By Writing Barn Intern Katarina Rodriguez
Ah… The Autumn Equinox, AKA the first official day of Fall, is upon us!
Don’t we all just love the season of pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin patches, pumpkin bread, hayrides, Halloween movies, cool(ish) breezes, Thanksgiving feasts, and neutral-toned sweaters that mimic the ever-evolving trees surrounding us?
Well, as the leaves on the trees start to change colors and begin to shed, why don’t we creatives switch it up too? This Fall, let’s ditch our old leaves and step out of our comfort zones!
Here’s a writing exercise to get you thinking a bit unconventionally: Which genre of writing do you dislike the most, or gravitate toward the least? Scroll through these short story prompts, choose the genre you’re least likely to write in, and get to creating!
Feel free to have fun with ALL of these prompts if you need to.
Short Story Prompts
Horror/Thriller
You answer your door on Halloween night expecting to see some trick or treaters, but instead, you find a large box on your doorstep. In this box are creepy candid pictures of you doing everyday things such as walking, sleeping, working, stretching, watching TV, etc. What happens next?
Sci-Fi
You’re the last human on Earth after having survived the apocalypse. You’re walking back to your campground when you see a triangular-shaped UFO heading right towards you. What happens next?
Mystery
Three friends decide to take a trip to a pumpkin patch, but when they get there, they see no one around and all of the pumpkins have cryptic messages written on them. One friend goes to see if anyone is in the back but never returns. What do the two remaining friends do? What happened to the third friend?
Romance
You’re a 50-year-old recently divorced man who’s going on his first date in 24 years. Who is it with? How does it go?
Creative Nonfiction
Write a story about an event in your life that a family member or friend remembers differently. Try to tell it from their point of view as opposed to yours. How did it happen?
Kidlit
Write a story about a child’s first time carving a pumpkin for Halloween. Who taught them? How long did it take? Were they proud of it after?
Comedy
A person dies suddenly and is reincarnated as a crazy cat lady’s newest black cat that’s terrified of its own shadow. What is that life like?
We hope you enjoyed these writing prompts! Don’t forget to find your courage to continue to create outside of your comfort zone. Feel free to share the stories you cooked up with these prompts on social media and tag us! And lastly, we hope you have a fall season that’s abundant with gratitude, light, love, creativity, and LOTS of pumpkin spice!
About the Writer
Katarina Rodriguez is a senior at St. Edward’s University, studying to receive her BA in Writing and Rhetoric. She’s originally from Galveston, Texas and is a board member for The Ricky Roa Memorial Scholarship fund. Her love for writing began at a young age, and she mostly enjoys writing poetry and short fiction. Some of her favorite genres include mystery, romance, thriller and science fiction. Outside of writing, Katarina loves to read, cook, sing, play her ukulele, watch softball and annoy her three cats.