Angst — that feeling of anxiety, inner pain, and deep dread. Whatever your experience with angst, you know it’s not just for teenagers.
It’s a whole mood that saturates your life. It’s ageless and contains multitudes.
If you want to include an angst-ridden character in your next book, you’ve come to the right place.
To capture this emotion in your character’s dialogue, look through the angst prompts that follow, and take note of those that feel familiar to you.
Those are probably the ones that will take a firm hold of your imagination and get you writing at a furious pace.
The best angst ideas come from your own experiences.
75 Of The Best Angst Writing Prompts
Enjoy these angst dialogue prompts. See which ones draw you into a conversation you can hear in your head. Keep a pen and notebook handy for those ideas.
1. “How much pain do you have to go through before giving up is okay?”
2. “You’re allowed to fall apart a little.”
3. “I hate remembering the mess I used to be because part of me misses it.”
4. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you giving up is easy. Giving up is the hardest thing I ever had to do.”
5. “I’m here. I know that’s not enough, but it’s all I got.”
6. “What’s the point of trying if it just proves that I’ll never be good enough?”
7. “I don’t expect a happy ending. I just want an ending.”
8. “It sucks. Because I want to hate you, but I can’t.”
9. “I wish, just once, you would love me like this — no strings attached.”
10. “It hurts when I realize I’ll never mean that much to someone.”
11. “They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, but my heart just became numb.”
12. “I wanted to believe you thought about me.”
13. “It’s harder when you can’t make yourself cry. When you don’t get to feel the release.”
14. “You’re my best friend. I wish I were yours.”
15. “You made me think I actually mattered.”
16. “I miss being incapable of love.”
17. “I’d rather deny my feelings than have to explain them.”
18. “I pushed you away because you deserve better.”
19. “If you don’t know my options, don’t judge my choices.”
20. “Even when you’re next to me, it feels like you’re miles away.”
21. “I’m sick of missing you when you’re right here.”
22. “I thought I could like it like this.”
23. “You seemed to like me better when I lied.”
24. “Could you stay a little bit longer?”
25. “Tell me you don’t want to leave. Say I’m enough to make you stay. I know it’s not true, but please just say it.”
26. “It was always you, no matter how much I denied it.”
27. “I wasn’t enough for you?” “No, you were too much.”
28. “No one can break your heart if you keep it broken anyway.”
29. “I tried.” “I know, and that was your mistake.”
30. “You’re right: I’m a liar. But you can believe me, just this one time.”
31. “You don’t have to love me.”
32. “If tomorrow comes anyway, will you be there?”
33. “You can’t be here. Not now.”
34. “Sometimes, forever just doesn’t last that long.”
35. “Don’t pretend you missed me.”
36. “Why am I grieving for someone who isn’t even dead?”
37. “How could you stand there and pretend this isn’t your fault?”
38. “Did you ever see me? Or was I just a background character?”
39. “Tell me I’m wrong. Say it. Please.”
40. “Don’t give me that look. Did you really expect things to be different this time?”
41. “I wish you would think of me when I wasn’t right in front of you.”
42. “You can still see the stars in the sky after they’ve burned out. It must be lonely, having no one miss you.”
43. “Could you see me like that, just for a moment? Pretend I mean something to you.”
44. “Hope has only ever failed me.”
45. “The world was a little brighter yesterday, wasn’t it? Everything was brighter without me there.”
46. “I’ll leave, and the world will move on. I just wish I could see it. See how much better everything is when I’m gone.”
47. “It doesn’t matter if you meant it or not. The pain is still real.”
48. “Oh my god, you love her. And she doesn’t love you back. How perfect.”
49. “I wish I could say it gets easier. It doesn’t.”
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50. “Do you honestly not see how dysfunctional this family is?”
51. “Kiss me like you’ll never forget me. Then walk away. Why delay the inevitable?”
52. “Suicide doesn’t end the pain; it just passes it on to someone else.”
53. “Pretending to be happy is exhausting.”
54. “Who are you when no one’s watching?”
55. “You’re good at finding things. Find me a reason to stay.”
56. “I was alone with my baby. My own thoughts terrified me. And you never bothered to call.”
57. “The one person who called me when I was at my lowest wasn’t you.”
58. “I keep trying to be a better mother, even when everything I do seems to backfire.”
59. “Why did I even make it home?”
60. “The one day you notice I’m gone, I’m supposed to feel bad for you?”
61. “I know you did the best you could. I just wish you hadn’t stopped.”
62. “Your mind is the darkest place I’ve ever been to.”
63. “No wonder you’re not afraid of the dark. Nothing outside your head could be as scary as what’s inside it.”
64. “I didn’t choose to be an introvert. I did choose to be asocial. I regret nothing.”
65. “I’m not divorcing you. I just need to be away from you for a while.”
66. “It’s been a while since I felt myself turning to ash on the inside. Thanks for walking in and reminding me.”
67. “They don’t actually want me there. I’m tolerated — not welcome. Why don’t you see that?”
68. “Why would I trust anyone else with my baby? I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t feel seen or wanted. And I still don’t.”
69. “How do they manage to still be in their kids’ lives, but you don’t even bother?”
70. “Promise me, when I die, you’ll have me cremated and spread my ashes around a tree. I don’t need an expensive hole in the ground or a rock with my name on it.”
71. “I was drowning right in front of you, and you were too busy to notice.”
72. “I didn’t want to leave because I finally felt like you needed me there. It didn’t last.”
73. “What do you see in me that you hate so much when you see it in yourself?”
74. “I was finally starting to live before you showed up again. And now I see it.”
75. “You looked right at me when you said it. I think you meant every word.”
Did you find some useful angst writing prompts?
Now that you have 75 angst writing prompts, which ones make you want to open your notebook (or a Google doc) and start writing?
Picture the scene in your head and describe your characters before you take dictation for their angsty dialogue. What does it lead to for each of them? What’s their backstory? What’s the whole picture of their present moment?
Write down whatever comes to mind and explore the possibilities before you even think of editing. Your muse will thank you. And so will your readers.
