A year of writing prompts: 15 December

How to use these prompts

Write about what happens at the Christmas party
these people are arriving for.

Prompts

1. This was the date of the last entry in the log of three lighthouse keepers on a remote, uninhabited Scottish Island. The entry suggested nothing unusual was going on. Eleven days later, a supply ship arrived to find the island deserted. A chair in the kitchen was overturned, the clock had stopped, a rock weighing more than a ton had been moved, and 30ft of turf ripped from the top of a cliff. There was no sign of the keepers and they were never found. What happened to them? Or, if you prefer, write a story about another remote lighthouse where the supply ship arrives to find something weird or unexplained.
2. On Cat Herding Day, write about someone who has to organise a bunch of people to do something - but it is like herding cats.
3. A group of immigrants are taking a citizenship test.
4. It's National Tea Day. Write a story in which a cup or pot of tea features prominently.
5. "No man can lose what he never had." Isaak Walton

Character Names

Jana, Johanna, Corinne, Darwin, Celina, Valerian, Gottfried

Character Traits

• Have numerous powerful enemies, including jealous superiors who dislike them; but reach a high position in life in spite of that.
• In their youth, they can be victims of circumstance, buffeted by life's ups and downs, and not cope well with difficulties; but as they mature will learn to live from their core and become more stable.
• Lack direction and purpose, but are extremely clever, possibly even geniuses.
• Sociable people who enjoy interaction with others and draw inspiration from it. Have the gift of the gab and are persuasive, diplomatic and irresistible to potential romantic partners.
• Enjoy organising group activities and taking part in congenial discussions and debates.
• Have a wide range of interest.
• Fascinated by strange old stories.
• There is a danger they will overeat to the detriment of their health.

Possible Themes

Leaving a mark.

Creative mentoring.

Shapes and forms.

Conscious will.

Objects

A lion; a tree; a star; Siamese twins; a potter's wheel.