Pick a Prompt

(Any prompt)

The StoryADay Challenge has rolled into its second week for 2026, and there’s a lively community of writers leaving comments about their writing, over at the blog.

Even if you’re not taking part in the challenge, why not read through them and commit to writing one story sparked by one, this week?

Day 1 – The Last Word, from P.A. Cornell

Day 2 – Funktionslust from Aimee Ogden

Day 3 – Ride The Wind, from Myna Chang

Day 4 – A List of Words, from Julie Duffy

Day 5 – Stranger Than Fiction, from Jared Lemus

Day 6 – Talking to Animals, from Max Delsohn

Day 7 – Dip your Toe Into Memoir, from Heidi Clausius

Day 8 – Like a Sore Thumb, from Gabrielle Johansen

Day 9 – Non Stop, from Lara Hughes

(If you’d like to get the prompts in your inbox each day for the rest of the month and aren’t already, add your email address to this form.)

Each of the prompts has some explanation and inspiration built in, so go and check them out, then leave a comment and let us know how you got on!

Keep writing,

Julie

Day 9 | The Prompt by Lara Hughes

The Prompt

Begin with a confined space. This could mean physically cramped, or that your character is constrained such that they must—for whatever reasons—remain in place for a spell. (A cave and a mandatory business dinner both confine in their own way.)

In this space, a phone that does not belong to your character rings loudly, in succession, at least ten times. (This is about five nonstop minutes of ringing.)

Questions to consider:
To whom might the phone belong? What does the ringing trigger in your character? Who will or will not answer it? Who is on the other end? What do they want? How is the phone silenced and what consequences might result?

Whatever the answers:
It can no longer be ignored.

Enjoy mining the conflicts and compelling needs this may spark. Happy writing!

Lara Hughes

Lara Hughes is a recipient of the 2025 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize. Her fiction has appeared in Best Debut Short Stories 2025 (Catapult), The Arkansas International, and is forthcoming in the Indiana Review. She holds an MFA from Vanderbilt University and currently lives in Nashville, where she is at work on a novel and short story collection.

www.LaraHughes.com

Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!

Remember: Please don’t post your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.

9

Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday

Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version