Your protagonist has to deliver some devastating news to a family waiting for the results of their son’s surgery. Describe the scene.
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
Your character is caught in a waking nightmare, the type where they are late for every meeting, forget important documents at home, and spill coffee all over the boss. Describe your character’s day as everything goes wrong, infusing it with as much humor as possible.
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
Your empty nest protagonist is settling down for a quiet evening of TV when the door bursts open. It’s her daughter, who’s supposed to be attending college three hours away. Why is she there, and why didn’t her mother know she was coming?
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
Your character is planning on poisoning someone today. Write the scene, showing who their target is, why they’re doing it, and how. Include a moment where they are almost caught.?
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
Your character comes home to find her children missing and a gun left behind with a note from the kidnappers. She must kill someone within 24 hours or never see her children again. Who becomes her target?
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
Your protagonist watches as a military force shows up in the middle of the night, pulling people out of their homes and loading them onto military vehicles without explanation. A fist pounds at the door, followed by the sound of a hinge breaking. What does your character do?
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
Your character is a sharpshooter out hunting for the first time. Describe his moral dilemma as he sights an animal in his scope and prepares to take its life.
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
Your character decides to prank his parents on April Fool’s Day by pretending he’s gotten a girl pregnant.
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
When your character passes a curbside grate, she sees something lodged between the metal bars. Shockingly, the item belongs to her, something she lost almost a year ago.
One Stop for Writers
Write the scene of discovery (i.e., tell a story), or brainstorm and create a list of related ideas.
Here’s five story elements to consider:
Never forget, writing is a process. The first draft is always a mess.
The first draft of anything is shit.
Ernest Hemingway
The Pencil Driven Life 