build a life that builds the world.
Some characters make choices he or she would prefer not to talk about, no matter how much he or she is pressed. Write a story in which your character is pressed to justify or apologize for his or her behavior. The level of pressing from the other character is up to you; could be passive-aggressive, … Read more
Pranks can go bad and for your character, today is no exception. Write about a character who attempts to pull a prank on a loved one only to have it backfire in their face. But not just once. Again and again, building one snafu upon another. Stretch the reality of the scene and allow the … Read more
A favorite piece of clothing can invoke tremendous memory. Write a story in which your character comes across a hat, shirt, dress, or other piece of clothing and watch as the associated memories spill into the present. Maybe this was his father’s hat. Perhaps she wore this dress the night she left him. Possibly the … Read more
Running late is one thing, but not being able to get out of the house because one can’t find an important item is something else entirely. Write a scene in which your character is already late and is searching for an important item, one he or she absolutely cannot leave without (or at least, thinks … Read more
There’s no business like show business and your character will do anything to break into it. Write a scene in which your character is in the early stages of dipping his or her toe into Hollywood waters. Perhaps he’s at an audition and can’t stop sweating. Maybe she’s stopped by a casting agent at a … Read more
What if, despite your character’s best efforts, he or she responded to bad news with an outright tantrum? Write a scene in which your character receives bad news and watch what happens as he or she struggles with his or her tantrum tendency. Will it come out? Will it subside? Is he or she even … Read more
Your character is interviewing someone and just when things are getting good, something stops him or her from being able to continue. He has to use the bathroom. She’s run out of ink or paper and there aren’t replacements in the vicinity. A car crashes through the front of the restaurant. You’ll probably find that … Read more
It’s the fifth of forty days of Lent. By the end of your writing today, your character will know in their heart he or she will either make it all the way through Lent with the behavior they are changing intact… or failure is inevitable. He or she will know, period. He wipes the sweat … Read more
Sunrise sheds light, literally and figuratively, on what your character has just done. Let them soak in the situation as they soak in the first sun rays of the morning. How do they feel? Is there regret she stayed up all night waiting for a man who never came back? Is he prepared to face … Read more
While filling a container with water, your character is reminded of an incident from the past which intensifies the emotion he or she is already feeling when they start to get water. What the container is, the reason for getting water, and the method of getting water are all up to you – they may … Read more