PROMPT 36 – HAZARD DUTY
 
            Novels, television, and movies are filled with stories about police, fire-fighters, soldiers, and lawyers. These seem to be the professions people consider the most dangerous or dramatic. While in some cases that might be true it doesn’t need to be for the story you are writing.
            Pick a profession and then think of a storyline that puts the character into danger or an otherwise interesting situation. The problem could be fantastic, or mysterious, or even mundane and funny. Selecting an occupation which you have worked will allow you to draw from your personal experience. In not, the story will develop out of your research about the chosen profession.
            These professions were taken from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.
 
            - Dump Grounds Checker (Sanitary Landfill Worker)
            - Laserist (Creates laser light shows)
            - Rug Cleaner
            - TNT Line-Supervisor
            - Senior-Commisary Agent in Air Transportation
           
 
One Man’s Garbage – Working at the dump was slow, dull, and stinky. Just the way James liked it—except for the smell. The important thing about it was that his job was blissfully void of any excitement which might over-stress his weak heart. That is, until he noticed that the trucks from one specific company were entering the dump empty and leaving it full. The situation gets worse when he discovers the trucks are being driven by aliens from outer space. Now he has to convince someone in the Federal government that Earth has been invaded before he has a heart-attack or the aliens catch him?

            PROMPT 35 – PLAY IT BACKWARD
 
            Endings are incredibly important. If an author nails the ending then readers are going to be psyched for the next book. Get it wrong and you have the chance of losing your readers. This writing prompt places the ending front and center during the story creation process.
            Start by writing a killer ending. Maybe you have one in mind, a scene that screams award-winning finale. If not, take a look at stories that ended strong. See if they give you any ideas. You can even examine stories that failed to deliver a satisfying ending. How would you end them differently? Once you have an ending, decide how the characters reach that point. In other words, write the story backward, from end to beginning.
 

            My killer ending ends with one word—Oops.
 
Manic Pressed Destiny – Dash has two problems. The first is that he enjoys life—all of it. There simply isn’t enough time to go everywhere and experience everything. That is until the personification of Destiny recruits him for a mission to save the universe. Breath-taking views, beautiful damsels in minor situations of distress, wickedly cool bad guys, and opportunities for daring adventure. Unfortunately, there’s that second problem. Dash is a total klutz.
 

            PROMPT 34 – STARTING LINES
 
            This writing prompt focuses on the opening line of your story. In addition to helping you generate a story idea, it ensures that your novel is off to a great start. Develop an opening line that will grab the reader’s attention. Then build a story based on that line. Ask questions about who this story would be about, how does it lead to conflict, and what would be a cool way to end a story that begins this way?
            I’ve included the opening lines from a couple of my favorite stories. What could you do with these lines as your starting point?
 
When I shoved through the doorway of Morley’s Joy House you’d have thought I was the old dude in black who lugs the sickle.  (Red Iron Nights by Glen Cook.)
 
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. (Frankenstein by Mary Shelly)
 
It was different this time; there was a dry pain in my lungs, and a deep ache in my bones, and a fire in my stomach that made me want to curl into a ball and mew like a kitten. (The Stars Must Wait by Keith Laumer.)
 
It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. (1984 by George Orwell.)
 
It was a dark and stormy night . . . (Paul Clifford by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton)
 
How many times did I have to kill the same man? (Written for this exercise by Randy Lindsay.)
 
 
Dead Men Tell All Lies – For second-rate detective Cash Randall life consisted of tracking down dangerous psychopaths, praying his luck didn’t run out, and drinking hard when he survived the crazy cases he took. All of that changed when he killed Frankie Catalano. Two months later, Frankie was walking around town—alive. He claimed the universe had spat him back out because he was too dangerous to be kept dead.