Char's Challenges: Writing Prompts Galore!

[FedoraChar]

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Challenge VII: Pressed for Time

This prompt is brought to you in part by… Suicune’s Fire!

I’ll admit it: I’m a terrible procrastinator. I’ll put everything off until the last minute, and panic when a deadline rears its ugly head. I really struggle, too, when I only have a limited amount of time to get something important done.

How would your characters handle that? What if they only had three minutes to get something done? Get somewhere on time? It could be something drastic, like saving the world, or something inconsequential, like getting to school on time. Better hurry, though! Time’s a wasting!

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Challenge VIII: Gender-swapped

This challenge is pretty self-explanatory. What would your story be like if the guys were gals and the gals were guys? What would they look like? How would they act? What would the other characters think of their behavior? Like with any prompt, you can take a fun or a serious approach, but remember to have fun with it ;)

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Challenge IX: Random Story Generator

Back when I first discovered the writing sensation NaNoWriMo, a fellow author in my area posted a link to a site called Seventh Sanctum, where one can find a number of random generators geared towards helping authors come up with ideas. There’s a name generator, a prompt generator, and so on.

Your challenge is to go on to this site and use any of the generators listed on this page. Some are more serious, others are just plain hilarious. Whatever it is, try to use the first prompt you get. Let’s see what mine is…

“This is a tale about temptation and the war between the sexes. The story is about a prophet. It takes place in a grocery store in a town. The story begins with an alienation, climaxes with destruction, and ends with a funeral.”

Oooooh, exciting~!

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[FedoraChar]

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Challenge X: X-factor

What better way to celebrate reaching the tenth challenge then by celebrating the numeral/letter/symbol X!

What a curious mark we have here. X can represent the number ten, as well as represent the presence of nothing or an unknown factor. X also indicates crosses and cancellations/in-correction and has been used to represent Christ (hence “X-mas”) or kisses. Historically, X was used by the illiterate to sign their name on contracts—and of course, to pin-point a location on treasure maps. The nerd in me wants to tell you all about its use in the video game Kingdom Hearts, but now’s not the time for that ;)

Given all this symbolism with this letter, X occurs in only 0.15% of English words, making it the 3rd least common letter in the language.

So what’s the challenge? Use the letter or the symbol X somewhere in your story. Maybe it’s a mark on a map? A signature on a form? An unknown factor or the mark of annihilation? The ultimate keyblade? Have fun kids, and write responsibly.

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Challenge XI: We are Family

…Must. Resist. Urge. To. Reference. A song. Bah, it’s not working. OH WELLZ.

Family: the fundamental foundation of our lives. Here is where we find some of the strongest bonds of humanity that ultimately shape us into who we are. This is where teaching—the kind that truly matters—begins, from our birth to our fledging. The choices and the life-lessons given to us by our family more often than not influence the kind of person we will be.

For this challenge, explore the familial bonds of your characters (or the lack thereof) and how they have impacted them—for better, or for worse. Sometimes to understand where your character is going, you’ll need to take a step back and see where they’ve come from.

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Challenge XII: False Prophet

This challenge is brought to you in part by Lord Dome Suicune’s Fire!

A lot of fantasy epics revolve around ancient prophecies that are meant to guide or find legendary heroes. I’ve recently finished a book in the Heroes of Olympus series, by Rick Riordan, where prophecies are particularly crucial (but never make any sense, of course). But sometimes you have to wonder… What if the people who believed in it had been deceived?

What if the prophecy was wrong?

Write about a false prophecy, and how it would impact the world you’ve created.

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[FedoraChar]

Challenge XIII: The 13th Anthology

Hey, look! An obscure song/game reference! …Yeah, it’s hardly surprising now, is it?

We have reached our 13th challenge, along with all its superstitious vu-doo. I thought about skipping it, but how would that be helpful? Since the “Embarrassment” and the “Cursed” prompts have already been used, we’re going to do something slightly different. And by different, I mean like Prompt Number X except with a number! :D

Write a story that somehow/somewhere incorporates the number thirteen. That is, if you dare…
(Ex. Friday the 13th, Organization XIII, 13th floor, ect)



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Challenge XIV: Illusions

This challenge brought to you in part by… Song 7!

Nothing is as it seems in this challenge… Maybe I’m telling you to write about an elaborate illusion. Or maybe I’m not. Who knows? Either way, it’d be interesting to see what you could write up for this. Are your characters the illusionist? Are they scheming something devious or crafty? Or are they the ones being deceived?

Extra challenge: Somewhere use the line, “Everything you know is a lie.”

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Challenge XV: Quote me on this #1

Hey, will you look at that! Here’s our first phrase challenge! The name of the game is pretty simple: all you have to do is incorporate a specific line into your story. Everything else surrounding it is entirely up to you. Then again, that’s how this whole thing works, isn’t it?

This challenge’s quote is: “We should never have come here.”

[FedoraChar]

Challenge XVI: Wishes

"When you wish upon a star…"

Why do people think that falling starts, water wells, and oil lamps grant wishes? That’s not the point of the challenge, but still. That’s kind of a weird combination of stuff.

Anyway, the focus of this challenge is on your characters hopes and dreams. What do they wish for? What would happen if that wish came true?

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Challenge XVII: The Interrogation

Your character did something. I don’t know what, but we’re going to get to the bottom of this. One way or another. So strap your character to that chair and shine the spotlight on them. The interrogator can be anyone—friends and foe alike. Make it as serious or silly as you’d like.

I wonder what will break first: their body or their spirit?

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Challenge XVIII: The Experiment

"Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions. Oh, let’s go back to the start..."

What? I’m not resulting to quoting song lyrics because I’m running out of witty things to say! Why would you say that?

Er, let’s cut to the chase: your character was part of an experiment—but what kind? Was it ethical? And what were the results? Were they as expected, or did something… unexpected happen? I’ll be interested in seeing your data.

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Challenge XIX: The Hidden Room

My older sister used to live in this old house that had a lot of nooks and crannies. Though it looked small on the outside, it actually had a lot of space. I swear it just kept going and going and going…

That’s the fun thing about old houses; every once and a while you chance upon a little secret. What if your characters chanced upon such a place? An old mansion riddled with hidden rooms? What if they found a secret passage they had never noticed before in a place they often frequented? Write a story about their discovery, covering all they discover.

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Challenge XX: Let it Go Let it Snow

Winter can be gosh darn awful when it’s nothing but miserably cold and windy. I can’t say I’m overly fond of it, but every once in a while you get that one storm; you know, when it’s calm and peaceful outside and wet, fluffy snowflakes are gently falling from the sky. I can’t help but feel enchanted by those storms, and they almost make winter worth it.

For this challenge, write a story that takes place in a winter wonderland. Do you wanna build a snowman? It doesn’t have to be a snowman.

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Challenge XXI: Worst Fears

This challenge brought to you in part by… Song 7!

I had a roommate once who had a pretty serious fear. What was it? She was deathly afraid of… butterflies. Nope, not even kidding. I remember doing a bug collection that semester for an entomology class, and she was fine with every other thing I caught. But if butterflies were involved, she had nothing to do with it.

Your characters’ fears may not be so silly—or perhaps they are. For this challenge, explore some of their worst fears, and what would happen if they ever had to face those fears.

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Challenge XXII: Undercover

“There is a man who lives a life of danger…”

This is a top secret mission—one only your character or group of characters can undertake. They must uncover the secrets of so-and-so through any means necessary, but it must be discreetly. The world is out to get them, and they have to hide their identity. Choose carefully who they trust, for a pretty face can hide an evil mind.

That is all for the debriefing. This challenge will self-destruct in three… two…

…What do you mean, that’s not in the budget?

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Challenge XXIII: CHAR!

What a coincidence! We have come to challenge 23—which is my current age at the time of writing this. To celebrate this happenstance, you must do as I command you and write a story involving my favorite Pokémon. That’s write! Hehe, see what I did there? Pun-y… What, you don’t like that?

Fine, now you must write a story that involves a Charmander… AND it has to include a pun. BWAHAHAHA!

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Challenge XXIV: The Alternative

This last week I went and watched Maleficent, and while I appreciated how it handled the themes of revenge and redemption, I thought that some of the other content was just… weird. But since I’ve watched it, the gear’s in my mind have been spinning, and I’ve been wondering what could’ve been done to make it better.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book that had an ending you didn’t like? Maybe you did like the ending of something, but you’re curious to know what would have happened if things had been different. For this challenge, pick the ending of a book/fairy tale/movie/show and rewrite it. You could make the villain succeed, or maybe, give them a change of heart. Maybe, the hero became the villain… Feel free to explore and experiment!

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[FedoraChar]

Challenge XXV: Merry Christmas!

Merry writing, authors! We’ve reached the twenty-fifth challenge, and we’re going to celebrate by having Christmas in July—or October. Or whenever the heck you’re reading this. Basically, give your characters a holiday. Explore traditions and character interactions; what do they do this time of year to celebrate hope and joy? Let’s not forget those presents! What would character A give character B? Does character C even believe in Santa Claus anymore? Have fun, and don’t drink too much eggnog!

[FedoraChar]

Challenge XXVI: Explorers of Time

Have you ever heard of a book titled The Hourglass Door? Its series contains interesting concepts on the flow of time, and explores possible consequences of time-travelling and meddling with the past. Is time a river? Will it always flow to its destined course? What if someone could travel against its current? What would they do, and how would it effect the present and the future?

For this prompt, write a story either about a character or group of characters travelling to the past or the future, distant, or otherwise.

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Challenge XXVII: The Climb

I love the great outdoors; being away from society, away from worries, and being surrounded by the beautiful creations of nature. Yet for all its beauty and serenity, the wilderness is not always kind. The mountain, while pretty to look at, is hard to climb, and those who are unprepared may lose themselves in the journey.

What if your characters were suddenly abandoned on the mountainside? What if their journey took them to a seemingly insurmountable peak? How would they survive? Write about their adventure, the good and the bad, and how the struggle would affect them, both emotionally and physically.

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Challenge XXVIII: Treasure Hunters

Brought to you by… Suicune’s Fire!

“This is it… the object I’ve spent my life searching for!”

Get out your whips and your hats, because for this prompt we’re going for some Indiana Jones action! We’re going to plunge into forgotten temples and bug-infested jungles in search of some treasure. Just be on the lookout for those snakes!

Alright, so the jungles and temples are optional, but the object of this challenge is in the quote I used above. A character has been searching for something their entire life, and finally, they get their hands on it! But what if things aren’t as they seem? What if it’s a trap? Or what if the ‘treasure’ isn’t as great as they thought it was? What did they have to lose along the way?