When I was young

Creating a character isn’t always quick. At least not if you want them to be interesting. To be interesting, they need to have history. Even when other characters don't have a clue about that history, it can play into the story adding uniqueness and even elements of surprise. Remember, a character's reputation is not necessarily who they are. In some cases, it might be the red herring that introduces an unlikely hero.

Today we’ll create an old woman character who is talking with a young woman who reminds her of herself decades before. Here’s what you need to know about the old woman.

• Emma married young.
• Had four children.
• Husband drank too much.
• Worked hard to try and bring money in. Cleaned houses, took in people’s laundry and ironing.

Snapshot from her younger self

Emma's husband, Andrew, shows up at a house she’s cleaning. He smells of whiskey. She’s in the middle of waxing the floor. Her youngest baby is on a blanket on the floor. He demands she come home, says that she’s embarrassing him by cleaning for people. She gives him a firm, “I’ll be home when I’m done here.” He pulls a gun and starts waving it around. She fears for her daughter and pushes past her drunken spouse and rushes down the stairs. He calls her to stop, but she runs across the field toward the road. She’s short and grass of a field is waist deep. Her mind races as she tries to figure out what to do. The gun goes off. She raises her hands and screams. Another gunshot. She trips and falls. The bullet sliced through the fleshy skin between her thumb and forefinger.

Andrew's voice. “My God, I’ve killed her.”

Another gunshot.

She stands and learns she is now a young widow with four children….

Today’s creative writing prompt

This prompt is really an exercise in character development. Emma is with a young woman she can see is struggling. Your writing exercise today is to create the back story of this young woman. A quick way to learn her backstory is to do a character interview. 

What does Emma see/know that has her concerned? Once you know the young woman’s backstory, write a scene of dialog between the two. In it, expose elements of their stories. It doesn't have to be an info dump, make it real. But your goal is to bring out a fact that might shock or surprise most readers.

 

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Add a new element discover a different story

Changing one element can transform a single scene into a whole new story. Today’s prompt is inspired by my interrupted sleep the last couple of nights. Two nights ago, my sleep was interrupted by slashes of red emergency lights swirling through the cracks in the window blinds, followed by a bright white light. I peeked through the blinds to see an ambulance in the neighbor’s driveway. It is the third ambulance visit in two months. I could go on and tell you more, but I’m not telling the story, I’m just including a few of the elements that kept me awake for two hours before finally going back to bed.

The next night, stormy weather blew through with a vengeance. Rain, wind, lightning--and the cat was outside. I hurried to the door. When I opened it, he ran up the stairs, grumbling at me with each step. I wiped him off with the cat towel, gave him a few treats, and headed back to bed. I just about drifted back to sleep when the cat stood at the bedside wanting to go out. Furious gusts of wind rattled the windows. “You’re not going out right now.”

He disagreed. The driving winds and rain were freaking him out.  And so I was not going back to sleep for the moment. Finally, the storm subsided and the cat went out and I went back to bed.

Both of these stories take place at night, when I should have been sleeping. Different life elements entered the scene and changed the story. That’s what today’s writing prompt is going to help you discover.

Change the weather—change the story

For today’s writing prompt, choose an existing scene from your WIP or a stale story you've set aside. If you don’t have one, write up a quick one based on one of these story starters:

• Changing a tire
• Going to the grocery store
• Teaching someone to drive
• Looking for your pet outside

Now, take your scene and rewrite it adding a change in the weather. If it was a summer scene, make it a winter scene. If it had been sunny, make it rainy. You get the idea. What you change is up to you. It doesn't have to be an opposite, just something different.

Element ideas to add:

• Wind: blustery wind, a light breeze, no wind, tornadic wind, calm
• Rain/snow: driving rain, rain showers, a rainbow, lightning, thunder, rain mixed with sleet, blizzard, first snow, dirty snow, melting snow
• Sun/Moon: Partial sunlight/moonlight, noonday sun, clouds with no moon or sun, lighting other than sun or moon (spaceship, comet, vehicle headlights, etc.)

Changing a single element can help you discover something new. It may even add a layer of complexity to your character or plot.  

About Donna Sundblad's Dragonborn

Contact dragonbornbooks @ gmail for a free review copy of Dragonborn.

Photo writing prompt: Graveyard

 

People often ask me where I find ideas for my stories. Really, the world is full of inspiration. We just need to pay attention and actually seek to see it. I can find a story by describing the sky because it leads somewhere. Or I can stand somewhere ordinary and imagine I’m only an inch tall and voila, I'm in an alien world. At times I go out specifically to shop for ideas. I especially like to visit thrift stores, antique shops, and those side-of-the-road junk collectors. You never know what you’ll find. It could lead to historical fiction or a true life vignette.

Shopping for character inspiration

I also enjoy sleuthing for character inspiration by people-watching. You can do this anywhere, but if the weather is nice, I really enjoy sitting on a bench, or the edge of a fountain to watch people from all walks of life go by. They interact, or they stare at their phone without really paying attention to where they are going. Parents with fussy children offer one story while parents with spoiled, demanding children are another. People are everywhere, so we just need to open are eyes. Learn to do it purposefully and jot down little things you notice. (If you use your phone for notes, people will think you're texting.)

Listen for a story idea

Another way to find a story is through listening. Listen to dialog of people near you, grab a line as the first line of your story. 

Or, sit somewhere quiet and listen. What do you hear? Is the wind stirring leaves? Is a barking dog in the distance? Coffee brewing? You can find a story when you zero in on a sound, but to find it, you need to start writing about it.

When I don’t have time or energy to go out for a dose of inspiration, picture prompts offer visuals that help discover something new.

Pumping Your Muse writing prompt

That’s what we’ll do for today's writing prompt. I offer three pictures with similar themes. This prompt reveals that setting plays a big part in a story, but it is not the whole story. I challenge you to find the story in each photo. Then choose your favorite and cultivate it to create a short story.

Photo 1:

 Photo 2:

Photo 3:

If you really want a challenge, tell a quick story about each picture (to yourself or someone else) before you start to write. Then start to put it on paper. You might be surprised by the story you discover.

Photo credits: wallpaperflare, pixabay, piqsels, publicdomainpictures