Story Starters & Prompts

Sometimes the hardest part is the first three words. These starters are designed to be completed — just add your three words to continue the story.

Universal Starters (Any Genre)

Adventure Begins

“In the dark…”
“Nobody expected the…”
“The door creaked…”
“She found a…”
“Under the bed…”

Unexpected Turns

“But then suddenly…”
“Unfortunately, the dragon…”
“It wasn’t until…”
“To everyone’s surprise…”
“The problem was…”

Character Introductions

“The wizard who…”
“A detective named…”
“The last person…”
“My neighbor is…”
“The cat saw…”

Setting the Scene

“On the moon…”
“Deep underground, something…”
“In the library…”
“At midnight, the…”
“The ocean whispered…”

For Young Kids (Ages 5–8)

Simple & Silly

“The purple elephant…”
“My pet dinosaur…”
“Ice cream that…”
“The flying sandwich…”
“Under my pillow…”

Familiar Worlds

“At school today…”
“My best friend…”
“The playground was…”
“My mom said…”
“In my backyard…”

Imaginative

“The talking toaster…”
“A rainbow made…”
“The smallest giant…”
“My shadow decided…”
“The clouds tasted…”

For Older Kids & Teens (Ages 9–14)

Mystery & Suspense

“The note said…”
“Someone had moved…”
“The lights flickered…”
“I wasn’t alone…”
“The evidence pointed…”

Fantasy & Magic

“The spell backfired…”
“Her eyes glowed…”
“The prophecy mentioned…”
“He drew his…”
“The portal opened…”

Sci-Fi

“The robot hesitated…”
“On Planet Zyx…”
“The time machine…”
“Aliens don’t understand…”
“The AI whispered…”

Humor

“My bad luck…”
“The worst possible…”
“It seemed like…”
“Nothing could go…”
“Famous last words…”

For Adults

Literary & Atmospheric

“The autumn light…”
“She remembered when…”
“The weight of…”
“In another life…”
“The silence stretched…”

Romance

“Their hands brushed…”
“The coffee shop…”
“She almost said…”
“It started raining…”
“The second glance…”

Noir & Mystery

“The dame walked…”
“Rain slicked the…”
“He lit a…”
“The case was…”
“Nothing good happens…”

Absurdist

“The existential dread…”
“Reality took a…”
“Philosophically, the potato…”
“The universe yawned…”
“Meaning was on…”

Using Prompts in the Game

For Players Who Are Stuck

If someone can’t think of three words:

Offer a starter — “How about ‘And then suddenly…’? What happens suddenly?”
Build on the last line — “The last person said ‘the dragon.’ What about the dragon?”
Change direction — “What if something completely unexpected happened?”

For Teachers

Writing Exercise: Give students the same starter and see how differently each story develops.

Collaboration Practice: Use starters that require response — “The detective asked…” naturally leads to dialogue.

For Families

With young kids: Read the starter aloud with dramatic pause — “The purple elephant… [gasp] …what did the elephant do?!”

With mixed ages: Let the youngest player pick a starter category, then everyone contributes.

Creating Your Own Starters

Good story starters:

Introduce a character — “The baker who…”
Set a scene — “On the highest mountain…”
Create mystery — “The secret was…”
Suggest action — “Without looking back…”
Establish tone — “It was the…”

Pro tip: Openers with “The” or “A” naturally lead to noun phrases, making it easy to continue.

In-App Prompt Generator

Three Word Tale includes a built-in prompt generator:

During your turn, tap the lightbulb icon
Get a random starter based on your genre
Use it, modify it, or get another
The AI learns from popular choices to suggest better prompts over time

Start a story with a prompt →