PROMPT 41 - DREAM MACHINES  

          This prompt requires quite a bit of imagination. The idea is to make a list of imaginary devices and then feature one of them as the centerpiece of your story. For example, a radio that eavesdrops on your neighbors. Here is a list of ideas for the origins of your devices:
 
            - Recently discovered/invented tech.
            - Tech brought back from the future/an alien planet/a different dimension.
            - A magical artifact passed down as a family heirloom.
            - An artifact given as a gift from the gods.
            - A cursed object of power inhabited by an evil spirit.
            - The object mysteriously shows up one day.
 
 
What Will the Neighbors Say? – Who doesn’t love a yard sale? But when Greg and Monica buy a vintage radio from the strange old man living next door, their lives are changed. By simply changing the station Greg and Monica can listen to any conversation taking place in the houses on their block. They discover which of the people in the neighborhood are really their friends, which are snooty pretenders, and which ones are planning to murder someone living on the block.
 

            PROMPT 38 – NAUGHTY TECHNOLOGY
 
            Technology is a wonderful thing—most of the time. Put a sparkling new gadget in a writer’s hands and the results may not be a warm and fuzzy tale describing the enlightened nature of mankind. And if you want the story to engage readers the exact opposite is the more likely result.
            Scientific journals and magazines are a good source of inspiration for this writing prompt. Find a new technology or an updated to an existing technology and think of a way it could be used for evil or misused with disastrous results. It could even be a matter of unforeseen side affects that threaten to bring ruin. Then write a story around it.
            This can also be done with recent social trends, such as car sharing, reverse brain drain, or the development of mega cities as large as some of our smaller states.
 
            For my example, I looked at the trend to apply smart technology to everything.
  
Too Smart – As the man who found a way to link all of the smart technologies together, Howard is known as the Father of the smart world. His plans to enjoy the fruits of his labors are disrupted when his own personal “Smart System” begins to have daddy issues. He must find a way to control his disgruntled child before he is forced to embrace a non-tech lifestyle in a remote region of the world.
 

            PROMPT 37 – VILLAINS FIRST
 
            While it is important to have a well-rounded set of writing skills the truth of the matter is that some elements in a story are more important to its success than others. Strong opening hooks and a killer tagline are pivotal in attracting an audience to your story, but the villain is often the deciding factor in how much they enjoy it once they immerse themselves into your tale.
            Where would Star Wars be without Darth Vader? Or Silence of the Lambs without Hannibal Lecter? This prompt is based on the premise that you can build a story around an interesting villain.
            Start with a concept for your villain. Maybe you already have one in mind that has been sitting in your character diary for years waiting to get out. If not, take a look at stories with strong villains and either alter one of them to fit your story or combine two of them to create someone completely different. Once you have a villain determine what it is they want and throw the hero in the way.
 
 
            For my example, I latched onto the idea of a villain who believes that if he kills the people that he loves they will be with him in the afterlife. So he is motivated out of a fear of being alone and wants to make sure that when he finally dies he will be surrounded by the people who really loved him. I decided to place my villain into a Romance-Horror. (Is that even a category?)
 
Kill the Ones You Love – After years of dating losers, Mary has finally found the perfect man. He is kind, sensitive, and funny. Her life is perfect until she discovers a link between her fiancé and a serial killer who has murdered his four wives, all of his family, and a large number of his in-laws. How can she convince him to call off the wedding without making him mad enough to kill her?

            PROMPT TWENTY-SIX – SKEWED VIEW
 
            This prompt is based on writing a story from a radically different point of view, like that of an insect, or an alien, or even a stuffed animal. Andy Griffith started his comedic career this way when he did “What it was, was football.” The subject matter can be a common, every-day item like a family vacation.
 
            Here are five unique POVs.
 
            Wilson from Castaway
            Moby Dick from Moby Dick   
            The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland
            The portrait in The Picture of Dorian Gray
            The brooms in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
 
            Based on the broom in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice I generated this pitch.
 
Stick Men - Broom marvels when he is brought to life. Before he was nothing but a tool in someone else’s hands, but now he can act on his own and he has purpose. The water has to be moved and he is just the one to do it.
            Then the world goes crazy when the creator attacks him. Or perhaps it isn’t the world that has gone insane – maybe it’s just the creator. A lowly broom may have no chance against the mighty sorcerer, but that isn’t going to prevent him from fulfilling his prime directive. And anything that gets in his way will pay the price.
 
 
            As part of a challenge set by my critique group I used this method to write Red Christmas. It’s a short story about what would happen if Santa was a communist. My wife hated the story and made me write “normal” Christmas stories every year after that for the family celebration.
 
         That's it folks. All twenty-six of my writing prompts. I have seen some amazing story ideas created using these as a starting point for the imagination. Hope it helps.

            PROMPT TWENTY-FIVE – FAIRY BAD
 
            When I was introduced to this prompt fairy-tales were used to generate ideas for new stories, but this works with any kind of story or even news items. Take your favorite fairytale/story and develop a plot from the villain’s point of view. Make the villain the good guy in your story. And you don’t have to keep the setting. Feel free to turn the big bad wolf into insurance salesman in New York City.
 
            Here are five villains.
           
            Marie Antoinette
            Chronos
Nurse Ratched
Nixon
            Cruella De Vil
 
            Based on the Nurse Ratched I generated this pitch.
 
Crazy Like a Fox – With a family to feed Rachel is forced to take a job at the State Mental Hospital. She has just about adjusted to the rigorous demands of the new job when the Justice Department commits a man accused of murder. As the weeks pass by, Rachel uncovers a plot by the criminal to recruit the rest of the inmates into his own private army and declare war on the city. But no one believes her. The criminal vows to target her family first when the inmates escape. Now she has to find a way to stop the criminal mastermind and his crazy army before the killing starts. 
 

            PROMPT TWENTY-FOUR – TOUGH LUCK
 
            This prompt gets personal. Drawing from your own life experiences, take the most difficult decision you ever had to make and then write a fictional story based on that choice. Obviously, this lends itself to serious pieces of fiction, but it could be turned into comedy with a poignant message.
 
            Based on a tough experience in my life I generated this pitch.
 
Separated - John and his son have been a team since the day that Johnny was born. Life blind-sides him when his ex-wife appears one day with a court order giving her temporary custody of Johnny. The one constant in John’s life has been his son’s love and without it he wonders how he can survive the daily grind. Knowing that if he creates a scene it will only cause more trouble for Johnny, he says goodbye. In the days to come he will not only have to find a way to return Johnny home, but also adapt to life without him.
 

        PROMPT TWENTY-THREE – SPORTING CHANCE
 
            This prompt has limited use. The idea is to take two sports and combine then to create a brand new sport. It works well for fantasy and science-fiction when you want to develop a society different from our own. Place the sport you created at the center of the story and develop the society which would play it.
            Keep in mind that sports movies are about more than just the sport. They provide a setting for the people who play and manage the sport, the people watching the sport, and the sponsors. That gives plenty of plot possibilities to explore. 
 
            Here are five sports match-ups.
 
            Football and soccer
            Baseball and dodgeball
            Bowling and track
            Basketball and volleyball
            Swimming and boxing
 
            Based on football and soccer I generated this pitch.
 
Ball - Touted as the ultimate team sport they just call it Ball. Some think of it as a mangled version of volleyball, soccer, and dodge ball. Allen just considers it awesome. He is on the fast track to becoming the first Ball player drafted out of high-school. The big teams are wooing him to sign when he is contacted by a government rep to play for the National team. But when he signs with the Nationals he finds out that it isn’t a game at all. The government is using the sport to influence the minds of the country’s citizens. Now Allen has to choose between playing along and becoming the greatest Ball player of all time or destroying the very game he loves.
 

            PROMPT TWENTY-TWO – FICTIONAL INTERVIEW
 
            Good stories spring forth from strong characters. Select a fictional character or a historic figure and interview him/her. Ask them tough questions. Get to know them. At some point a plot will develop from the questions and the answers in the interview.
 
            Here are five interesting people to interview.
 
            Judas Iscariot
            King Tut
            Mata Hari
            Joan of Arc     
            Vincent van Gogh
           
            Based on an interview with Judas Iscariot I generated this pitch.
 
Haunted Streets – Contrary to what the world believes Judas Iscariot is not dead—he is cursed. The immortal has wandered in search of emotional refuge. Angels taunt him. Devils follow him. Then he stumbles across the only human older than himself and a chance to redeem his mistake.  

            PROMPT TWENTYONE – IF I WERE KING
 
            This is similar to the “What If” prompt but pulls its inspiration from your vision of a perfect world. Of course, we all know there is no such thing as a perfect world and as soon as you created one you’d have to turn right around and tear it down. This still generates scenarios and settings different from reality.
 
            Here are five statements about “If I were king”
 
            If I were king ice cream would be the national treat
            If I were king there would be no career politicians
            If I were king conservatives, liberals, and independents would live separately
            If I were king everyone would have to spend 2 years in government service
            If I were king there would be a limit to the number of times a movie is remade
 
            Based on conservatives, liberals, and independents living separately I generated the following pitch.
 
Romeo Westside – When Romeo is dared by his friends to sneak into the neighboring town and pluck a couple of the mayor’s prized roses he never expected to run into the most beautiful girl in the world. Not only is she a conservative, but she’s the mayor’s daughter too. The two of them work against the system to discover if love can overcome politics.