For those who aren't participating in the Whodunit contest, and those who are but would like to flex their pens, here are some prompts for a free write this week. Be sure to share them here so that others can find them, and I still highly encourage you to give feedback on each other's work.
Discuss what you loved, or how interesting your interpretations on the prompts were. It can only make our community stronger.
Prompts:
1. Haunted: It's a pretty common feature for characters to be haunted by their past. How about a story about a character haunted by their future? In Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur discovers the circumstances of his death in the future, and figures he might live precariously until those circumstances become to be.
2. Odd Metaphors: We all know some common sayings – the terrain was covered in a white blanket; the two are absolute lovebirds; the fire in their heart; etc. Can you make a really odd metaphor and write about that? 'Joane is a melting block of ice in the wine glass of the devil.' I'd like to see that one.
3. Mystics: We all have our moments, I'm sure (I hope, at least), where our brains don't quite clutch. I sometimes forget how to breathe – it's a very odd experience – and, sometimes, when I'm very tired, I believe I can hear the universe sing. Write a story about the lifting of that veil from reality, where everything is possible, and chaos is your friend.
4. The Die of the Gods: Have you ever played Dungeons and Dragons? It's a game where the successes or failures of the characters all depend on the roll of the die. Write a story about something simple – Lukas is going grocery shopping, for example – but roll the die for everything he does. If it's a high number, he does it exceptionally well. If it's a low number, he fails miserably. Middling numbers have various chances of success. Include your die roll results in the story, so we can see where you rolled and what the result was.
5. Backwards Logic: It's standard practice to reward characters for good behaviour and punish them for bad behaviour. What if that were inexplicably reversed? What if your character's failures were met with great and fun consequences, but their successes were met with severe and harsh punishments?
6. Just Dropping In: Self inserts are a wonderful fantasy. I have them all the time. To just drop into a book, knowing everything about it, and being, by far, the coolest character that always seems to know just what is going on. But, of course, I wouldn't use the opportunity for the good of the novel. I'd totally have fun and mess around with the characters.
7. Time Travel: Kairos is a WattPad book about a time-travelling match-making company, where you can date somebody from the 1800's, the 2200's or the 1920's. Whatever. That's cool. How would you capitalise on Time Travel?
8. Numbers: This is more a challenge than a prompt. Pi is an irrational number, and it's digits are infinite. Can you contruct a story using those digits? For example, the first digit is 3, so the first sentence must have only three words. The second is 1. A single word. 4. Four words in that sentence, and so on and so on.
9. Conscious: Self aware novels can never be taken too seriously, but they're a good laugh and fun to read. It is my personal opinion that self-aware characters are the most fun to write. Could you do that for me? A world where characters happen, but one of them are fully aware that they are in a book, at the mercy of some intangible Author in the Sky.
10. Bucket List: Can you detail all the experiences on your bucket list, as if you've lived them, as if you remember them? A moment of memory – of fantasy – for each.
These are some of the prompts I've come up with for the coming week. I don't necessarily believe all of them are interesting, so feel free to make your own too and share it here for other entrants to try!