Someone must die.
We don’t like to kill our characters unless in a thriller, but people die in real life.
Good people and people with nefarious backgrounds. Kind people who give of themselves as well as their money. Evil people who rob banks and gas stations.
Your task is to write a story in which someone dies.
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.
Politics makes good fodder for storytelling. Think about what’s happening in the news right now. There must be something intriguing that you can turn into a story.
For example, if writing about war and conflict is your thing, choose any of the war-torn countries as the setting. You will most likely need to do some research to sort out the issues, but once you have an understanding of what’s going on, create some characters and put them in action.
If natural disasters interest you, then seek reports that cover those topics. For example, right now parts of the United States are being pounded by storms that are causing flooding, road collapse and fallen trees. Think about the stories you can tell!
Your task is to find something that piques your interest. Do some basic research. Then write a short story that has your characters responding to or causing whatever storm you have brewing!
Have fun with this one.
Recall a recent museum visit and all the artifacts you saw there. Which were the most valuable? The most appealing? The ones you wish you owned?
Go online and search for images that represent things you might have seen. Print up one or two.
Imagine those artifacts disappearing, without a trace.
Your task is to write the story, beginning with your protagonist/antagonist strolling through the museum, taking careful looks at various items.
Take time to describe each, the character’s reaction to them, and let readers get into her internal thoughts. (This is tricky, but you can do it!)
Write what she does as closing time looms ever closer. Does she saunter out, to return another day? Does she hide somewhere so as to steal the items once the building is cleared?
How does she steal them, especially if they are under or behind glass?
Have fun with this one.
Taking something familiar and turning it into a fiction story can make for some interesting writing. Imagine placing Aunt Myrna in a bit of historical fiction or in a cozy mystery. She might be uptight or laidback. She might have a brilliant co-partner or a funny sidekick.
If Myrna lived in the country, have her visit the city where she’ll discover something disgusting or heinous. If she’d never stepped foot outside of her place of birth, sending her on a journey might make for a fun story.
Make your character believable with wants and goals. There must be setbacks along the way, perhaps unusual sightings, or a runaway bull.
Give her a someone with whom to share the adventure.
Write some scary parts, some funny parts, some description, some dialogue.
Have fun with this one.
Begin your story like this:
Paula stepped closer to the tiny store, driven by a once-familiar smell.
You can change the name, the tense and the setting, but the heart of the story has to be the smell.
First, decide the cause of the odor. Pizza? Baking bread? Flowers? Rotting food? A dirty body? The smell can be pleasant or not, but must remain the focus.
To make things interesting, have more than one character so that the discovery of the smell can be discussed, as well as whether or not to pursue its source. Tension through dialogue would add interest.
The characters will share their reactions to the smell. What for one might be tantalizing, for the other might just be nothing special.
Have fun with this one.
Everyone is afraid of something. It might be failure or of being left out. It could be heights, spiders, or driving on freeways. Some are terrified of crowds, especially after the pandemic.
Using fear as a trope can lead to interesting stories, especially when the antagonist is quite terrifying to behold in terms of appearance as well as behavior.
Your task is to write a story in which fear is the predominate emotion. Begin by creating a list of possible things to fear, thinking outside the box: nothing triggering, such as a fear of clowns. Then imagine the setting in which the story takes place. It could be the principal’s office, a cabin in the woods, a crowded shopping mall.
Consider first person POV so that readers will experience everything through your character’s emotions. Next, think about changing perspective, writing in the voice of the person who causes the fear. How does this alter the story? Or, perhaps write in the eyes of a bystander who witnessed the event.
Have fun with this one.
Many people belong to book clubs. Some are formed when a group of friends decide to meet regularly to discuss a book they’ve chosen.
Some clubs are organized by librarians and some by organizations looking for activities for their members.
Books are often chosen by members, but not necessarily. For example, the leader might pick out a book he/she liked then put that on the list. No discussion or chosing required.
Meetings can go smoothly with all participants following established guidelines. Others have a harder time, especially when one member decides to hijack the discussion and turn it into their own topic, such as scams or relatives.
Your task is to write a story in which a book club plays a prominent role. If you write mystery, a death might occur that the members, along with the police, investigate. Or perhaps a fight breaks out, either verbal or physical. Not all members will like the book, and to develop tension, a heated discussion might ensue.
This calls for lots of dialogue. Description is important as well so that readers understand the scene, the participants and the relationships.
Have fun with this one.
Every society, every home, has its own forms of punishment.
In some homes, naughty kids are sent to timeout while others might be beaten until blood seeps from open wounds. Some kids might be denied privileges while others are locked away in the prison of their bedroom, or in worse case scenarios, in an actual prison somewhere in the home.
Society might punish offenders with community service or therapy, while others are beheaded or hung to die. Some are tarred and feathered while others have to clean up garbage along interstate highways or on beaches.
In a fair situation, the punishment fits the crime, but in far too many, prison sentences are too long or too harsh depending upon the color of one’s skin or how much money the family has.
Your task is to write a story in which punishment takes on a crucial role. You decide if it’s the family that enforces the pain or society. Does the offender continue to live at home or is she detained in a cell? Is the cell in a clean facility, or in a dank dungeon?
The protagonist can be the victim or the enforcer. What’s important is that your readers feel the suffering, the pain, the humiliation.
Have fun with this one.
Imagine a story in which your protagonist is the victim of a poisoning. And the mode in which the poison was delivered was marshmallows!
Does she die in the first scene? If so, how do you tell her story? The reasons that someone hated her enough to want her dead would be revealed as the story spins.
Or, perhaps your protagonist is the poisoner. Why would she choose marshmallows and not, say, a bottle of wine? Does the intended victim have a passion for the simple marshmallow?
How does the poisoner make sure the intended victim is the one who consumes the poison, and not some innocent child?
Your task is to tell the story in such a way that readers will be enthralled.
Narrative is important in setting the scene. Dialogue is needed to establish the tense relationship between the victim and the poisoner.
Rely on sensory details. Readers need to see, imagine the taste, smell and touch of the marshmallows. And to watch the suffering of the victim. Is it a quick or slow death?
Have fun with this one.
Have Fun with This One 