The Stuck Home Bored Writer's Survival Kit Thread

[zanzjan]

Much like I do the end of year countdown every December, I'm starting a thread where I (and possibly some guest mods!) will post random prompts, exercises, etc., so if you get bored and need to do something, here is something! I'll try to post daily, but no promises because things are a bit chaotic right now, but I'll do what I can. I am going to try for lighthearted or thoughtful things rather than grim, because I figure we've got enough of that. This will likely be more free-form than either the FFC or countdown, and everyone is welcome to participate and share or not as they see fit. Instead of people starting separate threads -- though you may certainly do so if that's what you'd prefer -- I'm just gonna leave this one open. Together we'll get through to the other side of this, right? Right!

(Like FFC and the Countdown, remember that this is not a critique space, and anything posted here should be PG-13.)

Okay, first one:

What if instead of folks being told to stay inside, every single person over a certain age was assigned their own giant plastic hamster ball to get around in outside the home? (Or some other artificial device to keep people a minimum distance apart?) Imagine someone growing up this way who accidentally breaks their hamster ball.

 

[Sage]

Yay, I'm so excited! Let me work on my Sisyphus story a little, and I'll be back to play!

 

[Sage]

Edited: I made my own thread so that I could guest mod here. Prompt to come soon

 

[Sage]

Today's prompt:

A villain is on the verge of implementing their plan (world domination? dumping blood on someone at prom?) when a world/country/state/city/company/school-wide event turns everything upside down and has everyone involved acting in ways that the villain hadn't planned on. How do they react to the change?

 

[zanzjan]

Here's another exercise for you!

A large number of museums have put virtual tours up online, if they didn't already have one. (Here is an article with links to a few, but feel free to search for others.) Go 'wander' around a museum and find a piece you haven't seen before that catches your eye, and imagine a character who has come to life from that piece suddenly finding themselves outside that museum. Write their story!

 

[zanzjan]

Is there a genre you're absolutely certain you couldn't write a story in? What is it? **listens intently*** Oh, yeah, those are hard. So write one scene and see. (-:

 

[Sage]

Haha *imagines writing an erotica short*

*basically envisions the word "sex" written a thousand times*

 

[zanzjan]

You are stuck inside being socially responsible about pandemic-y things, but you make a point of going out to your mailbox once a day for the usual junk mail and occasional paper bill. Today, when you go out, there is a package waiting for you, wrapped in plain brown paper, with no information about who sent it to you. When you open it, it's a kit.

What is it a kit for, and what do you do with it? Tell us a story.

 

[Sage]

A prompt for today:

Write the intersection of an act of duty and an act of kindness, whatever that means to you.