26 writing challenges in 2026

The challenge will be chosen at random or whenever I feel inspired.

1. A shopping list as a story

   
   

2. Based around mental health.

   
   

3. Write a story from the perspective of an object.

   
   

4. Write a short story that starts in one genre but ends in another.

   
   

5. Describe a character’s morning routine, but everything that could go wrong does go wrong.

   
   

6. Write a poem about the person you are inside..

   
   

7. Write an "how-to" guide from a character on how to do something mundane, but they explain it in an overly complex.

   
   

8. Tweet-Style Story: Write a mini-story using a maximum of 280 characters

   
   

9. Use a photo from your Pinterest for you page

   
   

10. 100-word story.

    
    

11. A character has 7 days and 21 bucket list items

    
    

12. A fallen angel finds a single feather from their former wings. Can they use it to return to heaven?

    
    

13. A ghost taunts you into a game of Snakes and Ladders, your body at stake.

    
    

14. Based on a newspaper article 

    
    

15. A witch, a vampire pirate, an unlikely team

    
    

16. A short story written as a recipe

    
    

17. Smash the keys, write a story where each word begins with the letters. eg -gkug Go kicking unicorns, guys.

    
    

18. Write a poem from the perspective of your alarm clock plotting revenge.

    
    

19. Animals as narrators.

    
    

20. A story based on your favourite month

    
    

21. Mystical animal in an everyday place.

    
    

22. A stand-in suddenly becomes essential when the star quits.

    
    

23. “Don’t open the door. It’s me.”The message keeps re-sending every 3 minutes, each version more corrupted than the last.

24. Set in a prison.

25. Write a story in the format of an official police report documenting a bizarre incident.

    
    

26. Jigsaw puzzle