Prompt #5

Happy holidays, if you celebrate, and Happy December if you don’t! I sincerely hope your coworkers leave you alone until January 2nd :) This exercise is about deepening characters based on surface characteristics or observations. Avoid redundant characters in your work by drawing inspiration from anywhere! Pay attention to the world around you and you’ll always have an arsenal of interesting people to pull inspiration from. Observe a stranger this week and try to put yourself in their shoes!

Ok here’s the prompt.

Think of a person you crossed paths with recently in a public space, be it a shopping mall or the subway en route to work. It can be a stranger or an acquaintance, but not someone you’re close with. Do you have a person in mind?

Name that character.

Then, write the beginning of their holiday dinner. Who do they greet in the parade of hellos, and what is their relationship to them? Imagine a holiday dinner entirely different from one you may have. At some point during the scene (or poem or paragraph etc), the character takes their first bite of food.

Start your timer. Write for at least 10 minutes.

Share this post to write with a friend!

I’m reading Big Swiss. It’s crazy.

I’m watching The Holiday, The Family Stone, Mrs. Santa Clause (1996), and Elf leading up to Christmas Day.

I’m listening to Samara Joy and Laufey's holiday serenades.

All done? Who did you write about? If it’s a missed connection you are admiring through your writing, let me know in the comments. Maybe the internet will find them! Until next time…