77 Drabble Prompts

Here we’re referring to a drabble as a short story or short piece of writing that serves as a writing exercise to get the writer’s thinking and creativity started.

Often times these short stories are 100 words or fewer, but they can be any short piece that sparks the writer’s creativity.

These prompts are short, one-liners meant to be used and expanded into the short story known as a drabble.

How to use these:

It may be fun to have a contest and see who can write the most drabbles in a set amount of time.

Or assign every student a couple and see who comes up with the most concise and most descriptive offering.

These can be done any time as they are short and sweet.

The Prompts:

  1. I’m the most hungry when I am nervous.
  2. I survived the rainstorm but not the flood.
  3. Why would you keep those weird castanets?
  4. It was a miracle when the sun came out.
  5. Honesty is the best policy.
  6. I ate everything I could find but was still hungry as ever.
  7. It was still too little, too late.
  8. I guess I was mistaken about the raccoon.
  9. Why would an opossum need self-worth?
  10. How could that be the final answer?
  11. As usual, he was incredibly over-dramatic.
  12. There was no wrongdoing when they took back the planter.
  13. How could you possibly blame me when I was not there?
  14. A promise is only as good as the person who keeps it.
  15. All I knew was that I could really yous a hug.
  16. The plan did not go as anyone had intended it to.
  17. How could she let the fear drive her so far?
  18. I accidentally broke it, really.
  19. His hair protruded from his head at every angle imaginable.
  20. All she needed was five more minutes, and then it would be time.
  21. I ate too much cake. 
  22. You can never have too much cake.
  23. I lied, and I knew it would eventually catch up with me.
  24. I couldn’t believe what I had overheard.
  25. Could this really be the recipe for the perfect cinnamon rolls?
  26. That would never have been my opinion.
  27. She may have been beautiful, but she was rotten to her very core.
  28. I never expected a complaint about the noise level.
  29. How can you possibly complain about everything all the time?
  30. I’m afraid we have less than five hours left.
  31. Did you really forget all the sunscreen?
  32. This was the end, and I was about to die an embarrassment.
  33. My eyes had been opened, and now I saw why this was so perfect.
  34. Have you ever been that hungry before?
  35. The frosting on the cupcakes was almost too pretty to eat.
  36. I had to be brave or else I wouldn’t be the only one affected.
  37. Athena was sickened by the foolishness of her siblings.
  38. That is why I always win at Monopoly.
  39. It was no use since she was so painfully shy.
  40. Creamed vegetables tell me bad things.
  41. The sky rumbled, and they saw the immense funnel of the tornado overhead.
  42. She never knew that a real-life fairytale could feel so completely normal.
  43. All that was really needed was five more moments, and she was home free.
  44. It was easier to hide the evidence than I thought it would be.
  45. But the devious behavior is always so much more fun.
  46. Why was that what choice had to be made? It didn’t make any kind of sense.
  47. Coordinating colors had always been the thing that made the twins really stand out.
  48. I was just about ready to love it or leave it behind.
  49. I never, ever wanted it to end up with us picking sides.
  50. Do you actually understand the depth of what’s happening here?
  51. You don’t need to sneak… I can see you after all.
  52. How was she supposed to build it with no instructions to be found?
  53. She never liked being surprised and now was no different.
  54. This Halloween was surely going to be different from last year.
  55. Was the quarrel even necessary since it only made her angrier?
  56. Everyone already knew that place was bad news.
  57. Contrary to popular belief, she was more than capable of the task.
  58. Now the dreams came more frequently and were especially vivid.
  59. It was all she could hope for as she planned her revenge.
  60. There was no need for envy anymore, she had been sure of that.
  61. The dramatic flair seems a bit too dramatic sometimes.
  62. What would my favorite color have to do with planning for a debate competition?
  63. How could you even say that to me?
  64. I never knew I had been mistaken.
  65. I wish we could all take responsibility for our actions, but some people just won’t.
  66. It was a strong indicator of his bravery.
  67. There was no one to help with the squirrels.
  68. Did you know that is what the day was about?
  69. Only describing it will do the thing justice.
  70. The chronic cold affected her very bones.
  71. Why not just call the exterminator then?
  72. How could you want a parrot?
  73. I think that turquoise is the perfect color.
  74. She can compare buttons and whistles butt wouldn’t change.
  75. Honesty had gotten them this far.
  76. Content and with full bellies, they settled around the fire.
  77. Why I never!

For Further Reading

Drabbles are supposed to be fun, so we hope you had a good time with the prompts.

If you think that we missed something or would like to share an idea with our team, feel free to reach out, we always want to hear from you. Check out our additional resources as well, and don’t forget to tell your friends!