Day 202 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Share some items on your character’s bucket list.
Shannon:
Erin: Scuba dive
Sew a full outfit
Dye my hair a crazy color
Go on a road trip with my best friends
Climb a mountain
Help us understand your character’s dreams better.
Day 201 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write a chase scene.
Erin: When my ex was on my tail to talk out our issues I reacted like any self-respecting adult would. I ran. This typically worked for me, but we were equal parts crazy as a couple as we were now. I started by running downtown and weaving through the crowed. I jutted down a side street when I thought I had lost him. I didn’t. I sprinted into the small forest trail which led to the river and in a moment of desperation I jumped in.
“Babe what are you doing this is crazy,” he followed me swimming to the other end by walking on the bridge.
“What am I doing?” I started treading and yelled up. “What were you doing? You’re the one who hurt me, you’re the one who made me crazy.”
“I’m sorry,” he yelled.
“I don’t care leave me to my swim,” I pointed him in the other direction. “Go ruin your other girls lives.”
Shannon: “Take it, I’ll distract them” Mark handed me drawstring bag and I immediately draped it over my shoulders. “Run, go,” he demanded with an aggressive shove as he ran in the other direction with the fake bag.
I weaved through the crowd, taking a look back to see if anyone was following. I caught a guy barreling through people with his eyes locked on me. I guess Mark’s plan wasn’t working as well as promised. I needed my next escape route.
I headed for the museum hoping to erase some tracks with a game of hide and seek before I’d have an easy escape out the back door.
Why is one of your character after another one?
Day 200 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Start this story with three horses.
Shannon: “Three horses stand before you. Each will determine your next destination, as well as your future. Please choose wisely,” the women gestured for me to step into the pen.
I examined each one, all of them beautiful in different ways. One was white, another black, and the last one was a mix of black and white spots. I considered the common expression, “not everything is black and white”. However, I didn’t know if that was the lesson here. Maybe it was about making a clear choice, because you can’t always have both.
Which one did I want? After some thought I realized I’d be happy with any of them, and from what I was observing none of them stood out as any more capable of leading to something great. What really mattered was which horse wanted me.
After some more review, my choice revealed himself. I picked the black one.
Erin: “Pick your partner,” my friend sneered.
“It’s not fair you know which one in fastest,” I argued.
“A poor carpenter blames their tools,” she chuckled.
“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. She went to grab her riding gear. “Which one of you is going to help me out here?” I scanned the three horses as I whispered. One turned her head away. She was out. The second one kicked his back leg which scared me. I looked deep into shadows eyes. She seemed like a winner. “She’s my girl,” the fear in my friend’s eyes proved I had picked correctly.
Three horses to start, how are you going to finish.
Day 199 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write the beginning of a new princess story.
Erin: Everyone thinks being a princess is ball gowns and tiaras. Part of it is. That is until my mother, the queen, was given one year to live. Now my life is constantly stressing about how I will step up for our people.
Shannon: Once upon a time in a city you’ll never find on a map, there lived a group of people who were blessed with two gifts. They could fly with the wings on their backs, and turn invisible on the spot. Though they are rarely ever caught by the human eye, they do venture out from time to time, and sometimes get mistaken for angels. That was all they’d be known for until a young woman name Cora broke the divide.
Try to write your own version of a story that has been written plenty of times.
Day 198 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: A masked stranger hands your character an unusual object.
Shannon: I looked down at the stuffed animal in my hands. It was the same one I had when I was a kid, or…was it possible…could it actually be my stuffed animal? The dog was missing the same patches of fur on its back, and it had the same stains on its feet.
Before I could ask, the stranger was gone. Why did he want me to have it? There had to be a reason why he ran up to me with such urgency. I flipped the pup over and caught glimpse of some thread dangling from its belly. That was new. I considered ripping it open, but even after all these years I still had a sentimental attachment to my old friend. I’d have to wait until I was home to figure out what was hidden inside.
Erin: “What is that,” my friend asked pulling at the charm of my necklace. Normally it was hidden in my shirt, but it had slipped out.
“I don’t know,” I took it from her hands back into my own. “Some man gave it to me on the peer one year.”
“Who,” she continued to pry.
“I don’t know he was in an outfit that hooded his face out of my view,” I remembered the strange words he said as he gave it to me, but kept them to myself.
“What’s in the locket?”
“The what,” I asked looking down and realizing the little clasp on the side of the oval for the first time.
“You haven’t opened it,” she gasped trying to take control of doing it herself.
“Wait,” I held the locket in my fist. I had worn the piece for three years and was not sure I was ready to realize what I had traveled with so close to my heart.
What is your character going give your other character?
Day 197 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about a character’s friends.
Erin: Many wondered why I was friends with Lax. I’m not going to pretend that they were completely off base. She could be a lot to handle. Honesty was her biggest strength, excessive honesty in most cases. The thing was she honestly loved me and criticisms rarely fell on me. But when they needed to they did. She made sure my pants looked good, and told me when I was being taken advantage of. She was my hard shell and without her I was a vulnerable pile of organs. We were better together and what others thought of me because of my choice seemed irrelevant to me.
Shannon: I’d known Emma since we were little kids. We had a dance class together and since we both had trouble learning the moves, we always ended up standing next to each other behind the better dancers. What she lacked in rhythm she made up for in humor. She could always make me laugh back then, and she’d only gotten funnier as she got older. Nothing was ever dull as long as she was around. I’d always admired how she saw the world as if she already knew everyone, getting strangers opinions on almost anything and starting conversations with them without a reason or an introduction. I wished everyone was more like her, but I suppose I should count my blessings having her as a best friend.
I met Mia through Emma when were high school. We had the same lunch period, and we meshed as a group almost instantly. She was known for her planning. Whether that was planning for her future or what we were going to do that weekend, she was always on top of it. She wanted to be a part of the excitement, and we were right there beside her, or at least we’d hear about it later.
Introduce your character’s partner in crime.
Day 196 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about a character’s role model.
Shannon: I had a teacher who always managed to see the good in people. She’d work with lost causes like me, and teach us that we were good for something where our minds could excel. Before Mrs. Davis took me and a few other students under her wing in a new after school program, I hated going to school. It was like a video game where I kept losing all my lives at every turn and I never improved. The game was pointless and it didn’t make me feel any closer to the finish line.
I guess the reason why she wanted to help us in the first place was because she felt the same way when she was younger. She felt stuck, and she explained to us how she dug herself out. She started the program because she didn’t want us to be alone in our journeys. For the first time in our lives someone believed in us, and it’s amazing how having someone cheering you on can make you feel unstoppable. When I’m older I want to same thing for other people, and because what I’ve learned from Mrs. Davis I know one day I will.
Erin: A little part of me hated going out with Raven. She painted her make-up on her face like the artist she was. Her cheekbones were contoured razor sharp. Her lips stained a supple red. Her winged liner looked printed on, her false lashes looked real if you didn’t know perfection was impossible, and her shadow drew all attention to her crystal blue eyes. The worst part of it all was that her unbelievable beauty lasted all night perfectly. One day I would finally properly learn from her and my face could be art too.
What character inspires your character?
Day 195 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about a character watching an opportunity pass them by.
Erin: “We’re going to have a great spring break,” my best friend insisted.
“Yeah,” I agreed with the excitement of a kid getting driven to the dentist.
“We live right on a beautiful beach,” she reminded as we looked out to the sun setting over the ocean.
She was right. We were lucky. I just really wanted to go to abroad and study my language. It was the only way I was going to become as fluent as I needed to be to be a successful translator. I knew I would only be able to afford one trip though and I was putting that off till senior year. “Nowhere I would rather be,” I lied and the last light of the sun disappeared to the side of the world I was wishing to be.
Shannon: Stop freaking out. Stop freaking out, my mind was screaming at me as I hyperventilated in the bathroom stall. You didn’t wait in line for seven hours to go home without at least getting the judges’ opinions. Why was I panicking again, it was irrational? If they said “no” it didn’t mean I had to give up on my dream, it just meant it wasn’t the right time, or role, or whatever. I need to turn in my card before they skipped me, so I had to leave bathroom. Sometimes I had to think of it one step at a time to make myself move.
I barely managed the willpower to push the door, and once I was out I had to review the next step. Walk. I went up to the booth and handed over my card without a word.
The lady looked up sympathetically shaking her head, “I’m sorry, but we called your number and…”
“It’s fine,” I cut her off, snatching the piece of paper back, and headed for the exit. I had been in this position many times before, so I knew the drill, but I hated myself for always getting in my own way.
What chance is slipping out of your character’s hands?
Day 194 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about camping.
Shannon: I’m going to smell like campfire all day tomorrow, but boy did the warmth feel great right now. I’ve always wondered how a fire can bring any mix of people together as one group, as if they’d all spent a majority of their lives together. Is it primitive, something pass down to us from our ancestors long ago? Maybe it’s survival. We’re all drawn to what we need in order to live, and since we’ve found it, we’re most open to the company. Either way, sitting around a fire has always been my favorite part of camping, no matter who’s around the circle.
Erin: “Why do people like this,” my tent-mate moaned.
“Getting away from the big city is nice,” I illuminated.
“I’m not away. I’m more stressed and concerned with the hustle and bustle than ever.”
“What are you talking about? There is no stress in a 50-mile radius of this place.”
“Exactly. I normally combat my major stressors with the distractions of lesser stressful details around me. There are no distractions now. I am being crushed by a wood full of my most heavy thoughts. The silence is bringing dark dark over analyzations.”
“Suddenly I don’t see the appeal of this either,” I said as my own demons were brought to the surface.
Time for your character to reconnect with nature.
Day 193 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about a circus performer.
Erin: My favorite dance partner from a young age was Darcy. Darcy worked with my mother. She was born four years after I was. The second she learned how to walk I started to play with her and teaching her my movies. Building the trust and rhythm from a young age made us flow in our routine like water out of a fountain. By the time my mother realized I had chosen an elephant partner we were too good for her to argue we were unsafe. As I grew older I convinced her to let us join the circus. Darcy and I were a hit of the show between our trunk tricks and risky leg weaving stunts.
Shannon: The only place I ever truly belonged was above the ground. Dancing with silk ropes, curling myself around an aerial ring, or swinging from a trapeze, I take any excuse I could find to stay above the world a second longer.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” I heard a voice call up to me as I was siting in an aerial ring. I looked down, and soon discovered it was a guy around my age in a clown costume, but no makeup. I’d never seen his real face under the mask, and he was actually kind of cute. Our paths had yet to cross on this tour, but I’d seen his act and I was impressed by how much the children loved him.
“Clowns aren’t safe this high up. I suggest you keep feet on the ground.” I teased.
He crossed his arms. “I’ll prove you wrong,” he pointed up. “I’m going to be up there someday. You wait and see.” The smile he gave after was contagious, but I still shook my head.
What is your your characters act?
