Your character lives in a rut: the same thing practically every day, at about the same time, with the same circle of friends. Then something changes, which is unexpected and not in character.
The others in the story have no idea what’s going on. They don’t know what triggered the change.
There’s a mystery that needs to be solved.
Your task is to write a story in which your character does something so far out of character that no one understands what’s happening.
Hae fun with this one.
Tensions have been brewing for some time. Meetings are quite unpleasant, with members shouting over each other, ridiculing each other’s ideas, jealousy abounds and the boss does nothing. Instead, he sits back, with interlaced fingers resting on his ample stomach.
Your character has an important decision to make: stay and fight, loudly voicing her opinions, risking the wrath of coworkers and possibly the boss, or submitting a letter of resignation.
It could be a schoolyard confrontation. Your character is a mild-mannered child who is being bullied by a much larger classmate. At some point in time, your character has to decide whether to fight back in some way, such as reporting the abuse to an adult, or slinking away.
Your task is to write a story in which conflict is center point.
Have fun with this one.
Imagine making a phone call one afternoon to a best-friend cousin. Since you were small, you’ve shared everything: food, stories, adventures, dreams. One day, you call him: the next, he calls you. And it’s been this way for over thirty years.
But this day, even though you’ve called at four-thirty, the designated time when both of you are generally free, he doesn’t answer. You are frustrated, but decide to leave a voice message. Except that his box is full.
That’s never, ever happened before.
You can’t just hop in your car and drive to his apartment because you live in California and he lives in West Virginia.
You don’t have numbers for any of his friends: in fact, you’ve never met them since you’ve never had the time to fly there.
Your cousin seems to have disappeared, something completely unheard of.
Your task is to write a story in which a character disappears. Begin by establishing the character’s normal day. What she does, where she goes, who her friends are.
Readers need this so that the fact of the disappearance is shocking.
Have fun with this one.
Every now and then someone from our long-forgotten past reappears. It can be a pleasant surprise or one fraught with fear. In the first case, the two of you might go to a café, take a walk around a park, and then exchange contact information.
In the second case, you might search for a way to disengage and escape.
The stories about those events will be completely different: one filled with joy, the other with fright.
Your task is to write a story in which someone from the past shows up, unexpectedly. Your character needs to show emotions appropriate to the scene you’ve chosen.
Pepper the story with interesting dialogue, narrative and scene description.
Have fun with this one.
Some people embarrass easily. When someone compliments them, their cheeks redden. If someone likes their outfit, they blush. If they bring a well-liked dish to a potluck, they lower their head when everyone offers praise.
Your task is to write a story in which your protagonist finds himself in an incredibly embarrassing moment.
Come up with a list of potential causes, then narrow it down to the one that you would find the most entertaining to write.
Your story can be humorous, serious, threatening, even humiliating.
Have fun with this one.
Imagine buying a house without knowing that someone had been murdered in the kitchen. Your state doesn’t require disclosing such information, so you move in, ready to spend your first night.
Houses creek and groan as they settle, and if there’s foul weather, branches might scratch windows and doors might rattle.
What you don’t expect, however, is the appearance of a specter floating in front of the stove!
You’ve got limited options. Who can you call to chase the demon away? Ghostbusters exist in movie-land. Priests probably don’t really do exorcisms.
Your task is to write a story in which a demon-ghost torments the houses’ inhabitants. Make it creepy, frightening, and possibly even gruesome.
Have fun with this one.
Everyone wants a job so as to be productive, contributing members of society. Beginning when quite young, kids sell cookies and lemonade to be able to pay for band or a camping trip.
Teenagers have after-school jobs; perhaps in an office, at a boutique or in a shop. They might, if their family has the right connections, intern at a hospital, in a law firm or in a mechanic’s shop learning the trade.
Some of these jobs require a uniform. Some are quite ugly, loose-fitting A-line smocks in garish colors. Others might be too tight, especially for young women with large breasts. As they prepare for work, these teens must make sure they are dressed correctly or face being docked pay, and in the worst cases, being fired.
College students sometimes are employed on campus, doing a variety of jobs such as running workshops that support a particular class, correcting papers, and helping students study for tests. Some don’t need to work, and so have the time to join fraternities and sororities.
Their experiences affect how they look at life, what they do during their free time and who their friends are. They might even cause students to change their career path.
Your task is to create a scene in which your character either has a job or is searching for a job. Write about her feelings as she fills out applications and sits through interviews. Include how her emotions fluctuate as she waits for a response, and then when she gets the job.
Have fun with this one.
How many times has a candy shop been a setting in a movie or novel? Most likely, quite a few.
Imagine being that pioneer child, riding into town on the back of the family wagon, going into the store and finding jars of hard candies right before your eyes. If you could only have just one, which would it be and why?
What if the temptation was so great, the saliva pooling in your mouth, and you know there’s no money for just one piece? Would you reach into a jar when the owner was busy?
When did the tradition of buying popcorn and candy to take into a movie begin? For some of us, it’s ingrained in our routines: it wouldn’t feel right to be without the buttery goodness or sticky licorice.
Your task is to write a story in which candy plays an important role.
Have fun with this one.
Every traveler’s biggest fear is arriving at a destination and not being able to claim your luggage. Imagine standing around the revolving kiosk as suitcase spill out of the ramp. People around you grab their bags and head toward their destination, while you wait and wait and wait.
Eventually nothing comes out of the ramp and the kiosk stops moving.
You pull out the tag that proves you checked a bag and head over to Customer Service. They look around wherever bags are stockpiled, but yours is not there.
They record your contact information and pledge to call when your bags are located.
The problem is that you are boarding a cruise ship that same day. Once the ship sets sail, you have no way to get your luggage. It means two or more weeks with only the clothes on your back.
Of course you will have to purchase everything that is in the missing bag. But, your ports of call might not be close to shopping, you might not find shopkeepers who speak English, and since you can’t read the labels, you’re not sure if your buying shampoo or hair dye.
Your task is to write a story in which someone’s luggage goes missing.
Have fun with this one.
I was not one of those kids who won things. I never received a perfect attendance certificate or one for being on the honor roll (because I never had either!).
In the 1960s girls didn’t participate in sports, so I there were no participation ribbons for me. I didn’t play an instrument and wasn’t artistically gifted.
I do remember the first time I did win something. I was ten. My family had gone to my father’s union picnic at which a BINGO game was held for kids. I lost the first few games, which didn’t surprise me. I wanted to quit, but my parents made me keep playing.
An announcement was made that there would only be one last game. Numbers were called and very quickly my blocks filled up. Imagine the look on my face when I had a BINGO. I hesitantly raised my hand, convinced that I’d screwed up, but when an adult checked my game board, I had won. I was escorted to the front and was presented with a tiny piece of candy. It didn’t matter the prize. What stood out was that I had been declared a winner.
Your character might have had a similar experience. Ribbons were earned, certificates were given, and promotions handed out. Or not.
Your task is to write a story that involves some type of competition in which your character loses over and over. In time, though, what does she do? Keep playing or walk away.
Setting is important so that the reader can “see” where the story takes place and enough dialogue that it’s apparent how the character feels about what’s happening.
Have fun with this one.
Have Fun with This One 