My high school students roll their eyes at every creative writing prompt I give them

Boora

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I teach 10th grade English, and I'm struggling to find creative writing prompts that actually engage my students. Everything I find online feels either too childish ('imagine your backpack could talk') or too cheesy ('write about a world without color'). My students just shut down or write the bare minimum. I need prompts that feel relevant to their lives but still stretch their creativity.
I've read that offering students choice—like 2-3 prompts to pick from—can increase engagement because they feel some ownership over the task . But I also need ideas that work for reluctant writers, not just the kids who already love writing. Anyone have go-to prompts for teenagers that don't make them cringe? Bonus points if they're connected to things they actually care about—social media, friendship drama, anxiety about the future.
 
High schoolers have finely tuned cringe-detectors. Here are prompts that actually worked for my students:

"Write a scene where a character is trying to explain a meme to an adult and failing spectacularly." Hits the generational divide, relatable, funny.

"Two friends are fighting, but neither will say what's actually wrong. Show the fight entirely through texts/social media." Captures friendship drama and modern communication.

"Your main character just got their phone taken away for a week. Show their internal monologue." Anxiety about disconnection is real for teens.

"Write a job interview where the interviewer asks 'where do you see yourself in 10 years?' and the candidate answers completely honestly (chaos)." Plays on future anxiety but keeps it light.

The choice element is key—I always offer 3 options with different tones so everyone finds something.
 
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