Writer's Story Prompt: A Twist on Time Travel

    Time travel is a common story element. When I was querying literary agents about five years ago, a lot of them seemed to hate it. I guess they had good reason; according to their blogs, time travel was one of the most popular topics in the letters they received. If I had to read, "And then Timmy finds a time machine..." about fifty times a day, I'd probably get tired of it, too. (Side note: Timmy is a nuisance anyway, and should be properly dealt with).

    Still, there's a good reason why time travel is so common in stories: it's fun! Readers and TV watchers must like it, or it wouldn't keep showing up. As the agents said, the real difficulty is finding a unique angle on it. So, for this writer's prompt, take a popular topic like time travel and brainstorm a way to make it original. Here's an idea to get you started:

    While your character is off time-traveling, the world ends. That is, the world of her / his own time. Your character no longer has a "real" time to go home to and is essentially a time refugee. What does your character do and why? Does your character travel to the moment before the world ended and save other people? Does she try to change what happened or does she believe it can't be changed?

    Have fun writing!

    -MK

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! on Amazon     

Writer Prompt: Quantum Teleportation

Quantum teleportation has been in the news a lot this week (see here, here and here). I'm not going to pretend that I understand it, but I do think it's fascinating and I love trying my hardest to grasp it. Even a daydreaming, creative writing, doodling weirdo like myself can tell that this data transfer is a major breakthrough.

So, for your writing prompt, write a story set in a world where quantum teleportation is taken for granted. That can mean anything you want: Is data received instantly or even before it was sent? Have scientists found a way to teleport people? Read about quantum mechanics or any other aspect of science that you find fascinating today and imagine a future society or alternate world where today's breakthroughs are commonplace.

-MK
on Zazzle
on Amazon 

Writer Prompt: The World 20 Years in the Future

WRITER STORY STARTER: IMAGINE OUR NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE

I'm always afraid to throw away computer information as long as I still own the computer. After all, you never know when you might need the manual for that giant dinosaur desktop machine you still have sitting in the corner, kept solely because it plays Monkey Island games so well (and you never know when you'll need a working floppy drive!). Well, I finally gave away the old desktop and recently, I went to remove all its information from the computer drawer. To my surprise, I still had the old newspaper advertisement where I first saw the computer. It was circled on the page. Of course, I had to sit down and laugh at all the specs I thought were great at the time. 

In a little over a decade, computers had changed a lot. And if you keep up with tech news, you know there are plenty more changes in the works all the time. It's easy to see what awaits us in the coming year or two. But what about a decade in the future? Two decades? In another ten years, will you sit down and laugh at the computers and smart phones you own now? 

For this writing prompt, be a visionary. Think about all the technology in our world today and try to imagine what it will be like when today's newborns go to college. How will the changes in technology change society? How will your characters' lives be affected, for good or bad? 

 -MK

on Zazzle

on Amazon   

Writer Prompt: Back to the 1800's

Lately, I've been experimenting with vintage images in my graphic designs. In my hunt for images, one of the sites I've visited the most is the Library of Congress page. Going through all the newspaper and magazine ads there, it's easy to get immersed in the culture of another time. In the world of a century or more ago, bicycles and typewriters were new and exciting. The ladies' fashions looked very uncomfortable. Pianos seemed to be hot sellers. Political opinions looked to be just as varied and heated as they are today.

What better way to learn about a society than to study it directly? From looking at the articles and the ads of that time, I've discovered that the people of the late 1800's and early 1900's loved a scandal just as much as the people of today. They loved entertainment (circuses, early movies, music). They sought cures for their ailments. And you could buy a new purse for 25 cents.

WRITING PROMPT: The Library of Congress images are a great place to start if you're looking for historical or steampunk story ideas. Browse through the newspapers, periodicals, photo collects, etc, in search of character tidbits, historical nuances to really round out your setting, or even find the inspiration for your plot in the headlines.

Here are a couple to get you started:

1. There are a lot of want ads on this page from 1898. Have your character respond to one. What happens?
2. This headline from 1907 would certainly make an exciting premise for a steampunk or retro suspense novel: Latest Discoveries Indicate that [Mars] is Peopled by a Race Superior to Mankind!

 Search the collection yourself and time travel into the past.

-MK
on Zazzle
on Amazon 

MAKE BELIEVE MONDAY: Write a Story Set on the Island of Mustique

 WRITING PROMPT #3: Mustique Island

     Inspired by chronic snowfall, negative temperatures and cabin fever that's turning me into Jack Torrance, I've been randomly viewing sunny tropical photographs online in order to keep myself slightly sane. Then, a couple days ago, while browsing news articles, I came across a story about Kate Middleton / Duchess Katherine taking a family vacation to the Caribbean island of Mustique.
     Out of curiosity - and a thirst for more sunny pictures - I read about this privately-owned island and decided it would be a great place to set a story. So, for today's writing prompt, write a story set on Mustique or another Caribbean island frequented by the wealthy. Here are a few angles to get you started: