For this month’s last prompt about setting, I chose a picture with no characters in it. I’d like you to let it spark your creativity and people it with characters you like.
So who will you create for this setting? Maybe you need to select a genre first. The setting could work with just about any of them. Newly engaged woman in 1880’s New York City is waiting for her fiancé. A father who runs a bed-and-breakfast in an old Victorian house receives devastating news. The domed flower arrangement is actually a powerful weapon, and a curious child enters the room.
I usually start with characters. My first thought was an old woman. The home has been in her family for over one hundred years, and she decorates it in antiques. She is the wealthiest person in her small town.
Since I love mysteries, I’ve decided that the old woman is sitting in this room when the chief of police and another officer stop by. They’ve been investigating a series of murders, and the chief believes the old woman knows more than she’s telling. Fully aware that this interview may cost him his job, the chief walks into the room.
Who will you create for this setting? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Wow, you have a great idea going!
The table on the right side of the photo reminds me of the type of table with a guest book at a funeral home, so maybe the antiquated room is the entryway in a funeral home and while the mourners are inside for the “viewing of the body” (that phrase gives me the willies), something mysterious happens in this room.
While the attendant lady refills a pitcher of water for the family, a late arrival rushes into the room just in time to see the respected town coroner and the newly widowed lady exchange an envelope. As the widow jams the envelope in her pocket, the returning funeral home attendant does a double take at the scene before her. The coroner high tails it out, and the widow hurriedly excuses herself to the restroom. The attendant and the late arrival lock gazes for a moment before instinctively agreeing to follow the coroner and the widow.
I love it! That beginning has a great hook!