Good stories center on the clashing of characters’ goals and motivations. Sometimes a character’s goals and motivations arise from the seeking of acceptance. Here are four writing prompts for stories that center on conflicts over abandonment.

Man vs. man
Two people with trusts issues because they’ve been abandoned by others suddenly find themselves in a situation where they must learn to have faith in one another. How do they overcome their internal resistance to trust and the other’s efforts to prevent a connection?

Man vs. society
What happens when a person who leaves his hometown and strikes it rich comes back willing to spend money? Will some people question why he abandoned them in the first place and be distrustful of his motives? Or will his money squelch any suspicions? And why did he return anyway?

Man vs. God(s)
A teenager or young adult whose parents died in a senseless accident now feels that God has abandoned her. How is she able to regain her faith? Or does the abandonment lead to a personal enlightenment about what being human means?

Man vs. himself
A son has not talked to his father in years (or a daughter-mother) after the parent left the son’s mother many years ago. The father, his years rapidly catching up with him, reaches out to his son. Can the son, after years of anger and bitterness, find the ability to forgive his father?