Are you a middle grade novel writer looking for some interesting ideas for your story?
You’ll enjoy this article. We’ve put together 21 original middle grade writing prompts for you below!
Big Dreams
1. The boy who became a spy.
Write a story about a teenager who gets chosen to be an undercover spy for a secret organization. They must learn how to live a double life of regular teenager and sneaky spy without endangering their family and friends.
2. The detective who solved the big case.
An unsolved murder rocks a small town, and one high school-aged crime podcast enthusiast decides to try their hand at solving the case. The student uses everything they’ve learned listening to crime podcasts to help them solve this one and save the town from another dangerous event.
3. A math genius who saves the planet.
When an asteroid is discovered rocketing toward Earth, a teenage math genius is recruited by NASA to help solve the equation that will save the planet from destruction.
4. The chess player who went on to win the big tournament.
Who knew that one small chess match at school would rocket this middle schooler to fame? Write the story of a kid who competes in a chess tournament for fun and finds themselves on the fast track into the professional chess leagues. They end up at the international tournament, competing against the undefeated champion in the world.
5. Young street spray painter turns big-time artist.
A middle school kid starts spray painting his tag on pictures all over town. However, rather than get in trouble, they get discovered by a modern art gallerist and become a famous modern artist instead.
6. Aspiring fashion designer moves to the big time.
After winning an award for their fashion at school, a high schooler is offered a position at one of the biggest fashion companies in New York City. Write the story of their first week there, navigating the professional world and trying to prove themselves among all the older, more experienced fashionists they meet.
7. The book who went around the world.
Write a story about a book that travels all over the world and the people who read it. What are the reasons the book gets passed along? How do different people interpret its message and story?
Fantasy and Supernatural
8. A child finds a pet dragon.
While playing in the woods one day, a child discovers a baby dragon. They bring it home and raise it as a pet, hiding it from everyone until it gets too big to hide. How will they cope when everyone wants to take it away?
9. A wizard must find a new place to live.
A wizard on the run for their life finds a way to teleport from their time to the modern day. In doing so, they befriend a local high school kid, who helps them adapt to modern life.
10. Supervillains in real life.
What would supervillains do if they had to live like normal people? Write the story of a supervillain who must go in hiding from a famous superhero and tries to live like everybody else.
11. The magic hat discovered in a box.
A middle schooler discovers a hat in a box in their mom’s closet. Whenever they put it on, something magical happens. The story is about the trouble they get in when using the hat and the efforts they take to undo that trouble.
12. The neighbors who end up being aliens.
A new family moves in next door. They seem normal at first, but then strange things start happening. Some neighborhood kids investigate and discover the family are aliens from another world. What are they doing on Earth and should the kids try to stop them?
13. Mom is a witch?!
A pair of siblings discover that their mother is a witch who has been the cause of lots of strange and suspicious behavior in town recently. Should they help her or turn her in?
14. That’s what you get for bullying others.
A middle schooler wakes up one morning in the shape of a rat as a punishment for bullying another kid at school. They must try to undo the curse by discovering who cursed them and how to make it right.
Family Affairs
15. A family trip that goes very wrong.
A family of four decide to take a summer road trip to reconnect with each other. However, along the way, everything seems to go wrong with the trip, and they must learn to lean on each other more than ever before.
16. Who will take care of us when you’re gone?
Write the story of a teenager and their sibling struggling with their single parent’s terminal illness. Show them trying to help their parent but also still maintain their lives as children.
17. The family that works together, stays together.
At the age of 12, all children get inducted into the family business. The main character doesn’t really know what the family business is, but their 12th birthday is coming up soon and everyone is getting ready to welcome them onboard…
18. Can a family survive on another planet?
As one of the first families to help make Mars habitable for humans, this middle schooler must work hard to live a normal life inside the protective bio-dome. But after a crazy dust storm wipes out their main generator, the family must come up with a plan to return things to normal or they won’t survive the night!
19. A robotic family is still a family.
Write the story of a middle school student who discovers they’ve been raised by robots their whole life. With the robot family’s help, they work to find out who their real family is. The main moral of the story is that their robot family, while not their ‘bio’ family, has been a real family all along, and they end up appreciating them even more.
20. What if I never existed?
A teenager has a massive argument with their parents and proclaims that they wished they’d never been born. When they wake up the next day, they discover a world in which they’d never been born and see how different (and sadder) their family and friends would be without them in it.
21. The school trip that turned into a family nightmare.
While on a school trip in a big city, a middle schooler and one of their parents get kidnapped and held hostage. They must work together to escape safely.
Need help with writing your middle grade novel? Take a look at our beginner’s guide!