Humour Writing Prompts

Some nights I lay silently on the grass and listen to the trees argue.

Write a story where the pets of a neighbourhood meet to criticise their owners in a secret night time club.

Write a poem casually and nonchalantly reflecting on a hugely important event.

What kind of language could portray this tone even when the content is important?

A character from a dystopian future where all non-human animals are extinct reads an ancient text about something called a 'cat'...

Your protagonist is a free-spirited traveller who has always lived minimalistically. One day they start casual work at an opulent mansion.

Create a narrative from this character's perspective, where they find absurd and laughable features of this luxurious house.

I’m not sure if Cupid had a hangover when he assigned soulmates, but really? He couldn’t be serious…

Choose one of your own writings, and critique it as if it were an award-winning novel or poem with outstanding reviews.

Try to shamelessly pick out positives that can be emphasised in a hyperbolic review-style summary. (Please do not review other people's work!)

Imagine you are a young child attempting rhyming poetry for the first time.

Consider the language you use to reflect the child’s age. Also try to think about what would be an important topic for them to write about.

Write a poem from the perspective of someone who obviously hates — or is just extremely bad at — poetry.

Try to consider why someone may feel pressured to write a poem. Love? A school project?

Write a passage about something you believe is beautiful, but in the tone a newsreader might use if they are speaking of a national tragedy.

Use a positive event or thing, but describe it with language that is formal and emotionally neutral.

Two friends discuss how they would rob a bank, using humour to lighten the tone...

Your protagonist has just been caught in the act of something that they are ashamed of.

Try to depict their guilt, shame, and remorse through dialogue, actions, and body language.

"So, who’s going to die today?"

Write a story that begins with this question.

Use the following objects in a narrative about how your character got a job that they are completely unqualified for:

Teapot

Bulldozer

Stiletto

A quiet, unassuming librarian has an interesting and unhinged train of thought...

Write this character's internal monologue as they perform their normal, mundane jobs. How do their thoughts fit in around their actions and visible characteristics?