Happy Fourth of July to all of my fellow Americans. Here’s a set of prompts to keep your writing momentum rolling.
- The antagonist has outwitted the protagonists by trapping them in a maze. This can be a physical maze or a maze of information with little means to figure out what is true or false, relevant or irrelevant. How do the protagonists escape?
- Write a wholesome, sincere slice of life story. Choose a relatively low-stakes conflict: a sentimental item has gone missing, a lost pet, finding the perfect gift, or a character taking on more work than she can handle. If it helps to approach this prompt as a children’s story and make the main characters children, do so.
- Once a year, the tribes of the far north gather to compete in a series of games and contests. Use this competition and the festival surrounding it as the setting and backdrop for a story.
- A schoolyard bully escalates the torment of her target by stealing the target’s pet. What does the bully threaten to do to the innocent animal? What will the target do to save her pet?
- A grandmother-grandson duo have gained a reputation for their smart amateur detective work. Their current case: the attempted murder of a magician during a recent performance. The magician survived the attack but is in a coma in the hospital. So our detectives need to start their investigation elsewhere.
If you use any of these prompts, please share your story or a link to your story in the comments below.