Tag: prompt about setting

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.

Photo Prompt

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            Sometimes we need a little help to get started. One prompt that seems to work is using an unfamiliar photo.

            Go online and search photos about dogs, kids or events. Or maybe food, clothes or places to see.

            Choose the one photo that speaks to you.

            Give yourself permission to ponder for no more than three minutes.

            Set a timer and write for eight to ten minutes.

            You might now have a good beginning for a story or essay you’d like to edit and lengthen.

            Have fun with this one.

Autobiographical Fiction

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When I was a small child my father worked at a union-based factory in Dayton, Ohio. His union organized a variety of family-programs that were held throughout the year.

During the Christmas party Santa distributed gifts after some type of entertainment was held for the kids. One of the few entertainers I remember was the famous Sherry Lewis with her sock puppets. Since I’d seen her on television, I was enthralled.

 At another party the entertainer was a TV cowboy. I don’t remember his name and since there are no pictures for me to rely on, I would have to fabricate much of the setting and action if I chose to write the stories.

While I can’t write a nonfiction piece, I can modify the events so as to create original characters and situations.

Your task is to think of an event that is a bit fuzzy. If you’ve got them, look at photos that from that time and place. What did it look like? What smells might there have been? What foods served? Was it indoors or outside? Backyard, playground or school?

Were you small compared to others your age? Were you thin or heavy? What color was your hair? What would you have been wearing? Who was present and how did they behave toward you?

If there’s a comic element, then your story has to be light. If serious, then some form of trauma should exist.

Have fun with this one.

Word Scramble Prompt

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            Take the words explosive, terrified, Pepto Bismal, 346 and police station. Or, if these don’t inspire you, flip through the dictionary and write down the first five words you find.

            Your task is to use the words in a story. You can add endings or change the tense, but the words must be used, once you have settled on your five.

            Your story can be funny or serious, an outright comedy or a tragedy. It can be realistic or fantasy. Choose the genre and story type that you find easiest to write.

            Have fun with this one.

The Well-Disguised Spy

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            Recall a time when you were able to hear and see what was happening from a position of advantage. No one could see you and so no one knew you were watching. What did you discover? Was the husband cheating on the wife? Attempting to bribe a school administrator? Offering for sale valuable piece of jewelry?

            What did you do? Keep it a secret, thinking it was none of your business? Or did you report what you’d witnessed to an authority?

            This is the story that needs to be told.

            Your task is to write a story from the point of view of the spy, the character that no one knew was watching.

            This person could be real, or imaginary, or even an animal, such as the pet cat.

            Intrigue is a must. Make the event something important, something that changes relationships, the economy or even the power of government.

            Have fun with this one.  

Thrift Store Treasures

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            Many people enjoy going to thrift stores, looking for unexpected finds. They finger through racks of clothing, hoping for something they didn’t know they needed, but now love.

            They explore the shelves of dishes, toys, bedding and even hats, eagerly searching for just the right thing to put in their houses.

            Sometimes they go home empty-handed, but almost always they find something.

            Your task is to write the story of an avid thrifter. Make the character come alive through the exploration of one thrift shop after another. Have a companion go with. That way they can share what they find, laughing at the downright unusual, rejoicing with each discovery that makes them smile.

            Clothing has to be tried-on. Send the shoppers to the dressing “room”, which often is no more than a curtained-off area.

            There should be laughs when it doesn’t hang right, and smiles when it fits perfectly.

            Your task is to tell the story of these two shoppers, from beginning to end. It would be nice to throw in a little tension, such as what happens when they want the same item.

            Have fun with this one.

Visions

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Close your eyes. Relax, allowing your mind to drift wherever it wants to go.

What do you see? Hear? Smell?

Are you somewhere in your past or seeing a vision of the future? How does it make you feel? Sad? Lonely? Frightened? Hopeful or happy?

What story comes to mind? Is it from your childhood or perhaps when you were much older?

Your task is to write that story, complete with all the emotions that hit you when your eyes were closed. You could begin with a line such as, “When I looked back, I…”

Bring the people in the story to life. They also have emotional reactions to the time and place. There might be conflict. There might be an argument. There might be cooperation and joy.

Use both narrative and dialogue to make the story sing.

Have fun with this one.

Deciding Where to Vacation

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            Some of us are influenced by the countless brochures that flood our mailboxes. We turn pages, and then, a yearned-for trip appears! Perhaps we’d never thought of a cruise around the Cape, but the pictures look awesome.

            We also take advice from friends and family. If someone brags about a trip to Nepal, we might investigate and then go. Or not.

            And then there are those of us who look at a map of the world, drop a finger on a spot, and then that’s where we’ll go.

            Your task is to write a story in which your protagonist decides to go on a vacation. She might investigate using a variety of methods, but the old-let’s-spin-the-globe and see where it lands might make for an interesting story.

            She would have to research the best time to go, the expected weather, things to do and see and accommodations, including travel.

            To make it more interesting, she invites someone to come along. This could be a parent, best friend or casual acquaintance. Maybe she finds a class being offered on the area, meets a group that’s going, and joins them.

            Make something unexpected happen so that there’s drama. If could be a sudden downpour that wipes out the main road, a romance that goes wrong, a heated discussion of where to go and how did we not find the way.

            Have fun with this one.

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Misheard Lyrics             My dad could never remember all the lyrics to a song, so he infamously made them up. It could be annoying, but also downright funny. Sometimes his version made sense, but often it didn’t. And while he swore before us on a regular basis, when he used those same words in a song, it was often jarring.            I’d question myself if I really heard him say that, often convincing myself that, no, he’d never do that, knowing all the time that he had, indeed, cussed.            If you listen to the radio on a frequent basis, you’re exposed to hundreds of songs a week. Multiply that by 52, and you’ve now got a whopping 500-plus songs! And, if you’re a station explorer, you might hear even more.            Add in the music on television commercials, shows and movies, and the number skyrockets.            How can you possibly remember the lyrics to every song you’ve ever heard?             Your task is to write a story in which your protagonist frequently changes the words to songs. If she does so intentionally, why? And how do others around her react? Friends might tease, but acquaintances might be cruel in their taunting.            Have fun with this one.

Distinctive Fragrance

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            Try to recall a time when wearing cologne was commonplace for both men and women. Put yourself in that time and place. Which ones did you like? Which ones made your nose wrinkle?

Which lingered long after the wearer had passed through?

For example, back when Old Spice was quite popular with men, when you were near someone wearing it, how did it make you feel?

Now consider a woman wearing Channel #5.

Your task is to write a story in which a character is wearing a distinctive cologne. That cologne must play a major role. For example, what if the burglar had been wearing the Channel? Or the rapist the Old Spice?

What images would your victim call forth?

Include as many sensory details as you can.

Have fun with this one.