Monday 18 April 2022

Mystery thief

 Cat, Sweet Tooth, Milk Thief, Coffee

Some strange things get stolen – for example, the apples from your tree, bulbs from the garden or milk from your doorstep. You set a trap for the thief – and are very surprised when you find out who it is. Can you come to some sort of arrangement to stop this continuing?

Article ideas

What about when the blue tits first started pecking at the milk bottle tops? Or how to outwit the canniest of squirrels who help themselves to what’s on the bird feeder? Or what about a bit of memoir about the time the lads went scrumping and got into trouble?

Poetry ideas

Could you write something about the thieving magpie? Maybe a poem for a child? What about a story in rhyming couplets, again for children, about a petty thief who gets their comeuppance?

Script ideas

Perhaps a three-hander? The theft causes a rift between the two people who are affected? Catching the thief brings them back together. Or perhaps a two-hander when the thief and the one who has been robbed confront each other? Could you use a bigger cast, something along the lines of An Inspector Calls?

Story ideas

What’s the first thing that happens? Who notices the theft? What do you know about them? How does the situation escalate? Which clues does your protagonist get? Do they finally confront the thief? What happens? How has your protagonist changed as a result of what has happened?     

 

Tuesday 5 April 2022

Novel protagonist

 Book, Novel, Read, Reader, Student, Painting, Surreal

Here’s a ready-made story for you.

You are reading a novel and suddenly you find that it could be your story. As you read on the protagonist becomes more and more like you.  You try to find out if this is just a coincidence or if this is deliberate.  You try to track down the writer.  Do you find them? What has happened?  What happens next?

Points to ponder

Who is “you”? Who is the person reading? What are they like physically, intellectually and emotionally? What are their current needs? Why are they reading this particular book at the moment?

The book

What sort of story is it? How does this begin to affect the reader? What about the writer?

How your story develops

When does your protagonist realise there is a similarity between them and the protagonist of the novel they are reading?  How do they fell as they begin to realise?

What makes them decide to do something about it?

How do the first steps go? How many obstacles do they have to overcome in order to meet with the author?

Do they meet the author? Is the author also like them or completely different?

Is there an explanation?

How does the relationship continue?

What has your protagonist learnt about themselves?  

Have fun!