Tag: writing activity

Precious Gems and Metals

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Olympic athletes are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. Beaus often gift their intended with diamonds set in silver. Pearls, topaz, emeralds and many others are prized for their beauty. Platinum and aluminum are valued for beauty, yes, but also for their ability to be crafted into useful items. Coins have been molded out of metals since ancient times. Cars, bikes and motorcycles all rely on metals for construction and operation.

Walk through your home and take notice of everything that contains metals or gems. Take note of how each item is used and where it came from, whether as a gift or something you bought for yourself. How valuable is each now?

The value and usage of precious materials, throughout the ages, has depended upon the culture of the region. More advanced areas crafted weapons and embellishments out of metals and gems. Less developed areas used them for trade to get those things they needed to survive.

Your task is to think about a situation in which precious gems or metals play an important role in the story. Your protagonist wants something and perhaps she can procure whatever that is by using these materials. For example, she wants to impress a date, so she wears a diamond necklace. Maybe his father’s birthday is coming so he scours the stores to find pearl cuff studs.

Include details and dialogue that allow readers to see the thinking processes that go on, the purchase or trade, and the end result.

Have fun with this one.

 

A New Baby

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Anyone who’s been around a newborn understands how such a tiny, helpless being can upset the functioning of a home. Pitiful cries can’t be ignored and so guardians come to the rescue day and night. Stinky diapers have to be changed and washed. Everyone’s clothing gets soiled with vomit. It’s a seemingly endless litany of squalls and needs.

If the newborn is a cat or dog, there are still issues. They suffer separation anxiety when removed from mom. The cries are plaintive, but often unheard when the owners are off at work. Potty training can be challenging when the animal doesn’t “get” it as quickly as one might hope. There are walks to take, leash-training, special foods to prepare.

The impact of newborns doesn’t occur in many genres of stories. Romance and Women’s Literature are where the problems are most commonly found. But why can’t there be babies in Science Fiction or Horror?

Perhaps an astronaut becomes pregnant while on the International Space Station or the serial killer is nursing a toddler. Imagine how this would change the story.

Your task is to write a scene in which your protagonist has a newborn of some kind. Choose a place to begin that has the most tension for that’s what will hook your readers. Description is essential, both internal and external. Readers will want to know what’s going through minds and how the infant is impacting lives.

Have fun with this one.

The Antisocial Teen

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

A surly teenager hurls insults at her mother and stomps upstairs, slamming her door behind her. This time it’s because Mom won’t let her go to an unsupervised party at an older boy’s house. Last week it was because Mom refused to pay for body piercings, and a few days before that it was an argument over the skimpy outfit the daughter intended to wear to school.

The son of a single man steals his dad’s precious 1964 hot rod and wraps it around a tree. The boy blames a deer, raccoon and a drunken friend, none of which amuse Dad. The teen is failing most of his classes due to absences and disciplinary problems. On top of that the kid only wears black: t-shirts, hoodies, jeans, shoes, socks and has three earrings on his right lobe.

Both stories speak about not just familial issues, but social ones as well. The kids seem to have made poor choices in friends and the parents, while doing their best, are struggling.

Your task is to write a story about an antisocial teenager. You might want to do a little research into issues facing teens in whatever time period you choose. Also consider exploring parenting tips and what types of counseling is available.

Obviously there will be a lot of drama, a lot of tension, and tons of conflict possibilities. Don’t put too much in one scene as then it’s over the top and too hard for readers to process. Consider spacing events out as the story progresses. Remember that dialogue and actions are important. This will not be a happy story, so make the best of it that you can.

Have fun with this one.

Play Acting

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Children love to pretend. They build forts out of sheets, dress up dolls, and talk to stuffed animals. The wearing of costumes is a real thrill, for when dressed as someone else, they assume personalities different than their own. They can bravely face foes when in the night they tremble at the thought of monsters in the closet. They can fly high into the sky despite being terrified of heights.

Many teens get involved in theater and choir during high school. They audition and hopefully win the roles they desired. On stage they are someone else. They might be the detective who solves the case, the soloist who normally only sings in the shower or the lover who woos a victim into a web.

Many adults enjoy play acting. Theater is a popular form of entertainment. Look at Broadway in NYC, big cities who lure in tours of Broadway plays and small local theaters who host events for crowds of a hundred. For thespians it’s a chance to be a child again, to put on the mantle of a character and to speak, move and behave like someone else.

Your task is to write a scene in which your protagonist is involved in theater or choir. There should be an audition so that readers will walk through the process, feeling the hopes, excitement and possible tears with the character. Give us the tension, the anxiety that accompanies being on the stage.

Not all things should run smoothly. Readers want to see glitches arise and watch how the character handles such events.

Have fun with this one.

Play Ball!

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Baseball. Basketball. Volleyball. Tennis. Rugby. American football, soccer and futbol as it’s known everywhere else. Playing sports is something almost everyone does sometime in their life.

For most of us we learn the rules of the games in our physical education classes. If a parent follows sports, then we spend hours watching on television.

Some of us play on recreational teams that become quite competitive, while others only play pickup games at local fields and courts.

Games can become contentious. Players cheat to get ahead. They illegally trip or push opponents. They step over lines then argue that they didn’t. Players who fall become injured, and if not hurt, get angry and fight back. Tensions rise. In professional sports it’s not unusual to see entire teams rush onto the field.

Your task is to write a story in which sports plays a major role. Choose a sport that you know enough about in order to tell the story. Make sure you understand the causes of tension and use them to draw the reader in. Details are critical. Dialogue is required.

Have fun with this one.

Components of a Good Antagonist

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

You’ve created an awesome protagonist, someone the readers will identify with, root for, cry over and stay with for the duration of the story. The problem is that, without an antagonist, there is no tension. No challenges for the protagonist to overcome.

Come up with an antagonist who is equal in stature with your protagonist. Both have to have interesting backstories. Both must face challenges. Both have worlds around them. What makes the story move is when the stories and challenges intersect.

Just as your protagonist has skills and weaknesses, so does your antagonist. While the readers want your protagonist to be stronger of the two, there has to be enough resistance to make the protagonist work at winning.

Your task is to create an antagonist who is a good match for you character. This individual must be strong enough, talented enough, smart enough to be almost an equal to your character. Someone who will give your character a run for his money. Someone who will resist, who will fight, who will not go down easily.

Put them in a scene in which they will duke it out verbally, or physically if that is your wish. But however the battle occurs, it must be one in which readers will be fascinated by the story and read until the final word. In other words, the two characters must present a complicated relationship that, at the end, allows the protagonist to stand in the spotlight after facing a good fight.

Have fun with this one.

 

An Activity for when you are Stuck

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Freewriting is an excellent activity when your mind is drawing blanks. Sometimes all you need is a word(s) to stimulate a story or memory.

Your task is to:

  1. Make a list of between ten and fifteen words that may or may not be related.
  2. Word choices might have something to do with sights, sounds, tastes, textures in your known world, or in a world that you want to create.
  3. Narrow the list down to seven to ten words that you feel you can incorporate in your writing.
  4. Write for at least ten minutes, using each word in its own sentence.
  5. When finished, remove all but one word, the one that calls to you.
  6. Write a short narrative that focuses on the feelings and images that your word inspires.

If you now have something that you can expand into a story, well, good luck!

Have fun with this one.