Books & Works
5 Minute Writing Prompts for Kids
The ultimate guide to sparking your child’s imagination—five minutes at a time!
Perfect for ages 8–12, 5-Minute Writing Prompts for Kids helps young writers overcome the blank page with more than 150 creative prompts across fiction, mystery, memoir, fantasy, and sci-fi. It’s designed for curious kids who need a little encouragement to dive into storytelling and explore their own ideas.
What kids will love:
Creative, engaging prompts: From quests to robot pets, each prompt invites big imagination and offers “twists” to push stories further.
Skill-building tips: Simple guidance on character, setting, and storytelling helps kids craft stronger narratives.
A fun five-minute challenge: Quick, screen-free inspiration that works at home or in school—perfect for short attention spans, with room to keep writing if the spark hits.
Whether your child is a new writer or a budding author, this book offers endless inspiration and an easy path into the joy of storytelling. Ready, set, write!
Endorsements for 5MWPK
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Brown’s book brilliantly demonstrates her depth of storytelling experience and understanding of kids: she playfully hooks children with what’s familiar, guides them to transform these experiences into one of many genres and then helps them turn that attention to their own emotions and memories. She knows how kids are inspired and how they stay engaged. This is a seminal book that will introduce readers to the effortless joy of storytelling. I can’t wait to use this book with my own children.
Debbie Danielpour - Writer, Mother, Professor of Screenwriting at Boston University
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As the Program Director for writing programs that serve over 1,500 young creatives each year, I know what engages youth, and these prompts deliver. Within minutes of flipping through 5-Minute Writing Prompts for Kids, I was imagining my students laughing, debating, and scribbling furiously. These prompts are age-appropriate and dynamic, with each story scenario offering unexpected directions that spark surprise, problem-solving, and storytelling joy. l’ll be investing in a copy for my teacher's resource shelf, and believe this could be a tool for jumpstarting creativity in any classroom.
Jessica Grace Kelley Youth Program Director, Fiction Teacher, Mother
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"An inspirational, age-appropriate read for every young creative. Each prompt delivers an engaging invitation to tell stories, while helping beginning writers gain the necessary confidence to develop a sincere love for storytelling. This approachable method coaxes readers into the creative process by inspiring them to complete the scenarios and unlock their own ideas. A must read for any child interested in exploring the process of creating character and story. Chevahn Brown demystifies the creative process and makes it fun!"
Scott J. Thompson Director, Screenwriting Program at Boston University, Professor, Father
Praise for 5MWPK
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This book is so thoughtfully written and perfect for budding writers and also kids who could use more creative writing as an outlet for self-expression. Her prompts show her true understanding of how to nurture the creative mind especially in children without feeling heavy or trite. This will allow for writers to tap into original and fun, very unique in the prompts!
M. French
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Really fun, and so accessible! The way the prompts are designed, this has been written to gently foster a practice of writing. Which is exactly what makes it so perfect! It is not a book to get kids excited to write once. It's a book to get them excited about writing. Love it.
A. Elkins
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I was so excited to receive 5-Minute Writing Prompts for Kids! I tested it out with my 5th grade reading intervention class, and they absolutely loved it. The prompts are interesting, creative, and really get kids thinking — even my more reluctant writers were eager to participate. It’s a great resource for sparking imagination and helping students build confidence in their writing. Highly recommend for teachers, parents, or anyone looking to make writing fun again!
N. Villaroel
Novels.
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Inside Out
Sixteen-year-old Nicolas has always felt small—bullied at school, ignored at home, and drifting through life without direction or any real sense of who he is. But everything changes after a freak reaction unleashes abilities he never imagined he could possess.
Suddenly, he has power. Real power. The kind that could change everything.
As he tries to understand the source of his newfound strength, Nicolas finds himself pulled between two versions of himself: the boy who wants to finally do something good, to matter, and the boy who’s tired of being stepped on and is ready to push back—hard. With every choice, the line between justice and vengeance thins, twisting into something far more dangerous than he ever intended.
Now Nicolas must confront not only what he can do, but who he’s willing to become to survive a world that’s never made space for him. And if he chooses wrong, he may lose more than control—he may lose himself entirely.
A sharp, emotional story about identity, power, and the cost of deciding who you will become.
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Bloom
Fifteen-year-old Lauren has grown up in an affluent suburb where the lawns are perfect, the reputations polished, and every mistake is meant to stay hidden. But when Lauren discovers she’s pregnant, the shock sends ripples through her tight-knit community—exposing cracks beneath the privilege she and her friends have always taken for granted.
As Lauren, Ryan, and their circle scramble to navigate consequences none of them were prepared for, the truth becomes impossible to ignore: wealth doesn’t erase neglect, and love doesn’t always equal maturity.
Told through intertwined perspectives, Bloom is a raw, heartfelt coming-of-age drama about the cost of growing up too fast, the tenderness and terror of first love, and the ways a single choice can unravel—or remake—an entire world.
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Painless
Fourteen-year-old Dani has always belonged to wide-open fields and quiet farm roads. But after losing her mother, she enrolls in the elite New England boarding school her mother once attended—hoping the polished halls and old traditions will bring her closer to the woman she longs to understand.
Suddenly a fish out of water, Dani reshapes herself to fit in with the popular girls who rule her dorm, trying on confidence and conformity like a borrowed costume. The closer she gets to belonging, the more she feels herself slipping away.
When her sharp mind catches the attention of her young, eccentric English teacher—famous for making students feel uniquely seen—their connection blurs boundaries she’s too young to recognize until they’ve already shifted.
A raw, resonant coming-of-age story, Painless explores grief, identity, elitism, and the subtle power dynamics that shape who we become—and what we’re willing to risk to be wanted.
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Model Love
In the polished, suburban town just outside D.C., a group of inseparable teens rule the social scene—beautiful, confident, and always at the center of every whispered rumor. Told through multiple perspectives, Model Love unravels the messy, magnetic dynamics beneath their perfect surface: the secret crushes, shifting loyalties, and love triangles that bind them together as tightly as they pull them apart.
But everything changes when Haley, the intriguing new girl in town, catches the attention of Greg—the star quarterback and the clique’s unspoken crown jewel. His interest in an outsider sends shockwaves through their carefully curated hierarchy.
As jealousy rises and alliances shift, each member of the group is forced to confront their own place in the high school ecosystem—and decide whether clinging to popularity is worth the cost of who they’re becoming.
A sharply observed, addictive coming-of-age drama about identity, status, and the fragile power of being adored.
Works in Progress
Land of the Starlight
In the year 2922, three fractured societies survive in the ruins of a world remade. Sixteen-year-old Lumyra “Lumi” has always felt out of step with her village—until her Saros awakens a power she can’t ignore and markings bloom across her skin like living constellations.
Far away, Zyan, a boy shaped by Cavara’s strict, tech-bound hierarchy, begins to unravel. Memories he shouldn’t have. Energy he can’t control. And an unshakable pull toward a girl he’s never met.
As tensions rise between kingdoms and old truths resurface, Lumi and Zyan are drawn toward a fate that could unite their divided world…or ignite its collapse.
A sweeping YA sci-fi/fantasy about destiny, identity, and the dangerous light we’re meant to follow.