Here's a horror story for writers everywhere: writer's block. You've planted your person in your preferred setting, your medium of choice is before you, but nothing comes to mind, let alone to your paper/screen. It can seem as though rush-hour traffic is taking place in your brain, delaying any and all waves of written excellence.

Sometimes, you just want to escape what is dull, but the best writing inspiration is often right under your nose. Here are 10 writing prompts to bring spice to the mundane:

1. When you're in a café.

2. Use your phone as a plot device.

Open your text messages. Make the last message you received the first line of your story. Hopefully, it isn't "lol," but that could make a great challenge and an interesting story that you may not have been expecting to write.

3. Opening a door

The nearest door leads your protagonist to where they consider to be hell on Earth. Where does this door bring them?

4. The new library

Your character gets lost in the book they found in the new library. The place was pretty empty, aside from the workers. The lights go out. What happens next?

5. Everyone has a favorite color.

Personify your favorite color. Make them a full-blown character and give them a sick origin story.

6. Kids in the store.

Write a story from the perspective of a child who's been dragged to the mall by a parent for back-to-school shopping.

7. For the sake of the story, drop your coffee.

Your protagonist is faced with news that makes them drop the coffee they just bought. We see this all the time in the media for dramatic purposes, so now it's your turn. Dive into the emotions the character feels in this moment.

8. A new curiosity shop

A new curiosity shop opened in a town where nothing ever happens. Your protagonist hoped to find something interesting or to at least, kill some time. Instead, they find a talisman that can grant their greatest wish, for a price.

9. Long way home

Your protagonist is taking a long drive back home. The local talk show is on because they don't know what the stations are where they traveled. However, they're not listening anyway. They can't stop replaying the incident that occurred hours earlier.

10. For every protagonist, there's an antagonist

Write what your antagonist is plotting from their point of view. With the view swap, they're technically the protagonist now.