Tag: confrontation

The Dishonest Salesperson

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

            Did you ever have an encounter with a salesperson who you believed was less than honest? What did he/she do or say that led you to that opinion? Was it a tilt of the head, a glance over the shoulder, or a smirk? Perhaps it was the tone of voice or words said. Maybe even the way paperwork was handled.

            How did he/she make you feel and what did you do in response?

            Some people accept the situation because they needed whatever the person was selling. For example, there’s a car that fits in your price range, a make and model that you’ve been interested in. You desperately need a car, today. You feel that there’s something shady going on, but you don’t have the time to shop around some more. The person knows this, and so has the upper hand.

            There are many other situations in which something similar could take place.

            Your task is to write a scene in which your character encounters the dishonest salesperson, or, your character could be the salesperson.

            Establish the setting so that your readers will feel at home in the scene. Give enough of a description of the salesperson so that readers will create the first impression that you want them to have. Set things in motion through dialogue and narrative.

            Tensions will develop. It’s up to you to decide how far the reactions will go. There could be words, there could be fisticuffs, there could be a shooting.

            Have fun with this one.

Good Intentions Gone Awry

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

            Imagine doing something nice for someone just to have it backfire. Instead of the happy smile you expected and the gushing thanks, you see only furrowed brows and quizzical looks. You ask yourself what went wrong. Perhaps you figure it out, perhaps you don’t.

            Does failure prevent you from trying to please someone else at a future date? Or do you try to come up with something different you could do, something more suited to the individual in mind?

            Good intentions don’t always work the way we intended. It could be that the person thinks you’re trying to get a favor in return, or maybe your act unintentionally insulted them. Perhaps the gift was a duplicate of something they’d had for a long time and you just never noticed it sitting in the house. Maybe the item is in a garish color that you love, but doesn’t fit in their color scheme.

            Whatever the reason, we have to accept the fact that not all our good intentions are welcomed.

            Your task is to write a story in which your protagonist attempts to do something nice for a friend, a coworker, a boss or a neighbor. Begin by making a list of things she could do. For example, she could make cupcakes or offer to mow the lawn. Next think of the antagonist and how she might react that shows displeasure.

            Description is needed at the beginning to establish scene, motivation and to describe the offering. Dialogue is required to show the interactions.

            Have fun with this one.

The Moral Dilemma

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

            A moral dilemma is a situation in which a person is torn between right and wrong and involves a conflict that forces a character to examine her own principles and values. The choices the person makes may leave them feeling burdened, guilty, relieved, or even questioning their own values. The individual must decide what actions she can live with, whether the outcome is unpleasant or even illegal.

Dilemmas form the central conflict that the protagonist encounters. Taking into consideration that real people face all kinds of dilemmas in life, the choices they make along the way can have long-lasting impacts in terms of effects on relationships and on society as a whole.

            Imagine asking someone out on a first date. Should he go to the museum or see a movie? If he decides on the movie option, which one, the romantic comedy or the high-speed chase? What happens if the date doesn’t like chase movies and so is disappointed and bored? The relationship might go nowhere fast.

            Let’s consider what the secretary should do when she discovers that he fire her, or if he’s desperate, kill her. If she ignores his actions, she might be a co-conspirator when the theft is revealed.

            Your task is to write a scene in which the protagonist is faced with a moral dilemma. Make the stakes high enough that the wrong decision places her in danger. Include enough description so that readers understand the situation, but not too much to slow down the scene. Dialogue is necessary to reveal the intricacies of the relationships involved.

            Have fun with this one.

Playground Bully

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Picture a school playground. Kids are running, shouting, jumping, climbing, swinging and playing basketball. Groups form then someone leaves and a new group is created. Most kids seem happy and well-adjusted. However if you look carefully, somewhere on that playground is a child being tormented.

Sometimes the tormentor is a classmate, sometimes it’s a neighbor, sometimes it’s an older child. The one given is that the bully is bigger, stronger and domineering to the point of terrifying the smaller child.

Playground bullies often grow up to be workplace bullies or domestic abusers. Their skills are well-developed by this time, so they know just the right words, just the right postures, just the right ways to belittle others into doing what they want.

Your character most likely ran into a bully sometime in his life. Imagine the story he would tell. He would speak of the terror that took over his body anytime the bully drew near. He’d tell about the ways he tried to hide, tried to brush off the comments, tried to elude by staying near a playground supervisor.

Your task is to write a story in which a bully plays a prominent role. Your protagonist can be the bully or the bullied. Dialogue and description are important for both will create the ambience needed to convey the intense feelings that the victim experiences.

Will there be a happy ending in which the victim overcomes the bullying? In which the bully is severely punished? Or will the ending be one of continued torture, not just from the playground bully but by adult bullies as well?

Have fun with this one.

The Issue with Changing our Minds

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Picture a person who has opinions, but then, after listening to someone with different ones, changes her mind. What feelings does that incite in you? Do you think she’s awesome for taking into consideration what others say?

Or do negative connotations come to mind? For example, what does it mean to be wishy-washy or a flip-flopper?

Your task is to place a character in a situation where his opinion on a given subject is revealed, then challenged. Perhaps one of the best ways to establish this is through dialogue rather than narrative.

In what types of social situations do people discuss issues that might create tension between opposing beliefs? That’s where your character needs to be.

Make sure that the discussion gets heated. Readers would get bored if your character isn’t passionate or doesn’t get agitated when challenged. Perhaps think about how you react. That might be a good starting point for your story.

Have fun with this one.