Posts tagged writing prompt
Posts tagged writing prompt
With Script Frenzy coming up just around the corner, it’s time to start practicing out screen writing!
Open up Celtx, or the sreenwriting version of Scrivener, or whatever software that you use to write a script/play for April. Take this opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the program.
The following is a current assignment for one of the Video classes I’m taking. It’s given me a chance to refresh my knowledge of Celtx, a program that is free and that I will be writing a review/how-to guide for.
Write a script with at least 3 different locations (EXT. - DUNKIN DONUTS followed by INT. - DUNKIN DONUTS does not count for this prompt) and at least 2 but no more than 4 characters. It should be at least 3-5 pages, but feel free to make yours longer.
It’s a vague activity, but it’s something to get the script-writing juices flowing. Write about whatever you feel you should write about. An important note: Do not use this as a way to cheat in Script Frenzy. Use a different idea other than your April idea.
Write about a New Years Eve party gone horribly wrong. It can be based off your own experience, someone else’s experience or can be completely fictional.
A personal favorite of mine: Write a letter to a teacher that gave you a hard time in school.
If you’ve never had a teacher that gave you a hard time, then make this into a piece of fiction.
Write about a person who discovers a key. Because of this discovery, something bad happens. What is that “bad” thing? That’s up to you.
Describe an object, food, or animal to someone who has never seen it before. Include at least one detail for all five senses (it’s okay if you don’t include a detail for taste when doing an animal or object).
Create a legend, myth or fairy tale about the galaxy. This includes, but is not limited to:
Set the scene: A parent is telling his or her young child(ren) this legend, myth or fairy tale.
What is one major lesson that you’ve learned from your life thus far? Incorporate that lesson and possibly the experience from which you learned it into a fictitious piece.
Write a fictitious piece about a significant tragic moment in history that occurred when you were young or before you were born. Write in the first-person point of view, and include at least two characters that were personally affected by this moment.
An excerpt from “Brotherhood” (working title), my response to this prompt:
Mrs. Bolyston from the room next to Mrs. Lorraine’s came rushing into the classroom.
“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Lorraine asked.
The entire class looked up to see the fear in Mrs. Bolyston’s eyes.
“Turn on the news.”
Mrs. Lorraine grabbed the television remote and changed the channel from the scrolling school announcements to the national news channel, one of the few channels that was streamed to the school.
Then the class saw it.
The two towers.
The thick, black smoke.
A gaping hole in the side of one of the towers.
Fire.
Loud gasps escaped the mouths of everyone in the classroom.
“We’re under attack!” a girl shouted. A statement that would have usually gathered laughter in a class like this one was responded to with shrieks.
Brady instantly recognized the two towers. A staple sight to every ferry ride he had ever been on to the city with his parents and brother. He had always been so fascinated by how tall they were, and he’d always wondered how they went about building them. He’d also been in the buildings numerous times in his life.
The class become quiet as a reporter began to speak. “For those of you that are just tuning in, a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. Our sources confirm that the plane hit the North Tower about fifteen minutes ago. Now, we aren’t sure if this was just a tragic accident or if it was a terrorist attack. We’d rather not throw that theory out without confirmation, but for those of you that remember the terrorist bombings in the early 1990s, it is a possibility.”
The North Tower. The North Tower. Brady repeated this over and over in his head. The plane hit the North Tower. But his father didn’t work there.
He worked in the South Tower.
His father was safe, wasn’t he?
“Is that another plane?” he heard someone ask.
Brady’s head whipped back up just in time to witness a second plane crash into the towers.
This time, it was the very building Ted Jergens worked in.
“Oh my goodness,” the reporter said. “A second plane has just hit the World Trade Center. This one has hit the South Tower.”
“No!” Brady shouted, and everyone looked over at him.
Mrs. Lorraine stood up. “Brady? What is it?”
As tears welled up in his eyes, he stuttered, “My d-dad… He… works in th-that t-t-tower.” He didn’t care if any of his classmates thought he was a p**** for crying; their opinions didn’t matter in that moment.
“Do you need to make a call?” Mrs. Lorraine asked him calmly.
The tears in Brady’s eyes met those that accumulated in his teacher’s. “I need to get my brother. He’s in Mr. Demry’s class this period. I need to be with my brother.”
“Then you need to go,” Mrs. Lorraine said calmly.
Feedback is always appreciated, and I’d love to read anyone else’s response to the prompt.
