Dystopian Writing Prompts to Ignite Your Imagination

Dystopian literature enjoyed a surge in popularity a few years ago with series like The Hunger Games. Though the genre witnessed a decline, it's crucial to recognize that trends cycle in and out.

Given the current tumultuous state of the world, we can anticipate another wave of interest in dystopian novels. So, why not stay ahead of the curve and embark on your dystopian writing journey?

Dystopian Writing Prompts

Here are a ton of dystopian writing prompts to kickstart your creative process:

Amid a zombie apocalypse, a woman discovers her favorite lipstick in the display window of a zombie-infested boutique.

A traveler in the mountains stumbles upon a survivalist school run by a doomsday prepper who remains oblivious to the world's end.

A family takes refuge in a tornado shelter during a storm, only to emerge in a nightmarish version of their world, reduced to ashes.

A motorcycle gang maintains order in a small town, but their peace is disrupted when a plague-ridden traveler arrives.

A salesman profits by selling equipment meant to safeguard citizens from an impending climate disaster, only for the equipment to fail.

In the aftermath of government collapse, a group elevates a child as their leader, believing in their moral purity. How does this experiment unfold?

Three teenagers stumble upon an abandoned TV in a warehouse, clueless about its purpose. When they finally get it to work, what's on the screen?

A dystopian society categorizes its citizens into three arbitrary groups. A government official publicly acknowledges the arbitrary nature of this categorization. What are the consequences?

No one has ventured beyond the city walls for centuries. Yet, a courageous girl sneaks out.

Global leaders decided to shut down industrial plants, factories, and mass production to combat climate change. Describe the world five years after this decision.

Post-apocalyptic archaeologists uncover a mysterious building, unaware that it's a high school from 2015.

Leaders decree that each family's eldest child must serve in the military. One family manages to conceal their child successfully, but what transpires on the child's seventeenth birthday?

Write about a world where people spend some or all of their time in an alternate reality simulator.

A society builds underground bunkers to ensure survival, but people are forced to live underground when the worst happens. Describe life fifty years later.

Chronicle the experiences of a cave explorer who discovers remnants of human life from 2020, two thousand years ago.

In post-apocalyptic Texas, a group forms a Sheriff's department to combat rising crime. Share the details of their latest case.

In this world, children are prohibited from speaking until they turn eighteen.

Nomadic travelers in an American wasteland encounter a cat. The youngest girl wants to keep it, while the others want to eliminate it. Who prevails?

Document the journal entry of the last scientist alive as a deadly plague ravages the world.

In a society where citizens must work every waking hour, with only 8 hours allocated for sleep, a citizen fails to clock in one day.

In this world, romantic partners are genetically assigned, and people cannot choose outside their assignment. Write about an unassigned couple who falls in love.

A new species of indestructible dinosaurs emerges from uncharted caves in North America, posing a dire threat to humanity. Describe one individual's courageous attempt to eliminate them a century after society's collapse.

Pen a story about two children who find a stray dog in a world where pets are illegal.

A space explorer lands on a planet called 'Earth,' two millennia in the future. To their surprise, there are no human inhabitants. What traces remain?

An intern in a dystopian world stumbles upon a shocking revelation: the nation's leader is a computer plugged into a mainframe. How do they react to this discovery?

Describe a society where organs can be harvested from living individuals.

To curb high murder rates, body cameras are installed on every citizen, which cannot be turned off or removed. Write from a surveillance officer watching a citizen evade the law.

A lone character resorts to grave robbing for supplies in a nearly deserted post-apocalyptic world stripped of resources.

In an era marked by extreme poverty, a modern-day Gold Rush promises riches, drawing people to what was once California.

A cult leader, foreseeing annihilation, leads his followers underwater to establish a new life beneath the sea. Over time, they expand, eventually forming a nation. When a meteor wipes out the surface, they become the last surviving civilization.

In a world where people are not allowed to die, replacement organs and body parts are mass-produced and sold at exorbitant prices. Those unable to afford replacements are kept alive by machinery. Chronicle the life of a worker in one of these facilities.

A secret laboratory engineers hybrids of humans and various animals to create a super-species capable of surviving changing world conditions. One of these hybrids escapes.

In a sparsely populated post-apocalyptic world, a character discovers an entrance to an unknown thriving underground city.

In a waterlogged world with scarce resources, a Death Lottery is established as a form of population control. Randomly selected citizens from the lowest-ranked category are killed and consumed. Share the perspective of one selected individual.

An EMP renders all electronics useless. Citizens who rely on cyborg brain parts face unique challenges.

Soldiers round up children aged 10 to 19, believing they are the prime candidates for a life-saving biological alteration in the face of mass extinction.

Dystopian Writing

Feel free to use these prompts for short stories, generate fresh ideas, engage in writing exercises, or simply warm up your creativity! Remember, you can modify and interpret prompts in various ways to suit your writing goals. Happy writing!