Tag: Monday Sparks Writing Prompts

We Have Our YA Comic Mystery

Writing a YA book

After four different votes this month, we have our YA comic mystery to inspire you to write a story based on the elements readers voted for. I have my inspiration for the first scene below the photos. You can write a scene or just tell how you think the story could take shape.

We have our protagonist and antagonist.

YA protagonist
YA antagonist

We have our genre, YA comic mystery. And now we have our main setting: an amusement park, which is a wonderful setting for a comedy.

Here’s my inspiration for an opening scene:

The heat and humidity rolled off the ocean wrapping all of us preparing to open the Happy Holiday Amusement Park in a coating thicker than the caramel Mrs. Novak used on the candy apples.

“Here she comes, Eden,” Jaydon muttered, hooking stuffed animals on the wall of the Ring Toss booth.

I plastered on a smile and sped up placing the rings on the counter.

Mrs. Malone, who could have been anywhere from thirty to fifty, marched toward us, iPad in hand, wearing one of her dozen power suits.

She stopped at the booth, towering over me. I wasn’t sure how tall she really was because she always wore heels and her hair piled on top of her head. She swept me, Jaydon, and the booth in one glance of her serious, dark eyes. She pointed a stylus at Jaydon. “You’re working the-the-the–” she scrolled on her tablet. “You’re working at admissions.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “But Mary Jane said she didn’t need me to help her get ready, so I’ve been helping other people.”

Mrs. Malone frowned. “Don’t goof off. Or you’re fired.” Without a word to me, she strode to the next booth.

I watched her as she snapped orders at Kurt at the Shooting Gallery. “Mrs. Malone just doesn’t make sense. She’s not local. She doesn’t seem to like anybody who works at the amusement park. She doesn’t look like she’s ever been amused since she was a toddler. Why would she buy a little, beach amusement park?”

Jaydon shrugged and wiped his forehead with his wrist. “She made an investment.”

“But she could have made an investment in something she liked. The amusement park was pretty cheap for an attraction. That’s what Mom said. But Mrs. Malone still could have invested in something else.” I turned to Jaydon. “And why has she hired the Vincent brothers to help her? I know she’s new to Holiday Beach, but she could have found out quick what those two are like.”

“Good morning, Eden.” Liam Vincent oozed up to the booth, nodding at Jaydon. “Everything all right here?” The skinny, college-age guy, who would never see the inside of a college, gave us his usual sleazy smile, as if he was about to tell you a joke he knew would make you squirm.

*****

Please leave your inspiration in the comments! Find all the YA guest blogs and writing prompts from this month here.

0

Choose a Setting for Our YA Story

Writing YA fiction

Last week, I asked to readers to choose a genre for the protagonist and antagonist they selected earlier. Many people fused different genres, and comic mystery won out. Now we need to choose a setting for our YA story that would be useful in a mystery and a comedy, set during current times.

Here’s our protagonist and antagonist.

Choose a setting for our story from these photos. This should be the main setting, the one in which our protagonist and antagonist can come into contact easily.

Read a previous YA story in which readers have chose the story elements here.

1

Choose a Genre for our YA Story

Elements for YA story

Last week, readers voted for the antagonist in the photo below. Now that we have a protagonist and an antagonist, we need to choose a genre for our YA story. I’m listing only the most general genres. Which genre do you think would best fit with our main characters? Please vote for the one you prefer in the comments. If you want to mash up a couple–like a comic mystery–go right ahead. Can’t wait to see what readers choose!

  • Romance
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
  • Scifi
  • Fantasy
  • Historical fiction–please also mention era
  • Comedy
  • Contemporary drama

Read a previous post in which readers chose the building block for YA stories here.

2

Choose an Antagonist for our YA Story

Characters for YA story

Last week, I asked readers to vote on a main character, or protagonist, for a YA story. I had to break a tie and chose the girl in the photo above. This week I’m asking you to choose an antagonist for our YA story, someone to face off with the girl. Choose from the four photos. And, remember, an antagonist doesn’t have to be a villain–although #4 certainly looks like one. An antagonist is someone stopping the protagonist from reaching his or her goal. So for a YA story, it could be a parent or someone else in authority, who doesn’t support the goal of the main character.

Vote for you pick in the comments. You can see what readers picked as the building block for a previous YA story here.

1

Plot Prompt for Memorial Day

Plot prompt for Memorial Day

Sometimes, a story comes to me just a moment or two after I find a picture. That’s the case with this plot prompt for Memorial Day. Since my prompts always post on Monday, I wanted to tie this month’s theme of plot to Memorial Day. I looked at several photos on Pixabay, but this one quickly ignited a story idea. If it does the same for you, put your inspiration in the comments. Here’s mine:

*****

Although I’d ridden in the Memorial Day Parade with Keith to honor his brother, missing in action in Operation Desert Storm, for more than twenty years now, it never got old. I was older, and the backseat on the Keith’s Harley wasn’t as comfortable as it used to be. But I loved helping him remember Kyle.

I waved at friends as we rolled by the courthouse.

The motorcycle took a sudden jerk, and I clutched at Keith to hang.

Instead of steering back into the slow line for the parade, Keith turned toward an alley. He motioned parade watchers to get out of his way, then pulled into it, and parked.

“What’s wrong?” Taking off my helmet, I couldn’t imagine what had made my husband pull out of the parade.

He climbed off the bike, trembling. I climbed off too and took his hand.

He passed a shaky hand over his white mustache. “I saw him. I just saw Kyle in the crowd.” His deep voice was only a strangled whisper.

“B-b-but that’s–“

“And he hadn’t aged any.” His stunned eyes bored into mine. “He looked like he did when he left for Desert Storm.”

“You must have seen someone who just looks like Kyle.”

“Like his clone?” Keith moved his gaze to the pavement of the alley, shaking his head.

I tightened my grip on his hand, pulling him back toward Main Street. “Show me the guy.”

*****

For more prompts for writing about plots, click here.

0

Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑