Tag: prompt about setting

The Best Gift

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

            Gift-giving opportunities arise all throughout the year. Children have birthday parties, couples celebrate anniversaries, there are house-warming parties and, of course, Christmas and other such holidays. Sometimes we know the recipient well enough to know what they like, but often we are clueless. We head off to the store looking for inspiration which might not happen.

            What is the best gift you’ve ever given? Was it something that you wanted for yourself or something from a want-list? What was the reaction when the gift was unwrapped? Do you think the person kept the gift or returned it at the soonest opportunity?

            Your character might have to give a gift, or perhaps might be the recipient. How will she react? Will she smile even if the gift is hideous? Will she thank the giver or push the gift aside?

            If she’s the giver, how much effort will she put into finding a gift? Is she the kind of person who buys gift cards or does she search for what the recipient really wants? Does she wrap the gift herself or pay someone to do it for her? Does she buy online or at a store?

            There are so many options here, so many opportunities for a good story.

            Your task is to write a story in which gifts are involved. There can be welcomed gifts, surprise gifts, pleasant gifts or unwelcome gifts. The giver can be aware and thoughtful or callous and unfeeling. The recipient can be grateful or simply accepting.

            Use both narrative description as well as dialogue. Include a little conflict in order to make the story interesting.

            Have fun with this one.

Change in Routine

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            Your character gets up every morning at six, showers, fixes a cup of coffee and a piece o toast, then drives to the metro station. She hops on the next train for a forty-minute ride. Before going into the office, she stops at the coffee shop in the lobby and buys a second cup of coffee, this one loaded with goodies.

            Once her computer is on, she checks for important emails that might require action. After that, she focuses on her job, ignoring conversation flowing around her until ten, her official break. Her day continues in a similar vein. Day after day, she follows the same routine.

            What would happen if her alarm didn’t go off or if there was no hot water? What if her coffee machine was broken or the train didn’t arrive? What if her coworkers gathered around her desk and sang Happy Birthday?

            How would she react to the changes?

            How we handle change says a lot about us. Some of us are quite rigid and want things to stay the same, both at work and at home. Some of us enjoy change as it adds mystic and variety.

            Your task is to write a story in which your character’s routine changes. You decide whether or not this is a good thing, whether it causes undo tension or not. Readers will want to see the “normal” world at the beginning, then witness the change and the emotional reactions that ensue.

            Have fun with this one.

Random Acts of Kindness

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

            You’re in line at a store, mentally counting your money to see if you have enough to buy the bread and cheese in your arms. You step up to the register, and when the tally comes up, the clerk tells you that the person before you had paid your bill. You burst into a huge smile and feel like dancing all the way home.

            You’re sitting in your car waiting for your turn to come at the toll booth. Behind you is an older car being driven by a little old man. You reach into your purse and pull out an extra five dollars. As you drive away, you’re smiling and nodding.

            Your task is to write a story in which someone executes a random act of kindness. Your character can be the one who reaches out or she can be the recipient. The emotional reactions are most important. Readers are going to want to see the scene through the eyes, heart and mind of the giver and receiver.

            Your recipient does not have to be grateful. In fact, he might consider it an insult. If this happens, then who will he verbally attack? The clerk or the giver?

            Have fun with this one.

Crime and Punishment

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            Back in the Middle Ages there were beheadings and amputations for what today would be considered minor crimes. People would be whipped so badly that little skin remained on their backs. Others would be locked into stocks and left to die.

Torture and imprisonment was sued to exact confessions. People were beaten burned alive, covered with boiling water, or worse, tar, and fingers cut off. Branding was also used to identify criminals.

Outlaw bands roamed about, robbing villagers and city-dwellers alike. The harsher the crimes they committed, the worse the punishment. What’s more important is that the punishments were public affairs, much like going on a picnic or seeing a play.

Your task is to establish the role that crime and punishment takes in your world. You can borrow from earlier times or create your own system, but whichever you choose, it needs to make sense in terms of the society you have built. Medieval torture might not fit in a contemporary society, but maybe it does!

Write a story in which a crime is committed and punishment is doled out. Readers will want to be there from the beginning, to walk with the criminal throughout it all. Or if you write from the perspective of the officials who hunt down, catch and then punish, make sure that the details are intriguing enough to entice readers.

Have fun with this one.

Planning a Memorial for Your Protagonist

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

As we journey through life we encounter many people in many different circumstances. At work we have a business persona that’s built around the job requirements. We behave differently at the gym, bowling alley, bar or tennis courts, where we are able to relax and talk about personal interests. At church we follow the lead of our pastor, minister, or rabbi in terms of how we act during and after the service. At home we have family to consider.  

            In all these situations we present ourselves differently and so we will be remembered differently after we’ve passed away. Some might recall a jolly fellow who loved joking with colleagues while others would think of a stern disciplinarian or a stickler for rules. Perhaps they recall a person who would give you anything you needed while others would consider you stingy and selfish.

            Your task is to plan a memorial service for your protagonist. Fill the service with people from all walks of life. Imagine them grouped together, sharing stories. What will they say about the protagonist? Now have the groups break up and regather with others from family or gym. What happens when mixed perceptions arise? Will there be surprises or conflicts?

            The story can be somber or sad, sweet or angry. Include dialogue so that feelings can come forth.

            Have fun with this one.

Sunset Story

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            Time of day affects the setting of a story. Imagine a broiling hot trek across an Arizona desert or an early morning hike on a Minnesota Lake in the dead of winter. Bot situations might be untenable without proper preparation and the correct gear.

            Try to recall the most spectacular sunset you have ever seen. Where were you? Who were you with? What made it memorable? Was it the company, the situation or the location? Perhaps it was a combination of all those things.

            Your task is to write a story in which your character experiences a sunset so profound that it touches her heart. The colors, the people she’s with, the location all come into play. What she’s doing just before sunset occurs sets the stage.

            As you write remember to include sensory details. Readers will want to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch everything that your character does. Dialogue is also important because it is through conversation that feelings will be revealed.

            Reread looking to see if the picture that you paint with words comes clear.

            Have fun with this one.