Story Ideas About Siblings and More...

On this page, you'll find story ideas that you can turn into short fiction or novels. At the bottom of the page are links to hundreds of other creative writing prompts.

Story Starters about the Five Senses

SIGHT: Your character has a new girlfriend, who is blind -- at least, that's what she's led your character to believe believe. Recently, your character is noticing signs that she might actually be able to see. What's going on? Why would someone pretend to be blind?

HEARING: Recently, your character has been hearing strange noises in the house. Sometimes it sounds like someone sobbing; other times, she thinks she can make out words, or names. "Mary," she heard once. "Mary, please, no." She can't figure out where the sounds are coming from. She doesn't know anyone named Mary. And her husband claims not to hear anything at all...

SMELL: A week ago, your character's sister disappeared while hiking in the woods. The police searched the woods and didn't find her. But your character isn't satisfied. He goes to his sister's house and gets her dog Buster, then drives to the woods in the hope that Buster might pick up her scent...

TOUCH: Your character goes on a camping trip with her friend and the friend's boyfriend. In the middle of the night, she wakes up in the dark tent and feels a hand on her arm. She touches the hand -- it's her friend's. Then the friend's finger starts moving over her arm, and your character realizes that she's drawing the shape of letters, that she's trying to tell her something...

TASTE: Your character's new stepmother brings him a glass of orange juice with a funny taste. About an hour later, he starts to feel dizzy, and he spends the whole weekend sick in bed. The next week, she has to go on a business trip for several days, and he starts to feel better while she's away. Then she comes back and makes dinner for him and his father, and when he takes a sip of his milk, he notices that funny taste again. Your character is beginning to have suspicions, but what can he do? His father would never believe him...

SIGHT: Alone at home, your character takes a selfie to post online. Later, when your character looks at the photo again, s/he discovers something unexpected -- a stranger hidden in the shadows behind where your character was standing! Who is it, and what was this person doing in your character's house? Could s/he still be there?

HEARING: Your character overhears someone planning a crime. Your character considers calling the police, but thinks s/he may have misunderstood, so s/he decides to investigate first...

SMELL:Your character wakes in the middle of the night and smells smoke. S/he can't find any signs of a fire, so s/he returns to sleep. In the morning, s/he hears that his/her brother's house across the city burned down that night. Coincidence? ESP? Or could there be another explanation?

TOUCH: In the library where your character works, there's a case of rare, valuable books which no one is supposed to touch. One of these books has an unusual title or cover which piques your character's curiosity. One night, when your character is at the library alone, s/he decides to unlock the case and see what's inside the book. As soon as s/he reaches inside the case, an alarm goes off. Without thinking, your character grabs the book and runs...

TASTE: Your character, a baker, is secretly in love with one of his/her customers. Too shy to speak to him/her, your character finally decides to bake a message for him/her into a cake. But when that cake ends up being bought by the wrong customer, it leads to a major misunderstanding...

Story Starters About Animals

Your character desperately wants to get back together with his ex-girlfriend. When he hears that her dog has gone missing, he sees an opportunity. He decides to find the dog and win her back.

Your character has a phobia about spiders. After an argument with his roommate, he keeps finding spiders around their apartment. He doesn't believe it's a coincidence...

Your character develops the ability to communicate with animals. This ability helps your character to solve a mystery...

Your character's a child whose mother is about to get married. Unfortunately, the husband-to-be is allergic to dogs. Your character has a dog which she loves and doesn't want to give up. She decides her only option is to break up the relationship...

Someone, or something, has been killing pets in the neighborhood. Your character, a pet owner, decides to get to the bottom of it...


Your character and her daughter are camping. They take a walk in the woods, and when they get back to the tent, there's a bear standing outside it. Your character and her daughter get in their car, lock the doors, and wait for the bear to go away. But the bear shows no signs of going away. Your character's daughter's on medication, which she needs to take at regular times, and they left the medicine in the tent...

Your character has fallen in love with an apartment and decides to rent it. Unfortunately for your character, a pet owner, there's a no pets allowed rule. Your character decides to keep his pet hidden, but the pet doesn't want to cooperate...

Your character's dog is digging in the garden and uncovers... (you choose: the wedding ring your character's wife claimed to have lost, a plastic bag filled with cash, a dead body, a staircase that leads to an underground city...)

Your character is disturbed when their pet parrot starts saying words related to violence and death. Who has taught the parrot these words? Is this someone's idea of a joke? Or is it something more sinister?

When your character sees their neighbor mistreating a pet, your character concocts a plan to kidnap the pet and find a better home for it. Your character will face three challenges: (1) pulling off the kidnapping, (2) hiding the pet once it is in your character's home, (3) giving up the pet -- your character will fall in love with the animal and want to keep it.

Your character adopts what they wrongly believe to be an ordinary kitten...

Story Starters About Siblings

Your character is under suspicion for a crime she didn't commit. Her husband and parents all think she's guilty, and her whole life seems to be falling apart. She knows who did commit the crime -- her brother, whom she adores. If she tells the truth, he'll go to jail. Will she take the blame for him?

Your character and her husband are desperate to adopt a baby. After many months, they finally get the news they've been hoping for: a pregnant woman has chosen them to adopt her baby when it's born. But they're not expecting her to have twins. Your character thinks it's wrong to separate them and wants to adopt them both, but her husband only wants one child. What will they do?

Your character's best friend married your character's brother. Now, they're in the process of a messy divorce, and they want your character to take sides...

Your character's brother has always been their parents' favorite. Your character decides it's time to change that. He comes up with a devious plan...

Story Ideas: A Change of Plans

On a business trip overseas, your character and a coworker your character hates both test positive for Covid and are forced to quarantine together...

Your character is writing a novel about a museum heist. They research a local museum to figure out how the robbery could play out in their story. But the plan they come up with seems so brilliant that instead of writing about it, your character decides to put it into practice...

When their parents are killed in a car crash, your 18-year-old character is suddenly put in charge of their four younger siblings...

Your character is approached in a café by an extremely attractive stranger. "Are you Irene?" the stranger asks. Your character is not named Irene, but the stranger is so attractive that she answers yes...

When your character is unexpectedly fired from their job, they decide to take revenge. They know their boss's passwords...

More Story Ideas

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Even more story ideas

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