Well done on another incredible writing prompt response! At the moment, there are so many comments and stories coming in that I know I’m missing some – so if I haven’t responded to you, apologies! I’m delighted by how much you’re enjoying these prompts and I’m very proud to watch your writing improve every week.

Last week’s prompt was all about dragons – I particularly loved Bel’s dragon banker, Niamh’s party planner dragon, Lillia’s dragon delivery worker and Amelie May’s hilariously bothersome Sir Boris. This week I’m setting a prompt that seems a bit more ordinary … but as with all of my prompts, it all depends on what you do with it.

I’d like you to write a story about family. You can use your family as a basis, or your friend’s family (if you’re writing about real people, please change their names so it’s not obvious what you’ve done). You can write about a fictional family you particularly love, or one you wish you had. You can even write about a family of dragons or ghosts, tying this story back to a previous prompt! Your family can be blended, have members who are adopted, or even be a found family, where no one is related. I think Daisy and Hazel are family, even though they come from very different backgrounds. Family, after all, is often less about blood ties and more about love.

As always, your story can be fantasy, horror, crime, sci fi – any genre you like. The family can be friendly, hate each other or anywhere in between. You can write a diary, a poem, a script … it’s absolutely up to you!

The rules …

1. It can be as long or as short as you like, and take you as much or as little time as you want.
2. It can be any genre (type) of story you want. If you have an idea for something that I haven’t mentioned (writing a poem! Being inspired by a song you love! Writing non-fiction!), don’t wait for my permission – just go for it! This is your creativity working!
3. You are not allowed to worry about grammar or spelling.
4. You are not allowed to worry if it isn’t perfect, or criticise yourself as you’re writing.
5. You are encouraged to make a plan before you begin, to make it easier for you to get to the end of the story. This can be two words or a whole page! But if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.
6. Get to the end of the story without stopping to go back and fix bits you don’t like. Once you’ve finished, read it through again. If you still don’t like those bits, you can edit them now!
7. If you want (and only if you want!) you’re allowed to post the first 500 words of your story in the comments below. I have to moderate the comments so it may take a while for them to show up – please be patient. I don’t want to see you apologising for your story or minimising what you’ve done when you post – writing a story is a triumph and you should be proud!
8. Please do not use your full name when you comment – first names are fine, or you can make up a username that you like! Also remember to stay safe online and not get into private discussions with anyone you don’t know in real life without telling an adult first.
9. If you like someone else’s story, you are allowed to comment to say so! If you’d like to give them ideas that might make their story even stronger, that’s OK, but please be kind and remember how deeply we all care about our writing. A good format for feedback might be something like: ‘I loved ****! Have you thought of ****? I think it might make your story even better!’ I will delete any comment if I feel it’s critical without being constructive.
10. I can’t promise to give feedback on any individual stories – I’m not marking them!
11. This isn’t a competition, and there will be no winners and no prizes, though I may choose a story or two to highlight in future posts.

Good luck, detectives – and as always I hope you’re staying safe and calm and being kind to your families and yourselves. I’m thinking of you all!