A small frame can sharpen an idea. Prompt 150 offers beginnings for complete stories told in exactly 150 words.
The idea behind the prompts
What is this?
One hundred and fifty words
Long enough for a turn, an image, or a whole tiny world. Short enough to make every sentence earn its place. A prompt is only the beginning; the shape and meaning of the story are yours. The prompt itself is part of the story, so its words count toward the 150-word total.
Start with one sentence
You do not need to master compression, layered meaning, or a clever final turn before you begin. Continue the prompt and finish a story in 150 words. That is enough. With practice, you will discover which details matter, how one sentence can do several jobs, and what your own kind of nuance looks like.
This week’s prompts
Five prompts are selected each week. Treat them as a regular practice: choose one, write all five, or return throughout the week and see which beginning asks to become a story.
See this week’s promptsPrompts on demand
When five are not enough, the generator begins with a fresh set and keeps going for as long as you do. Add one possibility at a time or regenerate the whole selection.
Generate promptsWith love to Glipho 150
Prompt 150 carries forward a practice I loved on Glipho 150, a service that is no longer with us. Its brief beginnings became years of stories and showed me how much possibility can live in a handful of words. This site is made in fond remembrance, and in the hope that the invitation remains: take these few words and make them yours.