This prompt is one in a series of prompts for those participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
As you introduce your characters, describe what they’re wearing. What does their clothing say about their social status? What does it say about their cleanliness? Are they wearing something that’s dry clean only? Or is this the fourth day they’ve worn the same jeans?
Write about two strangers who are sitting next to each other on a bus or a train or in a doctor’s office. They don’t really say anything to each other at first, but then they notice that they have the exact same tattoo on their wrist.
What is the tattoo? Did they get the tattoo at the same tattoo shop in Las Vegas or was one done locally and the other done in Thailand? What does the tattoo mean to each person?
The goal of this Halloween prompt is to write a spooky story about a character who has a moment of déjà vu. When they try to tell others about the experience, no one believes them. How does this affect the relationship between the characters? Does your character feel slighted because his/her story wasn’t believed? Do the people who hear about the experience begin to think that your character is losing their mind?
And, of course, here’s the “Glitch in the Matrix” clip.
The goal of this Halloween prompt is to write a spooky story about a person (or group of people) who go through a series of photos from over a few years and discover that there’s the same person—wearing the same clothing—in the background of all of the pictures.
On a carousel horses race around and around in circles, but they never reach the finish line that they appear to be racing toward.
Write a story about two people who are stuck in that race. They are friends or enemies or frenemies who are constantly competing for something that neither of them could ever acquire.
Do they talk about their competition, or is the competition unspoken? Do they talk to they have friends and family who support them in the competition, or do those people think that the competition is petty and stupid? Over time, does the relationship between the two become friendlier or does it polarize them?
Guy Noir, a private detective and notorious feline-hater, has been hired by a young couple (and their young daughter) to find a siamese cat named Ruby.
Why is the family willing to pay top dollar to hire a private detective to find their cat? Why is the cat named Ruby? And why does Guy hate cats?
In search of Ruby, Guy speaks with a cat breeder, the mother-in-law of the husband, and a cable guy. What does Guy learn from each of those interactions?
When Guy finds Ruby, is it because of great detective work or pure luck? Does he share all of those details with the family when he returns Ruby?
Guy Noir, a private detective, has been hired by a businessman to find a pair of missing cufflinks.
What is it about the cufflinks that makes them so valuable?
Guy goes to a pawn shop, an art dealer, and a barber while in search for the cufflinks. What does he learn (or not learn) from those interactions?
Where does Guy finally find the cufflinks?
Write about a character that’s in love with Guy Noir, a private detective.
Your character first met Guy when he was working a case. Now he’s not working and his money is running out. How does your character help him find his next job?
When Guy is working, he can’t be bothered. How does your character handle going days without hearing from Guy? Does your character begin spying on Guy? What does your character find?
Write about a character who falls in love with a sailor.
How did the two characters meet? Does the sailor want to stay in their job now that the relationship has started or are they looking for a way out? How does the sailor feel about life on the sea? What does the sea offer than the other character can’t? What advice does the other character get from their friends and family? Do they like or look down on the sailor? Is the issue of economic class a problem between the character and the sailor?
Write about a character who falls in love with a superhero.
First, figure out the genders of the characters. A classic female character who falls in love with a male superhero can be easy to think about, but what if it’s a female superhero and a male character? That can change the dynamics.
Next, how did the characters first meet? Under what circumstances are the characters continually meeting? Is the superhero using their superpowers to spy on the other character? Is the other character putting themselves in harms way just for the attention? Or is the non-superhero a villain?
Finally, their relationship must end. Who breaks it off and why?
Write a story about two characters falling in love while being held hostage.
First, who is holding the characters hostage? Are their other hostages? And what is it about those characters that they are being held hostage?
Next, what are the strange ways the courtship has progressed? When they couple was sitting next to each other with burlap sacks over their heads, were they holding hands? Would they write small, cryptic messages to each other between a crack in a shared wall?
Finally, what happens to the hostages? Do they escape together? Does one family pay off a ransom freeing only one of the hostages? (If so, does that character refuse to go?) Do the captors harm or kill one of the hostages?
Write about a person who falls in love with an artist.
What kind of work does the artist do? Is the artist genuine with their work or are they only in it for the fame? Is the artist introverted or extroverted? Is the person in love with the artist introverted or extroverted? Do their personalities work well together or do they cause friction? Does the artist find fulfillment in their work more than in their relationship?
Write about a someone who falls in love with a hypochondriac. How do the “illnesses” constantly test the limits of the relationship? What about the hypochondriac does the other person find attractive? Does the person like helping those in need? Does the person want to stay in the relationship? Why or why not?
Write three (or more) scenes where a character goes out to fill his/her bird house with seed. Each time, a neighbor interrupts. Who is the neighbor? How old is the neighbor? Does your character like this neighbor or are they rivals? Do they share neighborhood gossip or snide remarks?
Through the three scenes, move their relationship forward (or backward), but end the story with a death. It can be your character’s death, the neighbor’s death, another neighbor’s death, or even a bird’s death. It can be sad or funny or anything in between.
Write about a husband who had done something to upset his wife. He claims it was a misunderstanding, but she can’t see that. What has he done? What does he say to make things better when it only makes things worse?
Mid-fight, she tells him that he’s “in the dog house.” He challenges her and says, “What does that even mean?” Suddenly, the couple becomes sidetracked about what “in the dog house” means. The husband is insulted that he is being referred to as a dog. Does the couple even own a dog?
In the end, it’s the husband who is upset with the wife rather than the other way around.
Write about a small group of adults who have met in a child’s treehouse to plot something. Does the treehouse on the property that one of the adults owns or are they trespassing in a neighbor’s treehouse? Did someone get hurt trying to climb into the treehouse? What is the group plotting?
At some point in the story, there is a dispute that can only be settled by rock-paper-scissors.
Does the group end up leaving the treehouse to carry out their plot or do they have to leave before the plans are complete because it’s dinner time?
Write about two characters who meet at a bar for a date, but one character is disproportionately more attractive than the other, and they know it. What drinks do they order? The not-so-attractive character has a reason for why he/she orders a specific drink. What is it? The bartender tries to help out the not-so-attractive character, but it doesn’t help much. The attractive character chugs his/her drink in an effort to end things early, but the not-so-attractive character says something that the attractive character loves and wants to continue talking about. Does the not-so-attractive character continue the conversation and use it to keep the date going? Or does the not-so-attractive character misread the situation, pays for the drinks, and leaves?
At the end, both characters are gone and the bartender cleans up their drinks. What does he say to himself?
Write about two characters that meet up for a date after meeting through an online dating website. Neither character matches the description from their profile, but both characters want to see how the evening goes. What is something outrageous about each character’s outfit? What drinks do they order? One character isn’t willing to disclose information about where they grew up and went to high school for privacy reasons. How does the other character respond?
At the end of the night, the conversation of who should pay arises, and the couple gets into an argument. What is the problem and how does it resolve?
