“A baby?”
She sighed her frustration.
“Yes. A. Baby.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Todd. I’m sure. I think I would know.”
“What if there are multiples?”
“I’m sure there will be.”
“Will she be ok?” The concern in his voice stopped her from making a snide comment.
“Yes, Todd. She’s a dog, they have babies all the time and she will be fine.”
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This is the third posting in a series of 5 related topics. If you missed the first one, you can find it HERE and if you missed the second one, you can find it HERE.
I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.
If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.
So, here goes the third one:
The Prompt:
We have all had friends in our lives from grade school, high school or college that we knew quite well back then, but haven’t seen much (if at all) since. In fact, most of their lives are a mystery to us. Pick one of those old friends and write about the life they’ve been leading ever since you lost touch. What happened in his or her family life? What career path did he or she choose? Was he or she involved in something that led them to a life of crime? The possibilities are endless, which should drive you to be as creative as possible.
My Response:
The first person I thought of when I read this prompt was an old friend named Donna. I currently live in Oregon, but when I lived in Texas I had a really good friend named Donna. She was so nice and just a wonderful person to be around. I loved her very much. When I moved to Oregon, we lost touch. I have searched for her every way I know how, but I can’t find her. Her old number is disconnected and all the other avenues I know of show no trace of her. She was sick when I left and had recently been diagnosed with Diabetes and I worry about her health. I hope she is doing ok and think of her often. If I were to write this story, I would write a deliriously happy ending for my friend Donna.
So what do you think? Try the prompt yourself and see what you can come up with! Share your link in the comment section below so I can read yours too. 🙂
Happy Writing!
And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!
This is the second posting in a series of 5 related topics. If you missed the first one, you can find it HERE.
I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.
If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.
So, here goes the second one:
The Prompt:
Take the next two pieces of spam mail you receive (either snail mail or e-mail) and use it to determine the profession on your protagonist and your protagonist’s love interest. I get this type of mail all of the time, particularly from politicians, credit card companies and auto dealerships-and that’s just what’s delivered by the United States Postal Service! When I add in the junk sent to my e-mail inbox, I get “foreign ambassadors from Nigeria” looking for million dollar loans and women begging me to click through to get “erotic” pictures of them. Any one of these jobs will lead to many fun and unusual situations-and will give you plenty of fodder to write about.
My Response:
I decided to look at the first piece of junk snail mail I put my hand on and the first piece of junk email in my spam box. So I got an offer for personal insurance and an email about purchasing a new software product.
So I decided that my male character would be an Insurance salesman and the female character would be a software programmer. My female character goes in to purchase renter’s insurance from the male character. Let’s call them Joy and Ben. Joy is flustered when she goes into the office because she can’t really afford renter’s insurance. Sure, she’s a programmer, but she’s new so she doesn’t make a lot of money yet. Ben is taken by her but also threatened by her intelligence. Sounds like the making of a good romance, huh?
So what do you think? Try the prompt yourself and see what you can come up with! Share your link in the comment section below so I can read yours too. 🙂
Happy Writing!
And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!
Protecting her bare skin from the cool night air, Aaron draped his jacket over Holly’s shoulders.
She looked up and smiled vaguely at him as they walked on the boardwalk.
“You gonna tell me what’s on your mind?” He asked gently.
“No.” She said quietly. “I don’t even want to know what’s on my mind, Aaron. Why would I burden you with it as well?”
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His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. His skin felt hot and his pants suddenly felt too tight around his stomach. He couldn’t speak as the foam in his lungs gathered in his mouth and blocked his airways.
As his vision began to blur and go dark, he struggle to question.
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Anna walked into the kitchen and instantly knew she had interrupted something. Being a low-level servant was never fun, but when you walked in on something you shouldn’t be hearing, it could mean losing your job.
Maggie, the head house maid, scowled at Anna and barked at her.
“Go sweep the courtyard!”
Throwing a finger into the air in the direction of the courtyard as if Anna was a dullard and didn’t know where it was, Maggie glared at her until she left the room.
As she walked out, Anna was sure she heard the name of Lady Jane mentioned in undertones.
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I’m always on the lookout for fantastic writing ideas, inspiration, prompts or other tools to give me a kick start when I can’t think of anything to write or I’m stuck in a story or book. I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email this morning with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.
If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.
So, here goes the first one:
The Prompt:
Take a very small, seemingly non-important scene from one of your favorite books and consider what it’d be like if that were the opening scene to your novel. Change the characters of course, and add one or more unique elements to that scene. The key is to give you a starting point and then let your imagination run wild. While there are many ways to stay inspired, this challenge really takes something that you love (an old book) and gives it new life.
My Response:
One of my favorite books is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. If you are not familiar with it, it is a very old story, written around 1844. One of my very favorite scenes of the book (although I have many favorite parts) is when the main character, Edmond Dantes, escapes from his island prison by posing as the dead body of a fellow inmate and friend, Abbe Faria. Below is the actual passage from the book:
“And at the same instant Dantes felt himself flung into the air like a wounded bird, falling, falling with a rapidity that made his blood curdle. Although drawn downwards by the heavy weight which hastened his rapid descent, it seemed to him as if the fall lasted for a century. At last, with a horrible splash, he darted like an arrow into the ice-cold water, and as he did so he uttered a shrill cry, stifled in a moment by his immersion beneath the waves.”
And here is how I would re-write it to portray an opening scene of a book.
Suddenly finding consciousness, Matthew found himself in the dark. He was moving, but did not know how. It was as if he were being carried by rough hands, but he could not see anything, could not move his body. He heard voices, they were speaking of a cemetery and having a bite to eat after they were done there. Matthew sensed the danger that surrounded him in his blind cocoon and so he remained silent. Feeling carefully with his hands which were restrained with course twine, Matthew concluded that he was in a sack of some kind, like a bundle of potatoes. Suddenly, the men carrying him slowed. He became aware of the sound of the sea very close to them and could smell the brine through the cloth that bound him. The men began swinging him back and forth and at the count of three, Matthew was airborne. He felt himself flying through the air, the cold, moist sea air swirled all around his fiber prison. Plummeting like a rock, Matthew wondered if his flight would ever end. And just when he thought he would never touch the earth again, his body was shocked with the freezing cold temperatures of the icy sea. Sinking like a stone, Matthew frantically began writhing to escape, his lungs already beginning to burn and ache.
So what do you think? Try the prompt yourself and see what you can come up with! Share your link in the comment section below so I can read yours too. 🙂
Happy Writing!
And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!
I was the master of my domain. I was in charge of all the lands that lay out before me. I strode to the top of the hill to get a better look. The birds soared around the hill as if paying homage to their new king. I took a deep breath and nearly choked.
“Frank!” A voice yelled up at me.
“Hey Frank, get the hell off of there! We need to doze it.”
I grabbed my hard hat and surfed down the rubbish heap on a cardboard box.
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In the shadows of twilight, a promise floats on the breeze.
In the movement of love, a happiness follows behind
Swirling around and around, the joy trails in happy flight
And takes wing to fly with stars into the dark night.
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“I simply MUST have this!” Kara swung around, the yellow skirt of the sundress swirling around her legs. She beamed.
“We can’t, Kara. You know we can’t.” Matt said it quietly and darted his eyes around to make sure no one could hear them.
“I didn’t say I was going to BUY it.” Kara winked and headed toward the dressing room. Emerging a few minutes later, she headed for the door.
Matt started after her and looked back at the empty hanger in the changing room.
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Eileen Maki 