70 Sci-Fi Writing Prompts for Teens: Ideas, Openings, and Visual Starters for the English Classroom
I’ve always loved science fiction, not just for the spaceships or tech, but for the way it holds up a mirror to who we are and who we’re becoming. Whether it’s the quiet dread of Black Mirror or the eerie prescience of Ray Bradbury, sci-fi gives students space to explore morality, imagination, and consequence. all wrapped inside a story that doesn’t feel like a lecture. (If you want to go down that rabbit hole, I wrote more about teaching both Black Mirror and Bradbury here.)
These sci-fi writing prompts are designed to work with all kinds of students, from the confident creatives to the ones who say, “I don’t know what to write.” You’ll find opening lines, titles, closing lines, characters, settings, picture prompts, and full story starters. Whether you use them as warm-ups, homework, or part of a full genre unit, they’re built to spark something.
1. Plot Hooks
Story-based prompts are great for students who need a clear starting point. These “Write a story about…” tasks give them just enough structure to build a full narrative, while leaving plenty of room for interpretation. They’re ideal for quick writes, full lessons, or even assessments. Here are some that I have used in my classroom:
Write a story about somebody who wakes up to find the moon has disappeared, but no one else remembers it ever existed.
Write a story about a classroom where time moves differently depending on where you sit.
Write a story about a future in which emotions are illegal and feelings are tracked.
Write a story about a scientist who discovers a cure for death, but it only works for one person.
Write a story about two teenagers born on a generational ship who are trying to discover where they are going and what will happen when they arrive.
Write a story about a time machine that lets you visit your past, but you can only visit for five minutes, and you can only use the machine once.
Write a story about a town where it is always dark, and the stars have started to send messages.
Write a story where you can order memories online on the black market.
Write a story about a robot that finds something growing inside their metal chest.
Write a story about somebody who discovered they’ve been living inside a simulation, and someone else has just hacked it.
2. Title Prompts
Title prompts are perfect for open-ended writing. They’re flexible, abstract, and just cryptic enough to let students steer the story in their own direction. Titles are great for students who freeze up with too much information - they give a vibe, not a structure. They also work well as creative homework or low-pressure starters that lead to some surprising outcomes. Here are some Sci-Fi title prompts I have used:
The Gravity Tax
We Were the Last Ones Awake
404: Planet Not Found
The Moon’s Second Voice
After the Last Storm
The Network Doesn’t Like Silence
Halfway Between Earth and Something Else
Project Echo
They Promised the Sky Would Be Safe
Dream Exit Denied
3. Opening Lines
A strong first line is often the hardest part to write. These sci-fi opening lines are designed to throw students straight into a moment of tension, mystery, or quiet unease. They can build full stories around them or use them as timed writing warm-ups to practise tone, setting, or voice. Below are some of the opening lines I have tried and tested, and most flexible enough to work across subgenres:
It wasn’t the explosion that worried us.
Everybody else on the transport was asleep.
The planet looked safe enough - from this distance.
They downloaded the new update at midnight.
We always knew the starts would answer.
I found the glitch by accident.
The robot had my brother’s voice, but it didn’t have his eyes.
They told us we had just five minutes of oxygen left.
Once again, the simulation reset just as I reached the door.
I wasn’t born, I was installed.
4. Closing Lines
A strong closing line gives student stories weight. Whether it ends with a twist, a quiet realisation, or a chilling sense of “what happens next?”, these lines encourage students to think about narrative shape and emotional payoff. You can give students one of these lines to build a story around, or challenge them to write a full story just to reach it:
And just like, we were alone again.
She smiled - the exact way the clone had.
It turned out, the real countdown had only just begun.
The stars flickered once more, before they disappeared for good.
It wasn’t Earth that changed, it was us.
I still hear the signal sometimes, just before I fall asleep.
They told us we were free, but the door never opened.
We buried the original somewhere near the crash site.
The suit kept her alive, but it didn’t keep her human.
The new planet was perfect, but that’s what scared me.
5. Character Ideas
Sci-fi characters are more than astronauts and androids. They let students explore identity, power, morality, and emotion, all through an altered lens. These quick character ideas give students a strong visual or conceptual hook while leaving plenty of space for interpretation. Each one of the character ideas below could anchor a short story or inspire a rich character monologue:
A girl raised on a space station who has never seen the sky.
A former AI trainer haunted by a voice they can’t shut off.
A clone who keeps dreaming of a childhood they never lived.
A boy who wakes up speaking a language no one else recognises.
A maintenance worker who discovers a hidden compartment on the ship.
A politician’s child who is sent to a moon colony “for safety”.
A lab-grown child who doesn’t age.
An android learning to lie.
A student who hacked the program and stayed awake for years.
A courier who delivers messages to planets no long inhabited.
6. Setting Prompts
Setting matters in sci-fi. It’s not just where the story happens, it shapes what’s possible, what’s dangerous, and what’s normal. These setting ideas offer strange, eerie, or speculative environments that push students to world-build with detail and purpose. These are great for story starters, descriptive writing, or paired with a chosen character:
A city where everyone wears masks to block telepathic interference. The government says it’s for safety, but some aren’t so sure.
A research base carved into the side of a glacier that is slowly melting.
A classroom orbiting the Earth that’s starting to lose gravity. No one seems concerned, except the new student.
A silent desert plan with one blinking red tower. The tower has been sending signals for over 80 years, but nobody knows who built it.
An underground bunker where nobody is allowed to speak.
A train that never stops, crossing continents that no longer exist. All the passengers are asleep, except one.
A luxury space cruise where time passes differently in each room.
A world flooded by rising oceans, where people live on rooftops.
A planet where the stars haven’t appeared in over a century.
A city built inside the body of a crashed alien ship.
7. Picture Prompts
If you’ve read literally anything else on my website, you already know I love a good picture prompt. They’re instant atmosphere, instant curiosity, and they do half the heavy lifting when it comes to student engagement. Whether you're teaching setting, mood, or speculative world-building, a strong image can give even the most hesitant writer something to hold onto.
These sci-fi visual prompts are designed to feel open, eerie, and story-rich. They work as stand-alone writing tasks or as inspiration for longer narrative pieces, especially when paired with titles, characters, or opening lines from earlier in this list.
Final Thoughts
If you're planning a full unit on science fiction, or just want to dip into the genre without reinventing the wheel, I’ve got you covered.
You’ll find a full Science Fiction Writing Bundle in my TpT store, which has flexible classroom activities, genre lessons, and writing tasks in it. I also have a set of Famous First Lines: Science Fiction Writing Prompts available in my store, which pairs perfectly with the title and story ideas in this post.
And if you’d rather have one less thing to plan, you can sign up for my Daily Writing Prompts. You’ll get a full month of prompts for free when you join the waitlist, perfect for warm-ups, homework, or creative writing lessons with zero prep. Join the waitlist and get your free prompts here.
