Today's prompt is a fun one based on distraction. You can say, "he was distracted" in your writing, but don't do that. It's passive and doesn't really create a visual for the reader. It's much more fun to SHOW your character is distracted. In fact, today, we will carry this them out a bit. Kind of like a Rube Goldberg machine...but instead human actions and reactions. Not only do I want you to distract your character once, but let's make a series of at least four distractions that eventually lead them back to what they were originally doing.
For example, if your character is in the middle of cleaning the hamster cage and the phone rings that's one distraction. They knock over a cup of coffee while answering the phone and wipe it up while talking. That's another distraction. They step in some of the coffee on the floor and bend to wipe that up as they hang up the phone and what do they see? The hamster scurrying across the floor. Now that brings them back to what they were doing in the first place or could turn into another series of distractions before the hamster is returned to its cage.
Of course, your story will be more detailed than this...but wasn't that much more fun than saying she was distracted by the phone ringing? Have fun. You may be surprised at the story you get out of this one.
Donna Sundblad
Author of Pumping Your Muse Windwalker, and soon to be released Beyond the Fifth Gate
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