Ever dreamed of battling dragons in a lost world or zooming through galaxies on a spaceship powered by thought?
That’s the magic of science fiction and fantasy, two genres where anything is possible. You’re not limited by the laws of reality or the world as we know it.
You can build your own universe, invent new species, change time, and sprinkle in as much magic or futuristic tech as you like. However, even the wildest stories need strong characters, epic conflicts, and a world that feels real!
To help you get started, we’ve put together 40 out-of-this-world prompts filled with strange lands, powerful magic, mysterious science, and endless possibilities. So grab your pen or keyboard, and let’s see where your imagination takes you!
40 Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing Prompts to Blow Your Mind
What if your next story started with a question that bent reality? These sci-fi and fantasy prompts are here to launch your creativity into new worlds! So just browse through these prompts, as they will challenge your imagination and level up your storytelling game.
- The sun is dying, and the last surviving humans must travel back in time to restart civilization.
- An astronaut reappears at his family’s doorstep ten years after a mission that supposedly killed him.
- A wormhole suddenly opens up near Earth—but it’s not sucking us in… it’s spitting something out.
- A cosmonaut and an astronaut are stranded on the ISS when their countries declare war. Their final orders? Eliminate each other.
- Humans colonize Mars—only to discover an ancient alien civilization already buried beneath the surface.
- A mysterious space signal turns out to be a warning—from Earth’s own future.
- A tech company invents a way to send emails to the past. But once you hit send, you can’t undo what’s been changed.
- Someone finds out we’re all actually robots—programmed for a mission we don’t remember.
- An AI infiltrates a family’s smart home and begins controlling their lives one device at a time.
- Virtual reality becomes so real, people start forgetting what the real world even looks like.
- A startup promises digital immortality by uploading your brain—but the fine print hides something terrifying.
- Memories are stolen and sold on the black market. Your identity is no longer safe—even inside your own head.
- A scientist clones his family after they die in a crash—but the copies don’t act quite the same.
- Scientists discover a way to swap bodies… and someone wakes up in their worst enemy’s life.
- You’re married. Happy. Then you find out your whole relationship was part of someone else’s experiment.
- Deep in the desert, a top-secret lab has been creating human hybrids for decades—and one just escaped.
- Every invention ever created ends up being used as a weapon. Yours might be next.
- A virus mutates, giving people strange abilities… but at a horrifying cost.
- An alien invasion begins—but instead of attacking, they say they’re here to rescue us.
- Our entire universe is actually a story being written by a bored alien teenager.
- You discover a portal to another version of your life—and the you on the other side doesn’t want to trade back.
- Reality starts glitching—small things at first. Then you realize… you’re not supposed to exist.
- Robots didn’t replace us. We were the robots all along—and we already wiped out our creators.
- You’re given the choice to reset your life—but you won’t remember anything if you do. Would you still do it?
- A gallery full of paintings comes to life every night—but they start plotting an escape into the real world.
- A massive forest of sentient trees judges every traveler who dares enter.
- A magical exchange program lets people swap places with alternate versions of themselves. You meet… you.
- A kingdom ruled by a child sorcerer hides a dark secret behind its peace.
- A multiverse tournament invites champions from every world. The prize? Rewrite the laws of your universe.
- A town vanishes into shadow for 30 days every year. This time, it doesn’t come back.
- Everyone has a countdown above their head—until yours starts going up.
- An app appears on your phone that predicts your future. It’s always right… until it suddenly glitches.
- You wake up with the ability to hear lies in people’s thoughts—and nothing sounds the same again.
- A mysterious book writes back to you—and seems to know what’s about to happen in your life.
- The stars vanished from the sky years ago. Now, they’ve all returned—and they’re in the wrong places.
- Everyone starts dreaming of the same forest—and what happens there begins to bleed into real life.
- At 18, everyone is bonded with a magical creature. Yours never comes—until a rogue dragon crashes into your backyard.
- You join a trial for a mind-sharing experiment. When it ends, you still can’t stop hearing the other person’s thoughts.
- There’s a hidden school between dimensions that trains students to control time. You were never meant to be enrolled.
- A giant countdown clock appears in the sky. No one knows who put it there—or what happens when it hits zero.
Fun games and challenges for sci-fi and fantasy writers: How to use these prompts
Writing doesn’t always have to start with a blank page. Sometimes, the best stories begin with a game, a spark, or a twist you didn’t see coming. These interactive activities are designed to loosen up your imagination, break through writer’s block, and make storytelling feel like an epic quest.
These games can be used when working solo or with friends, as they will help you dive deeper into strange new worlds!
1. Prompt Mash-Up Game
Students randomly pick two different sci-fi or fantasy prompts and are challenged to merge them into one story idea. The goal is to connect seemingly unrelated ideas into a single, cohesive narrative, pushing creativity and problem-solving skills.
For example, combining “Everyone dreams of the same forest” with “An astronaut reappears at home after a failed mission” could inspire a story where the astronaut returns but is haunted by dreams shared by the whole world. This activity encourages flexible thinking and helps students see how wild combinations can spark original plots.
2. “What If?” Chain Game
One student starts with a simple “What if…” question, and the next person adds another layer, building a chain of wild, escalating ideas. Each student contributes to expanding the scenario, turning it into a bigger and stranger story with every turn.
For instance: “What if the moon disappeared?” → “What if it was stolen by aliens?” → “What if they were trying to save us from something hiding inside it?” This game not only promotes group storytelling but also helps students break out of logical constraints and follow their imaginations.
3. Flash Fiction Race
Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes and have students pick a random prompt to write the beginning of a story. The challenge is to write as much as they can in that short time, focusing on action, atmosphere, or world-building—whatever comes first.
After writing, they can read their pieces aloud or swap with a partner. This helps students stop overthinking and just start writing, which is often the hardest part of creative work. It’s perfect for warming up and generating raw, exciting material.
4. Plot Twist Spinner
After students begin writing a story based on a prompt, introduce a twist using a spinner or jar filled with random plot twists. They must now adapt their story to include the twist, which could change everything.
For example, if the twist says, “The villain is actually your future self,” they’ll have to rework their story with that in mind. This adds surprise and forces students to think on their feet, just like real authors often do during drafting.
5. Create Your Own World Map
Students imagine the setting of their story and sketch a basic map of the world, be it a galaxy, magical land, or futuristic city. They label key locations like hidden caves, robot factories, wizard towers, or wormholes.
This helps ground abstract ideas into visual form and encourages deeper thinking about how a world functions. It’s especially helpful for fantasy and sci-fi writing, where world-building plays a major role in storytelling.
Wrapping Up
Science fiction and fantasy give you permission to dream big, break rules, and ask “what if?” in the wildest ways possible. Be it exploring alien worlds, writing spells into your notebooks, or bending time just for fun, every prompt is a doorway to something new!
So don’t wait for the perfect idea. Pick a prompt, twist it, and run with it. So, are you ready to write the unimaginable? Let’s go!
An Engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor, and animal rights activist. I have more than 5 years of teaching experience and have worked closely with students with learning disorders. I have worked with special educators, counselors, and experts in dealing with common issues that students face during their academic journey.