60+ First Line Writing Prompts

Did you know that the opening line of a story is one of the hardest parts of writing a great book? Spark your imagination with these 100+first line writing prompts for all ages! These simple one-liners are the perfect way to get those creative juices flowing and find inspiration for your next big short story or flash fiction. 

We have a mix of first-line writing prompts, ranging from fantasy prompts to non-fictional and realistic events. As well as prompts written in the first and third-person view. The one-line writing prompts in this post are a great way to challenge yourself to write something new. In fact, you can even set yourself a challenge to write at least 300 words every day for each of these cool prompts!

60+ Random First Line Writing Prompts

Here are over 60 one-line opening sentences to help you write your next big story:

1.  “Er… I hate this song. Why is it always playing on the radio?”
2. Every story has a hero and I’m the hero of this one.
3. Thunder rattled outside, as Emily tossed and turned trying to sleep.
4. Life wasn’t great at all for Mr Pea. It wasn’t even mildly good. 
5. They keep calling me “special”, but what’s so special about me?
6. Gavin was always getting the best presents. For once I wish I could be like him.
7. Balloons popping, confetti dropping and food flying. That’s how Katie spent her birthday each year. 
8. Every night, Peter went out to save the world in his own little way. 
9. If dogs could speak, then Spike would be thanking Chris right now.
10.  Money is everything. 
11.  Was it really Jane’s fault?
12.  Every day the same thing keeps happening.
13.  For the first time in her life, Janie felt powerful.
14.  5 AM and still no phone call.
15.  Mom’s always telling me to come straight home. 
16.  There’s an old legend that talks about magical fairies living in the forest. 
17.  Snow fell, as Clarissa made her way home.
18.  After the accident, Nelson never felt safe again.
19.  Katie’s living the dream up in the hills of Hollywood.
20.  The world seemed like such a big place, until the recent discovery in Antarctica. 
21.  “Dear diary, today I learned something about myself…” Katie mumbled to herself. 
22.  Blinded by a bright light outside his window, Jake jumped up in horror.
23.  Sitting at his computer, Martin noticed something odd about his favourite computer game.
24.  Rain trembled down the window, as the car radio played in the background. 
25.  “Ready or not, here I come!” shouted Millie in the distance. 
26. Once upon a time, there lived a young prince with extraordinary powers. 
27.  James had it all, but still, it was not enough.
28.  Her red hair glistened in the sun, as she walked across the car park. 
29.  Mel was always haunted by her dreams. 
30.  “Shhhh! It’s your turn now” whispered Kelly. 
31.  The room was a dump, as Jack frantically searched every corner. 
32.  This time daddy brought a strange teddy bear home.
33.  There’s no cure for a beast like me. 
34.  People ran inside their homes, as the alarm rang. 
35.  Tracking through the woods, Christian found something strange. 
36.  Home. What is home anyway?
37.  Legend says that if you breathe in and out ten times in front of a mirror something strange happens.
38.  Tick… tock… tick… tock… time was going so slow. 
39.  The pain was too much, he had to leave right now.
40.  Slipping out of reach, she lost it forever.
41.  Money, clothes, food, everything you need for a quick getaway. 
42.  In the faraway kingdom of Rainbow Popsicles, everything was sweet, apart from one strange-looking thing. 
43.  In the damp streets of Manhattan, there lived a fierce little cat. 
44.  Being the ‘odd one out’, the ‘weird’ one wasn’t fun at all.
45.  “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!” Shelly screamed in her sleep.
46.  Some say the number 7 is unlucky, but to me, it wasn’t.
47.  Every Saturday, Joe went to his Grandma’s house, but something was very different this week. 
48.  Chores, chores and more chores.
49.  For once I wish I could get my way.
50.  The sun shone brightly on Oakland farm, but not all was bright.
51.  “I got one! I got one!” shrieked Sally, jumping up and down in excitement.
52.  She was everything I wanted to be and more. 
53.   The same words over and over again scattered all over the floor. 
54.  The scariest creatures lived deep in the forest where no-one ever went. 
55.  “Abra Kadabra, turn these ripped trainers into the fastest trainers in the world!” exclaimed Victor. 
56.  The desert-like sun burned his skin as he lay scorching in the sand. 
57.  The sound of rustling leaves turned George’s heart to stone. 
58.  Sunny Slimeville was just a normal town with a funny name. 
59.  The phone did not stop ringing all week.
60.  Another tea party, another game. 
61.  How’s a country girl like me ever going to survive the big city?
62.  Did you know that not all zombies eat brains?

How To Use These One-Line Writing Prompts

There are a number of ways you can use these first-line writing prompts to inspire your story writing, such as:

• Pick one of the opening sentences and free-write for at least 60 seconds. Don’t stop to think, just keep on writing whatever comes to mind! 
• Don’t keep skipping through all of the prompts above. Challenge yourself and give the ‘hard’ or ‘boring’ ones a go! You never know how they’ll inspire you unless you give them a go. 
• Feel free to adapt these first-line writing prompts in any way you like. You can change the character names, point of view and any other details you feel like.
• Explore your imagination. Don’t be afraid to add more characters, add conflict, add dialogue, add anything you like to really have fun with these prompts!

For more inspiration, check out this list of over 150 story starters. Now go and choose an opening sentence from the above list! And if it inspires you to write something cool, let us know in the comments! You can even publish your story online – Just sign-up to create your free account.