Tag: writer’s idea

Being Helpfu

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

Happy people are more likely to help others. It doesn’t take a researcher to verify that statement for we’ve all seen it in action.

Imagine walking down the street at the same time as a mother pushing a stroller while holding the hand of a young child. As she goes down the curb, the stroller tips, threatening to dislodge the toddler.

On one side of the street is a young man walking to the beat of music only he hears. On the other side is another young man stomping forward, bent over, lost in some negative event.

Which of these two will rush to help the woman?

Your task is to write a story in which someone needs help. You can make the need as large as you wish. For example, perhaps an older gentleman needs a new roof or maybe an item is too high for a young girl to reach. Your character reacts. Or perhaps she doesn’t.

Readers will need to meet your character before the event occurs in order to understand the motivations between action or inaction. Set the scene by including sensory details that establish the when, where and why. Make sure readers also meet the person in need of help. Establishing personalities is crucial. Once the story gets going, allow readers to see and feel what happens next.

Have fun with this one.

Zoom Meeting Issues

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            Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us participate in many zoom meetings on a regular basis. We’ve all become aware of things that annoy or distract. Perhaps it’s important to establish basic ground rules at the onset and then periodically remind people of what they should and shouldn’t be doing. For example, it the group is large, the it might make sense for everyone to mute their microphones in order to keep background noise to a minimum.  Another issue is an improperly place camera, for example, a camera pitched so high that you only see a person’s forehead, or one so low that you only see the desktop.

            Another problem arises when participants are doing other things, such as jogging, working on another monitor or chopping onions. These movements distract others, pulling them out of the conversation. It also sends a message that the individual is not fully engaged, often considered disrespectful to the group.

            Not being prepared is also a major problem. For example, your book group is discussing the assigned novel, but you chose not to read it. Unless the topic is one that you know something about, it’s hard for you to participate. In that case, a few voices are heard while the others sit silently.

            Your task is to write a story in which a zoom meeting goes wrong. Perhaps someone is only wearing underwear which is revealed when he stands to get a cup of coffee. Or maybe a person’s dog insists on sitting on the owner’s lap, completely blocking the person’s face. There are myriads of things that could go wrong.

            Have fun with this one.

Reacting to Taboos

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            Taboos are prohibitions against doing something that is either culturally repulsive or is too sacred for ordinary humans. For example, in many cultures eating dog meat is considered a taboo, but in others, it’s meat for consumption. Eating lunch behind the altar of a church would be a taboo, but holding a religious revival where food is served is not. What is labeled a taboo depends upon the times, the culture and the background of the community.

            What happens to people who break the taboos also varies. In one society a woman walking around with shoulders bared might result in severe punishment, while men can be bare-chested with none. Eating meat on Fridays was a long-lasting taboo in the Catholic Church, for which the offender was expected to confess. Having sexual relations outside of marriage might be accepted in the royal class, yet could be result in being ostracized in the lower classes.

            Your task is to create a scenario in which taboos exist for which there are punishments. Begin by listing at least three taboos that you feel you could include. Choose the one that will make the most interacting story. Consider how your character will behave in this society. She can be the one who observes the breaking of the taboo or is the one violating society’s rules.

            Setting is important for readers need to understand that place and the people in this world. Dialogue is crucial so readers can see what’s taking place and how your character explains her behavior and rational for breaking the taboo. Readers also need to see and feel what the punishments are like and how they affect your character.

            Have fun with this one.

Assigning Blame

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            Let’s assume that something negative has occurred. Perhaps a favorite vase was shattered or the front end of the car is damaged. You are responsible, but fear reprisal. What do you do? Assign blame to someone, everyone, even if that person was nowhere near when the event took place.

            Why do some pass off the responsibility while others do not? One factor might be familial upbringing. Imagine growing up in a home in which accepting blame leads to severe punishment. The individual learns to never, ever admit to having committed an offense. It’s about self-protection.

            The problem is that healing can’t take place as long as fear gets in the way.

            Your task is to write a story in which something happens and fingers start pointing, looking for someone to blame. Begin by creating a list of factors that could come into play. Think actions, reactions. Choose the one that you are most comfortable writing about.

            The action determines the offender. A young child most likely didn’t drive the car into the garage door. He could, which might make for an interesting story, but how likely is that to have happened?

            An adult might steal the girl’s doll, but why? Is the doll an artifact? Is it worth something and so can be sold?

            Match the age to the situation.

            Take into consideration responses of the supervising adult. Does he threaten violence such as whipping with a belt? Does the child kick and scratch? Is the offender pushed into the lake? There are endless possibilities.

            Use dialogue and action.

            Have fun with this one.

Aging Parents

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All of us have parents that sooner or later will need extended care. It might be in the end stages of their lives or it might be while they are still able to live fairly independently. We don’t like to think about those days. We prefer to hold the image of the way they were when we were young: robust, strongly independent, able-bodied and sound of mind.

When the time comes to change their living situation, we are often dismayed, confused and stymied. Even if the relationship is good, we might recoil at the thought of our parents mobbing in with us. Having them around full time, offering criticisms and sometimes rude comments, suffering through their idiosyncrasies, can be more than we want to tackle. There’s a difference between dropping in for a visit, which soon grows burdensome, to living in our house and taking control over what we eat, what we watch on television, where we go and how often we have free time.

Your task is to imagine a situation in which this plays out in a story. Perhaps your protagonist is the daughter of a cranky father. Maybe your protagonist is the cranky father. Something has to be done because dad can no longer live in his house. What options will be considered? How will the daughter react when dad negates them all? What will dad do when he’s presented the various possibilities?

Tension and disagreements will arise. The best way to show this is through dialogue. Readers want to know what has caused the necessity of changing living arrangements. Take readers along when dad visits retirement communities to care homes. Show the emotions as displayed. Give a resolution that might be mutually agreeable, or maybe, if you want to end on a tenuous note, a situation that leaves no one happy.

Have fun with this one.

Good Intentions Gone Awry

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            Imagine doing something nice for someone just to have it backfire. Instead of the happy smile you expected and the gushing thanks, you see only furrowed brows and quizzical looks. You ask yourself what went wrong. Perhaps you figure it out, perhaps you don’t.

            Does failure prevent you from trying to please someone else at a future date? Or do you try to come up with something different you could do, something more suited to the individual in mind?

            Good intentions don’t always work the way we intended. It could be that the person thinks you’re trying to get a favor in return, or maybe your act unintentionally insulted them. Perhaps the gift was a duplicate of something they’d had for a long time and you just never noticed it sitting in the house. Maybe the item is in a garish color that you love, but doesn’t fit in their color scheme.

            Whatever the reason, we have to accept the fact that not all our good intentions are welcomed.

            Your task is to write a story in which your protagonist attempts to do something nice for a friend, a coworker, a boss or a neighbor. Begin by making a list of things she could do. For example, she could make cupcakes or offer to mow the lawn. Next think of the antagonist and how she might react that shows displeasure.

            Description is needed at the beginning to establish scene, motivation and to describe the offering. Dialogue is required to show the interactions.

            Have fun with this one.

Recovery Outcomes

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            Recall a time when you fell seriously ill or had sustained an injury that impacted your ability to get around. For a while your activities were restricted. Perhaps you had some type of physical therapy. You did everything that was asked of you, but when your period of recuperation was over, healing had not turned out the way you expected.

            Maybe you had fallen in love with your childhood sweetheart. You dated for several years. At one point you are pretty sure you’re going to get married. Work obligations cause a forced separation. Next thing you know is that you’re no longer a couple.

            In both situations time and distance is needed to come to a full recovery. You may always walk with a bit of a limp, but you can still run and swim and hike. Your heart may be broken and you might fear that you’ll never get over the loss, but as time passes, your heart heals.

            Your task is to embed your character in a situation that leads to some type of trauma, some type of injury to the heart or body. She will need time to recover. What you need to decide is if the recovery is total or if effects linger. What steps does she go through in the process? Does she experience guilt, anger or self-blame? Does she withdraw from family and friends or get out and socialize as if nothing happened?

            This story needs dialogue that allows readers to see and feel what your character is experiencing. Make sure to include enough sensory details that the picture comes clear. Before you begin, decide the setting: where and when the story will take place.

            Have fun with this one.

Worries

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            Life is not a bowl of bright red cherries or a box of sweet chocolates. Issues arise that cause us to worry, about self, family or friends. We might have financial problems that threaten our livelihoods, our ability to keep our house or car. Perhaps it’s illness, an unexplained bump or a general feeling of malaise.

            Our minds latch on to the issues before us, causing us to worry. Most of the time we can push those thoughts away as we go through our day, saving them for the dark of night. Sometimes, however, we can’t. Our concerns cloud our thinking, hamper our ability to function and interfere with our relationships.

            Your character might experience periods of profound worry. It might happen when searching for a job, when in a new relationship, when considering a transfer to a new location.

            Your task is to write a story in which worries play a key role in the emotions of the protagonist. Begin by making a list of things that might afflict your character. Narrow it down to the one issue that you can write most passionately about.

            Perhaps you might do a little research into how worries affect personality and behavior.  Working from what you discover, set up a scene in which the protagonist is faced with decisions for which there is no clear path.

            Readers will want to feel the emotions, walk with the character, experience the thought-processes as the character works through the worries. Narrative and dialogue are important.

            Have fun with this one.

Marriage and Infidelity

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            There are books, movies and television shows that show couples falling in love. Their eyes sparkle whenever they are together. They hold hands, wrap each other up in hugs and passionately kiss. Everyone can see they are in love, so it’s no surprise when they marry.

            In real life, much of that does happen. Couples join are joined together with the words promising a life filled with joy, a life with struggles, a life that will last forever.

            Things happen, however, that challenge their bond.  Illness can shake up the relationship. Financial stress can cause friction. Children misbehave. Problems with the home arise.

            The worst, however, is when one partner breaks the relationship through infidelity.

            Your task is to write a story about marriage. You can choose to have your characters live happily ever after or the relationship can fall apart. What’s important is to let the readers feel the emotions that bring them together, and in the case of infidelity, the emotions that drive them apart.

            Set up a plausible scene, keeping in mind that details such as a sparkling ocean or pounding rain can signal reactions. Dialogue is critical. Readers will need to see the words spoken, both when falling in love and then when angry words cause pain and suffering. Find a good balance between the two.

            Have fun with this one.

Sibling Rivalry

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            Children growing up in the same home, raised by the same parents, may experience a bit of rivalry now and again. For example, one child may believe that Mom loves the brother more or that Dad spends more time with the sister. Often a younger child thinks that the older one has preferential status in the family, and if allowed to fester, can lead to verbal and physical fights. These beliefs can lead to long-term familial dysfunction.

            Recall a time when you disagreed with a sibling or close relative. What caused the problem? Who started the argument and how was it resolved? Did the relationship improve over time or continue to disintegrate?

            Your task is to write a story in which sibling rivalry plays an important role. Begin with the characters and their order within the family. Create a list of issues that might arise. Establish whether arguments will be physical, verbal or a combination of both.

            Setting is crucial. Readers will need to see the environment, not just in terms of concrete objects, but also in terms of how the parents or guardians interact with each child. Dialogue is important as well as readers will want to hear the words spoken. Lastly, emotional reactions will drive the story forward.

            Have fun with this one.