WRITING OBSTACLE
Create a character who is envious of someone without using the words:
jealous, envy, wish, want, desire, or covet.
STORY STARTER
Submitted by Mel Davies
Write a story about a character who makes an incorrect assumption about someone or something.
WRITING OBSTACLE
Describe a tense scene backstage at some kind of audition. Focus on the internal monologue of your protagonist.
Detail their anxieties and motivations as they wait for their turn. How do their nerves affect the outcome of their audition?
WRITING OBSTACLE
Depict a character's room that reflects their personality.
Try not to focus only on the things that they have or put on display, but the features of their space that reflect something about their personality.
WRITING OBSTACLE
Depict a character's room that reflects their personality.
Try not to focus only on the things they have or display, but the features of their space that reflect something about their personality.
STORY STARTER
Write a story about the end of an era between friends.
What part of their lives is ending, and how are they feeling about it?
WRITING OBSTACLE
Inspired by Leona McNeil
Your character is sitting an exam that they absolutely must pass. Create a narrative focusing on their emotions during this scene.
Don’t focus on the event; focus on the character's thoughts and feelings, and how this situation affects them.
STORY STARTER
Your new college roommate turns out to be someone you disliked in high school.
Continue the story.
STORY STARTER
"I was just trying to be what you wanted."
Use this piece of dialogue to open a story surrounding a character who is struggling to meet someone's expectations.
STORY STARTER
Write a story that begins at some kind of assembly.
You can take the narrative anywhere from here, but the assembly should be integral to the unfolding plot.
STORY STARTER
Write a story about a character who’s considering quitting, but decides to give it one last go.
STORY STARTER
Create a scene where two characters who dislike each other are forced to cooperate in a critical task.
Build tension and contempt between the characters whilst they work together, but do not resolve the conflict.
POEM STARTER
Write an Epic following the life of any of your favourite characters.
An Epic poem typically tells a long, narrative story and often centers around heroic deeds and legendary adventures. It tends to focus on the actions of the character rather than their traits or emotions.
STORY STARTER
Submitted by Alana Topakian
All she ever wanted was that side-splitting, life-changing, end-of-the-world type of love. Yet, as she sat alone on her bathroom floor, she realised her world was ending, just not in the way she’d hoped.
POEM STARTER
Submitted by Jade Stoa
Write a rhyming poem about your favourite animal without ever mentioning what the animal is.