Short story prompt

What most people type

write a short story about a lighthouse keeper who finds a message in a bottle

It works, but the AI has to guess your tone or genre, e.g. mystery, melancholy, hopeful, setting and time period and message content or sender, or let the story decide, so the first answer usually needs another round. The version below asks for exactly what a professional would deliver.

Write a short story about a lighthouse keeper who finds a message in a bottle.

Details to use:
- Tone/genre: [tone or genre, e.g. mystery, melancholy, hopeful]
- Setting and era: [setting and time period]
- What the message says or who it is from: [message content or sender, or let the story decide]
- Point of view: [first or third person]

Give the story a clear arc: an opening that establishes the keeper and their routine, the discovery of the bottle, a turning point driven by the message, and a resolution that lands emotionally. Make the keeper a specific character with a distinct voice and a small personal stake in the message, and use concrete sensory detail rather than generic sea imagery.

Length: about [word count, e.g. 800-1,200 words]. Give the story a title. Return only the story, with no commentary.

Replace the [brackets] with your details before you send it: tone or genre, e.g. mystery, melancholy, hopeful, setting and time period, message content or sender, or let the story decide, first or third person, word count, e.g. 800-1,200 words.

What a professional short story prompt covers

• Length
• Tone or genre placeholder or choice
• Point of view or audience

Watch out for

• Over-specifies plot the person didn't ask for

Best AI model for this prompt

This is a everyday task. You don't need the most expensive model. The cheapest model at each company that handles it well:

Pay-per-use list prices for this prompt and its expected answer (about 400 tokens). On a monthly chat plan, the same choice shows up as more messages before you hit your limit. See today's AI prices.