Character E-mails: A Writing Prompt

I receive a subscription to Writer’s Digest Magazine, which is a fabulous resource not only for the craft of writing and interviews with authors such as Sue Grafton and Nicholas Sparks, it is also a great source of inspiration.

In a back issue from February 2010, in which the theme was fueling your inspiration, I came across this prompt in an article titled “Marry Your Life to Your Writing” by Sheila Bender:

“Jot down your ideas for how a character’s e-mails would sound. Have the character e-mail you frequently, even daily. You can learn a lot about a character this way.”

I realize it’s more of a quote than a direct writing prompt, but I thought it was a great idea for getting to know your characters better.

Unlucky

Every so often, I receive e-mail newsletters from writersdigest.com. Writer’s Digest is a magazine which offers tips, tricks, hints and advice on writing, the craft of writing and publishing. Included in this week’s newsletter was a writing prompt which I decided to take on. Now, I don’t consider this my best writing, but the idea of a prompt (and writing practice) is to just start writing and keep going, not worrying about style, length or anything else. Just get the idea down on paper.

That being said, here is the prompt the story came from, followed by the story itself, entitled “Unlucky.” I hope you enjoy it.

Appropiate for all ages.

Prompt: Only two weeks into the New Year had passed and Tim had already broken his first resolution: Don’t kill anyone. Write this scene.

The Story: Unlucky

He hadn’t meant for it to happen. One minute he was idly standing in the soup aisle, checking the price on a can of split pea when the cart rolled away from him.

It rolled down aisle twelve, knocking over innocent shoppers and causing a ruckus. The last person it hit was an eighty year old woman hobbling across aisle twelve at the wrong time.

He tried to stop it, tried to stop the accident he knew was coming. But it all happened so fast, all he could do was watch in horror as the cart slammed into her, knocking her unconscious.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!” He skidded to a halt next to her, his shoes leaving streaks on the polished floor. “Speak to me! Ma’m? Please, please speak to me.”

But it was no use; the woman was dead.

“Come on buddy, let’s go.” He winced as the cold handcuffs were locked onto his wrist.

“Not again,” he moaned, his eyes falling on the dead woman in front of him as the cop hauled him off.

“You can get up to five years in prison for killing an elderly woman in a supermarket,” the cop informed him.

“But it wasn’t my fault! I swear.”

The cop shook his head. “Sure you are. Now, let me read you your rights…”

And that’s how Tim wound up in prison for five years due to his horrible, terrible, utterly bad luck.

Writing Prompt

Whenever I’m on the NaNoWriMo site, I always find at least one forum thread that has the writing prompt: what is in your character’s wallet/purse/pocket. It’s a great way to get to know your characters, since the things a person carries with them can tell you a lot about them. It’s also fun to read the various reponses people come up with. 

Well, the other day I was browsing through the app store on my iPod touch and I came across several apps that my Grandpa would probably like if he owned an iPod touch or an iPhone. This got to me thinking: what if I took the prompt about what’s in a character’s wallet/purse/pocket and put a twist on it? So, I came up with this, my own little writing prompt to start off the new year:

They say there’s an app for that. If that’s true, what apps are on your character’s  iPhone/iPod touch?

Good luck with this prompt if you decide to take it on. Let me know what you came up with in the comments section below.