You can find prompts given for past editions of Challenges here. You may use these prompts as inspiration for any story you want to write.
This chapter will be updated at the end of each year.
Romance
✎The dust has settled on my wedding ring. I haven't had the courage to touch it ever since she left, but as I put it on today, the silhouettes on the mirror become sharper.
✎There have been couples like us before, there will be more in the future. There probably isn't anything too special about us, but all I want is to be able to stand by this woman through thick and thin, from this day on.
✎Our hearts were in sync, as I heard his pulse flutter under my fingertips. I have missed this feeling for so long, but we finally have the chance to make up for all the missed moments now.
Science Fiction
✎Decades into the future, humans have created the technology to take highly detailed photos of exoplanets. Excited, scientists from all around the world crowd around the screen to be the first humans in history to see Proxima B. Quickly, however, their expressions turn horrified; it's no planet.
✎Mankind sent out signals and probes in all directions to contact alien life, which we did. But as numerous alien races, who were previously unaware of each other, raced to Earth for conquest they encountered each other. Seems we started the biggest interstellar war in history.
✎An alien parasite infected the human population, wiping 95% of the species out of existence. After a few centuries, humanity became immune. Now, when an extra-terrestrial race attempts to utilize weapons made from this virus to attack the humans, they're in for a shock.
Mystery & Detective
✎Your favorite podcast which talks about unsolved mysteries seems to be doing a special on you today.
✎"This is an automated text message from the Federal Surveillance Intelligence (FSI). A crime has been detected through this device's recording mechanisms and your location data has been accessed. Please remain where you are, unless unsafe, and an officer will be there shortly."
✎There's a train station in the middle of a forest, surrounded by only wilderness and the rest of the track; no civilization, no other infrastructure, just forest. A train passes by once every day and stops, but most don't get off. Those who do are never seen again.
✎The elevator that led to your apartment had an extra, blank, button. As a child, you always pressed it and it never worked. Today, as you go visit your parents' apartment, you press it and...
✎The lights turned on. The landlord's corpse bled. The trapped guests panicked. "Let's calm down and figure out who among us is the culprit," the detective pacified. But as a mind reader, you already know.
Paranormal
✎You run a diner for paranormal creatures and outerworldly guests. As the day is coming to an end a rather unexpected guest shows up...
✎A group of college students decides to spend their summer vacation in a cabin in the woods. But what starts as a fun vacation turns deadly when they realize the woods aren't quite as safe as they thought.
✎A man hears strange sounds coming from his attic and is determined to find out what they are. He sneaks up to the attic to investigate, but when he does, he stumbles upon something much more frightening than he could have imagined.
✎She's not an angel. She's a demon.
✎A girl hears laughter downstairs — she's the only one at home.
Fantasy
✎You have spent over a decade practicing the magical arts, and your arcane skills and mana reserves are some of the best in the entire kingdom; so you are understandably exasperated to discover the summoned hero was bestowed with magical powers that make your hard-earned abilities insignificant.
✎You have worked at a library for many years. One day you show up to work and all the books are simply gone, absolutely no trace... except for one.
✎Hades and Persephone adopted a mortal girl and raised her as best as they could. Now Charon must escort her safely to the Underworld...or go to Tartarus.
✎"It's time to put down the sword John, you did all you could."
✎You're a shape-shifting eldritch goddess from the outer realm, capable of slaying and then banning your enemies into an eternal hell. So why do people refer to you as a 'Magical Girl'?!
Adventure
✎You find yourself outside of a bookstore with a book in your hand. The book is solidly one color with no markings on the cover or spine. You don't recognize the store, the street you're on, nor, after a long moment staring upward, the stars in the sky.
✎You are a pirate captain during the golden age of piracy. You and your crew just robbed a ship that carried a rather strange artifact. You don't know what it did to you and your ship, but you are no longer in the Caribbean and there is a ship with a dragon bow approaching you.
✎On a late-night bus ride home, you see a distorted version of yourself sitting across the aisle.
✎An old homeless man hands you a scruffy notebook he claims contains secrets that will change the world. The more you read, the more you realize it may be the ramblings of a madman - or the revelations of a misunderstood genius.
✎You awake to the sound of meowing outside your bedroom door. When you investigate, a stray cat runs inside carrying an old postal envelope in its mouth. Inside you find clues to a woman's identity, and photos of her with a barcode tattoo - along with a cryptic note pleading for help.
Vampire
✎Your best friend is discovered to secretly be an evil bloodthirsty vampire. Finish this story.
✎You keep accidentally stumbling into urban fantasy creatures and locations. The various vampires and werewolves all seem sure you belong, but you're pretty sure that you're just a normal human.
✎Finding food after the robot uprising is difficult. Especially for a vampire.
✎A vampire and a werewolf, both trying their hardest to remain hidden, become roommates.
✎A female vampire recruited by the FBI during the 90s is on the hunt for what could be a vampire serial killer terrorizing California, from San Diego to San Francisco, and writing the number 601 on their victims. Things get personal as the killer begins to take out friends and fellow agents.
Horror
✎One day, you noticed a small black dot on your bedroom wall and thought nothing of it. However, at the beginning of the following month, the dot had doubled in size. Although there was no texture or anything to it, you decided to paint over it. Now, just before the start of the 12th month, on Halloween night, a huge, faint black ring appears on the same wall.
✎A man walks past a bathroom mirror and notices that his reflection lags by a second. Uncomfortable with the thought, he turns the mirror to face the wall for the night. Later, when he has to use the bathroom at midnight, he finds long strands of hair sticking out from the side of the mirror.
✎You decide to stay indoors during Halloween night and listen to children's laughter on the streets. Unexpectedly, you hear a brief, distant, and distorted deep laugh. Initially, you think you misheard it and that the children have gone away. However, a minute later, the laugh returns and repeats, no longer distant but growing closer.
✎While participating in trick-or-treating, unruly kids shove you, causing your glasses to break. Despite your impaired vision in the dark, you are determined to continue celebrating Halloween. However, you start to notice eerie figures lurking between the alleys and houses.
✎On Halloween night, while digging in her backyard, an old lady stumbles upon an iron chest. Curiosity gets the better of her, and she opens it to reveal a stack of old photographs featuring her ancestors. Strangely, every single one of them is missing their left eye.
✎A photographer embarks on a leisurely stroll through a neighborhood on Halloween, seeking inspiration for his next project. As he starts capturing images, he realizes that there are only haunting shadows in the places where people should have been. The absence of human figures leaves him with an unsettling feeling.
✎Room 206 has gained a reputation for being haunted, causing hotel guests to steer clear of it. However, on Halloween night, an elderly woman arrives at the hotel and specifically requests the key to room 206. When questioned, she reveals that she was born in that very room, sparking curiosity and intrigue among the hotel staff.
✎You wake up on Halloween morning to an unpleasant surprise—early snow has covered the ground with a thick layer of 2 inches of the stuff. What's even more unsettling is the discovery of a set of footprints leading from the end of your driveway and into your house. The eerie part? You live alone.
Werewolf
✎In a world where werewolves are a common occurrence, a young girl discovers she has the ability to communicate with and control these creatures.
✎A cursed werewolf, desperate to break free from their affliction, embarks on a perilous journey to find a rumored cure.
✎In a remote village, a young werewolf must make a difficult choice between loyalty to their pack and the love they feel for a human.
✎A werewolf detective with a unique ability to see through the eyes of their prey is assigned to solve a series of gruesome murders committed by a rogue werewolf.
✎A group of friends on a camping trip unknowingly stumbles upon a hidden werewolf sanctuary and must find a way to escape before they become the pack's next victims.
✎A renowned werewolf hunter finds themselves unexpectedly forming a bond with a captured werewolf, forcing them to question their lifelong mission.
✎A young werewolf's secret identity is at risk of exposure when a curious classmate begins to suspect their true nature.
✎In a dystopian society, werewolves are hunted and imprisoned, and a rebellious group of werewolves plan a daring escape to reclaim their freedom.
✎A werewolf detective must solve a baffling murder case where the prime suspect is a fellow werewolf, testing their loyalty to their kind.
✎A tragic love story unfolds between a werewolf and a vampire, two forbidden creatures bound by their supernatural nature and the conflicts that arise from their respective clans.
Winter
✎It's Christmas morning, but as two parents awaken, they realize their children have allowed them to sleep in. A sense of concern arises as the house remains unnervingly quiet.
✎Peer through the window just before midnight on Christmas Eve, and you'll find the worried ghost of a woman, her gaze fixed upon the snowy landscape, yearning to spot a figure approaching down the road.
✎This Christmas, a mother and father resolve to create the most unforgettable experience yet, fully aware that it will mark their final celebration together as a family.
✎Picture a man confiding his troubles and Christmas wishes to an unlikely listener – a snowman.
✎Step into a child's shoes as they embark on an adventure, meticulously searching the entire house for the hidden trove of Christmas presents, only to stumble upon a surprise.
✎What's your favorite thing about winter? Write about a character who is experiencing this thing for the first time ever.
✎A bunch of travelers gets stuck in a blizzard and finds shelter in a rundown cabin. But soon, they realize that what's inside the cabin is worse than the blizzard they just escaped.
✎Write a poem as if you were a snowflake falling to the ground.
✎Write a poem to spring, as if it were your crush and you're eagerly waiting for its return.
✎The wolf was happy for its thick, warm winter fur as it ran through the cold morning fog...
Hope these are of some help!