Hey there! Welcome to another writing prompt designed to incorporate into your WIP… though if you just do it as a creative exercise, that’s great too!
You don’t have to keep this to twenty minutes. I’m just saying I think you can do it in twenty, and squeeze it right into your lunch hour or bus ride. Set an alarm on your phone (or just look at your watch) and see how it goes!
As I wrote in my post about incorporating action with dialogue, we often learn more about characters from what they do than what they say. But for many of us, coming up with action can be more challenging than writing dialogue.
In this writing prompt, you’ll write a few sentences or even a paragraph or two describing how one character demonstrates an affinity for another character… without saying a word. This could be in the context of a friendship, a romance, or it could even show love between family members, now that I think about it.
There are so many ways to do this. She could help him with something, or do something for him. He could bring her or give her something. She could take action to keep her friend out of trouble, or to make sure other people see her friend’s skills or successes. He could act in a protective way, or do something in hopes of impressing her.
It could be something huge, like taking a bullet for the other person. It could be something small, like remembering how she takes her coffee.
Your characters might already be friends or lovers. On the other hand, they might be forging an early connection. Either way works.
If you feel like it, share what you did in the comments section (and hey, in twenty minutes, it doesn’t have to be perfect!) Or just let us know how it goes. Hope you have a great week, and happy writing!
Good Day
I have tremendously enjoyed your entries for the past few weeks. I enjoy the writing tips, sharing of knowledge and your positive attitude and outlook. Thank you!
Aw, thank you so much for reading! I appreciate the kind words 🙂
I wanna play. Is it cheating if I wrote this awhile back?
Set up: Lila is a psychic medium, and Aaron is the ghost of a Revolutionary War era soldier that she can see. She’s kind of a recluse, but he’s persuaded her to go for a walk with him along the river front.
It was only a few blocks from the house to the riverfront. They passed through the park, stopping at a hotdog vendor so that Lila could grab some lunch. She bought a footlong smothered in mustard and hot peppers, and a bottle of orange soda.
“That looks absolutely revolting,” Aaron said, watching as she took a huge bite.
Her eyes rolled back in her head blissfully. “You have no idea what you’re missing.”
The hotdog vendor gave her a strange look as they walked away.
A broad sidewalk flanked the river, dotted at regular intervals with benches. They strolled along together as she ate, until they came to a bench that was far enough away from other humans that she and Aaron could talk without her looking and sounding like a schizophrenic.
Lila finished the hotdog, sucking the remaining mustard and pepper juice from her fingertips. Aaron watched this, smiling.
“I wish I could do that for you,” he said.
She laughed, but the truth was, she wished that he could, too.
She laid her hand on her thigh, palm up. They couldn’t hold hands, of course, but when he took his hand and rested it on top of hers, she could feel the tingling heat of his energy. It reminded her of how it felt to hold her hand about an inch away from the surface of a balloon that had built up a bunch of static electricity, except it was quite a bit stronger than that.
It wasn’t much, but it was the best they could do.
Lila smiled and looked up at him. He was gazing out at the river, his profile handsome and proud. He looked just as solid and real as any flesh-and-blood person she knew. She could even see the light stubble on his jaw, and the scar on his chin where he’d fallen off a horse as a child and cut himself on a rock.
As she admired him, he said in a quiet voice, “I do love you, Lila.”
Her eyes got hot and her pulse quickened, his soft, simple declaration melting her heart. They rarely spoke out loud about their feelings for each other, because there was no way they would ever be able to act on them. She had to swallow the lump in her throat before she could speak.
“I love you, too, Aaron.”
He turned his head from the river and looked down at her. His eyes had been such a pretty, clear blue, full of humor and intelligence. It was so unfair that they couldn’t be together, that he was spirit and she was flesh; but if he hadn’t stayed on the physical plane as a ghost, she would never have gotten to know him in the first place.
She wanted to lay her head on his shoulder, but couldn’t because he didn’t really have one. Instead, they got up and walked back to the house in silence.
Ohhhh… holding hands even though they can’t! I love it! Nicely done! This sounds like such a fun premise, too.
And unfortunately, it made me want a hot dog, which I never have. 😀
I like this idea! It’s been a while since I’ve commented here, but I’ve been reading the posts. Here’s a little something that came to mind when I saw this post.
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Troy had wanted to punch Justin in the nose, but the guy had simply sent Sara a text message to break up with her. How could he do that to Troy’s baby sister only two weeks before they were to be married? Instead, he’d opted for consoling Sara by sitting and watching her favorite animated movies with her. The first three were about an ogre, and the last one was about a panda skilled in martial arts.
From time to time–especially during intense emotional scenes–he reached his hand across the couch to grasp hers, feeling her shiver as the tears slid down her cheeks. Yep, he still wanted to punch the idiot who did this to her, but he knew that would never happen. Justin was already on his way to the other side of the country, and that was just fine with Troy.
It was late when the movies ended, so he simply stood and led her to the guest bedroom. She turned to him before entering, seeming to want to say something, but he shushed her and wiped the few remaining tears from her face. He placed a gentle kiss on her left cheek and did his best to present a reassuring smile.
“Try to get some sleep.” He kept his volume low and tone gentle. “I’ll be right across the hall if you need me, and in the morning I’ll make your favorite breakfast.” The smile insisted on reappearing. She tried to match it, but was only able to achieve something similar to a grimace. She turned to enter the guest room, and he made his way to his own bedroom. He prayed that when morning came he would no longer want to commit murder.
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Okay, so that took slightly more than twenty minutes, but the prompt really got me going. I was ready (still am!) to write the scene with him making breakfast and, yes, still wanting to hurt the guy who’d torn his sister’s heart to shreds.
Robin! Nice to see you. This is so great! I love the idea of him watching his sister’s favorite movies with her to cheer her up. I really feel like that’s something a sibling would do. (It was really fun, by the way, that it was clear what movies they were even though you didn’t use the titles. 🙂 )
Really enjoyed the whole thing!