Writing Prompts for Fairy Tales (With Craft Tips to Make Them Your Own)
- Iris Marsh
- 15 apr
- 8 minuten om te lezen
Bijgewerkt op: 16 apr
Writing fairy tales is more than just spinning castles and curses onto the page—it’s about reimagining the familiar in a way that feels fresh, emotionally grounded, and uniquely yours.
They’re stories that belong to folklore, although there’s usually not a strict divide between fairy tale, folklore, or myths. These stories typically have enchantments, magic, and mythical beings.
You can often find dragons, elves, fairies, giants, dwarfs, gnomes, goblins, merfolk, talking animals, monsters, witches, wizards, talking animals, and unicorns within fairy tales.
As an editor who works with fantasy authors, I often see writers struggle with getting started or feeling like their ideas are too cliché. Especially when it comes to common tropes.
But here’s the thing: tropes aren’t the problem—it’s how you use them that makes the difference.
That’s why I’ve put together these fairy tale writing prompts—each one designed to not only spark your creativity, but also give you a starting point that’s structurally sound and rich with storytelling potential.
And to help you go deeper, I’ll also share why each prompt works and what to focus on if you want to turn it into something bigger.
Whether you’re working on a short story or developing a new fantasy novel, I hope these prompts offer both inspiration and a gentle editorial nudge in the right direction.
How to Use These Prompts
The prompts below are meant to give you some inspiration. You can use them for creative exercises or as a starting point for your short story or novel.
But since I often see writers rush to write their next book (and I'm certainly guilty of that myself!), I would recommend using these prompts to write scenes or short stories while focusing on a particular aspect of your craft.
This way, you can improve your writing skills through deliberate practice. And if you like what you've written, you can still develop it into a full novel.
Tip: If you join my free Facebook group, you'll get my workbook for writing practice for free!
Prompt 1: Magical Object Trope
A cursed mirror shows people not their reflection, but their greatest regret—and your protagonist just inherited it.
Why it works
The trope used here is the magical object. The trope here is the magical object—but instead of granting wishes, it delivers an emotional punch. The feeling of regret is universal and intimate—we all have moments in our lives we’ve regretted—this immediately invites backstory, internal conflict, and character depth.
Editor’s tip
Before you dive into the plot, think about your protagonist: What would they see in that mirror? Why would it affect them now? Would they try to fix it—or bury it deeper?
Ask yourself: What does this regret say about who they are—and who they want to become?
Then focus on how the magic affects relationships or decision-making, not just the mechanics of the mirror.
Some fun conflict and tension might be, for instance:
Their regret is letting go of the one person they’ve truly loved; while they're already married to someone else.
Their regret is something they don’t even remember. Was it erased? Suppressed? Or too traumatic to process?
Final tip: avoid jumping straight into exposition. Let the regret reveal itself gradually—through dialogue, hesitation, or physical reaction.
Prompt 2: Forbidden Place Trope
A mysterious forest only appears at midnight—and your protagonist is the only one who can enter it.
Why it works
This taps into the classic forbidden place trope—a recurring element in fairy tales where certain locations are hidden, cursed, or dangerous. The forest becomes more than a setting—it’s a symbol of the unknown, of temptation, of transformation. Giving your protagonist exclusive access raises the stakes and opens the door to deep internal and external conflict.
Editor’s tip
The real magic here isn’t just what’s in the forest—it’s why your protagonist is drawn to it, and why they alone can enter.
Ask yourself:
What do they hope to find there?
What part of themselves do they fear they’ll lose?
How does entering the forest change what they believe about themselves or the world?
Let the forest serve as a mirror for their internal journey. Maybe it reflects their trauma, dreams, or guilt. You can even make the forest react to their emotions—growing darker when they’re afraid, or shifting paths based on what they refuse to confront.
Final tip: avoid front-loading too much worldbuilding about the forest. Instead, build mystery with sensory details and character response. What do they hear that others can’t? What happens to time inside? Let readers feel the forest before you explain it.
Prompt 3: Orphaned Protagonist Trope
On the night of their sixteenth birthday, your orphaned protagonist dreams of a castle made of starlight. When they wake, a silver key lies on their pillow—one they’ve never seen before, but somehow know was left by their mother.
Why it works
This prompt draws on the classic orphaned protagonist trope—core to fairy tales like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. The dream introduces the “call to adventure,” while the key symbolizes access to something magical, forbidden, or forgotten.
It immediately sparks questions about legacy, identity, and transformation—all powerful themes in fairy tales.
Editor’s tip
This kind of story invites a deep internal arc: the orphan who feels forgotten becomes the one who chooses to remember who they are. But you don’t have to stop at the classic setup—twisting the trope is what makes it yours.
Here are some ways to make this story stand out.
Give the antagonist depth or surprise. Instead of an evil stepmother or shadowy sorcerer, what if:
The antagonist is a well-meaning guardian trying to protect the protagonist from a truth they’re not ready for?
Or a sibling or friend, raised with the same story, but who interprets the legacy differently—and becomes a rival?
Give side characters more agency.
Maybe the animal companion can speak—but only in dreams.
Or a loyal maid knows more than she’s let on and has her own stake in the castle’s secret.
Perhaps the protagonist’s best friend is the one who refuses to let them go into this alone—even though they can’t see the dream castle.
Add a subplot that personalizes or complicates the stakes. Twisting the orphan trope doesn’t always mean rewriting the main plot. Sometimes, it’s about what you weave through it—the emotional or moral complications that arise along the way.
A relationship that changes the goal: as your protagonist begins unraveling the mystery of the castle and their parentage, they develop a close bond (or romance) with someone who isn’t part of that destiny—and may even be threatened by it. What happens when following their magical legacy means betraying someone they’ve come to love?
Maybe the protagonist isn’t the only orphan—and as the story unfolds, they realize their childhood best friend is their sibling, separated and hidden long ago. But now, they must choose: follow the thread to their parents, or protect the life they’ve built with the sibling who already feels like home?
Add a mirror character with opposing stakes. Maybe another orphan has access to a second key—and a different vision. Their goals clash, their destinies intertwine, and only one truth can be revealed. Is your protagonist willing to risk the truth if it means destroying someone else’s?
Final tip: when you start writing, don’t rush the key or castle reveal. Build atmosphere—use sensory details in the dream, uncertainty when they wake, and emotional layering in their response. The more personal it feels, the more powerful the story becomes.
Prompt 4: Evil Stepmother Trope
When your protagonist’s stepmother moves into the family home, flowers begin to die, mirrors stop reflecting, and the family dog refuses to enter the same room as her. But your protagonist is the only one who notices—and the only one who remembers what their birth mother told them about witches.
Why it works
This prompt draws on the evil stepmother trope, but with a subtle and eerie twist. Rather than outright cruelty, we start with atmospheric signs that something is wrong.
The isolation—where only the protagonist can sense it—adds a creeping dread and deepens the emotional stakes. It opens the door for magical realism, unreliable perception, and emotional complexity (what if the stepmother is misunderstood? Or worse than imagined?).
Editor’s tip
The “evil stepmother” works best when she’s more than just a villain—when she represents something personal the protagonist must confront, like grief, jealousy, fear of abandonment, or powerlessness.
To twist this trope and make it your own, try layering in these elements.
Give the stepmother unexpected complexity.
Maybe she isn’t evil at all, but bound by a curse, or secretly trying to protect the protagonist from a greater threat.
Or she knows the protagonist suspects her—and begins gaslighting them in magical ways that make others doubt the protagonist’s sanity.
Raise the stakes with a magical threat.
Perhaps the mirrors stopped reflecting because something else is watching, and the stepmother is the only one who can see it too.
Or maybe the protagonist is being trained—unknowingly—to take the stepmother’s place in some dark magical hierarchy.
Final tip: let the protagonist’s emotional landscape shape the narrative. Are they angry? Hopeful? Suspicious? Lost? The stepmother’s presence should test their deepest emotional fault line—because that’s where the most powerful transformation begins.
To Recap
The prompts above are starting points to spark your next idea. But if none of the prompts above speak to you, I hope the detailed explanations and tips will help you come up with your own idea.
Pick a trope you really like as a starting point, then build your idea around it. As you've seen above, you can do this by:
focusing on your protagonist's emotional journey
creating an interesting antagonist to challenge your protagonist
adding subplots to change the protagonist's goal or raise the stakes
give side characters more agency with interesting goals of their own
focusing on what makes your protagonist unique.
You can even combine certain fairy tale tropes (like a setting trope, character trope, and antagonist trope) to create something new and interesting.
Start Forming Your Idea
Fairy tale tropes might be familiar, but that’s what makes them so powerful—you’re not starting from scratch. You’re starting with emotional resonance, timeless structure, and built-in reader expectations.
And when you twist those tropes—through deeper character arcs, unexpected subplots, or just your own writerly voice—you turn something classic into something completely your own.
Whether you're drafting a new short story, want to plot a fairy tale novel, or are just playing around with ideas, I hope these prompts (and tips!) sparked some inspiration.
And even if these prompts weren’t your cup of tea, I hope they gave you some insight into how you can take a trope and twist it into your unique story.
Want to share your take on one of these prompts? Or get feedback and support as you write?
👉 Join my free Facebook group, Writing Help for Every Writer, where fellow fiction writers gather to share ideas and writing goals, talk through tricky scenes, and cheer each other on.
You don’t have to write alone. Let’s turn “once upon a time” into something unforgettable together.