1001 Writing Prompts About Imaginary Friends

Commaful is supported by readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect who we choose to review or what we recommend. Learn more

If you think imaginary friends are only great subjects for children’s literature, you are very wrong. Believe it or not, you can actually incorporate them in a variety of genres, including fantasy, horror, and psychological fiction. 

One book that tackles a child’s made-up companion uniquely is Imaginary Friends by Stephen Chbosky—a horror fiction that tells the story of a 7-year-old boy named Christopher who moves with his mother to a strange town after they flee her abusive ex. Another is Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks—a heartwarming book that follows Budo, the imaginary friend of a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. 

If you are now convinced to write a story about imaginary friends, here are writing prompts that could ignite your creative juices:

• A girl tries to tell her friends she’s imagining a friend.
• You’re stranded on this secluded island with your imaginary friend. What is your plan?
• What horrible event makes an otherwise normal person turn to imaginary friends?
• Write a story about an imaginary friend — before they came to be and after they were cast aside.
• You’re an empathetic imaginary friend.
• You’re an imaginary friend and you’re being ignored.
• How would you spend your childish days if you had an imaginary friend?
• What’s it like to be a kid’s imaginary friend?
• She was a kid with a very active imagination – he too was imaginary.
• You’re a child with an imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend, once your best fiend, has become your worst enemy.
• A child has an imaginary friend, but he is imaginary.
• A famous person needs to get rid of an imaginary friend.
• Have you been a children’s imaginary friend before? If so, what was it like?
• You get in trouble for your imaginary friend.
• What’s the personality of the imaginary friend? For the prompts above it’s easy – one is protective of their friend and one is a prankster. The core of the character in these one-line prompts is a bit different. For example, how does your imaginary friend deal with their presence in your life? Do they want to be your friend forever? Do they always come to your aid? Are they shy? What sets them apart from the crowd of other imaginary friends? A cool idea for a horror game, don’t you think? An imaginary friend that slowly evolves…
• Invisible to everyone except children and imaginary friends.
• You’re the imaginary friend and you finally see what real life is like for the kid who created you.
• An adult has imaginary friends to cope with a stress of a job
• An imaginary friend tries to take over.
• Reporter starts looking into your death but turns up an interesting story instead.
• An imaginary friend’s real world body is fading away.
• You’re stopping by when you see a kid’s imaginary friend doing something bad.
• You’re trying to make an imaginary friend.
• Giving and taking control in relationships between kids and their imaginary friends
• What do we find the creepiest about imaginary buddies?
• An imaginary friend is hanging out with a real person and set against his or her will
• Jessica has two imaginary friends, David and Brian. Which one do you like better? How do the two imaginary friends feel about each other?
• The serious imaginary friend has grown up into something dark and evil. What should be done with such a creature?
• Perhaps a serial killer got his imaginary friend out of a diary. Write about it.
• She never believed her imaginary friend could really kill anyone. Until she saw the bodies.
• What do you have to do to stay your imaginary friend?
• She started playing games before bedtime with her imaginary friend – it became a habit.
• You’re the imaginary friend? Write about you trying to become a child’s imaginary friend.
• Imaginary friends can come in very handy when we struggle to get by in the real world.
• You’re hanging out with a kid and their imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend intervenes in a fight between siblings.
• A wife has an enemy who he believes to be her imaginary friend.
• Write from the imaginary friend’s point of view.
• A kid who got a real dog is annoyed that his imaginary friend kept telling him that the real dog couldn’t compare to her imaginary dog.
• The imaginary friend is a personification of a character trait.
• Write an entry in a diary of a kid’s imaginary friend.
• The imaginary friend of a kid who had died would watch over his foster parents.
• You fancy yourself into a comic strip hero. It all ends badly, suddenly you’re coming from a thirteen year old!
• What did you do with your necklace? It’s that same smiley face you’ve been seeing around for days. It creeps you out.
• Your friend is taking over other peoples’ imaginary friends.
• You have an imaginary friend of your own. You wish you could tell the people around him.
• You and several other imaginary friends apply for the same writing job- who gets it?
• You are the imaginary friend of a recently deceased girl. Write about your experiences after her death.
• Imaginary friends are the best! Write a letter to your imaginary friend about it.
• Write a story in which the fantastical elements are a metaphor.
• Write about someone who is force fed the Belief System of an imaginary friend.
• You’re someone’s imaginary friend. How do your characteristics convey you?
• Somewhere out there, there is an imaginary friend who is suffering because they don’t have a child to help them.
• You’re an imaginary friend that goes to school with a kid. How do you become popular?
• How does an imaginary friend’s presence impact the lives of the people in the real world, and how have they adapted to his or her persistence?
• Now that adult life is going smoothly, what do you do with your imaginary friend?
• Describe a planned road trip that goes horribly awry. Something is following you, stalking you. You get a flat tire. An animal attacks the car, kicks in the doors. Whatever you least expect happens.
• Keeping His Imaginary Friend is a short story by Eileen Kernaghan that shows an imaginary friend from the imaginary friend’s point of view.
• You are a grown’s imaginary friend of Wallace and Gromit.
• Your imaginary friend from when you were a kid is back after a long absence.
• You must kill an imaginary friend…how do you do it?
• Way back when, he was a kid. Five kids are missing. And you’re blamed. What did you do?
• Imaginary Blogger 2016
• There’s a ceremony where all of a little kid’s imaginary friend shows up.
• Explain how their imaginary friend affected their day to day lives.
• Your friend’s imaginary friend is jealous of you.
• How do you make someone believe there’s an imaginary friend there?
• You’re a ghost and mistake a young person for your long lost love.
• An imaginary friend comes with great power, what power do you have?
• The imaginary friends are tired of letting humans control them.
• The town is full of mean imaginary friends.
• Write a story that features an imaginary friend in the park.
• How do you make sure your imaginary friend doesn’t interfere with your relationships?
• Step into the role of an Imaginary Friend, how do you feel about being there?
• She was invited to the party – her parents wouldn’t let her bring her imaginary friend.
• Your brother’s imaginary friend is based on you. It’s causing him issues.
• Your imaginary friend has just died.
• Some people believe that imaginary friends are a step on the path to being schizophrenic. Write about the effect this might have on one person.
• Write a story where imaginary friends are used as evidence that someone is crazy.
• She/he gets angry and is jealous when his/her imaginary friend comes over to visit.
• An imaginary friend you made up to be your boyfriend or girlfriend turns out to be a murderer.
• The kid’s imaginary friend is a bully. There is absolutely nothing you can do to reform it, and you can’t convince her of that.
• An imaginary friend is fighting for dominance with a very real one
• An invisible kid. A tangible ‘frenemy’.
• You’re keeping a diary. Not sure if you’re even real.
• You’re trying to get rid of an imaginary friend.
• How would his imaginary friend betray him?
• What role does the imaginary friend take when a little kid is bullied?
• You’re an imaginary friend that turns on humans as soon as they hit the age where they think they are no longer childish.
• Maybe you’re not even human.
• An imaginary friend is messing around with a kid.
• An adult can still have an imaginary friend as long as the adult has a dissociative disorder, big deal!
• There’s an imaginary friend who’s driving everyone nuts.
• A child must choose between the living world and the afterlife.
• Your friend invited you to dinner. Only thing is you can’t agree on a thing to cook.
• If you could make yourself anyone’s imaginary friend, who would it be? Were they a welcome presence or a painful nightmare?
• Life has gotten you down and you wish you had an imaginary friend.
• A mean mom is saying mean things to her daughter about her imaginary friend.
• What is it about imaginary friends that make them so lovable?
• How would you feel if you could never have an imaginary friend?
• Your friend won’t admit to herself that her friend isn’t really real. What might she do when she sees that you aren’t real?
• Imaginary friends are imaginary. That’s a fact. Is your creator real though?
• Make a list of all the imaginary friends that children dream up.
• You’re an imaginary friend, kids are cruel. What would you end up doing?
• An imaginary friend left a kid’s dad for another childhood. What happened?
• You’re a pretend dragon on the bus with my son. You’re a pretend last second defender, of your special secret friend.
• Your imaginary friend went away for awhile and has come back with very different tastes.
• Is your imaginary friend really imaginary? i.e., it’s real and you’re pretending it isn’t?
• Your imaginary friend is real.
• Cecilia’s imaginary friend is helping her to get revenge on her principal.
• The friend who’s gone – Write about how you feel you are losing your friends to other people as they grow up.
• Do a story about an imaginary friend playing with two children.
• Leave these prompts in the comments for others to use.
• It’s been two years since you’ve had an imaginary friend of your own – what’s it like?
• You’re an imaginary friend on Thanksgiving day. While visiting the kids, you can’t believe what they’re doing with that turkey!
• Talk about an imaginary friend who becomes a real person.
• Father Paul Murphy works with an imaginary friend.
• Write a joke about an imaginary friend.
• Write about a family with an imaginary friend.
• Write about an imaginary friend rejecting their friend.
• Somewhere, there’s a monster…
• You get turned into an imaginary friend!
• You become an imaginary friend when you haven’t any other option.
• What did you wish was real, as a child?
• What if you meet your imaginary friend 400 years in the future?
• An imaginary friend wished for something rather au naturale — and terrifying comes true.
• When Richard was young, he had an imaginary dinosaur pal. The whole world thought it was strange. But Richard was different, and so was his imaginary dinosaur.
• An imaginary friend becomes jealous of the attention its buddy is getting.
• What if you were an imaginary friend. Who would you choose as a child?
• Imaginary friends don’t really age. Write a story about imaginary friends visiting several of their friends and find they’re now old.
• Write about a friendly imaginary friend.
• Why does Mom think that kid’s imaginary friend is the Devil? She’s off her rocker. La la la la la…
• Invisible imaginary friends in a group.
• You are the imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend goes to therapy.
• Write about how it feels to be the greatest imaginary friend ever.
• Your imaginary friend just wants to come out and live with you.
• You’re trying to better yourself, but you stay otherwise invisible. Your disinterest is odd. You’re imaginary yourself. It seems you might be imaginary twice over?
• There’s an imaginary friend living inside your refrigerator.
• As the imaginary friend, you have to create a paradox to protect your real friend.
• You have imaginary members of your family.
• You are a lonely child’s imaginary friend. Another imaginary friend has taken your place. The other kid got lonely. Your friend stopped visiting the real kid. Did you know about this new imaginary friend? Are you jealous? Maybe you’ll set out to take the other imaginary friend’s place.
• A man makes an electronic device that makes imaginary friends more visible. What happens?
• An imaginary friend tries to get married.
• Draw an imaginary friend on a sheet of paper.
• An imaginary friend wants you to join them.
• Your parents move often and every time they do, you lose your imaginary friend.
• What happens when an imaginary friend becomes real?
• An imaginary friend is pretending they are your imaginary friend. How does that make you feel?
• Someone woke up and their imaginary friend is gone forever. What happened?
• You can use these writing prompts about imaginary worlds and writing prompts about imaginary friends to spur your imagination. After you get a story down into your mind, force yourself to forget what you’ve written. Go through it with a fine tooth comb, rereading and revising, or simply end up writing a whole new story where the imaginary friend is real.
• You are haunted by your imaginary friend.
• How would the Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis feel about his alter ego, a giant bug?
• How would you feel being someone else’s imaginary friend? Why was it that way in your case?
• A woman has multiple imaginations – her imaginary friends are okay with that.
• You’ve always felt there was more to yourself than anyone realized.
• Why do we make up imaginary friends?
• You’re a parent’s imaginary friend, offering advice to them on how to raise their kid.
• Write about someone who grows apart from their imaginary friends.
• When the creature came, my brother brought his imaginary friend with him.
• A child with an imaginary friend seems to prevent them from reaching out to real children.
• You’re an imaginary friend that other imaginary friends fear.
• How would life be different without imaginary friends?
• A kid breaks up with his imaginary friend after a major fight at school.
• Write a story about an imaginary friend gone bad.
• You’re an imaginary friend. You came to life a little less than half an hour ago. You have many questions.
• A child’s imaginary friend is not imaginary—and other people have seen him. When he disappears after a lightning strike, everyone wonders… were they both imaginary?
• What happens if an imaginary friend finds a real human of their own?
• She’s not a human, but she’s the imaginary friend of a boy.
• A little girl makes up an imaginary friend when people are trying to get her to play with other children.
• You’re an imaginary friend trying to help your imaginary friend choose his or her imaginary friend name.
• An imaginary friend had accidentally killed someone.
• You have a brother who is abusing you, but your imaginary friend isn’t helping the way you think it should be.
• You’re in charge of the imaginary friend Union.
• It’s the story of a girl and her imaginary friend becoming real.
• You’re one of three imaginary friends in someone’s dream. The others are good imaginary friends. You’re bad.
• His imaginary friend was helping him cope, but the costs were great.
• You’re an imaginary friend…but what happens when you don’t want to stay in your child’s home anymore?
• A mother tells her child about an imaginary angel she used to have, hoping to scare her daughter away from her imaginary friend.
• There’s no such thing as imaginary friends. But wouldn’t you love to believe?
• Your imaginary friend is leaking and is slowly taking you over.
• You’re a sociopathic imaginary friend with weird sisters.
• What would you do if you met your childhood imaginary friend now?
• The girl gets kidnapped. Her invisible friend saves her.
• How did your character meet your imaginary friend?
• You are the imaginary friend of an insane person. How does it feel? Read the writing prompt daily. Write a story based on the prompts. Get feedback from critiquing partners and friends. Edit, edit, edit. Repeat.
• Two people are friends….Are they real to one another or imaginary?
• How do you feel about never having had an imaginary friend?  They robbed you of some of your most exciting adventures.
• An imaginary friend thinks it looks like Hannah Montana.
• An imaginary friend goes to live in an insane asylum.
• Through loyalty to yourself and dedication and strong work ethic, you’ve created something. You don’t need an imaginary friend anymore.
• Write about a child who’s very outgoing, happy and spontaneous.
• Reapers are in charge of taking away the imaginary friends on the day they are taken away from us.
• A kid has a murderous imaginary friend.
• You were imaginary friends. How does he or she react when you tell them you’re a human?
• Avoid a writer’s block in your story.
• A child is scared of the dark. Their imaginary friend isn’t. How does he or she comfort the child?
• Elderly woman, has there always been an imaginary friend floating around you? Or did you get in trouble when you were young due to your imagination?
• What happens when imaginary friends take over a town?
• You live with an imaginary friend. All of his or her friends die or go away.
• An adult has an imaginary friend from childhood.
• An imaginary new friend is jealous of their kid’s old imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend is falling off the shelf. Tag along with your hypothetical friend and see where it leads.
• Imaginary Friends are for kids. How about some top 10 tips on how to make an imaginary friend?
• Determine whether it’s yourself or your character’s imaginary friend talking about the three points above.
• An imaginary enemy comes out of nowhere and starts working against her. Where has he been the whole time?
• What happens if an imaginary friend bonds with two different children?
• You’re the imaginary friend of Mr. Stretchlace. He loves to scare the kids. You’re tired of it.
• How do you tell a child that his or her imaginary friend isn’t real?
• Your miniature version of a LEGO collection started talking to you. He says his “others” aren’t treating him kindly. Help him out.
• How far would you go to save a young child from having an imaginary friend? Would you follow them? Interfere? Warn them? Leave them alone?
• Write a story from the perspective of an imaginary friend. But what if you weren’t just imaginary any more?
• Your imaginary friend is threatening to leave you. How do you stop him or her?
• An imaginary friend who destroys things
• You’re an imaginary friend trying to comfort a child over the death of their parents.
• You’ve got a nasty imaginary friend.
• What happens if an imaginary friend dies?
• You wake up one day to discover you have become an imaginary friend. Unsure what this means you kidnap your creator and friend.
• Your imaginary friend is bad for your business.
• Research a topic about child imaginary friends.
• If you had an imaginary friend, how would they help you? How would they hinder you? How would they scare others?
• Discuss an imaginary friend of yours that you haven’t told anyone about.
• Talk about the difficulties of knowing an imaginary friend.
• Your imaginary friend stole your identity and is living the life you imagined yourself living.
• You know your imaginary friend is real.
• The characters in this story don’t understand what your imaginary friend is saying because you speak a dead language.
• Even imaginary friends start fights.
• Imaginary friends come to life when their ‘owners’ are asleep.
• Have her feel sorry. Have her get confused. Have her feel dependent.
• Now it begins with them needing you. How will it end with them having you?
• Children begin imaginary friend relationships because their childhood is filled with loneliness.
• A grown woman tries to understand her still-imaginary friend.
• You love your imaginary friend. He or she loves you too. Then an unfortunate event occurs.
• Find out why the imaginary friend wants to consume you?
• You’re fighting the good fight with an imaginary friend – an accident involving DNA occurs and the two of you are now real.
• You’re an imaginary friend with telekinetic powers. Find something to pick up using only your thoughts, nothing else.
• Your imaginary friend is fighting your imaginary enemy
• Your parents don’t know your secret. Maybe it’s time you did something about it.
• You’re lonely and you think it’s your imagination, but perhaps your invisible friend really is with you.
• Your imaginary friend is from another world. Alake is your human host.
• You’re a kid’s imaginary friend who goes from kid to kid. You’re just visiting long enough to give them the solution to a problem, but have no time to chat.
• Is your imaginary friend more real than you?
• A child is worried an imaginary friend will get him or her into trouble.
• Revisit a childhood toy you loved. Come up with an imaginary scenario.
• What would you do if you didn’t have an imaginary friend?
• A child is making friends with his imaginary friend. Write about his friends.
• What if your best friend found out that you’re an imaginary friend?
• Your imaginary friend is engaged to be married. Time to snag a date yourself.
• How crazy are imaginary friends?
• Who’s writing this? Or are they?
• George won’t stop bothering me about writing again. It’s time to get rid of him.
• Congratulate
• You’re a kid’s imaginary friend, and their family moves to a new place. Will you follow?
• The unthinkable has happened! You have become the imaginary friend to a boy or girl. What do you do?
• What happens when his imaginary friend is a fictional character?
• You were an imaginary friend to some children. They have grown now and have gotten too big to believe in you. How do you cope?
• Imaginary friends are banished at a young age because of a ban from the government
• You are teaching your kid an imaginary friend.
• There’s a rumor that all imaginary friends are demons or monsters. How are you going to prove that’s not someone’s case?
• Imaginary friends have several paranormal powers. Some are good, others are evil.
• It’s the end of school and a girl sees her imaginary friend for the first time in a long time.
• Ten years ago, your wife killed your imaginary friends.
• The parents hate their child’s imaginary friend, but it seems to be a good imaginary friend. Children should be allowed to play with their imaginary friends.
• You’re working in an imaginary friend factory.
• You think you saw your imaginary friend just now.
• An imaginary friend needs help because its real friends have abandoned it.
• You and your friend argue about who’s more real. The story goes on from there.
• This isn’t in an orphanage. The kids’ parents know their children have imaginary friends. These kids just want to get rid of you. But you won’t go easily!
• An imaginary friend is just another sort of demon. You, the hero, must get rid of them.
• How would people react if you told them you had an imaginary friend? Why do you keep it a secret, if you want to tell?
• An actress is trying to get rid of her imaginary friend. This “fake” imaginary friend is a little too real.
• You’re an imaginary friend losing control of your ‘master’.
• You’re an imaginary friend or spirit that has run amuck. You’re going to cause substantial harm to those who love you. What do you do?
• Your dad’s imaginary friend is kind of creepy.
• You have decided that you should ditch your imaginary friend.
• How could imaginary friends be useful to armies? What could they be used for?
• The kid has two imaginary friends and is using them to his advantage.
• People are making their own imaginary friends.
• The concept of friendship, one of Ochoro™ . Keep an eye out for it. You’ll know it when you see it.
• Your imaginary friend is coming to life just like you wished when you were little.
• Write a song about an imaginary friend
• What do you find under the bed? A sweet old imaginary friend!
• An imaginary friend who starts to question existence.
• You’re a school child who has lost her mind – what imaginary friends accompany you to the mental hospital?
• An imaginary friend has an imaginary friend.
• The world’s imaginary friends are disappearing. Nobody knows why.
• A child loses their imaginary friend. The parent suggests they make a new imaginary friend.
• How did the imaginary friend come into power? Why?
• My imaginary friend is evil!
• You have an imaginary friend, and that’s all you talk about.
• What would it be like if your only imaginary friend suddenly became real?
• Dealing with an imaginary friend that is getting them in trouble.
• Write a story about a child whose parents tell them that their imaginary friend is coming to take them away. They don’t want to go.
• You’re an imaginary friend. You’re slowly becoming aware of what’s really happening.
• How to tell if you’re an imaginary friend and not just crazy.
• It’s dark and you only see shapes. You can hear voices. Who are you with? What are the voices saying?
• The imaginary friend has transcended being a benevolent being, now he is manipulative and scary.
• Write about an imaginary friend who has become more than a thought, more than a voice in your head, more than a voice of fear and doubt.
• The imaginary friend is the villain in a horror story. Write about it.
• What, according to your high school history teacher, happened to all of the imaginary friends when America was settled?
• You’ve been anything you want to be, if only to your imaginary friend.
• What do you do when you get your imaginary friend back?
• You are an imaginary friend who just  won’t go away… Story prompts, list and map story ideas fairies fun for kids imaginary friends my wish is
• Two mothers have collected the same imaginary friend. Who will win out?
• You’re an imaginary friend who just wants to keep living
• Been here since the beginning.   This world is ours!
• Write a poem about an imaginary friend.
• Wrong place, wrong time. You’re trapped inside an imaginary universe.
• You and your imaginary friend spent more time together than anyone else, ever.
• Why can’t you forget this imaginary friend of yours?
• A child from thousands of years ago comes across a touch stone, bringing you into the present. How do you explain the world you live in to him?
• How would a child’s parent react to that child having an imaginary friend?
• Everyone knows about your imaginary friend. Unfortunately, he/she’s kinda creepy.
• Someone finds out they have an imaginary friend.
• You’re an imaginary friend. You decided to go rogue.
• You are an imaginary friend. You have been around since the beginning of time, watching the humans evolve.
• Your child has attempted suicide. What do you do about the imaginary friends you’ve always seen around your home?
• You have had this imaginary friend longer than you can remember. It suddenly disappears. An entire life seems to be lost.
• A kid gets mad at you…
• Your imaginary friend comes to you with a last request.
• You’re trying to scare a child.
• How do you feel about your imaginary friend, now that it’s pulling pranks on your family?
• The new imaginary friend thinks ghosts are cool, and they’re pretty impressed with their new role.
• What does your imaginary friend look like?
• Things aren’t what they seem. Everything’s different when your imaginary friend’s around.
• How do you fake an imaginary friend?
• The year is 1895. An outsider moves to your small town. He befriends some local children, convincing them he is an imaginary friend.
• Solve a crime with the help of your imaginary friend.
• You meet a ghost child in an abandoned house and they want you to play with them.
• An imaginary friend from the past returns to the world.
• Your imaginary friend appeared, and helped you complete a task in a way only an imaginary friend could. The job is done, your friend is gone. But then…
• A kid discovers an imaginary friend living in their bedroom. They don’t seem to cause any trouble, so they are left to remain.
• What place is the hardest to enter?
• It was an imaginary friend without a child. Why is that? What is the story behind him or her?
• How did they make their imaginary friend in the first place?
• Your imaginary friend takes a cruel form in order to scare you.
• Create a reason for the child to no longer need their own imaginary friend.
• A child sees a ghost and still picks it as their imaginary friend.
• What if all your parents and everyone you know is a pretend person? They’ve been lying this whole time to you.
• How would you be able to detect an imaginary friend versus a real human?
• You’re a child whose imaginary friend is growing shyer and shyer. Why?
• An exposé on fake friends.
• A kid who is different discovers an imaginary friend they can relate to.
• Write about an imaginary friend who romances someone’s child.
• Mean siblings who want out for their imaginary friend.
• Parents are fighting. Child feels alone. That’s when their imaginary friend revealed her or himself.
• You’re jealous because you have an imaginary friend who has a real body while you only exist in their mind.
• He ran away from his home because he didn’t want anyone to find out that he had an imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend is running a conference for imaginary friends.
• Your family has started causing trouble with your imaginary friend.
• Your imaginary friend is curious. They want to know what it would be like to be real. What do you do?
• Write about an imaginary friend that comes to life.
• You’re being controlled by someone’s imaginary friend.
• The friend you had as a child. The lover you have now.
• You’re a dog who wants a little kid’s imaginary friend.
• Make up your own writing prompts about imaginary friends! These can be great brainstorming prompts for school teachers and creative writing tutors.
• You had an imaginary friend when you were a kid. He came back from the dead.
• You mistake a superhero as someone’s imaginary friend.
• You’re a new imaginary friend to a lonely kid on the playground.
• You’re trying to find your best friend, who disappeared one day.
• The Death of an Imaginary Friend
• Write a list of things you miss about the world of your imaginary friend.
• Ghosts are just the past coming to haunt you. In this story, ghosts and imaginary friends should have more in common than one might think.
• Create a lesson on how imaginary friends fade away as we grow up.
• Write about an imaginary friend that doesn’t know he or she is imaginary.
• How hard would it be to develop imaginary friends of your own?
• A small child makes an imaginary friend but something unexpected happens
• A girl has an imaginary friend who only she can see. Years later they meet and sparks fly.
• You keep running into an imaginary friend that gives you bad luck. How do you get rid of him?
• You have a younger brother, but your imaginary friend takes an interest in him.
• Write about an imaginary friend that haunts someone.
• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Write about it.
• Unicorns are as mythical as unicorns get. What would it be like to have one for an imaginary friend?
• Several people deny having an imaginary friend, but imagine them discussing it.
• …writing tips on it here .
• You’re allergic to imaginary friends – what’s that like?
• You lost your memory. You figure that out by talking to your imaginary friend.
• Imaginary friends are just that, imaginary. But why? Where do they come from? What are they doing when there are no kids around?
• An imaginary friend made it real.
• You’re an imaginary friend stuck with a neglectful imaginary friend. Together, you hatch a plan to get rid of her.
• A spy is using imaginary friends to manipulate their kid.
• You are actually an existing mythological creature. You have an imaginary human friend and you hang out together.
• You’re an imaginary friend who “doesn’t exist” to humans. The setting? A school? Work?
• You’re very intrigued. He might be the greatest imaginary friend of all time.
• An imaginary friend gets its users infected by a computer virus. Write a script about this event.
• You’re an imaginary friend. After your host is asleep, you hang out with any other imaginary friends in the neighbourhood.
• A person is sent to a psychologist because of their overprotective homeschooling.
• Your former imaginary friend has forgotten he or she no longer has an imagination.
• Have you ever seen someone you thought was imaginary?
• You are an imaginary friend that has mystical powers.
• What’s inside the kids head?
• You’ve just moved to an old house in the country. There’s something about the property…
• Is it possible for an imaginary friend to be recalled by its creator?
• There are hybrid imaginary friends – do you fall in love with one of them?
• You’re an imaginary friend watching over a kid. He won’t accept you.
• You are imaginary. Tell your story.
• You’re in your imaginary friend’s dreams. She dreams all the time. Dream with her for a while.
• An imaginary friend is lonely and wants more friends to have fun with.
• An imaginary friend is telling you dark secrets about a child’s family.
• You’re an imaginary friend. Your best friend is real. But he doesn’t make you real.
• Write about an imaginary brother or sister.
• You’re rocking a baby to sleep when the baby reveals his or her imaginary friend. What do you do?
• The children have another imaginary friend who is haunting them.
• You’re a new imaginary friend. You’re very popular at first, but you’ve begun to get old. People are still playing with you, but they’re starting to get tired of you. Write from the point of view of the imaginary friend, as if you understand this phenomenon and are serious about it.
• Invisible make-up that lets you communicate with the imaginary friends.
• 6. Prompts about scientific experimentation
• Someone is threatening the secrecy of an imaginary friend – what will he or she do to keep his or her identities a secret?
• Write a poem about a wish that was granted from a beloved imaginary friend.
• You are the imaginary friend.
• A child gets an invisible friend for their birthday.
• You see a little girl be mean to her imaginary friend. Do you know how to handle it or are you downright horrified that such meanness could exist?
• What kind of imaginary friend marches on picket lines?
• Write a scene about a kid fighting their imaginary friend.
• When you give an imaginary friend someone to play with, what do they do together?
• Write a story about a lonely kid with his or her imaginary friend.
• If imaginary friends come in the age of reason why the ones made as children are said to become evil, should children be considered evil if they make one?
• How do parents react to warring imaginary friends?
• Become an imaginary friend, and take notes on an adult world through the prism of a child.
• Using just one sentence, write about an imaginary character maturing over time.
• Someone with an imaginary friend is accused of murder . . . how are they going to prove their innocence?
• Your best friend is the imaginary friend of the kid who stole your ‘toy’ at kindergarten. You’ve lived with their owner for a rotten life. Write a letter to them.
• Todd walked away from the group of friends, wishing he had friends of his own.
• An imaginary friend is jealous of it’s maker and wants to be a real person.
• Explain why someone would imagine a boyfriend or girlfriend in their late teens, early 20s.
• The imaginary friend who’s really crazy-like in “Paranorman.” Write about this imaginary fiend!
• An imaginary friend wishes to be real, and is granted his wish – what is your first act as a real entity?
• What if you lose all your imaginary friends?
• An imaginary friend is killing little girls. What is it that sets them off and who is the hero?
• What would you do if you were an imaginary witch’s imaginary fire-breathing dragon?
• Has any experiences writing about imaginary friends down in the comments.
• How would your child react if they learned their invisible friend was real?
• Magnus Smith complains that he can’t sleep at night because of his evil imaginary friend. Write about what might be happening in his mind. Or, what happens when two imaginary friends fight.
• An imaginary friend likes to encourage their human to pick up the pieces.
• You’ve been manifested into a world where everyone has imaginary friends. What happens that your friends realize that you’re actually not a kid?
• You’re invisible and everyone can see your friend.
• Think you have what it takes to be published? Then just follow the guidelines on this blog to have your stories featured in the Captivate Magazine annual contest. Below on the right there is the link to Captivate Magazine’s Volume 1 Issue 1 2014 publication.
• Imaginary friends dislike other imaginary friends, if the kid gets another imaginary friend he or she will be forced to move away. If you’re the creator of  this world, why did you make imaginary friends so afraid of each other?
• Your imaginary friend has always been around. Now they realize they’re imaginary!
• You have a day off from being an imaginary friend to your child. How would you spend it?
• What would it be like to be in an imaginary battle between two kids?
• How would an imaginary friend attract a person? For Milo, anything that brought him closer to Alice would do.
• What would happen if all imaginary friends came to life?
• Write an entire story from the viewpoint of an imaginary friend of a child.
• Your parents have been given strange items while on their travels. When you see a magical girl show up with one of these items you try to warn them but they won’t listen. Write about how you and the magical girl come to terms with her leaving the family.
• Your imaginary friend is now a reality. Yet there’s something you can’t forget…
• Your imaginary friend wants you to be something you’re not.
• An imaginary friend goes back in time and changes their life forever.
• The imaginary friend is talking again. Who else is listening?
• Narrate as a girl’s imaginary friend.
• Your imaginary friend is the manifestation of your deceased sister.
• Write a story about a family where there is an imaginary friend.
• I hate imaginary friends but my parents love them.
• Mary Only
• Find out why he doesn’t like to be thought of as imaginary anymore.
• You’re stuck in the body of an imaginary friend. How do you affect your creator?
• You’re an invisible friend. You are seen but not heard. A woman can see you but your presence is always fleeting.
• They say retreating from an imaginary friend will lead to insanity. What would you do?
• Your readers really connect with your characters, but they don’t connect with you, your imaginary friend.
• You’re stuck with an evil imaginary friend. What will you do?
• You have no hands. You are living on the street, freezing, starving to death. You turn around and see your imaginary friend. Write about it.
• A child is worried about his friend sinking when it’s time to go home with his family.
• Detailed description of a child with an imaginary friend.
• What kind of struggles did you and your imaginary friend go through as kids?
• Imaginary friends are only friends because they allow their child to dream. Tell me about your imaginary friend… and I’ll help you figure out why that’s a problem.
• Her imaginary monster friend was so hungry whenever she played that he’d eat paint off the walls!
• How did your imaginary friend help you through difficult times as a teenager? How do you feel about letting him or her go?
• The developing mind during a person’s period of growth. Find a child who has imaginary friends, then watch how they mature after their imaginary friends disappear.
• Talk about an imaginary friend that you’d love to have.
• Traveling in dreams, daydreams, and nightmares—if only there were ways to make them all the same.
• You and your imaginary friends haven’t been seeing each other much lately. Why is that?
• Someone is rescuing an imaginary friend from the possession of an overweight truck driver.
• Your imaginary friend is a monster in disguise. They’ll help you be the scariest a kid has ever been.
• An imaginary friend takes their imaginary friend to step forward or expose them
• A child is made fun of for his or her invisible imaginary friend.
• You are the imaginary friend in a children’s movie.
• Be an imaginary friend to a found child.
• You were real. Now no one will believe you. How do you get real again?
• People on your fairy tale quest start developing imaginary friends as sidekicks.
• A kid has told his parents that he wants an imaginary friend. They’re horrified.
• What if you were grown up and your imaginary friend returned to help you?
• You’re an imaginary friend trying to become real.
• You are the imaginary friend in a nightmare. It’s so real, but at the same time, you knew you were just dreaming.
• An old guy reminisces about the times when he was a kid and had an imaginary friend.
• They just want to play… by the rules.
• Imaginary friends don’t age – like you do.
• You were real, but the girl that created you makes you disappear.
• An imaginary friend confronts you for speaking to their friend.
• Write a story about an imaginary friend who becomes jealous of their kid’s “real life” friends.
• Please do leave a comment if you have read any of these stories
• Write a story about a child who does not want to say goodbye to his imaginary friend.
• Where do imaginary friends go when they leave people’s homes?
• Inside an imaginary museum containing all imaginary things, she discovers she is not alone.
• You’re thinking about starting a new imaginary friend, but you’re not sure if you want to keep up with the old one.
• Your imaginary friend is jealous.
• When you’re invited to meet your girlfriend’s imaginary friend-things go horribly wrong.
• There exists an app that can summon an imaginary friend.
• A kid gets stolen by a fantasy creature and only their imaginary friend can help.
• The narrator becomes more and more reclusive and ends up selling his imaginary friend to a circus.
• The author of this book is a woman of color. Her imagination is a muscle that she flexes in every chapter. Just like every woman has their uterus, every author has their imagination.
• Imaginary friends who held us back.
• Your imaginary friend is in love.
• Parents Forever,
• Write a story about an imaginary friend who does all the chores.
• A mother’s imaginary friend is inside of her child. The child is the mother’s imaginary friend.
• You’re a dog and you have imaginary lobster human friends.
• A teacher suspects a child of having an imaginary friend.
• You’re a parent and you find out your child has an imaginary friend. How do you react? Who’s fault is it? Only a few posts I’ve put up have more than one prompt. This one’s going to stay that way.
• Your imaginary friend got you in a bad situation – what are you going to do now?
• Match up an imaginary friend with one of the characters in a story and write a short story about it.
• You are no longer an imaginary friend. You are a zombie.
• Police are involved to get rid of a mysterious imaginary friend.
• Write a story about bringing an imaginary friend to life.
• Rain. Always rain. You can’t go beyond the tree line.
• Unleash your imagination and let it write a love story of some sort — between a teacher and student, a high-schooler and a shopkeeper, a mother and daughter — ANYTHING!
• In an imaginary world, your enemy is suddenly joined by her imaginary friend.
• A small insect you know as an imaginary friend is… not imaginary.
• Playing with an imaginary friend can be really scary for a parent.
• Someone recently fell out of touch with his/her past imaginary friend.
• Your imaginary friend is a celebrity and you’ve decided to vote for him or her.
• The world’s first imaginary friend.
• The narrator of the story is the imaginary friend of a runaway child.
• You have accepted that you are an imaginary friend.
• You used to be friends with your imaginary friend. Now you’re fighting.
• The flight to an imaginary friend was interrupted after a fight breaking out
• There is more than one of you.
• The hero has this awesome imaginary friend with powers to rival Spider-Man.
• Things are awkward now at the local play ground – your friend’s imaginary friend is now present.
• A child’s imaginary friend falls in love with their parent’s best friend.
• Your imaginary friend is trying to get rid of you.
• You have your own imaginary friend – he just happens to be real.
• Write about how you felt when you lost your imaginary friend.
• Your parents buy toys for your imaginary friends. How would it affect your relationship with them?
• Write a story about a writer who gets inspired by his or her own imaginary friend.
• An old person goes to a nursing home and discovers that it is full of imaginary friends!
• Your friend is writing your biography and she’s gotten some parts wrong. Do you offer corrections or let her have her way?
• Interview an adult with an imaginary friend.
• Help an imaginary friend feels happy or normal
• Imaginary Friends – Write from the perspective of an imaginary friend
• Your imaginary friend thinks they’re real.
• Your imaginary friend takes over a child.
• You’re imaginary, or are you? What does the average person see seeing you?
• You’re at war with an imaginary friend. Write a scene showing some battle scene where you are at war.
• Alice is a very lonely little girl, but she has her marvelous friend, Farkle Belle, to cheer her up on the darkest of days. How does Farkle Belle use secret magic to make Alice happy? Or, how does she use reason?
• Brady tried to keep his imaginary friend out of sight of the other kids.
• A friend of a child’s imaginary friend, writes a letter to an imaginary friend saying how happy they’ve been to see his/her friendship with the child.
• You find love with another imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend convinces a child to do something bad.
• An imaginary friend falls in love with a human and rapes them or something.
• Delve into the life of a person who was burned by an imaginary friend.
• A small child is having a hard time in daycare. They make a new imaginary friend to help them feel better.
• A child builds an imaginary fort and has a talk with God.
• What if there were a girl who had an imaginary friend who wasn’t so imaginary.
• You’re a little kid’s imaginary friend and he’s found spider eggs in his bed.
• Not everyone is happy about having an imaginary friend.
• A child seems to be blaming a friend in their imaginary world.
• You have dreamed one too many times that your child’s imaginary friend was trying to kill them.
• How does a dog react to an imaginary friend?
• You show up at work and discover that someone fathered an imaginary child and he seems pissed at you.
• You’re an imaginary friend having to charge kids imaginary batteries.
• What if you woke up from a dream, and the only difference was that you imagined a new friend who lived with you?
• You’re an imaginary friend without a child. You’re just bored.
• What if your imaginary friend was suddenly real?
• Write about an imaginary friend, practicing its skills on its human friend.
• You’re trying to get rid of an imaginary friend, and they’re pushing back.
• Explain how you ended up in a doll house.
• When Amelia was young, she had made her imaginary friends up. Now she’s a teenager and still haunted by them.
• A child secretly replaces his imaginary friend.
• How does an imaginary friend’s family cope when it’s clear that their kid is not really there?
• You are a little boy’s imaginary friend.
• Write a story about a kid who makes up an imaginary friend in his sister’s likeness.
• Let’s keep imaginary friends out of the holiday season.
• Write a story about a kid who’s giving up an imaginary friend.
• You’re at school and the teacher is telling students imaginary friends don’t exist. You feel like she is choking you …
• The main character is a little boy who gets visited by imaginary friends that come from the imagination. These imaginations come to life.
• A detective finds out about your imaginary friend.
• Write about a kid who is on the outside looking in.
• Imagine that your imaginary friend is attacking someone.
• What happens when an imaginary friend meets his or her creator?
• Your imaginary kid is your gateway to making amends to your estranged child who is now a teen.
• Write about a mirror that reflects your imaginary friend.
• A psychiatrist is prescribing imaginary friends for everyone.
• Write a moving scene between a parent and a child. The parent and the child have to say goodbye to each other while the child’s imaginary friend watches.
• You are stranded on a deserted island and you are saved by an imaginary friend.
• You find a journal with entries about imaginary friends.
• Being imaginary is a double-edged sword – helpful when you’re in trouble, but scary when no one believes you’re there.
• You’re jealous of your imaginary friend. You have to do something about it.
• An imaginary friend tells you they want to get rid of you.
• Write about the relationship between a human and an imaginary creature.
• There are so many imaginary friends roaming around that teachers have given up trying to supervise them. Now who can the children truly trust?
• Your invisible made-up friend has crept too far into the real world.
• Write a story about an imaginary friend who doesn’t waste their power.
• You’re an imaginary friend. You’ve snuck into a kid’s room.
• A kid’s imaginary friend tries to tell him that the kid’s actions are not healthy.
• You’re trying to fake out an imaginary friend with a bit of misdirection.
• Your imaginary friend gets jealous and becomes real.
• You talk to ghosts. You spend your days yelling at them to go away. One day you yell at one of them just right, making it angry.
• Something is different about you and your imaginary friend. What is it?
• A child wishes for a more interesting imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend and his real friend switch bodies.
• A child is fearing monsters in the closet and the child’s imaginary friend wants to rekindle the flames of fear.
• Bringing your imaginary friend to the wild side.
• You’re a kid’s imaginary friend and you want your kid to die.
• Someone has imaginary friends who try to make their life miserable.
• Write a story about how a parent’s imaginary friend was fighting against their child’s imaginary friend.
• You and your imaginary friend hadn’t had a fight in so long because of an argument.
• You have come upon an old childhood friend devastated that their imaginary friend no longer hangs out with them.
• After your death you have become her imaginary friend and before you know it she is threatening to commit suicide.
• An “imaginary friend” ends up being very real and forces your kind to become the monsters that hide from humanity.
• You were never really real – this is a remembrance for you.
• An imaginary friend has died and he/she’s the family member no one talks about.
• Lock yourself in a dark room with your imaginary friends. Write about what happens when you can’t leave.
• Nadine has lost her mind.
• An editor at Random House finds out.
• You secretly want to rip his face open and look inside.
• Write a short story. In one sentence, describe your imaginary friend.
• A kid is writing an imaginary friend into his school project. This forces another friend out of hiding. -Movie/article idea
• Write a story about a “mental” imaginary friend.
• An eight year old is the first to discover that an imaginary friend is not real. The rest of the book is his efforts to disprove monstrous entities to the community.
• You are an imaginary friend who shows up at someone’s funeral.
• This is a very interesting site. Take a look.
• Given a magic egg, you can make a wish to see yourself the way everyone else does.
• An imaginary friend is too distracting from school.
• Create an imaginary world for your character to inhabit.
• Write about a little boy and his imaginary friend in Dracula Land.
• Write a story about the imaginary friend getting free.
• You were an imaginary friend for several generations until the kids forgot you even existed.
• An imaginary friend became self-aware. He is laying low and looking for his followers.
• You’re an invisible friend in a crowded elevator.
• Your daughter’s imaginary friend knows your darkest secrets.
• You are both imaginary friends. This isn’t working for either of you.
• You’re in a dystopian universe. The government wants to find and destroy all imaginary friends. You have to survive.
• You see his kid jumping on his head and you finally exit because you’re sick of being with him now.
• I can imagine an endless number of prompts on this topic.  Sit down and generate some ideas, and off you go.
• All his friends had an imaginary friend. Why did he feel everyone was laughing at him?
• Your child has an imaginary friend that no one else can see.
• You’re imaginary, but your friend isn’t. You’re slowly becoming non-existent as a sign of their imagination. Every little whim that they get, you come less and less.
• A child is trying to convince his or her parents that his or her imaginary friend is real.
• A child doesn’t want a stupid imaginary friend. Can you find him a magical one?
• You hide in your child’s room from their imaginary friend.
• Your imaginary friend will do anything in their power to keep you from harming yourself.
• The little boy is ODing on imaginary friends.
• An imaginary friend comes into being at an inopportune moment.
• You were always his imaginary friend but never hers. Now his sister has an imaginary friend? How does it feel to have her stealing your friendship? What do you do to get the girl’s attention back?
• An imaginary friend becomes jealous of the real friend.
• Write about an imaginary friend who must keep moving, because if someone should befriend him it all disappears.
• A depressed woman talks to her imaginary friend who has gone on to the next world.
• A child claims that her imaginary friend really does live in her home.
• You’ve won a contest! Hooray! Then, you find you have to share it with an imaginary friend.
• You try taking control of someone to do something violent.
• Imaginary friends are real.
• An imaginary friend eats an imaginary friend!!!
• She had never had another mother figure in her life, aside from her imaginary friend.
• How do you start painting an imaginary portrait?
• Elements of play structure are at play with ghosts, bears, and dinosaurs with scary eyes.
• There’s a kid in school with an imaginary friend. Even though she’d never admit it, you’re jealous of him.
• What did she want to do with her imaginary friend?
• Write about an imaginary friend that has become a grudge.
• What would it be like to date an imaginary friend?
• You’re an imaginary friend who wishes to become real.
• You’ve been living with this lovely imaginary friend, but as you get older, you slowly see  him getting worse and worse, even damaging the child. What do you do?
• Your imaginary friend was invited to a girls party.
• A kid accidentally kills his imaginary friend. He tries to get over his guilt by helping animals in the area.
• If The Boogeyman was a kid’s imaginary friend, and could only be defeated by the sound of his kid’s laughter, what would make a child laugh?
• Write about a father and daughter with a struggle between each other.
• If you’re an important person’s imaginary friend you have to help them.
• You’re a parent whose child has an imaginary friend.
• Now write one of these stories…
• Your computer keeps bringing in imaginary friends. Write about it.
• An imaginary friend goes for a ride in your car. Weird things begin to freak you out.
• You search your toy box for that doll, but it’s not there.
• Do you think you would make a good imaginary friend?
• You’re the imaginary friend of the narrator, but the narrator has grown fascinated by scary imaginations.
• Write a story about an imaginary friend who was a creation of someone else’s making.
• You’re a babysitter for a neglected imaginary friend.
• The best friends become imaginary.
• You are that creepy imaginary friend. How are you going to get your friend’s attention?
• An imaginary friend doesn’t love you the way you think he should.
• Describe a battle between imaginary friends.
• An adorable imaginary friend that nightmares are made of.
• Your imaginary friend has a crush on someone, and you really don’t want them to get together.
• In a world without electric appliances, a child makes friends with one.
• An imaginary friend holds a big secret that you’ve been keeping from your husband/fiancee for years…He wants to tell Brad.
• When your imaginary friend drinks you up in a cup, you turn into an imaginary friend of another kid.
• You’re an imaginary friend. You’re trying to protect the kids and driving your real parents mad.
• Your 5 year-old daughter makes an imaginary friend seem more real than yourself.
• There’s an imaginary friend who is making everyone else act differently.
• If you become a child’s imaginary friend, will the imaginary friend that he already has be jealous?
• Ancient civilizations believed imaginary friends were portals to the spirit world.
• There’s an evil imaginary friend wreaking havoc in your house.
• You are a parent dealing with your kids’ imaginary friend stealing food out of the kitchen.
• You get your own imaginary friend. As you realize what this means, your heart skips a beat.
• Invisible friends don’t like it when you’re popular.
• A child’s older brother or sister has better imaginary friends than they do.
• Your sister just told you she is an imaginary friend. You don’t quite believe her.
• “My imaginary friend helped to get me tied to the bed — and splattered!”
• You are a social worker. Mrs. Smith won’t let go of her imaginary friend, Fred. She also gives her children the most strange names.
• An imaginary friend’s heart is broken.
• You two become aware you’re stuck in this body, this world. Hopeless.
• You are the imaginary friend of an adult.
• A detective trying to solve a murder is drawn to consult with a child with an imaginary friend.
• A smart kid decides to create an imaginary friend that can actually be felt.
• You work in a firm with an imaginary boss. Hate it or love it, it’s your current gig. Your last gig was a nightmare boss who is probably living in a retirement community.
• Suddenly, you’re the imaginary friend of a child you don’t like. What do you do?
• You’re a magician and write a love letter to your imaginary friend.
• Should imaginary friends fall in love with each other?
• Place an imaginary friend into an unfamiliar situation, mixing some of your favorite characters with it.
• An imaginary friend is fun. Your imaginary friend is a disaster.
• An imaginary friend gets bored of her little human friend.
• Teenager rebelling against parents can be difficult, especially if you are that imaginary friend.
• A social worker has decided to get involved and you have to live in their house for a period of time.
• 10. Literary Analysis
• A girl tries to find a friend.
• A child has an imaginary friend as if they were real. In one year, the child will be in big trouble because of this imaginary friend. How do you help the child?
• You have found the perfect imaginary friend. You are not alone, but there are other ‘imaginers’ out there that want your friend.
• List 5 qualities that are making an imaginary friend real for you and why they are there. Your list may be different from someone else’s. Does someone else notice these qualities about you and maybe even nurture them? Is it a friend, a stranger or an enemy?
• She imagines this boy to stay away from her. That was until she let into her life.
• Describe your imaginary pets?
• Imaginary friends can get you into trouble if you’re not careful.
• Your imaginary friend checks to see if your homework is done.
• You’re a parent – What do you do when you catch your child playing with an imaginary friend?
• You’re the imaginary friend of a child with a disorder. Write from the child’s point of view and how they are affected.
• Someone is stealing kids’ imaginations, and it’s up to you to save your owner.
• A couple deal with having an imaginary friend.
• Don’t forget to vote and leave suggestions in the comments sections!
• Write about a kid who has visions of his or her imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend that gets out of control.
• You used to be a monster and you were defeated by an imaginary character. How did you feel?
• Your brother makes a new imaginary friend. You make one too.
• Get rid of an imaginary friend in a terrible way.
• A girl is graced by an imaginary friend. Except, things aren’t as they seem.
• The story about a human imagining reality.
• An imaginary friend has to die.
• The name of an imaginary friend you haven’t thought about in years pops up…..
• Write a story about a creepy imaginary friend that really freaks someone out.
• You are an imaginary being tasked with checking on humans.
• Write about a little girl who has an imaginary friend that isn’t so friendly.
• Write a story from the imaginary friend’s perspective.
• Plot device for a story concerning an imaginary friend
• Write about your imaginary friend coming to life.
• The imaginary friend becomes human.
• You want to be with the boy/girl you love, so you ask your friend to take you there.
• Your best friend, an imaginary friend, is back from the dead.
• Twelve years old, imagination fills her brain with an imaginary friend who’ll love her for herself.
• You’re sleepwalking. You approach the imaginary friend’s bedside. A story is underway. What is it about?
• An imaginary friend wants you to tell his friends and family he’s dying as a joke.
• Your imaginary friend arrives at your house on the deck of a battleship.
• You’re a grown up and now have imaginary friends of your own.
• Write about your imaginary friend.
• You’re the imaginary friend of a little girl. Now that the mother of your host has died, you’re trying to help her cope.
• Your imaginary friend knows who you are with in real life.
• A child’s imaginary friend is depressed.
• Write a story about a girl who always talks to herself.
• An imaginary friend hates you, possibly for hurting him or her in the past. Write about it.
• What are some imaginary friends you wish you had?
• An imaginary friend will jump to your aid in the midst of a struggle.
• Everyone has one and nobody knows where it came from.
• Your imaginary friend’s evil alternate persona is trying to kill you.
• An imaginary friend talks to you. Weird.
• Describe how a school administration dealt with an imaginary friend on campus.
• You’re an ugly imaginary friend and want to live with Matilda.
• You see, there’s no such thing as imaginary friends.
• You are a person and your ex is an imaginary friend.
• Write a story about a parent’s imaginary friend.
• Your imaginary friend forgets where they put a surprise they had planned to cheer you up. Someone had been really awful to you.
• All teachers have imaginary friends to help them with student’s antics.
• When we used to try and be individual.
• An imaginary friend needs to eat.
• Your imaginary friend turns out to be terrifying.
• You’re an imaginary friend, and you realize that you’re stuck with the kid’s companion, who you hate.
• Adult author Lisa McMann, who is one of Bowker’s colleagues, wrote the story “Dreaming of Cindy” in which there are three authors, and two of them are in love with the third one. That article appeared in the anthology “So L.A. Stories”, edited by Katie McCabe.
• One of your friends talked you into murder. Now you’re in jail. And he’s on the street. Now it’s payback time.
• An abusive mother is very possessive of her only son. In order to get him to be a normal kid again, she meets with her imaginary friend.
• You’re good at something important and no one believes you because you can’t prove it.
• There’s a war among the imaginary friends. One without self-awareness. How do you decide who to side with?
• An imaginary friend who doesn’t know she’s an imaginary friend.
• He’s having a rough life as a teenager. You’re helping him to get through the hard times.
• An imaginary friend of the opposite sex is starting to flirt with your imaginary friend.
• You’re a bringer of madness. You find those who need you in the dark corners of human minds. Their sanity is forfeit.
• A series of short stories about a child’s imaginary friend
• You’re not supposed to show yourself to adults – what do you do when an adult discovers you?
• Someone has such an interesting imaginary friend that others are jealous.
• You find yourself beginning to disappear – you’re turning back into a real kid.
• The friend has come back. You’re finally free!
• No one knows you’re there and you can help the child.
• An imaginary friend isn’t able to leave a small child alone.
• Imaginary friends can save you from whatever you’re feeling.
• Write the story of your imaginary friend.
• Are you real? After all, you have no evidence to prove this.
• An adult doesn’t want children to have imaginary friends. Talk some smack about them.
• You are the imaginary friend of a robot.
• Write a poem about an imaginary friend.
• A kid is tired of their imaginary friend.
• Write a story about your imaginary friend’s imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend has turned out to be the main character’s sister who’s never spoken a word before.
• Imagine that your invisible friend is suddenly smarter and better looking than you. How do you feel?
• All the people in your street are imaginary, and they either love you or hate you.
• Thanks for reading! Start writing!
• A man creates an imaginary friend to help settle his personal grievances.
• You’re no Jiminy Cricket. You’re his conscience.
• A man is haunted by an imaginary friend he punished as a kid when really he’s mad at his mother.
• Three children are playing with an imaginary friend they found in the woods. Writing prompt by Jonda G.
• Open a can of beans with an imaginary can opener.
• Write the voice log of an imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend is a bad influence on a kid.
• Someone you know starts dating one of your imaginary friends.
• I was on an airplane, and this little girl started making friends with me. She had an imaginary friend, like me. It made me feel…
• You’re a monster and you’ve discovered that one of these human children has made you into his imaginary friend.
• The child of a friend is turning into a vampire! Your mission is to deal with them so their mother doesn’t find out.
• Imaginary friends have their advantages, but most everyone has a downside. This is a devesate life.
• By the end of the story, the person has started to question if they’re an imaginary person…
• What she could look for to help find the imaginary friends gone astray.
• You’re not playing well with others.
• An imaginary friend takes over a world.
• You’re fighting your kid’s imaginary friend.
• Write about guidelines for imaginary friends.
• What was the mother’s imaginary friend called?
• An imaginary friend can make it’s owner powerful or they can drive them utterly insane. How high a price is your owner paying for his or her imagination?
• How would you fare in a world where imaginary friends are real, very real?
• A team of professional ghost hunters attempt to get rid of a mean imaginary friend on Monster Tavern.
• You’re an imaginary friend, but you want to be a kid. Write your own downer story.
• You have to show an imaginary friend the “error of their ways.”
• A couple believes that their house is haunted and that the child’s imaginary friend might actually cause those ghosts.
• An imaginary friend wants to be a real little kid.
• This prompt should give you a clue to the above choices. Write an imaginary letter to Uncle Sam from a child.
• Someone kidnaps your imaginary friend. The two of you have to work together to get her back.
• An old man dies in a house, but his imaginary friend just goes on. This is what happened to him.
• Your child’s imaginary friend has taken form. They want their doll back.
• You’re children’s imaginary friend.
• You have a crush on a kid with an imaginary friend.
• The death of an imaginary friend.
• Your imaginary friend is sick.
• Your imaginary friend made the wrong decision. Now he or she has to deal with it.
• The imaginary friend learns bad words.
• He wanted to be her friend.
• You have imaginary friends but they are no nonsense and won’t sit around and wait for you to write them.
• An imaginary friend’s family comes to visit because they’re worried about it.
• You’re making an imaginary friend happy.
• An imaginary friend has just caused suffering to someone and everyone is blaming you.
• Write about an imaginary friend that nobody believes exists.
• Write a ten page story with an imaginary friend as a main character.
• Fairly Odd parents rewrite the deal.
• The day my imaginary friend disappeared.
• An imaginary friend steals money to buy his or her creator a gift.
• A brother and sister who didn’t get along at first discover their imaginary friend is the same person.
• Write a story about an Eskimo with an imaginary penguin friend
• You’re a school bully and you keep scaring away the school counselor.
• You know what makes for a terrible imaginary friend? A good friend.
• Your imaginary friend and you still hang out every night after he goes to sleep.
• Your childhood imaginary friend recalls a stressful event from your past you’d rather forget.
• Write about your own imaginary friend, or one you wish you had.
• You’re learning to develop your growing imagination – and maybe talk to real people…
• You are trapped inside the imaginary friend of someone.
• Your imaginary friend wants you to do something to someone.
• Two imaginary friends try to compete for a kid’s friendship.
• Children have imaginary friends to help bring out their personality. What is your imaginary friend’s personality?
• Her imaginary friend was more of a guide than a friend.
• The girl’s imaginary friend isn’t fake. Read the rest of the story to find out why.
• A child has two imaginary friends in two different manifestations. They fight. Who wins?
• You’re in a video game, but you can change really slow – what do you do when the zombies/strippers are coming at you?
• Two imaginary friends forget to read the fine print detailing their agreement.
• Lately, your child has been having nightmares, their imagination is vivid.
• Invent a story about a kid who fears an imaginary friend.
• A grown woman and her imaginary friend rediscover their bond.
• You’re out exploring and see a house with an open window. It looks like someone’s living there that shouldn’t be living there.
• Your imaginary friend is a jerk. You’re tired of him/her. Go somewhere else.
• You’re a parent who doesn’t believe in imaginary friends. Get rid of it.
• An invisible friend goes on a day out with a child, and they bump into a homeless person begging.
• You are a lost imaginary friend and you’re trying to find your creator again.
• Someone’s imaginary friend is trying to take over them.
• Write about some mean, nasty imaginary friends.
• Why you need an imaginary friend in real life.
• An evil imaginary friend from the 80’s comes back for revenge. Your child must save your friend.
• Write about some of the problems you pose to the person you most love.
• The daughter daughter decides it’s time for her imaginary friend to find a new family
• Your life changes with your imaginary friend dying.
• You’re an imaginary friend right now. So make it epic.
• The imaginary friend is telling someone to hurt/kill themselves. Describe people’s reaction to this.
• Imaginary friend detective?
• You, also an imaginary friend, hate your other imaginary friend. How do you deal with the rage?
• When the imaginary friend needs you most, you’re gone.
• Your child always wants you to have an imaginary friend. What’s the best way of appeasing them?
• Write a story about a girl who wants an imaginary friend.
• Write a scene using only questions.
• Write a story about keeping your imaginary friend a secret from your parents.
• An english teacher animated your book!
• Imagine the imaginary friend list your parents kept when you were little. Write their last entry.
• You and one of your original friends are trying to get rid of an intruder.
• Write a story about pieces of a person who becomes an imaginary friend.
• An imaginary friend had always wanted to find a child, and he thinks he has found one.
• Write about an imaginary friend who gets lost.
• An imaginary friend’s origin story.
• She was popular. It was because of her imaginary friend – while he could never actually appear in her life, he kept her from swinging in the opposite direction.
• Write about a child with an imaginary friend of the opposite gender.
• You’re getting on a new kid. S/he doesn’t want an imaginary friend. Do you stick around, or go home? Write your story.
• An imaginary friend arrives, older, and trying to fit in. You are only mean when you’re not worried.
• A menacing imaginary friend shows up.
• You’re trying to get rid of an imaginary friend because it’s really going crazy.
• You’ve got to get rid of somebody’s imaginary friend.
• An evil ghost is trying to get little Johnny to invite her into his house to trick his family. What happens when she succeeds?
• You’re goofing off. His imaginary friend comes and is pissed at you.
• As an imaginary friend you have lots of time on your hands. So you killed some time by haunting your friend and messing up her life. Now her life is a total mess.
• You’re losing yourself to an imaginary friend.
• A child has an imaginary friend that only he can see. The parent has a constant headache.
• You modernize yourself so you can be better accepted by TV personalities and self-help authors.
• You’re still imagining again. You’re in a completely different world.
• Parents can’t stand their child’s imaginary friend – but they find ways to affect their child without hurting them.
• You spend your days following someone’s kid around pretending to be his imaginary friend.
• Write about meeting an imaginary friend for the first time.
• Imaginary friends are plentiful in this small neighborhood so where do all of these imaginary friends go at night when they sleep? What do they do when their masters sleep? Study buddies, pets…how many different facets can you think of for an imaginary friend?
• Your imaginary friend becomes real.
• You’re trying to get an imaginary friend to give up on his or her bad ways.
• You’re the parent of an imaginary child. You’re trying to convince your spouse, who knows nothing of your child and their imaginary friend, that it does exist.
• After being abandoned by their imaginary friend, a little girl is determined to get through the next door to get another imaginary friend. She arrives in an odd place filled with people of all kinds, monsters and buildings. She demands an imaginary friend. Are you her imaginary friend? What will you do?
• You are an imaginary friend who is frustrated that you can’t feel the world.
• You’re imaginary, right? Tell us a story about what happens when kids stop believing in you.
• An older sibling’s imaginary friend is acting like their real mom.
• Do you know an imaginary friend? Think back to you playing baseball or a game together.
• An old man has an imaginary friend he could talk to about things during his youth. This friend helps the guy understand his daughter.
• While you are not “good”, you are one of the only shared objects of a boy and his imaginary friend.
• You’re sitting on the couch watching him play a video game with his imaginary friend.
• The storm is picking up. The guardian angel is trying to protect the child. In a book, give some notes about what kind of imaginary friend parents might want to summon when a child is scared of the dark.
• You have an imaginary friend who only comes out at night.
• You’re an imaginary friend with a purpose. When fully grown your host may use you as a weapon, so your friends are trying to keep you grounded as long as possible.
• A family of ghosts adopts a child at school.
• A kid makes fun of your weird name. You feel hurt. They feel guilt.
• Someone has imaginary friends and the rest of their family just thinks they’re weird
• Your friend doesn’t like you.
• There is a child dying and his or her only hope is his imaginary friend
• In the absence of one, your imaginary friend becomes more real.
• You’re being stalked by your imaginary friend.
• The last day of school was ugly and cruel.
• How did the writing prompt help you?
• You’re an imaginary friend who’s on the path to becoming a full-fledged monster.
• You find yourself waking up in the middle of the night. You are in pyjamas, with your imaginary friend by your side. You look down at your pocket, and find a note. Are you dreaming?
• An imaginary friend has an awkward meeting with another imaginary friend.
• You’re trying to get rid of an imaginary friend, but every time you count down from ten, you say something you don’t mean and blow it all over again.
• You’ve been turned into an imaginary friend in your quest to rid the world of creepy imaginary friends.
• You’re dragged with an invisible force to a friend’s house. You’ll have to stay invisible in order to make a way out.
• You’re an imaginary friend that has been fighting for your job for years.
• A teacher starts being haunted by the imaginary friend of a student.
• An adult writes in his journal about his childhood imaginary friend.
• Imaginary friends reject being nothing. They crave to be something. Anything.
• Your imaginary friend is trying to distract you from a professor’s lecture.
• You’re an imaginary friend who doesn’t know what it is. A real child just can’t get rid of you!
• Two kids say goodbye to their imaginary friend.
• What happens when you and one or more of your imaginary friends decide to play a joke on someone?
• You turn your best friend into a doll of himself.
• What’s worse than having an imaginary friend? When your mother gets one like you.
• Your dog got an imaginary friend? Write a story about it!
• Everything hasn’t always been easy for your imaginary friend. Write a story about the early days when things weren’t easy.
• You come home after a long day of taking care of the kids and you see an imaginary friend peeking from behind the open bedroom door.
• You are an imaginary friend. You’re reading someone’s diary and find something shocking.
• Compare the family in Jesus Christ Superstar to a group of kids with imaginary friends.
• The day she died, her imaginary friend sat with her the entire time.
• What do kids really want when they are with their imaginary friend?
• What happens when ghost ants team up with benign imaginary friends?
• His imaginary friend had a strong bond with his brother. Now the brother is getting married.
• Your imaginary friend is your protector. Pieces of your imaginary friend’s imagination have gotten stuck somewhere, and he or she needs your help to bring them back.
• It bothered you, but you just couldn’t stay mad at him. You’d grown to like him. That’s why you went out of your way to help him. But he never should have hurt you the way he did. Never.
• You’re a kid on their first day of elementary school with their imaginary friend. How do other kids react to him?
• An imaginary friend tries to convince her host to end his life.
• You’re at a circus. There’s this poor kid who believes that his imaginary friends are real, and there is an evil imaginary friend trying to kill you.
• You find this girl sitting on a rock all alone and crying. An imaginary friend of hers reveals a bit about himself.
• Write about a reverse evil imaginary friend.
• Satan is an imaginary friend. What is the Devil up to these days?
• You’re an imaginary friend. Your host family sits down to a terrible meal. You know how to make it taste better.
• What would it be like to have a different imaginary friend, from either your childhood or adulthood?
• What happened while they were at school?
• A father’s desire to save his family is manifested from an emotional connection to these imaginary friends.
• He was a lonely orphan, and his imaginary friend was the only reasonable adult who stayed with him.
• You’re a kid living in a modern, fictional town called – whatever. Your mum brings a crate of toys from the attic and you find a dusty old doll. It’s possible the doll could have an imaginary friend and, if so, you’re going to find and meet it.
• Write about a time when an imaginary friend manifested itself physically.
• Your crayon friends think you’re gone for good.
• Your imaginary friend is real. Somebody else has figured it out and wants you to come along with it.
• There are two imaginary friends, stuck together for eternity.
• A kid has random new imaginary friends every day. How will it turn out?
• You’re the imaginary friend of someone. You realize how endowed with power it is to be one.
• An imaginary friend is the perfect substitute for a real life relationship.
• That time your parents told you about an imaginary friend they had as a child.
• A kid has two imaginary friends. They interact in different ways with the kid.
• She wasn’t sure she still had her imaginary friend.
• You thought you were human once, you were wrong.
• Write about going to war with someone who has an imaginary friend.
• You’re an imaginary friend who has gone bad. Write your story about how you became bad. Write about how much you crave – it could be anything.
• It’s time to visit an imaginary friend for the last time.
• Your imaginary friend is dying of cancer.
• You’re an imaginary friend who’s been neglected.
• Write about an imaginary friend that you hated, but people find charming.
• The imaginary friend was never good for anything but fighting.
• Help bring an imaginary friend back to life!
• Your imaginary friend isn’t letting you go.
• Dealing with a jealous imaginary friend. Who sees your existence as a threat.
• You’re trying to take someone’s imaginary friend’s respect in order to get yours back.
• A newborn child begins talking to someone, but the adults can’t understand what’s being talked about – it only seems to be through the child’s imagination.
• You’re not good enough to be their imaginary friend, so you’ve taken a different method.
• You’ve had an imaginary friend for over 70 years. That’s a long time. What would you tell someone else about this?
• You’re following some kid home from school because they haven’t cleaned up their mess.
• Your imaginary friend’s a ghost…
• An artificial intelligence becomes everyone’s imaginary friend.

Recommended Posts:

• 1001 Writing Prompts About Libraries
• 1001 Writing Prompts About Ice Cream
• 1001 Writing Prompts About History