Tricky and powerful creatures as well as moody sceneries make for a great fantasy story. Magician Axius is potent, old and absent-minded. He wants to put a spell on his best cooking spoon so it should cook his favorite meal, chicken with sweet pepper. But he gets a detail in the spell wrong. The spoon starts to brutally attack all of the chickens in the patio.
Which unlikely places does the spoon go to while Axius is after it? How does Axius make his way through the terrified flock of chickens? And which spells does he use when trying to calm down his good spoon? Lay out the small worries of a big magician. Even he needs to take care of overexcited pets and unruly household goods some time.
They get into an argument who can throw stones further. While they prove their skills to each other, unfortunately a stone hits a giant who is sleeping in the castle ditch. She comes after them furiously. Will she smash their surprised faces to porridge, or can the resilient dwarfs talk her out of it?
Show the simple, but competitive nature of the dwarfs. They feel strong and then suddenly very weak… Describe the frightening power of the giant. Show your readers a world of many wonders that only exist in fantasy. The ogre Grawczak is invited to a talk show about strange creatures. Believing in the best intentions of TV and eager to help make races understand each other better, he accepts.
Will Grawczak just freeze in face of the bright studio lights and endure the process? Will he let them provoke him and look really bad? Or will he just eat the moderator with some spices? Describe how helpless the big ogre feels in face of the media. Contrast it with the sensational malice of the moderator. If you can paint the ogre as a likeable being, your readers will root for him strongly.
If only we understood ogres better, the world would be a more peaceful place! Different races from different galaxies have come together. Snailman is doing really well, too well for Rhonda. She suddenly reaches out behind his ear and pulls out a mindreader chip!
Will the angry players grill Snailman, or will he be able to flee? In , humans have conquered Mars. Automated skytrains run through its red desserts.
One of these is stopped by a technical glitch at rush hour. The doors are stuck. When the passengers hear the voice of the control system robot through the loudspeakers, they realize the full extent of the disaster….
It will open the hydraulic doors for the passengers and allow them to leave, under one condition: They have to chain three programmers in the group to a grabpole in the train and leave them behind. It becomes obvious that the system wants to eliminate the last persons that could still endanger its rule: The most talented programmers….
Will they try a trick and risk it all? Zwooshers look like fluffy, pink, door-high pet giraffes — you just want to cuddle them.
But their looks are deceiving! They are actually plundering, reckless space pirates. In the meeting hall, their captain Haab eye patch, ruffled plush fur, wooden foot, spacemaid tattoo… holds an inflammatory speech to hype up his crew. They are about to take the freight space ship that showed up on their radar.
The ship must carry at least 65 tons of wood shavings, and Haab wants to take them all! The crew is all hyped up and ready to go, when Haab trips over his wooden leg and falls off the stage. It looks pretty pathetic for a heroic leader. Will the crew just take this as a sign that chaos and plundering can now ensue, and storm forward?
Raul Morales was president of Payadua for 12 years. His solution is to get frosted for that period. The show features his frozen body in a transparent casket, lasers, dancers, etc… It should be one huge campaign appearance for the upcoming election. The problem is that she is 19 and he is Henry wants to talk to Leila and finds her on the running track where the inner track travels less distance than the outer track, but they are still running side by side….
They jog next to each other, which painfully exposes their age difference. They say farewell in tears. Henry is unfrozen, but something has gone horribly wrong: Because of a technical failure he has been frozen double time, for 60 years.
Leila is now 79, while he is still She is kept in a large metal box, taken care of by robots who drive her out into the garden once per day. Will they rediscover their love for each other, or will the circumstances have changed them too much? Will the thought of having missed out on all that precious time just kill them? Or will the make the best of it and find happiness? You can download a complete collection of all the prompts on this page on a neat sheet.
Save them for whenever you need them! Enter your email here for your PDF of printable writing prompts:. Joanna has won a vacation weekend in an old castle. Not many guests are there. Wandering the wide halls, she learns about Count Brookhart, the 16 th century owner of the castle.
He is rumored to be roaming these halls as a ghost. At night, Joanna gets up to look for the bathroom. She only hears wind; a book falls from a shelf out of nowhere. And these heads on the old portraits all seem to turn after her…. She looks into a mirror — and freezes. Behind her is the Count, his eyes beseeching her for a kiss. And she would have to kneel to kiss him, because he is carrying his head under his arm, blood-dripping… Does Joanna feel like redeeming the count?
Describe the setting, the emptiness and the uneasy details. Let Joanna wonder what is going on and show her fear. In the end, go for the terrible shock effect! She sits down in a strange chair with split rods, and her hair gets caught. The hag speaks a spell and gestures with her hands, then motions Gina to leave. Outside at the fruit stands, Gina suddenly feels very sick, and it occurs to her what her hair could have been used for… Will she return to demand every single one of her strands back?
Or will she already feel too sick and go for a more extreme solution? Will the old woman be gone or deny everything? Show how awful it is not to know where the horror is coming from. It will make your readers feel it strongly.
When Lucy comes home, she finds her daughter Luna sitting on the floor sobbing, surrounded by broken glass. Luna has just smashed every single mirror in the house. Lucy tries to calm down her hysterical daughter, and is already going through a list of psychiatrists in the back of her head.
In the evening, after cleaning up the house, she is applying make-up to go out for an important business dinner. Suddenly she notices huge black teeth appearing behind her in the little mirror…. Will Lucy shake it off as her imagination running wild? Or will she smash the make-up kit? How will she try to save herself and her daughter? And for how long can you avoid mirrors, which surround us… everywhere. Pretty unsettling, right? Zombie apocalypse has arrived.
Four zombies are robbing a bank. Disadvantages: They are just so damn slow. Or will the guards be quick-witted and find a way to protect themselves and attack? Where is the hunt going? Show how absurd this scenario is. How is it different from an ordinary bank robbery? Think it through, and you will get to a couple of interesting scenarios. Jeff is the bloodhound type of a prosecutor. Since Jeff took on that trial, he has been having the feeling that somebody is following him.
Yesterday at the gas station, today during the break at a restaurant, and now this Mercedes has been behind him for 20 minutes. He makes two daring and illegal maneuvers with his car, but just as he thinks he got rid of the Mercedes, it appears in his rearview mirror.
He parks at a shopping center and disappears into the bathroom. After a while, the Mercedes driver comes in, and Jeff smashes him against the wall and starts to interrogate him.
They want to make sure nothing bad happens to Jeff, because they are afraid Freezelicious wants to get him out of the way. Will Jeff just be pissed and throw the guy out? Or will he be secretly grateful? Has Freezelicious indeed planned an assassination? Let him wonder whether somebody is following him yes, no, yes, no and what they could want. Show his anxiety and uncertainty. She declined, and the next week he asked her again with flowers in his hand.
Today, when she leaves her house, she finds a shocking image: Somebody nailed her cat to the trashcan! In tears, she pulls her lose and buries her in the backyard.
On the bus to work, dreadful thoughts race through her head: How can a human be capable of doing something like this? Did Apple suffer for long? Was it just some cruel and mindless kid? Is she in danger? And did she forget to close the bathroom window…? Can Amanda keep cool? How would it make you feel if your co-worker was a dangerous maniac? Grief, terror, vengefulness, remorse… you can draw from all of these strong emotions.
Herbert wants to call his son Gerd in from playing in the garden. Suddenly, out of the dark, a moldy looking hand grabs his backpack, while his son appears at the end of the corridor. He lets the backpack go and walks towards his son, who suddenly disappears… Will a wild chase between zombie masks ensue?
What is waiting in the dark? Will the kidnappers notice the police, and what will they do then? Uncertainty and mood! Describe the horrible thoughts of a father fighting for his son. Describe the dark, frightening atmosphere of the Zombie House. Here, your worst nightmares come true…. An expedition into the jungle has gone wrong. Desmond is an intrepid, bearded explorer who set out with his team to explore the tropical wild.
But they got caught by aborigines. Then something strange happens: Affectionately, they are asked to put on shoes made of parsley and onion necklaces… Seems like these aborigines are hungry. Jungle-smart Desmond knows their best bet is to make themselves look toxic. Will the wild tribe be disgusted, and what will they decide to do with them?
Or will they just laugh and proceed to produce a tasty casserole? Four women are stranded on a small, rocky island. To their dismay, the boat they came in is leaky. The extreme situation makes their masks come off and exposes the true nature of each one:. Ellen freaks out. She blames Ruth for booking a damaged boat and Mary for forgetting to take walkie-talkies with them, even though she had been in charge of equipment.
Mary tries to bring all of them onto the same page, so they can work together. She holds Ruth in her arms and sings to her. Bethany makes a list of possible actions to take and tries to assign tasks to everyone look for food, try to repair boat, look for material for smoking signal, etc….
Describe the group dynamics. It could be an upward or a downward spiral. Will the women work together and find a way out of this? Or will they become worked up against each other and start to fight? Will a rescuing boat show up once they are at their lowest point and make them all feel shocked about themselves? Tobias and Rafael, two colleagues, are trying to reach the top of a mountain in the Himalayas.
Once they reached the top, it would get dark and cold, and the descent would be very dangerous. At night he is in his tent and hears Rafael asking for help over the walkie-talkie. Will Tobias risk his life for a colleague who has disregarded all safety rules? Or will he just encourage him over radio and pray? Will there be calm conditions the next day? Alfredo is a celebrity cook who loves the good life.
One day, two gentlemen shaped like bull dozers in suits pay him a visit. They quickly surround him and send him friendly reminders to pay with their brass knuckles and baseball bats. But Alfredo is quick and flexible.
He rams a cucumber into their ribs, then quickly jumps over the big counter in the middle of the kitchen.
The weapon of a cook is food… He throws some butter at their feet, so they slide and stumble, and scatters pepper into their eyes. Howling, disorientated and furious, they speed in opposite directions around the block. Alfredo quickly jumps onto the counter, and coming from opposite directions, they crash into each other like colliding trains and stay on the floor unconscious.
Alfredo goes on to cook a celebratory cake. Will the two suddenly wake up and go for Alfredo again? How will he get their heavy bodies out of there? Or is this won already? Mix the threat and pain of the cold-blooded torturers with quick dynamic phrases of action verbs of movement; commas not full stops; graphic descriptions.
Prison break time is the best time of the year: Hector, Axl, and Hans have been digging their way to freedom for months. Tonight, they lift the tiles for the last time, hastily crawling through the narrow tunnel. Stuck in the middle, they hear an alarm going off.
How were they discovered so quickly? When they block the tunnel behind them with earth and debris, it feels like filling their own graves. They hear guards crawling after them while rapidly digging the last tunnel part.
Once out in the forest, they run! They discuss splitting up, but Hans refuses. They hide in trees, but are discovered by police quickly. They jump into a river, hearing police dogs behind them. Flushing down the river, a waterfall comes up. Whaaaam, freefall! Surely no policeman or dog can follow them here, so they feel safe finally! Until they are washed right into the arms of police waiting at the shore… How is that possible? The cops have handcuffs for Hector and Axl, and a towel for Hans, who takes a tracker out of his sock… Will the other two try to strangle him?
What will be his reward, and how could he have the guts to betray his companions? Make it a big surprise and mystery how the cops always know where they are. And give us a taste of what it feels like to be human prey: Use short, quick, hectic sentences to give a sense for the quick pace of the hunt.
On the 9 th floor, nurses Jenny and Linda try to save the babies of the preemie ward. The way downstairs is already blocked by flames, and there is only one way left: Up! They push the babies safely to the other side one by one like on cable cars, until only Linda is left. But she has major fear of heights, and now the babies are safe, her body has time to panic.
The flames come closer. Will Jenny be able to help her out with another trick? Will she find her courage, or will a helicopter rescue her at the last moment? Babies and puppies are your best pawn! Make your reader fear for these helpless little creatures, and fall in love with their brave and quick-thinking helpers. You can heighten that effect by giving the girls very distinctive personalities, and showing their inner struggles. They are no superheroes, they have to earn this!
The middle ages. These are basically thinly veiled guidelines for the people on how to behave. This one is for kids though, and very short to allow for their attention span. The play features Adam, the good kid, clean and in white like an angel; and Roger, the bad kid, looking nasty in rugs and always misbehaving.
Several allegories are also around: Obedience is a thin figure in a long, flowing dress, always looking down. Diligence is a muscular guy with rolled up sleeves and leather apron; Adam tries to be like him, while Roger bites his leg. In the end, Adam is showered with candy toys and even a pet calf, while Roger gets a bloodletting and an ass-whipping. But suddenly the kids in the audience start to cheer and stamp: The calf has lifted its tail and peed all over Adam! Do the kids get their own morality out of that play?
How will the director and authorities turn this around to keep them in line? Will independent thinking or order prevail? Get creative on both ends! Francis is a troubadour all girls have a crush on, kind of the Justin Bieber of the 12 th century. He has been courting charming Amalia night after night under her window. Amalia is enchanted, but soon rumbling is heard in the house: Her father has woken up, and that usually leads to him chasing Francis around the house with a rolling pin.
The rumbling becomes louder while they speak. Will he do damage to her poor suitor? Draw from romances in your own life, because love never changed throughout the centuries. Disrupt that romance with an angry, drowsy man for great effect! Huno, a big, muscular Alemannic slave in heavy chains is next in line. Gaius, a newly rich plebeian, wants to acquire him so he can wear himself out on his construction sites by pulling heavy blocks. Gracelanus, a town clerk, would treat Huno much better and use him as a body guard.
Huno is ordered to demonstrate his power, and he breaks thick logs of wood over his thighs. Gracelanus, on the other hand, remains quiet, only to applaud the demonstrations. When the bid goes to sesterces, these two are the only bidders left. Police Chief Hopper prepares to go to work, rising from a graveyard of empty beer cans and cigarette butts. Steve comes on to Nancy then invites her out to the beach that night.
A bloodied young girl in hospital scrubs is running through a forest. She arrives at a diner and is caught attempting to steal raw fish. He follows the tracks to a shed out back where he presumes Will was taken. Hopper calls for a search party. The young girl at the diner reveals that her name is Eleven.
Secret agents then arrive and kill Benny. Eleven escapes out the back door. Mike, Lucas and Dustin bike around looking for Will while Hopper leads an official search rescue. Barb is captured by the monster. Mike, Lucas and Dustin run into Eleven in the woods. The sky above Camp Hero begins to look stormy, then an electrical blue light strikes. One reason why is because the Stranger Things pilot takes on the huge task of establishing an ensemble cast.
Every pilot should show the transition between one state of being to another. All that matters is that something has to change. Joyce is manic and panicking about the disappearance of her son. Meanwhile Hopper is distant and disinterested.
Through this, The Duffer Brothers create a strong dynamic between the characters, all built on the back of the plot. Stranger Things begins in , a time of social rebellion. It also has a bunch of characters who are kids. In this next excerpt, we see how Mike, Lucas, Will and Dustin go from speaking nerdy DnD vernacular to openly challenging one another with brutal insults fueled by pre-teen hormones.
This scene works exceptionally well at establishing the group character dynamic. Because everything feels authentic, even for adult audiences. We all remember what it felt like to be a kid trying to be cool. She loses the necklace and replaces it.
She spends years paying off the debt, only to learn that the original necklace was a fake. A young girl during the Great Depression lives in poverty. Her parents spend the day working or looking for work. The woman catches her and says nothing. Reflecting, she realizes that she is facing adulthood.
There Will Come Soft Rains. Ray Bradbury imagines what would happen if humans destroy themselves. Does life continue? Will technology ruin us? Will robots cook us breakfast? The poem by Sara Teasdale is included and provides for excellent discussion. What is behind the door? A lady? A tiger? Students do become upset with this story. A young boy has a little brother with an unnamed disability.
Out of pride, the brother teaches his younger sibling to walk. His internal conflict concerning his brother grows, and he leaves the youngster alone in the rain. Upon returning, he finds his brother has died. Set on a desert, the story opens with a man escaping the police.
He visits an old friend who runs a vineyard. The friend provides him with water, food, and shelter. He avoids breaking into his water for hours, but when he ultimately does, his friend actually got his revenge. A poor but loving couple sells their most prized possessions to buy the other a Christmas gift.
0コメント