Imagine a chaotic event. Storm, revolution, economic disaster. How does it impact a given city? What happens to the people? How do the banks respond? Are there protests? Do organizers help rebuild? Search?
There are so many possibilities, especially when you factor in the bizarre or weird. Consider zombies, vampires, vultures.
Your task is to write a story in which the world dissolves into utter chaos.
Have fun with this one.
Imagine a scene in which a frightening monster arises, eating, mauling, destroying, everything and everyone in sight. Who comes to the rescue? Does it depend upon what kind of beast? For example, if it crawls up from underground, are there special forces that arrive? But what if it’s from outer space? Who then?
Perhaps it’s not a fantastical monster but rather a tyrannical teenager? The boy who rules the house, or the girl who demands all the attention? What if the teen behaves perfectly at school, but runs roughshod at home? Who, then, tames the beast?
We’ve all seen toddlers in action. Stomping feet, pounding fists, tossing things about, screaming a the top of their lungs: who brings the kid under control?
Your task is to write a story in which a monster is the antagonist, a pretty scary one at that.
Have fun with this one.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When you ask a little kid what they want to be when they grow up, they might say fireman, policeman or teacher. Those are the most visible careers in a child’s eyes. As their world view expands, they will dream of being a professional athlete, actor, singer, musician, and in some cases, scientist.
Many times something happens that interferes with those dreams and the child has to put them aside to work to support self and family. The astronaut becomes a mechanic, the athlete a coach of her child’s soccer team, and the fireman becomes a sous chef.
Society needs all those jobs, but the individual might still harbor dreams of creating a new vaccine, curing a specific type of cancer or designing a more powerful wind turbine.
It’s important to hold onto dreams, to cherish the reasons that the job appealed to you, to still maybe want to do something in the field.
Your task is to write a story in which pursuing a dream career plays a major role. Any genre is possible, ranging from Speculative Fiction, to memoir, to Romantic Comedy, to thriller.
Have fun with this one.
It’s not easy to forgive someone when they hurt you in some way. There are any number of potential offenses, such as stealing a boy/girlfriend, getting the promotion you felt was yours, wooing away what you thought were your friends.
Family relationships fall into that category as well. The mom who seems to hate you, the sibling who physically hurts you, the aunt who gives your sister gifts but never a single thing to you.
Your task is to write a story in which the act of forgiveness (or not) plays an important role.
Depending upon the age of your protagonist, the act might be rather insignificant or life-altering. What hurts a child is vastly different than what pains an adult. In most cases.
Dialogue will be crucial in showing the reactions of the characters. Narrative helps to set the scene as well as increases the causes of tension.
Have fun with this one.
Meteorologists today seem to be much better at forecasting future weather. With all the updated computer applications, they can look at weather patterns a week in advance. Such accuracy is quite helpful when planning outings, picnics, vacations and so forth.
But…predictions sometimes fall apart. The lows and highs switch places. Instead of sun, it pours. Or instead of fine layer of snow, you get 2 feet in one day.
Imagine what would happen if a town, using predictions, schedules a St. Patrick’s parade for Saturday, when the sun is expected to shine, instead of Sunday, the actual date. Floats and marching bands line up. Fancy cars decked in ribbons are ready to go. Kids in cute outfits are prepared to march.
And then dark clouds roll over.
Your task is to write a story in which the actual weather is diametrically opposite of what was predicted. Through everything at the wall until an interesting idea strikes!
Have fun with this one.
Legend has it that all vampires drink human blood. But what if they didn’t? What would the alternative be?
Could a vampire be converted to some other form of nourishment? If so, would it be solid or liquid?
What if there are researchers out there experimenting with a solution? What kind of lab would they work in? Where would they get the “victims”?
Your task is to write a story in which a vampire is trying to find an alternative that works.
Let your imagination run wild!
Have fun with this one.
Have Fun with This One 