Author: Terry Connelly

Terry Connelly is a retired high school English teacher. She earned her BA and Single Subject Teaching credential from California State University of the East Bay, in Hayward, California. Her short story "The Visitor" was published in the Noyo River Review after winning first place at the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference in 2019. Another short story, "Swept Sway" is in the CWC Literary Review. She taught for 18 years at Newark Memorial High School in Newark, California. She was gifted to work with both College Prep students and those with learning disabilities.

Choosing Fate

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            One way to get started is by making a chart. Use the following one as a guide.

Mood               Genre              Setting                         Character

Cheerful          Romance         Beach                          7-year-old boy

Thoughtful      Horror             City                             60-year-old working artist

Romantic         Sci-Fi               Woods                         28-year-old teacher

Ominous          Mystery           Office Building           90-year-old veteran

Tense               Fantasy            Hospital                       15-year-old athlete

Humorous       Nonfiction       Cruise ship                  47-year-old Activity Director

Select one from each category, but you do not have to work across in a straight line.

            Your task is to write a story using what you have selected.

            Have fun with this one.

Personal Artifact

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Many of us have family treasures buried in drawers or behind things in cabinets. We don’t think about them, perhaps don’t even worry about them because they are far from site, and possibly memory.

Until, for some reason, we dig through the mess. Or if someone asks about the object, or we tell a story about it.

Your task is to write a story in which a personal artifact is found. The character does something with it, or shows it to someone, or sits in front of family and tells the story behind it.

Have fun with this one.

Without a Trace

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Great mysteries employ the disappearing act: someone or something goes missing. Either have to be consequential enough to warrant fear, anxiety, or desperation.

In a child’s story, a favorite stuffed panda might have gone missing. Or a toy truck left out front overnight. Or the new bike, a gift on a birthday. Perhaps instead of an object, it might be the best friend who moves away with promises to stay in touch.

Adult versions should have more importance, such as secret files detailing hidden expenditures, the blueprints for a new supercomputer chip, or an outline for a recently deceased author’s last novel.

The most important element is that it disappears, and no one seems able to find it.

Clues are uncovered that might lead to its whereabouts but also might be herrings distracting searchers away from the hiding spot.

Your task is to write a story in which something of importance disappears and cannot be easily found.

Have fun with this one.

Routine Disrupted

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            We’re creatures of habit. We get up at around the same time, eat the same breakfast, leave for work promptly on the clock, and so on. Routines bring comfort as we know what we are doing, when. Monday through Friday we know how to plan, what to expect, what our needs are.

            Weekends give us flexibility, only if we desire it. Some do the same things every weekend, unless something arises that disrupts that routine. Imagine being invited to a party or to attend a play. You might want to see the play, but are uncomfortable at parties.

            Your task is to write a story in which your character’s routines are interrupted.

            Have fun with this one.

The Search

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            You lost your glasses. Look for them everywhere. Retrace your steps. A friend drops by for a visit. Sees the frantic look on your face. Laughs. Points to the top of your head.

            Let’s make it something more serious, say the memory card from your camera that holds all the photos from your last vacation. You took it out of the camera and left it on the computer desk. Thinking it might get lost (after all, it’s quite small) you put it someplace safe. Then don’t have time to download photos for a couple of weeks. You open the drawer where you keep things, but it’s not there. A frantic search begins, opening drawers, getting rid of junk, but can’t find it. You’re despondent. A week later, looking for something entirely different, you find the memory card in a small, clear bag, in the drawer where you keep important things.

            We lose all kinds of things, some more important than others. The search can be rewarding if we find it right away, but frustrating if we don’t.

            Your task is to write a story in which you have misplaced something or someone extremely important. Write the search, including the emotional ups and downs.

            Have fun with this one.

Description of a Setting

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            Setting is important. It tells the reader where the story takes place. It can control action, especially if the setting is in a challenging area, such as a craggy mountain, a muggy swamp, or a busy city.

            Some authors begin with a detailed description of setting. Pages cover everything from the buzzing of insects to the sound of a river tumbling over rocks. If in a Victorian mansion, the author might describe the heavy furniture and drapes, the gilded pictures hanging on the walls, the curved staircase rising to the second floor.

            However, do so with caution. Today’s readers like action. They want to “see” something happening at the beginning and continue throughout the story.

            Your task is to write a description of a domestic space in 150 words, maximum. Include at least five sensory details that hint at story or action, that suggest history. As the details are exposed, there should be an accompanying emotional weight.

            Have fun with this one.

Lost Clue

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            Imagine sorting through your old things in preparation for a move. You empty drawers and cabinets, closets and attics. You brush the dust off the tops of sagging boxes, rusted trunks and clothes bags hung in the deepest recesses.

            What do you uncover? What do these things mean to you? What do you do with them?

            Your task is to write a story in which your character finds something, long lost, that sparks an important memory.

            Have fun with this one.

An Influential Quirk

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A professor who’s right eyes twitches as he lectures. A ballerina who’s feet point inward. A flight attendant who’s hands tremble so strongly that fluids spill over the rims of cups. A mechanic who can’t pronounce the names of engine parts. An attorney who jitters and bounces around the courtroom.

These are quirks. Some might be considered disabilities. Some greatly influence what others think of them. Most cause others to tilt their heads in disbelief or a lack of trust.

Imagine a character in one of your stories having such a quirk. How would this affect how they appear to the public/ How would others react when seeing the quirk?

Your task is to write a story in which a quirk plays an influential role.

Have fun with this one.

Emotional Overload

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            Some stories revolve around somewhat dry exchanges between characters. They talk about mundane issues, such as a car needing repair, a leaky roof, or an unsatisfactory meal at a new restaurant. The couples sit around a mahogany table, before a roaring fire, as a crystal chandelier glows overhead. The setting cries for something loaded to happen. Perhaps voices raised, or glasses thrown against a wall, but nothing happens. Not even a shout or a cry of alarm.

            Your task is to write the opposite story! Tell an event that is emotionally charged. Perhaps there are disagreements. Perhaps someone storms off. Perhaps the phone is tossed to the floor. Perhaps someone gets slapped or punched or pushed. Perhaps someone loses an election after insulting the opponent.

            In other words, make something interesting happen that drives actions and consequences.

            Have fun with this one.

Disaster Strikes

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            Things happen. Imagine losing your home.

            Perhaps you rented, but it was yours. And then something horrible happens.

            It could be a storm or fire. It could be the landlord repossessing the property. Or falling behind on the mortgage. Or the death of a spouse.

            The shock, the travesty, is powerful. Emotions overwhelm, making it difficult to think rationally.

            Your task is to write a story in which your character loses their home.

            Sad, but have fun with this one anyway.