Tag: Writing prompt

The Sports Enthusiast

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            Do you know someone who is really passionate and excited about sports? Does she watch anything that pops up on television and follow a variety of teams and players? Would you find him out on the court or field or match or bowling alley whenever he has a spare minute?

            True aficionados would watch anything from bull fighting to golf, from the beginning to the day to the end. All day long scores and statistics fill the house. She sits on the couch with eyes glued to the screen for fear of missing the putt, the finish line, the strike. With bowls of food at hand and a cooler next to the chair, she is prepared for the day.

            Your task is to write a story in which your character is a huge fan of sports. Perhaps it’s an all-consuming love that surpasses time with family and friends. Maybe he has set a goal to visit every professional baseball stadium, soccer match or golf course, even those in other countries.

            Think of the adventures, the disasters, the excitement, the relationships to be told. Your character might have a family that shares the love or feels neglected by the overwhelming amount of time spent glued to the television. Drama enfolds in the form of conflict driven by dialogue and action.

            Have fun with this one.

Story Pacing Affects Plot Development

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            How fast a story unfolds is controlled by pacing. It is what determines the appeal of a story to its varied audience. For example, some readers want lots of events taking place right at the beginning, and to continue throughout the story. Other readers like the intrigue when obstacles and reactions take place over time. Because pacing affects atmosphere and tone, there are times when a period of concentrated action is needed to provide the conflict and tension that makes a story interesting.

            An adventure novel should revolve around a series of action-packed events while a psychological thriller should be gripping as clues arise as characters react to what’s happening.

            How do you control pacing? The length of a given scene is one way. A long scene will slow down how often something important occurs, while a short scene that includes dialogue and action speeds things up. The period of time that elapses within a scene also impacts pace. If the story is long, the characters will age. This is what differentiates an epic from a short story.

            Your task is to write a story employing a fast pace. Make things happen, keep the characters moving, include tension and conflict. Then rewrite the story slowing down the pace. Use lots of narrative sentences. Allow time to pass, second by second, at a measured pace.

            When finished, reread each version, looking to see which pacing technique works best.

            Have fun with this one.

Sappy Love Story

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           Some of us are suckers for a good tear-fest. Even though we know that, at the end, the couple will realize they are deeply in love, our hearts still melt at the closing scene. We’ve followed their trajectory, the ups and downs of their relationship, the friends and family who pull them apart or push them together, and ride the roller coaster of emotions.

            Despite their predictability romance stories are immensely popular. In olden days the characters were heterosexual lily-white uncomplicated people without a criminal past. Today’s readers want people that look, think and feel like them.

            Your task is to write a romance story. When you choose your characters think about what readers are looking for. If you are comfortable with diverse characters, then put them in the lead.

            The characters meet, but is it love at first sight or do complications arise? Readers like the give and take of relationships, so conflict is necessary. Perhaps they share a good moment which is ruined by something stupid said or done.

            Make your story compelling. Draw in your readers with an inciting incident and then hold them spellbound as they wait for that final moment.

            Have fun with this one.

Developing a Strong Female Lead

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            Cast aside the notion of the female warrior who is perfect in all ways. Your female protagonist might be athletically gifted, amazingly beautiful and displaying a lovely personality, but then she’s boring. You also don’t want to cast her as only important because she’s dating a man. Female characters, in order to speak to today’s readers, must have the characteristics of real-life women.

            What are the cultural norms in the world you have created? Are the same as the real world in which women are often seen as second-class citizens? Perhaps you’ve given the women emotional, interpersonal, intellectual and creative strengths that allow her to have goals of her own?

            Do you have only one woman in the story or several? What purpose do they serve? If they are only sidekicks to the male protagonist, rethink your story.

            Your task is to write a story in which the female protagonist has agency. She has strengths and weaknesses, she is not the fairy-tale raving beauty and she is strong in terms of how she approaches life. She does not have to be violent, but she could be if needed to advance the plot.

            If there are two female characters, try not to pit them against each other unless there is a reason to do so in order to add tension that advances the plot.

            Have fun with this one.

Flora and Fauna in Setting

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            The terms flora and fauna refer to the plants and animals of a particular place at a particular time and are dependent upon the specific region, climate and time period. These environments could be grasslands, redwood forest or savannah.

            Native flora refers to those plants that are to the area. They grow without human help or cultivation. Another category is horticultural flora, plants grown for food or consumption. One example is the giant redwood tree found in Northern California and can range in age from 800 to 1500 years old. A variety of birds and animals life there. 

Another type of plant is found in the deserts of Angola,  one with large leaves that wilt during dry times and swell when there are rains.

            Likewise fauna falls into similar categories. Animals live above and under water, in deserts and in rainforests. They can be tiny creatures like protozoans and large like elephants. They exist in artic tundras and in coral reefs. Specific types of birds must have environments conducive to their life. Same is true for all animals, big and small.

            Your task is to define a setting by its flora and fauna. Make two lists, one for each. If necessary, research what would grow/live in the environment that you are considering. After your list is complete, think of a way that the elements influence story. For example, tusk hunters kill elephants in order to make money to survive. Squirrels remove nuts and fruits from trees before humans can harvest them. Deer eat flowers and leaves.

            Write a story in which flora and fauna play an important role.

            Have fun with this one.

Rebellion

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            Imagine a scenario where the citizens are upset with the ruling power. They’ve been tortured, imprisoned, forced to work in unsafe conditions and have little to eat. There is no hope for improvement as long as the current leaders are in power.

            Attempts to negotiate have repeatedly failed. Rumor has it that an assassination is in the works, so armed military patrols the streets. It’s a dire situation.

            Many stories have been written using this scenario as a base for sowing discord. Given a chance to write the story, how would yours differ?

            Your task is to develop a scene in which rebellion is looming. Is it coming within the ranks of the aristocracy or from the peasants? Is it in a single city or throughout the empire? Who is leading the rebellion?  Disenfranchised royals? Defecting soldiers?

            What is the desired result and who would step up and be in charge assuming the rebellion is successful? What changes would be enacted, and would those be acceptable to all?

            How many would die and what weapons would be used? Does magic come into play?

            There are many things to consider to make this story stand out.

            Have fun with this one.

Crimes of Passion

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            How far would you go to get what you want? Would you lie to a friend potentially destroying the relationship? Steal from a store knowing that if you got caught, you could go to jail? Date a married person even though it would end the marriage and destroy a family? Cause the overthrow of a government or CEO of a company?

            When emotions run high people often behave in uncharacteristic ways, putting themselves and others in peril. Acting to satisfy an emotional need could lead to crimes of passion. Doing and saying things that put ourselves and others at risk are caused by obsessions, strong emotional responses that overwhelm rational thinking.

            Your task is to write a story in which your character commits a crime of passion. Begin by creating a profile of your character, recording the things that she’s interested in, things she does, the way she acts. Next choose the one that can be expanded into an obsession, a desire so strong that she will ignore warning signs.

            Narrative is important, but so is dialogue, for through conversations personalities are revealed. Tension through danger drives the story.

            Have fun with this one.

Stereotypical Characters with a Twist

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            Picture the butler who answers the door. What is he wearing? What does he say and do? We probably all have the same image: he’s an older gentleman with a British accent dressed in a tux with tails. He instructs the visitor to go into the drawing room, and then heads off to summon his master.

            In mysteries the butler is often the top suspect in a murder. Despite the reserved image he portrays, underneath that calm lays an angry, vengeful man.

These are stereotypical characters because they are flat people that fill out the cast. They generally appear in quick bursts then drop into the background. Throughout the telling, these characters exhibit little or no growth and have limited impact on the story arc.

            Now picture the lowly farm boy toiling in the heat of the afternoon dredging soiled hay from the horses’ stalls. What is he wearing? What does he say and do?

            What if the butler gets fired and has to become the lowly farm boy? What if the farm boy is actually the son of a prince in a faraway land? Because the farm boy and the butler experience life-changing events, their impact on the story has gone from being minimal to critical.

            Your task is to write a scene in which what first appears to be a stereotypical, flat character and offer a twist in the plot that belies what the reader thinks to be true. You can use the characters mentioned or introduce a different one. For example, what if the wise old woman lacks skills to be a mentor or the orphan who is thought to be the descendant of royalty really is just a street kid?

            Have fun with this one.

Life’s Journey

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            Characters are a product of their life’s experiences. The things they seen and done are major influencers in who they are at the time of the story. From birth, the people in their lives affect what they believe, what foods they eat, the clothing they wear, the attitude to education that they have.

            Imagine a character who grows up in a loving, fostering home. His attitude toward obstacles life presents will be completely different from obstacles that pop up in the life of someone who was abused in some way. It makes sense. In the first situation the character might love challenges and new experiences while the second individual might be fearful and prefer hiding at home.

            When you create a character you need to construct their life’s journey as a background into who they have become. This is different from a character arc. The arc traces the character’s trajectory throughout the story, encapsulating the events that change her as the story progresses.

            The life’s journey shows the path that she walked as the years passed by.

            Your task is to create a life’s journey for a new character that you would like to include in a story. Graph paper might be the best source as it allows for increments of time spaced out in measured blocks. Start at a point when they first event occurred. This could be birth or the first day of school. Add elements that played important parts, both negative and positive.

            When finished, using the data you’ve detailed, write a memoir-like story of his life.

            Have fun with this one.

Searching for Love

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            What would you do to find the love of your life? Would you hang out in singles’ bars or join a singles’ club? If a friend tried to set you up with a blind date, would you go? Perhaps you’d sign up for one of those online matching sites? If you heard about an event only for singles, would you go?

            What would you wear? Your normal every-day clothes or a fancy outfit? Hiking boots or polished dress shoes?

            Before the date, what preparations would you make? Haircut, pedicure and nails? Massage or acupuncture? Visit a mystic to hear what might happen in the future?

            Your task is to imagine that you are writing a love story. Work out the details of your character. Think beyond the physical. Consider socioeconomic, education completed, job status, living conditions and personality. What does your character want from a partner? A one-night stand or a long-term marriage? Children and pets? Common interests or differences so as to learn from each other?

            Once you’ve done all the background work, it’s time to write. Establish setting, remembering that place and time period are major considerations. Include narrative and dialogue supported by action. Will this be a love-at-first-sight story or will there be conflict before love occurs?

            Have fun with this one.