We are going to take this back to basics this year. A lot happened last year and we we over reach, we often fall. This year we are going to be a lot easier on the structure.

The goal is – Write a short story each day using one of the included prompts and target 3000 words. If you want to go lower, go for it. If you want to aim higher each day, run with that too! We can’t wait to see what comes from this month of fun, writing, and adventure.

31 Stories in 31 Days Prompt Jan 2026

Prompt 1

Use 7 words in the story – cacophony, birds, echo, tunnel, rice, word, bubble

Prompt 2

Use 7 words in the story – race, heat, intensity, ice shards, cats, joy, different

Prompt 3

Use 7 words in the story – color, essence, bestie, brazen, teach, ship, cypher

Prompt 4

Use 7 words in the story – flabbergasted, bamboozled, stupefied, fast, dance, rose

Prompt 5

Use 7 words in the story – boom, chaos, stray, trigger, truck, fly, vamos

Prompt 6

Use 7 words in the story – catastrophic, drum, next, news, while, nah, kids

Prompt 7

Use 7 words in the story – terrible, shame, agrees, immortal, fall out, watcher

Prompt 8

Use 7 words in the story – sinner, hourglass, overload, black out, feel better, timezone

Prompt 9

Use 7 words in the story – hero, twenty three, sticks, figure, anything, off, well

Prompt 10

Use 7 words – working, center stage, fierce, standing ovation, steal the show, bricks, big

Prompt 11

Use 7 words – suffer, three, save, show, lights, prize, ready

Prompt 12

Use 7 words – copycat, imitate, ticket, dance track, glitch, wild, scattered

Prompt 13

Use 7 words – remember, rise, war, climb, summit, edge, chase

Prompt 14

Use 7 words – make, push, back, fight, beneath, giants, worth

Prompt 15

Use 7 words – mob, alive, league, ignite, queen, decaf, chaos

Prompt 16

Use 7 words – rush, down, crown, round, ready, trouble, eyes on me

Prompt 17

Use 7 words – push your luck, pop, try it, awaken, today, night, dream

Prompt 18

Use 7 words – peace, stand, thread, fear, help, knocking, restless

Prompt 19

Use 7 words – destiny, fight at your door, turn the tide, wake, blackness, fade, word

Prompt 20

Use 7 words – share, picture, fall, take us, water, slow, blood stains

Prompt 21

Use 7 words – hold on, drifting, hieroglyphics, other side, ace, arrow, red baron

Prompt 22

Use 7 words – much longer, pull, holding, melding, roam, short, letter

Prompt 23

Use 7 words – white, kaboom, lit the fuse, game, hold heads high, beat drums, final

Prompt 24

Use 7 words – champions, strike, voices, joining, madness, save, stars

Prompt 25

Use 7 words – storm, reflection, flower, nice, tater, alive, monster

Prompt 26

Use 7 words – jewelry, stop, pride, tide, true believer, connection, miss

Prompt 27

Use 7 words – empire, phoenix, ceiling, jump, crown, bury, demons

Prompt 28

Use 7 words – tear down, fly, die, wings, stuck, screaming, part

Prompt 29

Use 7 words – hope, relentless, bones, smoke, devil, pick yourself up, calling

Prompt 30

Use 7 words – greatness, written, eternity, price, scars, lost, avenge defeat

Prompt 31

Use 7 words – reaching, artichoke, snot, hunker, kaleidoscope, myriad, ornery

Lyra is a strong black female college student and bookstore employee, who is gifted with natural magic. The kind that moves as if breathing, reaching out for connection and it hasn’t failed her yet. 

Enter Adrian, her guardian angel… of sorts. His ancient family has blood-bound magic wards to protect them. When a shadow creature tries to devour the magic from a fellow magic users of the city. Adrian saves Lyra from the shadow who manages to feed on another. Bidding their time. 

Blood magic saves them both for a short time but then they must rely on each other to stop the shadow creature too. Who would’ve thought that magic could mix with science? Well that’s what happens when severance occurs. It all goes horribly wrong for one individual. Lost and alone, another tries to save the love of their life only to become a magic devouring being hellbent on fixing their errors. 

Apple:https://books.apple.com/us/book/magic-eater/id6756240848 Nook:https://books2read.com/u/m2NXJj?store=bn&format=EBOOK 

Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/magic-eater?sId=9f31cfe4-d48f-4bb6-8c36-6efebfa29b1d&ssId=qfTwLGJG4sokrMnD4JW4q 

Thalia: https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1077652052 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1919108 

Angus& Robertson: https://www.angusrobertson.com.au/books/x/p/9781633100657 

Vivlio: https://shop.vivlio.com/product/9781633100657_9781633100657_10020/magic-eater 

Fable: https://fable.co/book/x-9781633100657 

Currently available for as an eBook on December 10, 2025! Incoming paperback and large print format. The audiobook is coming too! 

@poetguygabe.bsky.social and launched January 1, 2025.

The host posts a daily prompt for 7 days and chooses someone to whom they will “relay” hosting.

You get a prompt, then create a piece of flash fiction, art, whatever your heart is inspired to do. Write a story in whatever style you prefer. Use either prompt or both! All tenses/compounds are allowed. Get creative! Have fun!

This is a GREAT way to flex the creative muscles and warm up the creative focus for the day.

Thank you, @itsmamabearb.bsky.social for a week of lovely, contrasting prompts and for passing the hosting to me.

Prompt: Chasing a cat into the house leads to something fun.

Prompt: Something just seemed a little out of place but it was more than that.

Prompt: Discover a treasure and fend off challenges to get it home.

Be sure to share where you’ve been finding your prompts this month! And give a streamer in the Writing and Reading category a thanks for streaming!

One of these programs is the Amazon Literary partnership (ALP) which opened up applications for 2025 in the UK and the Republic of Ireland until January 31st of 2025. This program opened up in November of 2024 and is the 6th year that the program has run in the United Kingdom and the second in Ireland. This grant supports nonprofit literary organizations fostering creative writers of all ages and in all stages of their writing career.

The 2024 ALP supported 37 literary focus groups across the UK and subsequently expanded further into Ireland.

Many of the organizations that have benefited focus on providing creative writing opportunities to both young people and older generations. These are integrated deeply into their local communities cultivating storytelling both as a medium of communication and as a career opportunity.

Eligible applicants are registered non-profit organizations in the UK or the Republic of Ireland with a core mission dedicated to emerging authors, supporting diversity, celebrating storytellers, and building careers.

Grants typically range from $5,000 to $20,000
Grant recipients will be notified by May 16th of 2025

apply.amazonliterarypartnership.co.uk

Additonal Grants or Funding Opportunities are avaialbe to authors and aspiring authors all over the world. Here we are gong to highlight ones from areas that most commonly visit this site.

Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Fellowships

Application deadline: January 19, 2025

Details: Week-long Writer’s Fellowships for their Creative Writing Summer Conference

The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing (MVICW) offers several fellowship opportunities for writers to attend their Summer Writers’ Conference in 2025. These fellowships support diverse voices and provide financial assistance to various groups of writers.

Fellowship winners typically receive full or partial registration to the MVICW Summer Writers’ Conference, which may include lodging and manuscript sessions. The application process usually requires a writing sample, a letter of interest, and a submission fee ranging from $10 to $20.

MVICW is offering over $20,000 in fellowships for the 2025 conference. These opportunities are designed to foster creativity, community, and craft while supporting writers at various stages of their careers.

https://mvicw.submittable.com/submit https://www.mvicw.com/fellowships

The Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowship is named after Frances Anne Rollin Whipper, one of America’s first recorded African American biographers. The fellowship was launched by Biographers International Organization (BIO) in 2020 to support authors working on biographical works about African American figures.

The fellowship aims to address the underrepresentation of Black lives in published biographies and encourage diversity in the field. Winners are typically announced by early May, with a formal announcement at the annual BIO conference.

Apply: https://biographersinternational.org/award/the-frances-frank-rollin-fellowship/#apply

The Writers’ Trust Woodcock Fund Grant is a notable grant for Canadian writers and authors. 

Amount: $2,000 to $10,000

Eligibility: Professional Canadian writers with at least two published books
Must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
Focus: Writers experiencing financial difficulties while working on a book-length project

Prepare required documents:

Completed application form Project description (max 500 words)
Financial statement
Writing sample from the current project (max 15 pages)
Publication history
Two letters of support from industry professionals

Submit application:

Applications are accepted year-round via email to programs@writerstrust.com

Include “Woodcock Fund Grant” in the subject line

And in Australia

The Create Grants by Copyright Agency offer significant support for Australian creative writers and visual artists. Here are more details about this grant:The Create Grants provide $20,000 to support time for writing and creating new work1. In 2025, they will give up to five grants, and projects must begin after August 1, 2025.

This grant is for:

• For creative writers: Must be writing their second book in specific genres including fiction, poetry, children’s literature, young adult literature, picture book illustration, graphic novels, playwriting, literary non-fiction, and writing for performance (plays only)
• For visual artists: Must be creating new work for their fourth exhibition
• Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents
• Applicants must have acquitted any overdue Cultural Fund grants

Application process:

• Submissions open at 12pm AEDT on December 16, 2024, and close at 1pm AEDT on March 3, 2025
• Applications must be submitted via the SmartyGrants online system
• Only one application per round is allowed per applicant

Assessment criteria:
Contracts or Letters of Interest/Intent: From publishers, presenters, or galleries

Applications are evaluated by an independent panel of peers from the writing and visual arts sectors

The assessment focuses on literary or artistic merit, including:

Project description: Clear details of the planned work

One-page CV: List of publications, plays, or exhibitions

Samples of work: From the proposed project or previous work

Prompt: A snack turns into a first contact event.

Prompt: Detain a wily thief.