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.
