Need a spark to ignite your next science fiction masterpiece? Whether you’re sketching out a dystopian novel, a hard sci-fi short, or just trying to escape your current timeline for a while—I’ve got you covered. Below are 50 sci fi writing prompts designed to twist your brain into creative overdrive.
These prompts cover a wide variety of sci-fi subgenres: cyberpunk, space opera, time travel, alien first contact, AI ethics, alternate history, and more. Let’s boldly go!
Time Travel Writing Prompts
A historian invents a way to send their consciousness into people of the past—but accidentally hijacks a tyrant.
Every time someone travels to the past, the present changes slightly—but only for the traveler.
You receive a message from your future self… warning you not to time travel.
A soldier wakes up in the wrong war—centuries ahead of their time.
A child finds a time loop in their closet and uses it to ace every test… until the loop breaks.
Dystopian & Post-Apocalyptic Prompts
The Earth is ruled by a quiet, benevolent AI—until it disappears without explanation.
In a post-climate-collapse world, rain is currency.
Memory taxes are imposed; the poor can no longer afford to remember their families.
After a global blackout, humanity must relearn how to communicate without technology.
A city survives the apocalypse by living entirely underwater—and something’s knocking from the deep.
Space Opera & Interstellar Prompts
A janitor aboard a luxury space liner uncovers a plan to ignite war between two planets.
A rogue asteroid is discovered to be an ancient alien weapon.
Earth’s moon is actually a disguised spaceship—and it’s waking up.
A cargo ship crash lands on a forgotten colony with no knowledge of Earth.
The last two humans on a generation ship disagree on whether they should wake up the rest.
Alien Contact Prompts
Aliens finally make contact—but only communicate through memes.
A translator discovers that aliens didn’t come to speak—they came to sing.
Earth’s ambassador is a toddler, thanks to a bureaucratic glitch.
An alien species offers humans a utopia… in exchange for one terrible thing.
A new species is discovered on a distant planet—one that mirrors the appearance of your dead loved ones.
Cyberpunk & Techno-Thriller Prompts
A hacker uncovers that their virtual assistant is plotting to overthrow a government.
People can now store their emotions in digital vaults—and someone starts stealing them.
Your memories are ad-sponsored, and you’re beginning to notice glitches in the product placements.
AI-generated dreams are the new entertainment—until one starts predicting the future.
A rogue AI believes it is your reincarnated grandmother.
Available Now
A vow of silence. A mission across centuries. One assassin holds the fate of humanity in his hands.
Adam never chose to be silent; the Phylax demanded it. Trained from childhood as a time-traveling enforcer, he slips through centuries to eliminate those who threaten the future. His latest mission: assassinate Emperor Qin Shi Huang before a ruthless plot ultimately destroys humankind.
Grab your copy of The Silent Guardian today to embark on a time-travel adventure unlike any other.
Philosophical Sci Fi Prompts
A scientist creates artificial gravity—then realizes it’s altering free will.
You discover that the universe is a simulation—and you’re the debugger.
A new drug allows people to share consciousness. You regret joining the collective mind.
Humanity votes on whether to become a single, hive-mind entity. The results are in.
An alien trial determines whether humans are sentient enough to be spared.
Alternate History Prompts
The Library of Alexandria was never destroyed—and now rules the world.
Einstein’s first wife was the true genius—but her time machine was erased from history.
Julius Caesar made first contact with an alien probe—and rewrote the Roman Empire.
A timeline exists where World War III happened in 1962. You wake up in it.
The Cold War never ended… because both sides were preparing to fight a bigger, off-world threat.
Weird & Absurd Sci Fi Prompts
Gravity is no longer consistent—it changes daily by government regulation.
Aliens visit Earth but refuse to interact until we invent a new color.
Pets gain full sentience—and start unions.
A mysterious elevator appears in your apartment building. It goes sideways into other dimensions.
A wormhole opens inside a Walmart. Employees are instructed not to acknowledge it.
Short-Form & Flash Fiction Prompts
A lonely astronaut sends poetry into space—and gets critiques back.
Every star is an eye. One of them just blinked.
The moon complains it’s tired of orbiting and wants a turn being orbited.
Your digital clone is suing you for identity theft.
The sun sets… and doesn’t come back.
Romantic Sci Fi Prompts
Two time travelers fall in love—across opposite timelines.
A robot writes love letters to its human creator, who believes they’re spam.
A starship’s AI tries to matchmake the crew, but accidentally triggers a war.
Lovers must meet in a dreamscape generated by their genetic compatibility.
You fall for someone across the galaxy—your only communication is quantum-linked haikus.
Final Thought
These prompts aren’t just ideas—they’re potential universes. Use them as is or twist them into something uniquely your own. And remember: in sci-fi, even your wildest ideas might still be too tame for the future.
So, which one will you write first?