30+ Descriptive Writing Prompts

A descriptive paper is a very important part of literature, as it forms the entire basis of any literary work. It helps you gain a mental picture of the message being passed across.

As a writer, the most effective way to keep your readers engaged and interested in your work is to engage their senses. This will help your readers fully immerse themselves in your essay or writing, thereby making them see and feel everything you are describing in detail.

How to Use Descriptive Essay Prompts

A writing prompt is a suggestion or guide that helps you write better. It especially comes in handy when you start running out of creative juices, or when you can’t find inspiration. A descriptive writing prompt works in the same way, except that it is a prompt for essay on description.

When using descriptive writing prompts, the ultimate goal is to give your readers as much details as possible, not necessarily trying to write to reach or meet a word count. The prompts help you choose your words and writing style in a way that would best convey your message to your readers.

Also, be sure to explain using figurative language, so your readers have a way to relate to your essay, whether directly or indirectly. Describe in detail, and describe to your readers exactly how you felt, rather than just stating your reactions. These details will help your reader focus more on your work.

Without further ado, here is a list of creative writing essay prompts to help you write a wonderful descriptive essay.

Descriptive Writing Prompts

Each one of these topics is loaded with enough questions to keep you on track, so whichever you choose to work with, you can be sure that it is an ideal choice when looking for good writing prompts for essays on description.

1. Describe the first item you ever purchased for yourself. How did it feel to own something you could call entirely yours?
2. Describe your favourite movie. What about the movie makes you love it? What parts of the movie do you relate to?
3. Write an alternative ending to your favourite tragic book. Give it a happy ending, or one that makes you feel better.
4. Write about enjoying a day at the beach. Describe in details, everything you see, hear, feel and smell.
5. Write about a memory you have from your elementary school. What made this memory easy to remember? Be sure to describe the details of every part of it, using all your senses.
6. Make up a story about waking up and finding yourself in a plane as a pilot. How would you feel, and what would you do?
7. Think about your favourite fairytale character, and describe what a day in their life would look like. Be sure to use as many descriptive words as possible.
8. Make up a story where a student gets to be the principal for a day, and the principal has to be a student for a day. What did they do as each other? Was it a good day for them? Did they enjoy being the other person?
9. Describe the most colourful outfit you’ve ever seen. What colours did the outfit have? Did you love it or hate it? Where did you see it?
10. Describe the strangest outfit you’ve ever seen a person wear. Was it good or bad? How did it make you feel?
11. Imagine you woke up as someone you’ve always wanted to be like. Write an essay showing exactly who you would be, what you would do, and all the places you would visit.
12. Write about your favourite song. How does it make you feel? What do you love about the song? How many singers does the song have? What instruments can you hear in the song?
13. Describe an item you have, that you can’t ever part with. How did you get it? How long have you had it? Why are you so attached to it? What would you do if you lost it?
14. Describe your favourite shirt. What colour is it? Does it have a collar? Are the sleeves long or short? Does it have any other distinctive features? How did you get it?
15. Describe a vivid dream you had. What was it about? Describe the people or things you saw in the dream. How did the dream make you feel?
16. Write about being at a busy bus park. How far is it from your house? What do you see? What do you hear? What are the people doing?
17. Describe a movie you watched at a cinema. Were there noisy people at the cinema? Did you have a good time? Would you rather have watched the movie at home?
18. Describe your next-door neighbour. Are they nice or rude? Are they noisy or quiet? How do you feel about them?
19. Write about visiting an animal farm. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell and feel? Did you enjoy visiting the farm?
20. Write about a time you lost your keys. Where did you look? Did you get someone to help you find them? Where did you find them? How long did it take?
21. Describe a meeting at a book club. How often does the meeting hold? Where does it hold? How many people are in the club?
22. Have you ever trusted the wrong person? What happened? How did you know you shouldn’t have trusted them? How did it make you feel?
23. Describe a visit to the hospital. Why did you go to the hospital? Did you go alone? What happened at the hospital? Did you get any medicines or shots? How did you feel on your way to the hospital? How did you feel on your way back from the hospital?
24. Write about a busy day you had. When did you wake up? Did you go anywhere that day? What did you do? Did you get any visitors? Describe all the things that made the day busy. When did you go back to bed?
25. Describe a baby shower you’ve been to. If you haven’t, make up a story about one. How many people were there? How were the decorations? What kind of food was served? What did you bring as a gift?
26. Write about a time you got in trouble with your parents. What got you in trouble? Was it on purpose? How were you punished? How did you feel?
27. Write about a fishing trip you went on. What equipment did you bring along? Did you catch any fish? What kind of fish did you see?
28. Write about getting a good grade in a paper. Did you prepare for the paper? Did you expect to get that good of a grade? How did you feel when you saw the grade? Did you get any rewards?
29. Describe a meal time at your house. What kinds of food are on the table? What kinds of fruits? How many courses? How many people are at the table?
30. Describe a random picture. What is it about? How many people are in it? What else can you tell about the picture?
31. Describe a garage sale. What items are on display? What items would you like to purchase? Are the prices reasonable? Is there a crowd?
32. Describe a frightening memory. What made it frightening? What other things do you remember about it?

Every one of these descriptive prompts has enough questions to help you stay inspired. There are descriptive paragraph prompts to help you achieve a seamless paper, and to make sure you never run out of things to write about.