Tag: scenery

Hidden Images

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing prompt1 Comment

We don’t always see what’s right before our eyes. We’re distracted by our phone or by conversations with friends as we walk. We might be rehearsing in our minds what we’re going to say or thinking about an upcoming event.

Because we’re not paying close attention, we miss things happening around us. There might be a senior citizen trying to cross the road, a starving dog cuddled up in an empty store front or a magnificent holiday display in a nearby square.

Your task is to write a story in which your character misses key elements in the scene. Make the items or issues large enough, in terms of importance, that not seeing them impacts the story arc.

Description will be critical as well as dialogue. Keep your character talking so that readers can see, through words, what’s happening in the scene.

Have fun with this one.

Your Favorite Place

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

            Close your eyes and visualize the place that makes you the happiest, the most calm. The place that inspires a feeling of awe. Listen to the sounds. Breathe in and take in the smells of the flowers, the earth, food cooking. Reach out and touch the bark of trees, the silkiness of flower petals, the gravel beneath your feet.

            Use your imaginary camera and take a picture and then another one. Pick up a paint brush, dip it in some paint and create a replica of what you see in your imagination.

            Think about how you feel. Are your shoulders relaxed? Has your breathing slowed? Did a sense of calmness flow over you?

            This is your happy place.

            Your task is to create a comparable place for your character. Begin by imagining him in a variety of places and situations. Where does he feel most fragile, most overwhelmed? That’s not it, but it’s important to the story. Now think about one or two places where she’ll feel relaxed. Where the sense of awe comes to her.

            That’s the spot where a portion of the story will occur.

            Write a scene in that place. Add in other characters to people the situation. Remember to include sensory details here and there so that readers will enjoy being there as well.

            Have fun with this one.

Take a Walk

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Where do you get ideas for scenery? Take a walk!

Begin by checking out your neighborhood. Listen to all the sounds you here. Children playing. Adults laughing. Dogs barking. Trucks backing up. Music playing. Write it down.

What trees grow there? Are they in bloom? Growing fruit? How ripe is the fruit? Is anyone growing veggies in their side yard? Which kind? How many?

Flowers. Some people grow them, others don’t. Make note of what yards look like that have gardens. Are they neatly trimmed or massy, filled with weeds.

Your task is to record what you see, hear, and smell than use that information to write a story. Include details that give a dose of reality to the story.

When finished, reread, looking for places where you can expand description to add depth.

Have fun with this one.