…
40. The thing that annoys me most is…
41. We shouldn’t have homework this weekend because…
42. She was the last one to board the plane, and when she heard the doors close, she breathed a sigh of relief…
43. I opened up my lunch box and was surprised to find…
44. ‘Shhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone!’ she whispered…
45. I can’t wait to be an adult so I can…
46. My favorite family tradition is…
47. I wish someone would invent…
48. She looked in the mirror and all of a sudden…
49. The most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me was…