Good stories center on the clashing of characters’ goals and motivations. Sometimes a character’s goals and motivations arise from a faulty understanding of a situation. Here are four writing prompts for stories that center on misconception.
Man vs. nature
A person important to our main character is accused of committing a horrible crime. To clear his name, our main character must find and bring back evidence located in a dangerous wilderness. How does our main character overcome the challenges of nature to find this evidence? And what if someone is intent on ensuring he doesn’t survive those dangers? What is the antagonist’s motivation?
Man vs. man
What if our protagonist falls in love with a woman who has a notorious reputation – but he thinks it is merely a façade she has created. Why does he think it is merely a façade? And what if once he’s in too deep there are hints that she really is using him? Can he see through her deceit?
Man vs. society
A false rumor or an outright lie has been told about our main character. Before our protagonist knows it, the rumor/lie affects his ability to function in his neighborhood/job. How does he deal with the rumor/lie, especially when he finds that there is evidence to support these untruths?
Man vs. himself
What if our main character has made every right decision in life, leading him to incredible success in his career, finances and reputation – then one day he wakes up and realizes that it all had been a grave miscalculation for it never led to his happiness. Can he reshape his life by making the right decisions – despite enormous pressure not to – so he can find happiness? How does relearn how to live the life he really wants to lead rather than the one he has created for himself?
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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.
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