PROMPT TWENTY–
TOKENS
This prompt
encourages a strong reliance on symbolism. Pick an item and make it the centerpiece
of the story. Decide what it represents; freedom, rebellion, love. I don’t mean
that you should have a story where the people are questing for a magic amulet.
Take a look at Lord of the Flies. The
conch shell holds metaphorical significance throughout the story.
Even if
readers don’t catch on to exactly what an item represents I find that by using
this sort of prompt I can add an extra layer of depth to the story.
Here are
five random items.
Backpack
Pair of
glasses
Sports car
Thermos
A painted
plate
Based on a
backpack I generated this pitch.
World A-Whirl - When Jack’s parents start fighting over what
to do with him, he decides it’s time to take off and see the world. He fills
his trusty back-pack, convinces a friend of a friend to forge a fake ID for
him, and then hops on a passenger ship for points unknown.
The
unfettered life agrees with Jack’s disposition – until he finds that a strange
laptop has been stashed in his pack. Before he can boot it up and find out who
it belongs to a trio of gun-wielding, sunglass wearing goons come after him.
And just getting the laptop isn’t enough, they want him dead.
Jack jumps
ship when it docks in South America and heads for the
American Embassy there, but is intercepted by hot looking chick that invites
him to have a drink with her. After a flirtatious good-bye, Jack discovers that
his backpack is gone, along with his fake ID. If he wants to get back home
alive, he’ll have to get both of them back and deliver the computer to someone
who can get him out of this jam.
(Just as a note: my initial concept was to use the backpack
as the centerpiece for the story. Once I decide what it represents, I can
develop several scenes around that theme. However, the fake ID and the laptop
also can be used to enrich the depth of the story.)
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