Tag: prompt

Scandalous Affair

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

The tabloids that sit near cash registers call readers with stories of extramarital affairs, terrestrial sightings and deformed bodies. To get the stories, paparazzi follow real people about trying to catch them in uncompromising positions and interview folks who have outlandish stories to tell. If the magazines didn’t sell, they wouldn’t be on the market.

Your task is to write the story of all fiction stories, the one based on gossip, lies and exaggerations. Your character should be well-known in your world. Perhaps she’s a TV reporter or the police chief of a large city. Maybe he just signed a billion dollar contract with a new sports club or bought a car dealership that sells hundreds of vehicles a week.

Think big, glamorous, exciting. Most likely your character is regularly seen on television and heard on the radio talk shows.

Because of her popularity rumors swirl about. Has she been seen with ______? Was he cuddling with _____? Did he really say that? Did she wear that? Are they a couple even though they are both married?

What happens needs to be enticing to readers. Drama and tension are critical to this genre. Employ dialogue and interactions with a variety of people. Terse words would stir some people’s juices. Love scenes will entice others.

This is your opportunity to be outrageous.

Have fun with this one.

 

Play Ball!

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Baseball. Basketball. Volleyball. Tennis. Rugby. American football, soccer and futbol as it’s known everywhere else. Playing sports is something almost everyone does sometime in their life.

For most of us we learn the rules of the games in our physical education classes. If a parent follows sports, then we spend hours watching on television.

Some of us play on recreational teams that become quite competitive, while others only play pickup games at local fields and courts.

Games can become contentious. Players cheat to get ahead. They illegally trip or push opponents. They step over lines then argue that they didn’t. Players who fall become injured, and if not hurt, get angry and fight back. Tensions rise. In professional sports it’s not unusual to see entire teams rush onto the field.

Your task is to write a story in which sports plays a major role. Choose a sport that you know enough about in order to tell the story. Make sure you understand the causes of tension and use them to draw the reader in. Details are critical. Dialogue is required.

Have fun with this one.

A Twist on the Traditional Love Story

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Movies, TV shows and books often feature love stories between two individuals who don’t like each other when they first meet, have several crusty encounters, begin to see the good in the other, then fall in love at the end. Predictable, yes, but satisfying to many or there wouldn’t be news ones popping up every day.

What happens if there isn’t love at the end? If the two go off in different directions, never to run across a sunny beach and fall into each other’s arms? Or what if it isn’t the wonderfully kind protagonist isn’t the one to find true love but the cantankerous store owner who treats everyone rudely?

Your task is to write a different kind of love story. First you must decide the angle of approach. The villain falls in love or the almost-couple never gets together. Next establish setting. Is this a fantasy, historical story or fictional account?

Create the characters by developing bios for each. Personality is more important than interests as the first makes the character likeable or not. Develop the story arc. What happens at the beginning, the middle, the end? At each step there must be an inciting incident that throws a curve or hinders the plot. And then decide how the story will end.

Sometimes we need to step away from the traditional in order to craft uniquely compelling stories.

Have fun with this one.

Speed Dating

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Speed dating became a fad a few years ago and has been featured in comedy shows and movies. A bunch of lonely people show up at a predetermined time and sit at assigned places around the room. A potential partner sits across from them. A times is set and the two are given anywhere from three to eight minutes to decide I there is any interest.

The technique is also used at writing conferences to give participants access to a variety of agents. You’ve got three minutes to sell your book. Obviously a prepared speech is necessary to keep you from bumbling about.

Imagine that your character is going to a Speed Dating event. What type of event is it? Who is going to be there? How nervous is the character? How much does she prepare beforehand? Does thought go into appearance, such as clothing to be worn?

If you haven’t written comedy before, now is your chance to dabble in the genre. All kinds of things can happen, such as someone bumping into the table and knocking a glass of water into a lap. Or arriving under the influence. Or stuttering due to anxiety.

Your task is to write the story. Begin with the character finding out about the event, either through a friend or an advertisement. Take us through the entire stage as the character tells others about it, gets advice, decides what to wear, arrives, meets people, leaves.

Have fun with this one.

Tattoo Choice

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Imagine yourself walking into a tattoo parlor. First of all, why would you do it? Where would you place the tattoo? What design would you choose and why?

Would you want the name of your significant other emblazoned on your arm or would you prefer a dragon dancing across your back? Perhaps you would want the face of someone you admire on your thigh or a geometric design encircling your lower leg.

What you choose and where you have it placed says a lot about who you are.

Your task is to write a scene in which a character decides to get a tattoo. Readers will want to walk with the character through the entire process. Think of the decisions to be made, the mental turmoil involved. In order to bring in the readers, you might need dialogue.

Sensory details are critical. Think of sights, smells, taste, sounds and feelings. Does it hurt? Is there a smell as the tattoo is burnt into the skin? Does the character get faint? Is water offered or another drink? Does he take something to calm his nerves?

Reread, remembering that conflict is important.

Have fun with this one.

Eating Out

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There’s something magical about eating in a restaurant. Choosing exactly what you want from a menu is thrilling when normally you have to eat what’s served to the whole family. Every single person is the group can have a different entrée! Amazing.

Where you eat depends upon many factors. If you are traveling you might opt for fast food so that you can get back on the road as quickly as possible. If you are meeting friends, then you select someplace that gives you time to chat and simply be together.

If you are celebrating a special event, you might go for a high-end restaurant with tablecloths and linen napkins. If it’s with children it might be a pizza joint with games for entertainment.

Your characters most likely eat out sometimes, for all the reasons that we do.

Your task is to create a list that corresponds with your character’s preferences, depending upon the circumstances. Think across the spectrum. You can use names of real places or create new ones.

Write a scene that involves eating out. You might begin with the discussion of where to go, or bring in the reader at the restaurant while eating is taking place. Look for the scene with the most drama, the most interest.

Remember that tension is important, so perhaps there’s an argument between at least two of the participants.

Have fun with this one.

 

Guilty Pleasures

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Does chocolate call your name? Is it challenging to walk past a box without opening and taking just one piece? Maybe it’s cookies that you love. Imagine a tray of oatmeal raisin cookies fresh out of the oven. The smell that fills the kitchen is so enticing that you reach for one.

Maybe it’s a lemon bar treat, or red velvet cake or a bit of mint ice cream. Whatever it is, you know you shouldn’t eat it because of the calorie count, but you can’t resist.

The problem is that once you take that first bite, guilty pleasure washes over you. You relish every morsel despite that overwhelming feeling of failure.

What pleasures can’t your character resist? What calls his name so strongly that he can’t walk away?

Your task is to write the story of temptation. It will be important for readers to see the item through the character’s eyes, smell it through his nose, feel the internal conflict as he reaches for it, enjoy the taste in his mouth. Once he’s finished, we want to participate in the emotions that he struggles with. To build tension, more items remain. Will he take another or walk away?

Have fun with this one.

The Joys of Water

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Imagine a time when you immersed yourself in a slowly moving river. How quickly did you proceed? Did you run with abandon into the water and then dive in as soon as possible? Were you the cautious one, dipping in toes, then feet, then ankles, then standing there for a while getting used to the temperature?

Was there a boat ride that intrigued you? Perhaps someone had a canoe and the two of you paddled out into a sparkling lake on a sunny day. Gentle waves rocked you until a jet ski flashed by, spraying water into the boat and scaring you, believing you were going to capsize?

There might have been a trip to Yosemite in the spring when the waterfalls exploded over mountains and a roar filled the air.

Your task is to write a story in which your character is mesmerized by water. Establish the scene and the circumstances through the use of details. Time, temperature and weather will be critical. Secondary characters will enrich the scene, allowing the use of dialogue to establish conditions, emotions, and experiences.

Have fun with this one.

Through the Eyes of a Child

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Do you recall the wonderment you felt as a child? The unabashed joy at each revelation, each new experience, each discovery? Things as simple as finding a partial shell buried in the sand or watching a pair of kittens scampering across the lawn gave us goosebumps. Everything we saw, felt, tasted, heard was filtered through our perceptions of the world.

Stories told at night held more power. Magic and fantasy were real. Goblins hid in our closets and under our beds. We believed in a variety of spirits that bestowed gifts and treasures. A wrapped present was a mystery that beckoned to be opened.

The world was pure and beautiful and amazing.

And then we grew up and reality slapped us upside the head. We became aware of the evil, the imperfections of the world and those around us. Our joy diminished. We became jaded, never again to experience the pure joy, until we had children of our own and could live the world through their eyes.

Your task is to write a story through the eyes of a child. Capture the inner essence of a child as he goes through life. Give him things to explore, to touch, taste, hear.

Details are critical for this story. Time will be slow because the reader will take each tiny step with the child. Record each minute discovery as we see through the child’s eyes.

When you reread, make sure there are sufficient details that allow readers to see from all angles.

Have fun with this one.

Draw a Map

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Back in the old days when going somewhere new you’d pull out a paper map and highlight the streets to be crossed in order to arrive when and where you were going. Today we rely on portable devices that show in real time where we are and tell us when to switch lanes, when to turn, when we have arrived.

Before you write a story we need to establish a map. If it takes place in a real city, real neighborhood, procure a paper map. Drive on the streets that you will use, making note of businesses such as fast food, medial centers, shopping opportunities. Mark schools, churches and traffic lights.

Take pictures of houses, plants, trees. Crosswalks. Intersections. Stop and wind down your windows. Listen to the birds. Smell the flowers in bloom or the pollution from industry or car exhausts.

In other words, cover the scene so completely that it lives in your mind and on paper.

Your task then is to go for a drive. Take a camera and paper and pen. Stop periodically to snap images and to record sights, sounds, smells. Spend an hour or so over each day over the period of time that your story will cover. Winter, spring, summer and fall might be changes to the area that play important parts in the story.

Create an album or folder on your computer and access the information before you begin each writing session.

Have fun with this one.