Tag: writing about an event

Uninvited Guest

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

            No one likes it when guests crash the party. Even if they are well-behaved, they might bring unwelcome baggage, causing conflict that will ruin the event.

            Try to recall a TV show with such a scenario. If it’s a comedy, then weird and hilarious things will happen, such as drinks being spilled or someone being pushed into the pool.

            If it’s a thriller or drama story, then there might be a murder, a theft, or threats to one and all.

            Your task is to write a story in which a guest(s) appears at an event without an invitation. Setting is important, but more so the emotions displayed by the host(s) are critical.

            The host might try to close the door, keeping that person out. Or she might let the person in, trying to avoid a scene.

            The guest should do something outrageous, like swill several bottles of beer or dump over the punch bowl. Maybe toss something on the BBQ that sets the canopy on fire.

            You want action followed by reaction.

            Have fun with this one.

Press Release

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

            Something interesting happened just as your character walked in the door. Perhaps a move star tripped over a wrinkled edge of a rug. Maybe a politician kissed a woman, not his wife, in an extremely romantic way. It could be a car accident outside the doors that nearly killed a popular older woman or the elevator that got stuck between floors trapping inside a small boy who’d accidentally strolled inside.

            Because your character is a budding journalist, she seizes the opportunity to write up a press release and deliver it to the local paper’s office. On top of that, she’d had her phone out and managed a few good shots, plus a short video, which she takes to the small TV station in the next town.

            Your task is to write a story in which your protagonist is the one who caught the story. Write up the press release and have her try to get it published somewhere, anywhere.

            As writers, we understand rejection. Perhaps your character doesn’t because everything she wrote for her high school paper got printed.

            You might include her interviews of witnesses, showing the give-and-take as she struggles to get valuable information.

            Have fun with this one.

Anticipation

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Your birthday is coming up and you’re aware that a party has been planned. You think you know who’s coming, you wonder if Jesse, a childhood nemesis, will have the audacity to appear.

Anew job opportunity has opened up and if you’re offered the position, it means more money and responsibility, but you’ve got to ace the interview.

There are many events that arise in our lives that cause angst. The anticipation alone makes us sweat, interferes with sleep, and causes our hands to tremble. We rehash possible negative outcomes, analyzing each reaction that we might have.

Anticipation is a complex emotion. It is a feeling of excitement about something that is going to happen in the near future that leads to restlessness, difficulty focusing, a sense of uneasiness, and an attempt at avoiding participation in the event. In story form, anticipation can trigger scenes of tension and conflict between characters that alter familial relationships and ruin friendships.

Your task is to write a story in which anticipation plays a major role. Choose a scene in which emotions run high, affecting how the character thinks, acts, speaks. Include narrative and dialogue so that readers can see how anticipating the event influences the story arc.

Have fun with this one.

Reality Show Mishap

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

If you’ve ever watched one of the many reality shows on television, you know that despite careful planning not everything runs smoothly. Participants might use words that have to be deleted. They might remove sufficient articles of clothing that the censors would shut down the show.

While you might not have ever appeared as a contestant on a reality show, events in your life might have emitted the same feelings that contestants experience. When you were in elementary school did your teacher hold spelling bees? Did you audition for a play or for a chair in an orchestra? Was there a time when you submitted an application for a competitive position in a company?

All of these scenarios could become fodder for a story.

Your task is to write a story in which your character participates in some type of reality show type of competition. Begin by setting the scene. Does your character apply through a written format or by submitting a video? How does she react when she is accepted?

Does the show take place in a studio or on a remote island? Does it involve stunts that could cause harm or is it an intellectual pursuit?

As the story develops some type of tragedy takes place. It could be a broken hell or a shattered bone, but the most important thing is that it alters, in some profound way, the subsequent events in the story.

Have fun  with this one.

 

Dance Party

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Do you recall the first dance you attended? How old were you? Did you go with a date or with a group of friends? Where was the dance? Were you anxious or excited? Did everything go okay at the dance? If not, then that is the story you want to tell.

Imagine that at some time in their lives, our characters went to a dance during high school, college, or as adults with friends. Perhaps she didn’t want to go, but too much pressure was applied. She fussed over her outfit, hair and makeup. She complained all the way there. Once inside, what happened?

Your task is to write the story. It can be the first dance he attended or the most recent one. Choose a situation when some form of conflict would arise. The bigger the conflict, the more interesting the story becomes.

Details are important to establish setting. Think ambience. Decorations. Music. Food. Drink. Were there only people he knew or total strangers? Did someone get so drunk that they acted outlandishly?

Have fun with this one.