Ooh, having done NNWM for YEARS... here's a few themes i use for random inspiration:
settings, motivations, weather, forms of transportation, forms of communication, maps/geography, significant events (birth, death, birthday, memorial day, assassinations, executions, revolutions), regrets, and secrets.
When in doubt, I grab one and force my brain into it, fitting it into the story to see how it would change things, what possibilities it would open. How would the story be different if this were part of it? What would happen if the heroine can't drive. What about if it rained on her wedding day. What if the devil shared her birthday. How does she feel moving from the countryside into the heart of the city--what does that do to her eyes and her breath.
Prompts are a chance to step outside your usual track of thinking. All my heroes used to smoke. They all drove. It only rained when something bad happened. Maturing as a writer, I started to put different rules in place, and prompts helped me see new possibilities.
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branchandroot
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Date: Oct. 29th, 2010 03:38 pm (UTC)settings, motivations, weather, forms of transportation, forms of communication, maps/geography, significant events (birth, death, birthday, memorial day, assassinations, executions, revolutions), regrets, and secrets.
When in doubt, I grab one and force my brain into it, fitting it into the story to see how it would change things, what possibilities it would open. How would the story be different if this were part of it? What would happen if the heroine can't drive. What about if it rained on her wedding day. What if the devil shared her birthday. How does she feel moving from the countryside into the heart of the city--what does that do to her eyes and her breath.
Prompts are a chance to step outside your usual track of thinking. All my heroes used to smoke. They all drove. It only rained when something bad happened. Maturing as a writer, I started to put different rules in place, and prompts helped me see new possibilities.