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Writer's pictureElise

Writing Prompts to Get You Started #18

Updated: Jul 29, 2021

Maybe you have absolutely no idea where to start but have always wanted to try being a writer. Maybe you want to write the great American novel or you thought you'd write a poem about hidden life of a grain of sand. Maybe you just need a little inspiration to get you started or you find yourself just a little stuck. Maybe you find yourself trying to break out of your comfort zone or mix things up at work. Whatever your reason for landing here, practicing a little creativity can impact your life in ways you didn't expect.


But let's be honest. Creativity is a muscle and it needs exercise to work properly. That's where this series comes in. With any luck, this series will get your creative juices flowing and get you thinking in ways you hadn't before. A new prompt will appear once or twice a week. It's up to you what you do with it.


Oh, and be sure to check out our Community-Written Stories books and help us add to one of six stories we are writing and circulating this summer.

 

Writing Prompt for July 27th, 2021:

One of my favorite things to read (and, let's face it, to write... I'm just that corny) are those stories that you think you know, really are set that you know, but you find the script has been flipped, the characters aren't quite who you thought they were, the roles that you assumed you knew who was going to be assigned what are mixed up and turned sideways, and the traditional storyline is otherwise upended. In terms of some of the more famous examples, Gregory McGuire or the movie Shrek come to mind the most frequently, but there are others.


Some genres are harder to flip the script than others. Romance, for instance, usually has a set of preconceived notions on what is appropriate for a man or woman to do, say, wear, think, etc. If we flip the script in the wrong way, it becomes harder for many people to understand or empathize. Sometimes this is a good thing. It can bring up situations in our society that maybe we need to address. Other times, all it does is make things awkward.


But if done well, and only the right cards are flipped over, you could conceivably create a story in which the damsel rescues the prince without emasculating him and they run off together while riding the dragon they did not slay and everyone still lives happily ever after (or the dragon was really the prince or princess). It's all a matter of perspective.

So here is your prompt for the week:


Flip the script on the traditional romance novel. Your choice whether it is plot points or character roles.

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