Tag: Writing prompts

Use This Scene as a Plot Point

Use this scene as a plot point

My last prompt for plots this month is this cute photo. How you could use this scene as a plot point? It seems too innocent to add any tension or conflict to a story. But that’s the challenge. Here’s my inspiration:

I should have taken that job at the beach concession stand. Waiting on sweaty, hungry tourists had to be easier that keeping track of my little brother all summer.

The early morning sun wasn’t searing yet, and the breeze was still cool off the water as I scanned the docks for Noah.

There. At the end of the dock. I should have known he was with that little girl from the rented condo down the road. He was usually with her when I couldn’t find him.

I opened my mouth to call his name, when a big guy, tall and muscular, pounded down the empty road by the docks. “What are you doing out here?”

The little girl leaped to her feet. Then she jumped in the water.

For prompts dealing with plot, click here.

Let me know how this photo inspires you in the comments!

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Where Would You Place This Scene in a Plot?

where would you place this scene in a story

So much of writing advice that deals with plot is focused on some kind of action–confrontations, betrayals, suspense, etc. I chose this photo because it’s quiet. Where would you place this scene in a plot?

I think it could anywhere except the beginning. The beginning should always have some kind of action to hook the reader. You could use it to start a story if a rock comes through the window or gloved hands pop out of the darkness on the first page.

But I think this scene would work better in the middle, when the main character has to think over things he’s learned during the course of the story. Or it maybe this character’s mirror moment. This is a scene in the middle of a story described by James Scott Bell in his book, Write Your Novel from the Middle, which I review here.

Or maybe this scene is the wrap up after the climax. The character is coming to some kind of conclusion from what he experienced in the story.

Now it’s your turn. Where would you place this scene in a plot?

For more prompts for writing plots, click here.

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Setting Story Starter

setting story starter

Welcome to 2022, and the new theme for my blog, beginnings. This month, I’ll focus on all sorts of beginnings related to writing. And my prompts will help you kickstart a story. The first one is a setting story starter. Without thinking too much, what are the first words that leap to mind?

Here’s my list:

  • Old
  • Abandoned
  • Ancient
  • Creepy
  • Dracula
  • Decrepit
  • Mysterious–could hold a hundred secrets

Here’s how I would start a story with it:

Tucking my thumbs under the straps of my backpack, I peered at the crumbling stone buildings through a fine mist and believed every tall tale and legend I’d heard or read about the abandoned Krimm estate. Up here on the ridgeline, all sort of horrible deeds could be committed, and who would know about it?

I tightened my jaw and stepped onto the first crumbling step that scaled the steep slope. Even if the place was packed to the rafters with ghosts, vampires, and werewolves, I couldn’t turn back. Mace had said he was heading this way. If I was going to find out what happened to him, I had to get up there.

Place your list or the opening paragraphs of your inspiration in the comments below.

Click here for more setting story starters.

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Monday Sparks — Writing Prompts: What’s the Plot?

alonew-1867464_1280In August, I will focus on plot in our writing. And my prompts will borrow from an activity we did at an ACFW chapter meeting. We each brought a food for lunch. The writing exercise after lunch was to work a randomly selected food and genre into a story. I had to write a thriller with a casserole being a major plot point.

So for the sparks this month, I’ll provide a photo and a genre, and you can provide the first few lines. Use the photo above in a thriller. Here’s my opening lines:

“As I hid the thumb drive in the hollow heel of my boot, I caught a flash of movement in the tail of my eye. Jerking out my gun, I crouched below the window and peered out.

A toddler? Yes, a toddler was tromping through the weeds in the backyard of the empty house.

I scanned the surrounding woods. No one else in sight. What was a toddler doing out here?”

Now it’s your turn? What’s the plot?

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Monday Sparks — Writing Prompts: Writing Must-Haves

coffee1-2319123_1280Or maybe just “really wants”. Do you have to listen to a certain style of music when writing a certain genre? Do you need a cup of coffee handy at all times?

When I was younger, I had to have black ink pens and college rule notebook paper kept in a three-ring binder. I still prefer writing that way, but if a writing opportunity arises, and I’ve forgotten my binder, I’ll write on anything.

What are your writing must-haves?

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