Writing Prompt #41

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.

 

Writing Prompt #40

    PROMPT 40 – SAY AGAIN

            Take a common phrase and imagine someone saying it to you during a conversation. Then work through a list of uncommon responses until you find one that really ignites your imagination. Develop a story based on that response.

            For example: the phrase, “Go to blazes/Hades.”

Imagine what kind of story you could write if the response was, “Nope. I can’t go there. Satan still has a restraining order on me.”

            Or for the phrase, “Would you like a hand?”

The response might be, “Sure, but where would I put it?”


            Here are a few phrases I found especially ripe for story-mining:

            - The best of two worlds.
            - Add insult to injury.
            - A blessing in disguise.
            - Costs an arm and a leg.
            - You’re playing the Devil’s Advocate.
            - Every cloud has a silver lining.
            - You let the cat out of the bag.
            - Steal someone’s thunder.