Are you an aspiring writer looking for inspiration? Look no further than ChatGPT! We’ve compiled a list of the 10 best writing prompts (more on PromptsHeaven) for short stories in English. Whether you prefer suspenseful thrillers or heartwarming romances, these prompts will kick-start your creativity and get your pen (or computer?) moving.
Here is what you get:
- 10 Prompts for your future short stories
- Ideas about what to write to ChatGPT to get even more prompts
- How to take a prompt idea generated from ChatGPT and ask him to build the characters out of it.
- How to make ChatGPT to write the story for you.
- How to make the illustrations and other images (book covers and back covers)
Let’s get started.
So, grab a cup of coffee, find a cozy spot to settle in, and get ready to let your imagination run wild with these unique and engaging prompts.
Step 01: Generate Story Inspirations
Here, I asked ChatGPT to write some ChatGPT prompts for writing short stories. 🙂
can you please give me 10 best ChatGPT prompts for writing short stories
Here is what he replied.
Of course! Here are ten ChatGPT prompts that could be used as inspiration for writing short stories: 1. A person wakes up with no memory of who they are or how they got there, and they must piece together the events of the previous night. 2. A small town is plagued by a mysterious illness that seems to be spreading rapidly. The protagonist is tasked with finding the source of the illness and stopping it before it's too late. 3. A group of friends decide to explore an abandoned mansion that has been rumored to be haunted for years. As they explore the mansion, they begin to realize that the rumors may be more than just stories. 4. A woman discovers a hidden room in her house that was apparently used for illegal activities. As she investigates further, she realizes that her own life may be in danger. 5. A man finds a strange object in the woods while hiking and decides to take it home. As he tries to figure out what the object is, he begins to experience strange and terrifying events. 6. A group of astronauts are sent on a mission to explore a distant planet, but they soon discover that the planet is not as uninhabited as they thought. 7. A woman starts to suspect that her husband may be having an affair, and she begins to investigate. As she delves deeper, she discovers a dark secret that threatens to destroy their marriage. 8. A group of survivors are holed up in a mall during a zombie apocalypse. As they try to survive, they must also deal with internal conflicts and power struggles. 9. A man wakes up in a world where time has stopped, and he must figure out how to restart time before it's too late. 10. A woman inherits a house from her grandmother, but the house seems to be haunted by a malevolent spirit. As she tries to uncover the truth behind the haunting, she discovers a dark family secret that has been kept hidden for generations. I hope these prompts inspire some great short stories!
Okay.
I liked the usual horror or haunted storyline that ChatGPT suggested.
Now, what’s next?
Step 02: Building Characters for the Story
I didn’t know that I need to build characters for my story. In fact – this is the first every short story I am going to write in my life. 🙂 So, I asked Bing over Skype that –
how to write a short story properly? :)
Well, Bing over Skype replied to me that – Characters are the main thing of a story (even for a short story). So she suggested me these:
- Identify a short story idea
- Define the character’s main conflict and goal
- Hook readers with a strong beginning
- Draft a middle focused on the story’s message
- Write a memorable ending
- Refine the plot and structure of your short story
Remember that short stories are not the same as novels. They need to be coherent, grammatically correct, and have proper spelling (soyouwanttowrite.org). Keep it simple and focus on a single portion of a character’s life (self-publishingschool.com). Make sure the reader has a clear picture of your main character right away (self-publishingschool.com).
Please, stop now. I got the points. 😀
Let’s go back to the ChatGPT and ask him to build the story characters for me. I asked him-
Okay. I liked the point 10. The foundation is solid. Now can you please create some characters for this story and build the story on it? Target 2000 words of story first. And then we will continue from there.
Based on prompt point #10, he suggested me these:
Sarah: The protagonist and inheritor of her grandmother's haunted house. She's a writer who's struggling with her latest project and hoping that the change of scenery will help her overcome her writer's block. Emma: Sarah's best friend and confidante. She's supportive of Sarah's decision to move into the house and encourages her to face her fears. Grandma Rose: Sarah's grandmother, who recently passed away and left her the haunted house in her will. Sarah has fond memories of spending time with her at the house as a child. Mr. Johnson: The local historian who has an extensive knowledge of the history of the town and the haunted house. Sarah seeks him out for information on the house's past. The Malevolent Spirit: The entity that haunts the house and terrorizes Sarah. It seems to have a personal vendetta against her and will stop at nothing to drive her out of the house.
The characters and entity look solid to me. For a short story – I think 3-4 characters are perfect to start with.
Now, let him ask the Story for me based on the characters he just created. 🙂
Step 03: Write The Story (or Get It Written 🙂 )
What I liked about the ChatGPT is that he remembers everything you typed before or talked about earlier on the same page. So, now you can take him to any direction you want.
In this stage – I am just going to ask him to write the story based on the characters he developed and the story prompt we liked at the beginning stage. Here you go –
let's begin the story with the 10th prompt and the characters you develped
He wrote me the story. Stopped in the middle but I asked him to continue where he left writing. But let’s see what the main character looks like in this short story:
Here is the full story –
Sarah had always loved her grandmother's house. It was a charming old Victorian-style home, with a wrap-around porch, a spacious backyard, and a warm, welcoming feel. She had spent many happy summers there as a child, playing hide-and-seek with her cousins and listening to her grandmother's stories of the house's history. So when her grandmother passed away and left her the house in her will, Sarah felt both excited and nostalgic. She decided to take a break from her writing and move into the house for a while, hoping that the change of scenery would help her overcome her writer's block. Her best friend Emma was supportive of her decision, and even helped her pack up her things and move into the house. As soon as Sarah stepped foot into the house, however, she knew that something was wrong. The air felt heavy and oppressive, and she could sense a malevolent presence lurking in the shadows. She tried to ignore her unease and focus on settling into the house, but the feeling of being watched never left her. One day, while exploring the attic, Sarah stumbled upon a locked room. She felt a strange pull towards it, as if something was urging her to unlock the door and enter. She managed to find the key and opened the door, only to find a room that was completely empty except for an old, dusty mirror. As she looked into the mirror, Sarah felt a cold breeze brush against her cheek. She shuddered and looked away, but when she looked back, she saw a figure standing behind her reflection. It was a dark, shadowy figure with glowing red eyes, and it seemed to be reaching out to her. Sarah screamed and ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She tried to convince herself that it was just her imagination, but the feeling of being watched intensified, and she began to have vivid nightmares about the figure in the mirror. Desperate for answers, Sarah sought out Mr. Johnson, the local historian who had an extensive knowledge of the history of the town and the haunted house. Mr. Johnson was hesitant to talk about the house at first, but Sarah's persistence and her grandmother's name eventually won him over. According to Mr. Johnson, the house had a dark history. It was built in the late 1800s by a wealthy businessman named Jeremiah Smith, who was rumored to have made his fortune through shady dealings. Smith had a daughter named Rebecca, who was notorious for her cruel and sadistic nature. She had tortured and killed several of the servants in the house, and it was rumored that she had even killed her own father. Sarah was horrified by the story, but it didn't explain the malevolent presence that she feltin the house. Mr. Johnson suggested that she consult with a psychic medium, who might be able to communicate with the spirit and help her resolve the situation. Sarah was skeptical, but she was willing to try anything to rid the house of the entity that was haunting her. She found a reputable psychic medium named Madame Dupont and made an appointment to meet with her at the house. Madame Dupont arrived the next day, and Sarah was immediately struck by her aura of calm and serenity. Madame Dupont conducted a thorough investigation of the house, and she was able to sense the presence of the malevolent spirit right away. She explained to Sarah that the spirit was indeed Rebecca Smith, and that she was still trapped in the house, unable to move on to the afterlife. Madame Dupont suggested that Sarah try to communicate with Rebecca and help her resolve any unfinished business that might be keeping her tethered to the house. Sarah was hesitant at first, but Madame Dupont guided her through a series of exercises to help her connect with Rebecca's spirit. To her surprise, Sarah was able to establish a connection with Rebecca, and she learned that the reason Rebecca was haunting the house was because she was seeking revenge against Sarah's grandmother. Rebecca believed that Sarah's grandmother had wronged her by convincing her father to disinherit her, and she was determined to make her pay. Sarah tried to reason with Rebecca and explain that her grandmother had nothing to do with the situation, but Rebecca was stubborn and refused to listen. As the days passed, Sarah continued to communicate with Rebecca, trying to find a way to resolve the situation. She learned that Rebecca had a deep-seated fear of being alone, and that she had been trapped in the house for over a century, unable to move on. Sarah realized that the only way to help Rebecca was to give her the closure she needed to move on to the afterlife. She enlisted the help of Emma and together they organized a séance in the house. During the séance, Sarah was able to make contact with Rebecca one last time, and she convinced her to let go of her anger and move on to the afterlife. Rebecca's spirit dissipated into the ether, and Sarah could feel the heavy weight that had been resting on her shoulders lift. With the malevolent spirit gone, Sarah was finally able to enjoy the beauty and history of her grandmother's house. She realized that sometimes the things that scare us the most are the things that need our help the most, and that with a little bit of courage and compassion, we can overcome even the most terrifying of obstacles.
This is the perfect story and the perfect ending I was expecting.
Thrilling story plot with a great moral line. I learned a lot of stuff from this!
Step 04: Create the Illustrations for the Story
Short story seems boring without illustrations. Luckily, with the help of prompts from PromptsHeaven – we can generate illustrations. Even you don’t need PromptsHeaven when you know the stuff.
In this case, we will use ChatGPT to create Midjourney (Another AI Tool based on OpenAI) prompts that will help us create illustrations for each important sections of our story. And, I want to portray each characters on my illustrations – so I need some help from ChatGPT (as he already knows the story characters well, than me :D).
So, let’s begin with the prompt hacking. 😛
I just asked ChatGPT-
can you please create some illustrations prompts for Midjourney for each of the story sections you wrote above?
I got some awesome Midjourney Prompts for each sections of the story. Plenty of Illustrations guys. 🙂 Here are what I got:
Sure, here are some illustration prompts for each section of the story: Sarah receives her grandmother's house in her will: Sarah standing outside the old, Victorian-style house with a perplexed expression on her face A close-up of the letter from the lawyer, with the address of the house written in elegant cursive Strange things start happening in the house: Sarah lying in bed, wide awake, as the clock strikes midnight and strange noises begin to echo through the house An ominous shadow lurking in the corner of the room as Sarah walks through the house Sarah learns about the history of the house: A sepia-toned photograph of Sarah's great-grandparents standing in front of the house in the early 1900s An old newspaper clipping about a tragic event that took place in the house years ago Sarah seeks help from Mr. Johnson: Sarah sitting across from Mr. Johnson at his desk, looking worried and distressed Mr. Johnson studying an old map of the town, trying to find clues about the history of the house Mr. Johnson suggests that Sarah consult with a psychic medium: Madame Dupont entering the house, wearing a flowing scarf and carrying a bundle of crystals Sarah and Madame Dupont sitting in a circle, with candles flickering in the background as they perform a ritual to communicate with the spirit Sarah communicates with the malevolent spirit: Sarah sitting alone in a dimly lit room, holding a Ouija board and communicating with the spirit The malevolent spirit manifesting itself as a shadowy figure in front of Sarah, its eyes glowing with anger and hatred Sarah helps the spirit move on: Sarah and Emma organizing a séance in the house, with candles and incense burning The spirit of Rebecca Smith, bathed in a warm, golden light, ascending to the heavens as Sarah watches with a sense of relief and closure.
Each section has two Midjourney prompts. I will use just one (the best one) though. That would make sense.
I will also change the name of the characters to something like “A 15 years old Girl or Boy” instead of a specific character name like “Sarah” while generating illustrations over Midjourney.
For example, on midjourney I used this prompt instead of mentioning Sarah –
An ominous shadow lurking in the corner of the room as a 19 year old scared girl walks through the house
Here is the image:
Step 05: Make The Book Cover & Back Cover
I am too lazy with Photoshop and will use AI for this section too. Though- we may need to polish the generated cover with Photoshop or any other AI tool, but for now, let’s just get some foundation to work with.
I instructed to ChatGPT –
can you please write a midjourney prompt for this story book cover and back cover?
Here is what I got:
Book Cover: - An image of the old, Victorian-style house, with the windows glowing with an eerie light and the moon shining bright in the background. - Sarah standing in front of the house, looking up at the windows with a sense of dread and apprehension. In the background, there is a faint image of the malevolent spirit, its eyes glowing with malice.
ChatGPT also suggested to me what to include in the back:
- A short author bio, highlighting their experience writing in the horror and paranormal genres, and their love of exploring the mysteries of the unknown. - A blurb describing the story in a suspenseful tone, highlighting the themes of family secrets, ghostly hauntings, and the courage needed to confront our deepest fears. - A quote from a review, praising the author's ability to create a sense of atmosphere and tension that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.
Awesome!
I have written a story!
Made the illustrations!
Made the Book Cover and everything required!
Want to see how this story turned out to be a 4-5 page Story Book?
Will share the Book link with you guys, soon!
