140+ BEST ChatGPT Prompts for Writing a Book (2023)

Spending hours struggling to write your book?

Wish you had an AI assistant providing targeted prompts to unlock your creativity?

This guide reveals the 140+ best ChatGPT prompts for writing a book, offering actionable advice to develop compelling plots, characters, and prose to complete your manuscript faster.

Tips for Using ChatGPT to Write a Book

When using ChatGPT to help with your book-writing process, keep these tips in mind:

• Ask specific questions. Don’t say “Help me write a book.” Break it down into small, answerable prompts about the plot, characters, etc.
• Get creative and curious. Ask questions you genuinely want to know the answers to. ChatGPT often surprises with thoughtful responses.
• Make edits and refinements. Don’t take ChatGPT’s initial responses as final. Ask follow-up questions to improve the quality.
• Maintain control as the writer. ChatGPT is just a tool to enhance your process, not replace your creative vision.
• Cite sources if you plan to use ChatGPT’s writing directly. Though even paraphrasing is recommended.
• Double-check facts and information. ChatGPT occasionally generates plausible-sounding but incorrect info. Verify anything that seems suspicious.
• Try different approaches if you hit a dead end. Re-phrase prompts, simplify questions and remove ambiguities if you get stuck.

90 Best ChatGPT Prompts for Writing a Book

ChatGPT Prompts for Book Concept and Outline

1. Please provide 10 high-level book ideas for a mystery novel, including a one-sentence summary of each.
2. Help me create a chapter-by-chapter outline for a self-help book about overcoming imposter syndrome, including a 2-3 sentence summary per chapter.
3. Give me an outline for a 10-chapter YA fantasy novel about a teenage girl who discovers she has magical powers, including a logline and one-paragraph summary per chapter.
4. Help me develop a book proposal for a cookbook on budget-friendly healthy meals. Include a summary, market analysis, chapter outlines, and competitive titles.
5. Provide a one-page synopsis for a literary fiction novel about a family secret spanning multiple generations. Include a hook, character arcs, and major plot points.
6. Suggest a new book concept combining true crime and memoir genres. Give a high-level overview including potential focus, narrative voice, and chapter breakdown.
7. Help create a complete chapter outline for a romance novel about two co-workers falling in love. Include 10 chapters with 2-3 sentence summaries per chapter.
8. Give me an engaging logline and high-level 5-chapter outline for an autobiography of a famous musician overcoming adversity.
9. Provide a one-paragraph book summary and a two-page outline for a science fiction novel about a futuristic colony living on another planet.
10. Help me develop a non-fiction book proposal on the history of modern art. Include a chapter breakdown, competitive analysis, and overview of graphics.

ChatGPT Prompts for Developing Characters

1. Write character profiles for the 5 main characters in a YA fantasy novel including physical description, backstory, motivations, and personality traits.
2. Generate a list of 20 unique character names appropriate for a contemporary romance novel set in a big city, 10 female and 10 male.
3. Help me expand the main character for a literary fiction novel by providing additional background information on her family, education, romantic history, and notable life events.
4. Generate a 500-word comprehensive character profile for the villain in a mystery thriller including physical description, quirks, motivations, backstory, and key relationships.
5. Give me 5 compelling flaws and 5 strengths of the protagonist of a historical fiction novel set during World War 2. These should feel multi-dimensional.
6. Provide a 150-word physical description of a 28-year-old female detective who is one of the main characters in a noir crime novel.
7. Help me brainstorm distinguishing traits, habits, beliefs, values, and vulnerabilities for the three main characters in a comedy screenplay.
8. Suggest three pivotal backstory events from the childhood of the protagonist in a literary fiction novel centered on overcoming trauma.
9. Give me 10 unique personality traits for the quirky best friend character in a New Adult romance. Mix positive, negative, and neutral qualities.
10. Provide a 300-word character profile detailing the appearance, mannerisms, backstory, motivations, and growth arc of the anti-hero in a fantasy trilogy.

ChatGPT Prompts for Worldbuilding

1. Provide a 500-word overview of the magical system for a YA fantasy novel including capabilities, limitations, and key rules.
2. Describe the political structure and leadership hierarchy of a fictional intergalactic empire in a new sci-fi series spanning multiple planets.
3. Generate a 300-word description of the layout, architecture, and key locations in a fictional coastal city that is the setting of a near-future dystopian novel.
4. Create a glossary of 10 invented curse words and their definitions for a fantasy world with its languages.
5. Design 5 fictional newspapers and magazines that people would read in an urban fantasy novel set in present-day Chicago including their political leanings.
6. Describe the pop culture, art, music, clothing, and technology of a fictional alien planet inhabited by advanced humanoid creatures.
7. Give me a bulleted overview of the history, cultural values, economy, education system, and social issues of a fictional island nation that a literary novel takes place in.
8. Generate names and short descriptions for 5 taverns and inns that serve as key locations in a medieval fantasy epic.
9. Help me imagine the rules, teams, equipment, major players, and political significance of an invented sport for a science fiction novel.
10. Provide an overview of the mythological pantheon, legends, folklore, and magical beliefs in a secondary world that influence the people and events of an epic fantasy series.

ChatGPT Prompts for Plot and Structure

1. Suggest a plot twist for a spy thriller set in the 1960s that takes the story in an unexpected direction halfway through the novel.
2. Help me brainstorm 5 pieces of planted foreshadowing in chapters 1-10 that hint at the big reveal in chapter 15 of a mystery novel.
3. Provide an additional subplot for a literary fiction story about a woman starting over after divorce to add complexity to the narrative.
4. Give me 10 major plot points that should happen throughout a 120,000-word epic fantasy novel including the climax and resolution.
5. Recommend a subplot for a YA science fiction story involving the main character discovering a hidden talent to reinforce the themes of growth and identity.
6. Help me develop the emotional character arcs for the 3 main characters in a romance novel, including how they change and evolve throughout the story.
7. Suggest a sequence of events that would make up the first major plot turn in a horror thriller approximately a quarter way through the book.
8. Provide an outline detailing the exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution for a complete three-act mystery novel structure.
9. Give me ideas for complications and obstacles the protagonist must overcome in the second act of a hero’s journey fantasy story to grow as a character.
10. Propose ideas for three thematic storylines that can be subtly woven together in a literary fiction novel exploring complex family dynamics.

ChatGPT Prompts for Stylistic Help

1. How would you describe my writing style based on this excerpt? Provide constructive feedback on how to improve my descriptive language.
2. Help me brainstorm metaphors, similes, and descriptive phrases related to (setting) to make my writing more immersive.
3. What are 3-5 ways I could enhance the voice and point of view in this passage from my memoir to make it more engaging?
4. Please provide feedback on the pacing, sentence structure, and variation in sentence length in this excerpt from my thriller novel. Suggest 2-3 improvements.
5. Read this dialogue-heavy scene from my screenplay. Advise how I could enhance the banter between characters and make it pop more.
6. Provide tips on how to make the action sequences in this passage feel more dynamic and immersive for the reader.
7. How could I edit this chapter opener to better establish a sense of place and pull readers into the setting? Provide before and after examples.
8. Suggest ways I could show, not tell, more in this excerpt to strengthen the emotional resonance and subtext.
9. Recommend 3-4 writing techniques such as metaphors, motifs, or symbols I could use to reinforce this coming-of-age novel’s themes.
10. I want this passage to feel more introspective as the protagonist reflects internally. Help me rework it to deepen the internalization and psychology.

ChatGPT Prompts for Dialogue Refinement

1. How can I edit this excerpt of dialogue to sound more natural and realistic to each character’s voice? Provide concrete suggestions.
2. Help me rework this tense conversation between two characters to inject subtext and nonverbal cues that “show” more while “tell” less.
3. I need help strengthening the banter between siblings in this scene to sound more authentic. Provide 3 examples of playful yet cutting remarks they could say.
4. Suggest how I could enhance this dialogue exchange between my protagonist and antagonist to have rising tension and more impact.
5. Provide feedback on how I could make this romantic dialogue excerpt between two characters sound more natural, emotional, and conversational.
6. Read this comedic dialogue scene. Help me punch up the humor with better jokes, comebacks, and awkward moments true to these quirky characters.
7. How can I edit this dialogue to avoid being too on the nose? Provide concrete suggestions on how to impart information more subtly.
8. This serious scene is dragging. Help me trim and tighten the dialogue while keeping the emotional arcs intact.
9. Which lines in this dialogue can I cut without losing impact? Recommend specific passages that are redundant or unnecessary to streamline them.
10. Please provide constructive feedback and line edits on this pivotal two-page dialogue scene between a mother and daughter to maximize its emotional punch.

ChatGPT Prompts for Setting and Atmosphere

1. Help me describe the atmosphere inside a creepy, dilapidated Gothic mansion using vivid sensory details that capture its eerie vibe.
2. Provide sensory details about the hustle and grime of 1920s New York City that capture the energy and danger of the period.
3. How can I describe a bustling outdoor marketplace using sights, smells, sounds, and textures that transport readers to this vibrant setting?
4. Suggest details about the climate, terrain, flora, and fauna that evoke a vivid sense of being deep in the Amazon jungle.
5. Help me describe a futuristic utopian city using sleek, gleaming imagery including advanced architecture, technology, and transportation.
6. Give vivid sensory and emotional details about being deep underground in a dark, claustrophobic mine shaft that evokes feelings of fear and isolation.
7. Provide immersive details about the atmosphere inside an abandoned prison, using creepy and unsettling imagery that conveys its dark history.
8. How can I portray a calm, peaceful monastery high in the mountains through tranquil, meditative details, sounds, and sensations?
9. Suggest details about the atmosphere inside a loud, chaotic emergency room, including sights, smells, and sounds.
10. Describe the mood and magical ambiance inside a grand library with towering shelves using rich, enthralling details.

ChatGPT Prompts for Research Assistance

1. Help explain the historical context around women’s rights in 1920s America in simple terms so I can accurately portray the era in my novel.
2. Provide an overview of common sailing terminology and parts of a ship from the 1800s for research on my historical maritime fiction book.
3. What were some of the most popular women’s names in rural towns in the American Midwest in the 1950s? List 10 examples.
4. Give me a quick bulleted summary of the key events and political climate of colonial America in the 1770s to inform my historical fiction.
5. Help explain courtship and marriage customs in Regency England so I can represent them accurately in my romance novel.
6. Briefly educate me on Aztec mythology and belief systems so I can incorporate details into my fantasy book.
7. Provide a summary of the medical treatments and health knowledge in medieval Europe to inform the healing practices in my epic fantasy.
8. What were some common superstitions, slang terms, and colloquialisms used in inner-city neighborhoods in the 1970s? Give me 10 examples.
9. Educate me briefly on police investigative procedures related to homicides so I can portray forensics accurately in my crime novel.
10. Provide a concise overview of Viking culture, practices, and daily life so I can realistically depict a Viking clan in my historical fantasy.

ChatGPT Prompts for Editing and Polishing

1. This scene is feeling slow. Please suggest cuts and trims to tighten it up while preserving any necessary details.
2. How can I restructure these three paragraphs to improve the overall flow and pacing? Provide an edited example.
3. Which sentences in this passage are redundant and can be cut or combined without losing impact?
4. Please read this chapter excerpt and suggest 2-3 ways I could add more sensory details to ground it in a specific setting.
5. Does this chapter accomplish its role in advancing the overall plot? If not, advise what needs to happen here instead.
6. This descriptive passage is feeling a bit heavy-handed. Help me edit it to sound more subtle and graceful.
7. Which parts of this chapter are dragging or feel uneventful? Tell me what I should cut or revise.
8. Can you polish and strengthen my prologue? Provide concrete suggestions to make it more immersive and impactful.
9. Read this scene and recommend any small details or refinements that could enhance the atmosphere and mood.
10. Please provide overall feedback on this draft manuscript, including pacing issues, character consistency, unclear scenes, or logical gaps I should address.

48 Top ChatGPT Prompts for Book Writing

ChatGPT Prompts for Fiction Writing

1. What should the protagonist’s emotional arc be throughout a fantasy trilogy following the hero’s journey structure? Give a detailed overview.
2. Provide an impactful opening line for a literary fiction novel about a musician reflecting on her past.
3. Help me brainstorm 5 episodes from the female protagonist’s past that can later tie into the mystery in surprising ways.
4. Suggest a metaphor I could use throughout a historical fiction novel to represent the protagonist’s struggle for freedom.
5. Give me 10 prompts for sensory setting details I can sprinkle into different scenes throughout my thriller to ground them.
6. Provide an example introduction paragraph with voice and style for a comedic first-person narrator telling their life story.
7. Help me imagine a magical system for my fantasy world involving song, music, and voice as powers. Explain possible capabilities, origins, and limits.
8. What’s an unresolved subplot thread I could introduce in Act 1 and unexpectedly return to in Act 3 of my romance novel?
9. Propose 5 possible character arcs for the deuteragonist’s emotional journey in my literary fiction book. Focus on nuance and complexity.
10. Brainstorm a list of 15 small mysteries, strange events, and plot questions I can seed into early chapters to foreshadow bigger reveals.

ChatGPT Prompts for Non-fiction Writing

1. Provide 10 potential book title ideas for a non-fiction work about the importance of mental health in high-achieving students.
2. Help lay out a tentative chapter structure for a book proposal about achieving financial independence through passive income streams and smart investing.
3. What are the most important topics and questions I should address in a parenting book on raising confident, compassionate kids in today’s world? List 10.
4. Provide high-level topic suggestions and an outline structure for a non-fiction examination of political polarization in America today.
5. What are the key elements I need to cover in an engaging introduction for a popular science book on quantum physics aimed at general readers?
6. Help me brainstorm a list of 20 experts from various backgrounds I could potentially interview for a book on diversity and inclusion.
7. Provide suggestions for visual elements like charts, graphs, and illustrations to incorporate throughout a book making economics concepts more accessible.
8. What are possible interview question topics I should cover when profiling a famous public figure for a biography? List 10.
9. Recommend how I might insert memoir elements and personal anecdotes in a book about overcoming grief without detracting from the broader topic.
10. What are potential ethical concerns, biases, or misconceptions I should be cautious of when writing about disability rights and experiences?

ChatGPT Prompts for Memoir Writing

1. Help me recall 10 significant memories from my childhood in detail including sights, smells, sounds, and emotions.
2. I want to reflect on how my experiences with failure shaped my outlook. Prompt me with 10 questions to explore this theme deeply.
3. Suggest 5 impactful life milestones I could focus individual chapters on for my memoir about relationships and romance.
4. What is an interesting story structure for a humorous memoir that jumps around in time rather than a strict timeline? Outline it.
5. Help me brainstorm a list of entertaining anecdotes from my career working odd jobs that illustrate my early work ethic.
6. Prompt me to vividly recall sensory details from my college years, both good and bad, to make those scenes more immersive.
7. Provide 5 ideas for chapter titles that capture the themes of overcoming adversity in my inspirational memoir.
8. Imagine I’m writing a memoir about motherhood. Give me 10 poignant milestone moments with my kids I could dramatize as standout scenes.

ChatGPT Prompts for Children’s Book Writing

1. Help me brainstorm 10 fun animal characters for a children’s picture book along with rhyming names for each one.
2. Provide 5 main virtues or lessons to build a preschool picture book around, like patience, persistence, and gratitude.
3. Suggest an engaging rhyme scheme and poetic meter I could use for a Dr. Seuss-style rhyming picture book.
4. Give me ideas for 10 magical objects a group of young wizards could use for spellcasting in a middle-grade fantasy adventure.
5. Help me imagine a whimsical food-based world for a silly chapter books series, like mountains of mashed potatoes or houses made of cookies.
6. Brainstorm a list of 25 creative curse word substitutes appropriate for a middle-grade fantasy book with young protagonists.
7. Provide 7 challenges or obstacles a non-human protagonist like a talking animal could face in trying to fit into the human world.
8. Recommend 5 key qualities and abilities a superhero should have in a YA novel focused on diversity, inclusiveness, and female empowerment.
9. What are 10 everyday problems a magic spellbook could offer creative solutions for in a lighthearted middle-grade story?
10. Suggest a supernatural creature that could serve as a helpful guide for lost children in a whimsical forest setting.

ChatGPT Prompts for Storytelling

1. Please provide an opening passage to pull readers into a fantasy story using rich sensory details and a foreboding mood.
2. Write a passage transitioning between two scenes that recaps important details and moves the story forward.
3. Help me write an impactful closing passage for a romance novel that provides a satisfying emotional resolution.
4. Give me a paragraph of vivid descriptive prose I could include in a key moment of introspection for my protagonist.
5. Provide a compelling passage revealing a shocking secret that reshapes how the reader sees the protagonist.
6. Craft a passage that uses metaphor and symbolism to convey the feeling of overcoming an emotional struggle.
7. Write a satisfying denouement scene wrapping up the various story threads at the end of a multi-perspective literary novel.
8. Help me write an epilogue providing a glimpse into the future lives of the main characters after the events of the final chapter.
9. Give me a tense passage describing the protagonist evading danger, using movement and pacing to build suspense.
10. Write a passage centered on two characters sharing a tender romantic moment, focusing on emotional resonance over physical details.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re writing an epic sci-fi saga, cozy mystery, historical fiction, memoir, or any other genre, ChatGPT can generate personalized prompts to enhance your entire creative process.

Use these prompts for inspiration, detail, and polishing your manuscript.

Remember to always maintain an editorial eye and verify any questionable info.

FAQs: ChatGPT Prompts for Writing a Book