Tag: writing about love

Dear Diary

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

            Journal writing has been popular for many, many years. Young girls were often given a diary in order to record their thoughts. They were encouraged to write every day, even if they had little of interest to report.

            Diaries were often padlocked with a tiny key. The girl would hide both the diary and the key in order to prevent parents and siblings from reading their thoughts.

            Diaries became important as a tool for historical research. By reading such records, historians are able to deduce what life was like during times of peace and war, during turbulent and peaceful times.

            Your task is to imagine the diary entries that your protagonist would write. These do not have to be complete stories, but rather figments of time capturing the emotions that the individual experienced. Later on these thoughts might inspire a story, but for now the task is to simply write what the person most likely worried about, dreamt of, feared and yearned for.

            Have fun with this one.

Marriage and Infidelity

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

            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.

Love at First Sight

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Picture yourself in a crowd. A variety of people are milling about. Perhaps it’s a birthday party or maybe it’s a dance at the community center. You spot a good friend on the opposite side of the room and as you wind your way through the seemingly tangled mess of humanity, a face appears that takes your breath away.

Is that love at first sight? It might be depending upon what happens next.

What is your story of falling in love? Have you ever shared it with someone outside of the immediate family? If you did, what was their reaction? If not, why?

Your task is to write a story in which characters meet and something happens. A spark. A tingle. A magical moment. It can be fiction or nonfiction. You could make it predictably sappy or there can be friction between the two as they navigate their way.

Begin by setting the scene. This might be a time to have weather details included, for isn’t spring the time of love? Allow your readers to feel the environment through sight and sound.

Make the developing relationship interesting enough so that readers want to know more.  Bring in complexities and complications. Use dialogue to enhance the progression of the romance.

Have fun with this one.

A Twist on the Traditional Love Story

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Movies, TV shows and books often feature love stories between two individuals who don’t like each other when they first meet, have several crusty encounters, begin to see the good in the other, then fall in love at the end. Predictable, yes, but satisfying to many or there wouldn’t be news ones popping up every day.

What happens if there isn’t love at the end? If the two go off in different directions, never to run across a sunny beach and fall into each other’s arms? Or what if it isn’t the wonderfully kind protagonist isn’t the one to find true love but the cantankerous store owner who treats everyone rudely?

Your task is to write a different kind of love story. First you must decide the angle of approach. The villain falls in love or the almost-couple never gets together. Next establish setting. Is this a fantasy, historical story or fictional account?

Create the characters by developing bios for each. Personality is more important than interests as the first makes the character likeable or not. Develop the story arc. What happens at the beginning, the middle, the end? At each step there must be an inciting incident that throws a curve or hinders the plot. And then decide how the story will end.

Sometimes we need to step away from the traditional in order to craft uniquely compelling stories.

Have fun with this one.

Most Important Person

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing prompt1 Comment

Hopefully each of us has been touched by someone who truly cared and to whom we gave our love. This person might have been a relative, unless you grew up in a dysfunctional family, and then that special one might have been a teacher, boss or neighbor.

Think of the gifts this person gave you. They might be physical, such as a new bike or a longed-for book, but they might also have been emotional, such as love, kindness, unconditional caring.

Your character has also been touched by a special person. Who is that individual? What has she done for your character? In what ways is the life of your character enriched?

Has that most important person passed away or is he still alive? If alive, have the roles now been reversed? Your character now gives to the special person? In what ways?

Your task is to write a scene in which their lives intersect. Remember that we need to feel the depth of the relationship, the love between them (assume that this is not physical love, but rather supportive).

Reread, looking for key words that allow us to see the feelings on display.

Have fun with this one.

The Sadness of Heartbreak

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Love is a powerful emotion. It draws us in, lures us into believing that it will last forever. We willingly succumb to its promise of a life-fulfilling dream.

And then tragedy happens. The lover turns out not to be all that wonderful or he suddenly declares that he is no longer interested. She is caught walking arm-in-arm with another or he is rumored to have seduced someone into his bed.

Heartbreak hits and we are so depressed that it’s hard to get out of bed.

Or does it?

Imagine how your protagonist will react when dumped by her lover. Create a list of possible reactions. Try to come up with at least five that make sense based upon your character’s personality.

Choose the one that you find the easiest to write but that also has some juice to it.

Your task is to write the story that shows your character in the thralls of heartbreak.

When you are finished, reread, looking for depth of emotion. You want your readers to feel the pain.

Have fun with this one.