Let’s welcome again Laurel Osterkamp as she shares with us “9 Writing Prompts to Gasoline Your Creativity.” Get pleasure from!
***
Every time I’m instructing younger fiction writers, I all the time search for new methods to spark creativity. Nevertheless, there are additionally some tried and true strategies that I discover useful, and never only for school-age college students.
If I ever want a brief story concept, or if I’m at an deadlock plot sensible with a WIP, these prompts will help.
They are saying there are solely NINE unique tales, and every part else is a variation on a theme. The identical could also be true for writing prompts.
Listed here are NINE prompts to get these artistic juices flowing.
1. The Mysterious Object
Think about discovering a mysterious object. It could possibly be something — an odd artifact, a mysterious field, or perhaps a futuristic system. Write concerning the discovery of this object and its implications.
Is it a supply of nice energy or hazard?
Is it a portal to a different world?
The chances are limitless.
Instance: Sarah was strolling within the woods and seen an odd glowing orb. After touching it, she’s all of the sudden transported to a parallel universe the place she is revered and given numerous energy. However then she realizes that this orb might destroy every part she holds pricey.
2. The Dilemma
On this immediate, your essential character faces a tough resolution that can impression their life.
It could possibly be an ethical dilemma, or a alternative between two conflicting needs.
Discover the implications of their alternative and the way it impacts not solely their life however the lives of these round them.
Instance: Tanya desires of turning into a profitable lawyer, however her household wants her to take over their struggling enterprise. She should select between her desires or her household’s legacy. Will she observe her coronary heart or her obligation?
3. The Unlikely Hero
We’re all conversant in the basic hero archetype — sturdy, courageous, and fearless.
However what about an unlikely hero? An strange, unassuming one who rises to the event when confronted with a fantastic problem.
Write a narrative a few character who surprises themselves and people round them by stepping up and turning into a hero in an sudden means.
Instance: Bree had all the time been shy and introverted, however when her feminine work colleagues are harassed by males in positions of energy, she places herself on the road and speaks out. By doing so, she discovers not solely her energy, however the energy of feminine friendship.
4. The Time Traveler
Time journey is a well-liked theme in fiction due to its a number of potentialities for storytelling.
Your immediate is to write down a narrative a few time traveler who journeys to a big occasion in historical past.
How do they operate on this new time and place?
What impression have they got on the course of historical past?
And what classes do they be taught alongside the best way?
Instance: Clara travels again in time to the 1901 World’s Truthful in Buffalo, New York. She saves President William McKinley from being assassinated. Nevertheless, after she realizes the consequences of her heroism, she should determine— Is the world higher off?
5. The Magical Realism Twist
Magical realism blends supernatural components with on a regular basis life.
This immediate challenges you to include magical components into an in any other case reasonable story.
It could possibly be a personality with particular powers, a mysterious object, or an unexplained occasion.
How does this magical aspect have an effect on the characters and the world round them?
Instance: In a small city, a younger woman can deliver inanimate objects to life. At first, she makes use of this energy for enjoyable, however when she by chance hurts individuals, she should be taught to regulate her present earlier than it’s too late.
6. The Reimagined Fairy Story
Fairy tales have been instructed and retold for generations, however what if we put a contemporary, sudden twist on them?
Select a well known fairy story and reimagine it in a very completely different setting or time interval. The objective is to create a novel story that’s each acquainted and new on the similar time.
Instance: As an alternative of a princess in a fortress, Cinderella is a struggling artist in New York Metropolis. As an alternative of a glass slipper, she loses her telephone at a gallery opening, and it’s as much as the prince to trace her down utilizing the one clue – a selfie they took collectively.
7. The Forbidden Love
Love is a common theme in fiction, however what about forbidden love?
Write a narrative about two characters who shouldn’t be collectively — whether or not it’s due to societal norms, their households, or perhaps a supernatural pressure.
How will they overcome the challenges and dangers they face?
What sacrifices should they make for his or her love?
Instance: In a dystopian society, love is strictly forbidden and punishable by demise. When two younger rebels fall in love, they have to preserve their relationship a secret, figuring out that one mistake might value them their lives.
8. The Street Journey
Street journeys are a good way to discover new locations and have sudden adventures.
On this immediate, your characters embark on a street journey that takes an sudden flip.
It could possibly be a flawed flip that leads them to a hidden gem, a automobile breakdown that forces them to depend on strangers, or a detour that modifications the course of their journey.
Instance: Two estranged siblings set out on a cross-country street journey, however their GPS malfunctions and so they completely lose their means. Trying to find a means again, they come across a mysterious group of individuals residing off the grid. Will this expertise assist the siblings restore their relationship?
9. The Id Swap
What in case your characters awakened sooner or later in another person’s physique?
This immediate challenges you to write down a narrative about two characters who swap our bodies and should navigate one another’s lives.
How do they adapt to their new identities?
And may they discover a option to swap again earlier than it’s too late?
Instance: Two strangers, a high-powered CEO and a struggling artist, get up in one another’s our bodies. As they attempt to navigate their new lives, they understand they’ve extra in widespread than they initially thought.
Writing prompts are a good way to interrupt out of a artistic droop.
Whether or not you select to make use of these prompts as a place to begin or allow them to lead you in a very completely different route, they’re certain that will help you provide you with recent story concepts and compelling characters.
So the following time you end up caught, give one among these prompts a attempt to see the place it takes you.
***
Concerning the Writer
Laurel Osterkamp is from Minneapolis, the place she teaches and writes prefer it’s going out of fashion. Her brief fiction has been featured in Abandon Journal, Idle Ink, Tangled Locks Literary Journal, Shiny Flash Literary Journal, and The Metawoker, amongst different locations. Her novel Favourite Daughters was launched final yr by Black Rose Writing, and her new novel, Stunning Little Furies, might be launched in December.
Social Media:
Web site – https://laurellit.com
Fb – https://www.fb.com/authorlaurelosterkamp
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/laurel-osterkamp
Instagram: Laurel Osterkamp (@laurel_osterkamp) • Instagram images and movies