Wed. Writing Prompts XXVIII


1. Write a story about a person who knows the loopholes and procedures of the law so well that he or she can get away with virtually anything. Are his or her talents just the thing to save the day, or will your story ultimately document this line-walker’s downfall? Be creative, see where it takes you.

2. Write a story that is defined by the rain. Make rain ever-present, a metaphor and emphasis for everything that happens within the context of the story. Fill the reader’s sight and mind with rain. Make them feel it, truly experience it.

3. Make a list of “races” and stereotypes that come to mind when you think about them (however wrong, flawed or politically incorrect they may be.) Now, mix up these stereotypes, then rewrite these mixed list entries as characters. Make them into people who feature what you would consider to be atypical (but potentially more realistic) character traits.

4. Design a terrifying character. Take some time to develop what makes this character truly terrifying. Try new things, write sentences that give you the willies. Now, write a story featuring this character, but make him or her a person so kind and generous as to be practically a saint.

5. Write a story that showcases a pack of shallow, narrowminded socialites and the way in which they suddenly change, becoming deeper, more complex and less (if at all) concerned with pointless and trivial things.

6. Consider the phrase “the great, unwashed masses.” How does it sound? What does it make you think of? Is there a story there? Visualize what the phrase indicates in your mind, who might say it and why, and then use it to write your story.

7. It is said that history is written by the victor, and if anything, revisionist views of history would seem to prove that. Write your own story featuring a problem with revising history, something that crops up while others try to neatly sweep something profound (like a genocide) under the proverbial rug.

8. Write a story from a wholly alien perspective. Whatever you focus on, wherever the plot goes, follow it with an eye as far from human as possible. Expand your writing into a bizarre direction, change it here and there, and create something totally outside the norm.

9. Take a story you’ve already written (but aren’t sure what to do with yet) and deconstruct it by playing around with the derivational morphemes within it (affixes like “un”, “re” and “non”.) Swap some around, create new ones, craft whole new words– and if you feel really adventurous, try playing around with some of the morpheme stems or even rewriting the lingering inflectional morphemes used in the story. Be creative! Don’t be afraid to try new things.

10. Take a story that you’ve already written and then retell it– from a totally different perspective. Instead of focusing on one character and the way they perceive the situation, focus on another, and make their perceptions the focus of your story. If you’re really feeling adventurous, try combining the two stories together to create the ultimate hybrid story!

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