A year of writing prompts: 1 October

How to use these prompts

You choose whether your story takes place among the ruins,
or if it is set in the days when the buildings were intact.

Prompts

1. It's Older People's Day. Write a story in which the central character is an elderly person.
2. "Time is a dressmaker specialising in alterations." Faith Baldwin
3. 1995 was Metrication Day, when most, but not all, things had to be sold in metric units instead of the old imperial ones. There were a few exceptions such as pints of beer. Write a story in which someone buys or sells something using the wrong measurement, eg 10 inches instead of 10 centimetres.
4. In 1880 the Edison Lamp Works started producing light bulbs. Write a story featuring light bulbs, and/or light bulb moments.
5. In 1939 Winston Churchill described Soviet policy as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Write a story about something your character finds completely incomprehensible.

Character Names

Igor, Rainier, Raine, Malvin, Lara, Archie, Arnold, Aubrey, Theresa, Ragnar

Character Traits

• As children, they may be spoiled or left to their own devices which leads to them becoming a "wild child".
• There could be trouble with the law or a need of psychiatric help.
• Detached and objective; know where courses of action are likely to lead.
• Have simple tastes - prefer the simplicity of nature to unnecessary luxury.
• Chance of bad luck in marriage - may be widowed young or separated.
• Vicious in pursuit of their goals, but usually achieve them.
• May have a sense of inferiority or a negative attitude.
• Preoccupied with lower forms of humanity and under-privilege - either through an interest in sociology or through living in an underprivileged environment at some stage.
• May be religious and possibly drawn to a solitary life. Interested in the origins of religion and mythology.
• Tend to be profound thinkers with a serious attitude.
• May have a tendency to dress in black.
• Often uncover what others miss or fail to see.
• Possibility of serving time in prison or being forcibly restrained in some way.
• May suffer from spinal problems or heart problems.
• Major losses and problems often arise through their contact with women.
• Good features.
  

Possible Themes

Dishonesty.

Narrow escapes.

Buried treasure.

Recovery.

Objects

A canoe; a decaying fortress; a gibbet; three crows; a flower garden; a prison door with iron spikes; long nails, perfectly manicured.