Tag: write about a dilemma

The Storm

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

Imagine that it is raining. Not a soft, gentle rain, but a downpour that pounds against the windows and rivers and streams overflow their banks, flooding streets.

Many of us like to stay indoors on rainy days, perhaps sitting by the window, watching it happen. We might see leaves torn from trees due to high winds, branches that bend, almost touching the ground.

If we’re sitting inside a warm café, we might see people dashing about with newspapers over their heads as they scurry from the shelter of one building to the next.

All these sights can lead to an interesting story.

Your task is to write the story in which terrible things happen. Think of the news that you’ve seen on television. The devastation, the destroyed homes. Cars carried downstream or stranded in feet of water. Lives lost.

Write from your character’s point of view. Readers will want to experience the storm through your character’s eyes, seeing everything she sees, knowing what goes through her mind, especially when she is forced to evacuate. Have us walk with her as she decides what to save and what to leave behind.

Have fun  with this one.

Facing A Personal Dilemma

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

            In life, when someone has to make a difficult decision, it’s portrayed as a multifaceted dilemma. One option might have less risk in terms of possible negative outcomes, but it might not be what the person wants to do.

            On the other hand, a second choice might seem preferable, but without proper foresight, unforeseen harmful consequences might result. Things might be so dangerous, that the person’s might life might be in jeopardy.

            Your task is to write a story in which your protagonist must make a choice between at least two very different options. Make sure that both pose potential threats. To increase tension, give the character limited time in which to make the decision.

Readers must second-guess the character’s eventual decision, questioning that person’s ability to make the right choices.

Give the character limited time in which to choose, so that there’s no time to research or deliberate. Then make the story happen, with elements of threat causing dangerous roadblocks along the way.

            Have fun with this one.