If you want to send your character on an adventure but aren’t sure where to start, look no further. Today, we have twenty new quest writing prompts to challenge your protagonist (as well as their friends) and send them on the journey of a lifetime. Until their next quest, that is.
The Quest Plot
From the Lord of the Rings trilogy to Finding Nemo, the quest plot is a staple of high fantasy stories and the adventure genre. But while quests might evoke images of the protagonist searching for a magical item while fighting off mythical creatures, it's far from limited to these genres.
Your characters can go on quests in your sci-fi world and in coming of age stories too (magical powers not required). Even thrillers and horror stories can have quests. All that matters is that your protagonist leaves their home in search of something and faces some challenges along the way.
Want to learn more about how to write a quest plot? Check out our full guide here.
20 Quest Plot Writing Prompts
To get you and your character started on your adventure today, here are some short story prompts:
- A village hires a hero to slay a monster. He accepts the challenge, until he discovers the “monster” was protecting them from something far worse. Now, he has to find and destroy it.
- A group of heroes are tasked with finding and returning a sacred relic. The only problem is that it doesn’t want to go back.
- The villain offers to help the hero in the middle of the quest—and appears completely sincere.
- Every time the hero almost reaches the end of their quest, the world rewrites itself and they have to start again. How do they break this cycle?
- The hero’s quest map is alive (and extremely opinionated).
- The quest giver insists on joining the hero’s party, but is deeply unhelpful in every single way.
- The quest’s destination only exists when the hero experiences a specific emotional state.
- In order to retrieve a kidnapped child, the hero must break a sacred rule.
- The hero is tasked to retrieve an important magical artifact. All is going well, until he learns they can only complete the quest by saving their greatest enemy . . . and letting him go.
- To find the relic and keep the world safe, the hero must complete an evil ritual. Will she do it?
- Before they can complete the quest, the hero must steal an artifact that can’t actually be owned.
- Every choice the hero makes while on the quest creates a physical scar on the landscape.
- When they finally reach the end of the quest, the hero realizes one of the adventurers in their party must make a terrible sacrifice before any of them can go home.
- The quest immediately comes to an end if any of the adventurers speaks the truth.
- The hero learns a supposedly lost civilization has been watching them the entire time. But why?
- The hero must do the impossible: she must find a god and convince them that they're wrong.
- A delivery quest becomes more complicated when the package keeps psionically urging everyone to destroy it.
- The hero can only proceed with the quest if they reveal deeper and deeper secrets about themselves. The final truth could destroy them altogether.
- The hero must rescue their love, and is gifted a beautiful and powerful sword to help them do it. The only problem is that the sword grows weaker each time it’s used for violence.
- The hero claims his reward, only to discover the relic erases precious moments from his past, leading him on another quest to restore them.
What Epic Journey will Your Character go on Today?
Quest plots are one of the most exciting (and fun!) story types. I hope these quest writing prompts get your creative juices flowing and help you start your own quest story today.
What’s your favorite quest story? Let us know in the comments!
PRACTICE
Choose one of the prompts above, then set the timer for fifteen minutes. Write a scene or short story based on the prompt, and when you’re finished, share your practice in The Write Practice Pro workshops for feedback from the community.
Not a member yet? Join us here.
Happy writing!
Elizabeth Nettleton is an author and editor currently based in Oxfordshire, England. An avid reader and writer since childhood, she was once so engrossed in her book that she ran into a lamppost.
There is nothing Elizabeth loves more than magic and getting lost in other worlds (except for her family, friends, and pets, of course!), so she primarily writes fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. When she's not reading or writing, you can find her playing with her kids, daydreaming, or trying not to die in a video game.
You can learn more about Elizabeth's projects on her website, or say hello to her on X here.
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