An interesting thing happened today. Weight Watcher's weekly topic revolved around superpowers (note, you have to be a member to read that link). Specifically, character strengths that could be used to help in one's weight loss journey. The interesting thing is they got it from a study by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman about what was right with people. The study is 800+ pages of book called Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. I haven't read the book myself, but what came out of that meeting was enough to ring a writing bell.
Which brings me to:
Da Prompt: What character strengths and virtues does your antagonist and your protagonist ? Below is a list of characteristics. Pick five for each of these characters (only one hero and one villain). Write a scene or short story with these two characters using at least two of the characteristics for both of them. Bonus points if you use all five without getting all "Talking Heads."
Da List: Creativity, Curiosity, Judgement, Love of Learning, Perspective, Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, Zest, Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence, Teamwork, Fairness, Leadership, Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self-Regulation, Appreciation, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, Spirituality. (Categories and definitions are linked)
Da Note: No wordcount for this one. This exercise is solely to teach yourself about your characters' good points. Why, yes, Virginia. Even villains are allowed to have good qualities. It makes for better bad guys.
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Writers are frequently asked the question “Where do you get your ideas?” The question is a hard one to answer because we all find our inspiration in different places. Some people need to be given prompts, little snippets of ideas to spark their imaginations.
With that in mind, I am posting Writing Prompt Wednesdays. The goal is to inspire writers with exercises meant to train their skills and fire up the creative juices. There are rules. Most prompts will have associated word counts or style instructions. These are not meant to restrict the writer, but give the writer a chance to explore different ways of writing.
If you are an author in search of that one juicy idea, I hope these posts help. If you have ideas for writing prompts, please let me know.
Da Rules:
1) Anything goes so long as you stick to the spirit of the prompt.
2) I ask that if you do publish something based on one of my prompts, that you post the good news (and the link) in the comments of the prompt that inspired your success. You want other people to help you celebrate, right?
#sfwapro
