100+ Short Story Prompts by Genre (Free)
Quick answer: 100+ original short story prompts by genre, plus first lines to steal and character seeds. Pick one, write 100 to 2,000 words, and enter the contest.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 31 countries have entered, readers come from over 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.