Fiction Writing Prompts: Impostor

Impostor Writing Prompts

A character pretends to be someone else…

1. A soldier assumes the identity of a fallen comrade to relay an important message.
2. A woman inherits a boarding pass to an elite event and decides to attend as someone else.
3. At a high school reunion, an unknown individual shows up claiming to be a once-famous student.
4. A detective goes undercover as a chef in a five-star restaurant to unravel a mystery.
5. A child in an orphanage pretends to be the missing heir of a wealthy family to find a home.
6. In a post-apocalyptic world, a man impersonates a famous leader to rally survivors.
7. A woman adopts the online identity of her twin sister to uncover an online predator.
8. In a realm where magic is power, a commoner impersonates a wizard to save his village.
9. A journalist takes on the persona of a renowned novelist to gain entry to an exclusive writers’ retreat.
10. After waking up with amnesia, a man is convinced by strangers that he’s someone else.
11. A pauper swaps places with a prince for a day, leading to unexpected revelations.
12. An actress gets trapped in her role, convincing even herself of her new identity.
13. A scientist, to escape the mafia, becomes a fisherman on a remote island.
14. A robotic AI is programmed to believe it’s human, with memories and emotions.
15. During a masquerade ball, two guests exchange identities to uncover each other’s secrets.
16. A knight pretends to be a jester to escape from enemy territory.
17. A journalist impersonates a missing activist in a dangerous country.
18. A doppelgänger from a parallel universe meets her counterpart and assumes her life.
19. A daughter, estranged from her family, returns home pretending to be a friend of herself.
20. An aspiring singer takes the place of a pop star look-alike for one concert.
21. A writer, struggling with impostor syndrome, starts living as his successful pen name.
22. A man takes the place of his identical twin brother in a reality show.
23. An archeologist, to protect an ancient relic, pretends to be one of the tomb raiders.
24. A prisoner exchanges identities with a guard to escape.
25. A politician’s assistant has to stand-in for the politician during an important summit.
26. An alien tries to fit into human society by assuming the identity of a missing person.
27. An AI developer creates a virtual avatar and interacts online as this ideal persona.
28. A historian discovers a time portal and assumes the identity of a 19th-century duke.
29. An assassin is hired to replace and mimic a world leader.
30. A mermaid comes ashore, taking the identity of a lighthouse keeper’s missing wife.
31. A stunt double in a film begins to believe he’s the leading actor.
32. An old man with regrets hires an actor to reconcile with his family as him.
33. In a digital world, a hacker assumes the identity of a user to expose corporate secrets.
34. A fairy, cursed to live as a human, impersonates a princess.
35. In a game show where identity is the prize, contestants swap lives.
36. A runaway child assumes the identity of a foreign diplomat’s son.
37. A shapeshifter takes on the role of various villagers to solve a mystery.
38. An art forger, after a heist, pretends to be the detective hunting for himself.
39. A fugitive hides in a traveling circus, taking on different roles each night.
40. A witch assumes the identity of a village elder to find her stolen grimoire.
41. A teen pretends to be a superhero after finding their costume.
42. An author, to research a novel, impersonates a cruise ship captain.
43. A robot, on the run, convinces a family that he’s their lost relative.
44. A spy uses a memory-altering device to convince enemies he’s one of them.
45. An actress’s stunt double starts living her off-screen life too.
46. A detective solves cases while undercover as a notorious gangster.
47. A guardian angel takes human form, replacing a man to protect his love.
48. A thief assumes the identity of a detective hot on his trail.
49. A queen switches places with her maid to experience life outside the palace.
50. In a world where everyone wears masks, a man tries on another’s mask and life.
51. A cat, granted a human form, tries to convince his owner he’s her fiancé.
52. A fallen god assumes the identity of a mortal to regain his powers.
53. A librarian discovers a book that allows her to assume fictional characters’ roles.
54. A gladiator, to save his life, impersonates the arena’s champion.
55. A pop star and a fan accidentally swap bodies during a concert.
56. An elderly woman, to revisit her youth, impersonates her own granddaughter.
57. An outlaw takes the place of a sheriff in a Wild West town.
58. A writer becomes the main character in a story to change its ending.
59. In a futuristic society, a rebel replaces a dictator with his clone.
60. A scientist switches places with a test subject to experience a new reality.
61. A ghost impersonates a living person to complete his unfinished business.
62. A werewolf, during a full moon, convinces a town he’s their protector.
63. A cursed prince takes the identity of a traveler to find a cure.
64. A student exchanges places with her professor for a unique lesson.
65. An AI, to understand humanity, downloads a person’s memories and believes he’s human.
66. A celebrity impersonator gets mistaken for the real star.
67. A bard, while undercover, convinces a kingdom he’s the long-lost king.
68. A dragon in human form tries to convince a village he’s their savior.
69. An adventurer, to steal a relic, impersonates a high priest.
70. A vampire poses as a human detective to hide her nocturnal hunts.
71. A warrior woman, to join an all-male army, disguises herself as a man.
72. A farmer, to win a noblewoman’s heart, pretends to be a knight.
73. An actor gets trapped in a theater, forced to play different characters daily.
74. A ghostwriter, after years of anonymity, assumes the identity of a famous author.
75. A robot inherits the memories and identity of its creator.
76. A journalist, to expose the elite, impersonates a billionaire.
77. A detective assumes the roles of various suspects to reenact a crime.
78. A child believes he’s the reincarnation of a village elder and assumes his role.
79. In a magical academy, a novice pretends to be the headmaster.
80. A bodyguard, after a fatal accident, takes the place of the diplomat he was protecting.
81. A siren, to experience love, takes the form of a shipwrecked woman.
82. An android, to fit in, tries living as a human in a small town.
83. A prince, wanting a break, hires a look-alike to take his place.
84. A teacher assumes the identity of her twin to find out who’s trying to sabotage her career.
85. A mage disguises himself as a commoner to evade magical assassins.
86. An undercover cop starts to believe he’s actually part of the criminal underworld.
87. A novelist, to escape writer’s block, starts living as his main character.
88. A shape-shifting alien studies Earth by taking the form of various humans.
89. A student, to pass an exam, swaps places with the smartest kid in school.
90. A detective’s undercover role as a singer leads to an unexpected music career.
91. In a realm where names are power, a thief steals and assumes others’ names.
92. A mythical creature pretends to be human to protect its identity.
93. A con artist impersonates royalty to pull off the greatest heist.
94. An imposter infiltrates a crew on a space mission to another galaxy.
95. A villain takes the hero’s place to undo all the good deeds.
96. In a fantasy land, a gnome disguises himself as a giant.
97. An inventor, to prove her machine works, swaps places with her future self.
98. A nurse takes on the identity of a surgeon for a critical operation.
99. A retired spy, suffering from dementia, believes he’s still on an active mission.
100. A lone survivor on a deserted island believes he’s the island’s mythical guardian.