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Friday Five

Write a piece that contains the following five elements:

a sandwich

the sound of rain

the colour grey

plastic

regret

Try to incorporate all five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste & smell) in your piece. Use the five elements listed above in any way you like.

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Character Question of the Day #67

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

How would other characters describe this character?

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Three Elements Thursday

The five basic elements of a story are character, setting, plot, conflict and theme. Without these five elements, a story will not be complete and may not even work at all.

This feature will focus on the first three elements. Character, setting and plot will be provided, and the conflict and theme will be up to you!

The goal of this feature is to help you create new storylines or to expand on ideas you may already have. This will work best for short pieces, but it can be used as a jumping-off point for any kind of story, artwork or other creative work.

The prompts for the elements will be broad enough that you should be able to adapt them to your own characters and ideas easily.

Character does not have to be the protagonist or main character

Setting does not need to be the setting for the entire story

Plot may be one of many plot elements.

_____

This week's elements are:

Character - this person is older, but imaginative and open-minded

Setting - a housing community for elders

Plot - a reunion takes place

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Character Question of the Day #66

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

How would your character describe themself?

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Wednesday Who’s Who

​Answer these questions on your own, or reblog this and invite your followers to ask you about your original characters!

Which character is always on time?

Which character is habitually late?

Which character is anxious about being late and always arrives way too early?

Which character is a clock watcher and wants to leave as soon as possible?

Which character doesn't mind staying late?

Which character has poor time management?

Which character is obsessed with schedules?

Which character gets annoyed when others are late?

Which character always wears a watch?

Which character ignores their alarm?

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Character Question of the Day #65

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

What is your character's way of showing affection?

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Tuesday Two Characters

For this prompt, A and B do not have to be in any kind of relationship, but they should at least be acquainted.

A has decided to adopt a pet! B has opinions about it.

What happens?

Here are some things to consider:

What kind of pet does A want to adopt?

What are B's opinions and feelings about A adopting a pet?

Why does B feel this way?

Are B's feelings justified?

Are B's opinions and feelings based on the kind of pet A wants to adopt, or are they based on the situation in general?

Has A had a pet before?

If so, how did that go?

If not, how has A prepared themself to be a pet guardian (if at all)?

Does A end up adopting their desired pet or not?

If so, how does it go?

Does B change their mind about A being a pet guardian? Does A change their mind about it after adopting the pet?

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Character Question of the Day #64

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

How competitive is your character?

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Monday Monologue

Choose one of your characters and have them tell a story in their own words.  Try to get inside your character’s head and write in first person point of view.  For an added challenge, pick a character whose perspective you don’t normally write from.  

* Your story does not have to be a monologue. You can include other characters and as much or as little dialogue as you like.

This week’s prompt is: I couldn't stop looking at the clock.

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Character Question of the Day #63

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

Who or what can make your character laugh out loud?

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It’s great to see people using these prompts! This was a lovely piece, and I like the way you combined multiple prompts for it.

Found the blog @powered-by-imagination today, great resource for writing prompts!! I wrote a little something (799 words) by mixing together three different prompts. This was a really fun exercice, I missed doing this! I don't think it's one of my best works, but I enjoyed writing it AND considering I haven't written regularly in years, any word is a good word. :') Here is what I wrote:

I did not realize how much it would change me, dating Kohjirö.

I wasn't scared of him getting bored and leaving. I didn't fear his annoyance. I hadn't felt so safe in a relationship in what felt like forever. He did not lie: he showed me I could be easy to love. I was easy to love. And yet.

As my boyfriend was spreading sunscreen on my back, unease crawled along my spine while the sweet scent filled up my nose. My skin was gooey and gross, the soft wind failing at drying it, but that was not my issue. A conversation we had earlier kept circling through my mind.

That annoying fly of a thought could be summarized in a single sentence: “I wanna go back to my family.”

My head fell back as I closed my eyes.

“Ah, careful! Your hair's gonna be full of sunscreen.” Kohjirö stopped his motions, to gently move my hair away from my back and on the front side of my shoulders instead. I shook my head weakly.

“Don't care.”

My eyes were still closed.

“Love… Is there something wrong?” Slight worry was audible in his voice. He caressed my arms, his long nails leaving pink trails after them.

Under the parasol, by the sea and with that breeze, the weather was ideal. The moment couldn't have been better. And yet.

Guess it was time to have a difficult conversation. At least, there weren't too many people around. I knew myself, and I could do without causing a scene.

I put my head back up, and took a difficult sip of lemonade. Bubbles fizzled on my tongue, the sour taste of lemon giving me courage. Once the bottle was back in the cooler, I finally spoke:

“Are you… are you really gonna go back to Kalinka?”

“Oh, so that's what's been bothering you.” He marked a pause. I was glad he couldn't see my face. “Well… I thought about it a lot, and yes.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, and my fists grabbed a handful of sand along with the beach towel we were sitting on.

“Please don't go.”

“Huh?” Clearly taken aback, the silence told me he was choosing his words carefully. “Love… I'm sorry, but my decision is already taken. I want to go.”

“Kohjirö…” I put on my sunglasses, their mirror lenses hiding my dangerously watering eyes. Then I turned around, finally facing him. “I just… I don't know how I'll live without you. Everything has been so much better since we started dating… I'm terrified of going back to how things were before.”

A gentle smile grew on his face. He softly stroked my cheek with the knuckle of his index finger.

“You won't. You really changed, you know? You learned how to say no to people. You learned to ask for more than the bare minimum. I think that now, it’s time you learn how to live on your own. You're more than your partners.”

“But—”

“I know you can do it.”

“But I don't want to! I… I wanted to spend more time with you!”

He laughed quietly, his teeth as sharp as ever.

“Don't be greedy now. We've known each other for almost ten years. You'll live.”

I pouted. He continued:

“I really miss my parents. You simply can't imagine how it feels, to be separated from them for decades, and to know that if you try to come back you might, no, you will get killed. Please, love. I need to spend time with them.”

I nodded. Insisting would be selfish.

“Will you…” I looked down at the towel. “Will you miss me?”

He smiled, before taking my glasses off. I tried to turn my head away, but he stopped me, long hands grabbing my face and forcing me to face him. Then, softly, slowly, he dropped three kisses on my face.

One on my forehead.

One on my nose.

One on my lips.

Once he was done, he planted his eyes in mine.

“Of course I will miss you. You're one of my closest friends, now partner, and one of the kindest, most gentle men I know. Of course I will miss you.”

I closed my eyes once more, holding back tears. My throat was tight. Was I as strong as he said I was? Would I actually survive without him?

“When will you come back?” I eventually asked.

“I don't know. Maybe in a few months, maybe in a few years. But you'll see me again. There are too many people I love here.”

I dropped my face against his chest. Over the sound of chatting people and crashing waves, I couldn't hear his heartbeats. We remained wordless for a moment, until I broke the heavy silence.

“I will miss you too.”

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Sunday Sparks

Sparks of inspiration can come from anywhere.  I am constantly viewing the world through a storyteller’s eyes, and my ideas are inspired by everything from the most commonplace situations of daily life to the most unexpected occurrences.  

This blog’s Sunday feature is Sunday Sparks, a series of prompts to help get you thinking in new directions about your characters and their lives and interactions.  These prompts will be broad and non-specific on purpose, The challenge will be to use your creativity in interpreting them and to craft a story or a scene inspired by them. 

This week’s prompt is: a character begs another character not to leave

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Character Question of the Day #62

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

What quality does your character most value in others?

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"Someone Says" Saturday

This week's dialogue-based prompt is:

"I haven't been okay for a very long time."

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Character Question of the Day #61

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

When was the last time your character cried? What was the reason?

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Friday Five

Write a piece that contains the following five elements:

sunscreen

anxiety

lemonade

a lover

the number three

Try to incorporate all five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste & smell) in your piece. Use the five elements listed above in any way you like.

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Character Question of the Day #60

You can answer the question for your character(s) or write a piece that incorporates the question.

Does your character have a disability? More than one? What kind of disability is your character living with?