Writing a short story

[Yoga Face]

I go to ryerson and take a non credited course in short story writing

I need a great idea for a plot and wondering if anybody can come up with one

Here are some examples of great ideas

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

A traveling salesman wakes to find himself transformed into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The rest of Kafka's novella deals with his attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and sister, who are repulsed

Kafka never tells why this happened leaving the reader to speculate on the cause

I feel he was making a social statement about the oppressed nature of some peoples' lives


To Build a Fire by Jack London

On an extremely cold winter's day of −75 °F in Alaska a trapper decides leave his cabin and walk to town

Things go south and he must build a fire to survive

fascinating read on what happens in nature when it is that cold

He really makes you feel what the protagonist feels who, interestingly, goes unnamed

London lived in Alaska so he knew the details of such a harsh environment

 

[Mervyn]

A day in the life of a homeless person.

The travels of a Facebook meme being shared from user to user , from the perspective of a Facebook Meme.

Inner dialogue of a creative writing teacher as he/she reads her students work

 

[Yoga Face]

A day in the life of a homeless person.

been done by a homeless person from london ontario

it was an interesting voyeuristic read but definitely not a best seller

It was published in the London Free Press so the hobo did about as good as it could get with the book

also, someone studied beggars' methods then tried begging then wrote a book about the proper way to beg for the most profit

saw him interviewed on TV but I do not think he made any money from the book

 

[IM469]

Life in the Shadow

The daily activities of wife and kids of a disgraced politician as they carry on with their daily public routines.

Caught in a Web

A young female political idealist campaigns and becomes an administration assistant to the mayor of a large city. As time goes on, strange behaviour and suspicious activities begins to erode her confidence that the man she supported is hiding a darker side. Soon her allegiance is tested as a police detective tries to enlist her help to discover the truth.


Not sure where these ideas came from but if you use the idea - I want to be in the next Oscar selfie shot.

 

[Yoga Face]

Do they say to write about what you know?

Your'e a hobbyist right?
Right about that world.
There are many subjects/conflicts to choose from if you just look at the pages of the lounge.

Actually, my first story was about a preacher who pays a street worker to have fantasy sex in St Pauls Cathederal on bloor street

She pretends to be a choir girl who is on her knees before Jesus as he serves her "communion"

the rich symbolism of the church is an obvious technique to exploit as he is sinning big time as he commits adultery, prostitution with a minor and desecrating the church all in one go

the comments from the teacher was i should make the sex scene more graphic to make the reader squirm

each week we write another story then present to the class for critique

our creativity is sparked by such things as looking through a book of pictures, reading horoscopes, window shopping etc until an idea comes

the teacher is a Giller nominee which is why i go as she makes a good living as a writer

 

[MissCroft]

Do they say to write about what you know?

Exactly. Write about what you know. Take an interesting day that happened in your life, or a crazy night at the bar, or an interesting anecdote that you heard..... and try to work with it and turn it into an interesting short story. Of course you can embellish details. I think that's what works.


Are there any intriguing or eccentric people in your life? Turn them into characters! (Just don't tell them that it's them.)

 

[DigitallyYours]

http://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/

 

[Yoga Face]

Exactly. Write about what you know. Take an interesting day that happened in your life, or a crazy night at the bar, or an interesting anecdote that you heard..... and try to work with it and turn it into an interesting short story. Of course you can embellish details. I think that's what works.


Are there any intriguing or eccentric people in your life? Turn them into characters! (Just don't tell them that it's them.)

yes that works but a great idea does not have to come from life experience

then u do research to get the info if need be

 

[Ridgeman08]

I write short stories every time I write a review!

(Some say not so short...

)

Like others have said, write about what you know.

 

[Yoga Face]

my latest idea is a witch gives a lad a treasure map

he digs for the treasure and finds a casket

he opens it up

any ideas on what he should find???

 

[MissCroft]

yes that works but a great idea does not have to come from life experience

It doesn't have to but I find those are the best. Like I said, you can create characters out of people you know/have met and create stories from stuff in your life but it can be very loosely based and you create the rest.

I find I can also get ideas from my dreams.

 

[DigitallyYours]

my latest idea is a witch gives a lad a treasure map

he digs for the treasure and finds a casket

he opens it up

any ideas on what he should find???

Nothing. The casket is the treasure. It is the casket he will be buried in. It is a treasure to the witch. Because she is his daughter.

 

[Yoga Face]

a rich man dies

his will states his body is to be cooked then served

whoever eats the most gets his estate

 

[DigitallyYours]

a rich man dies

his will states his body is to be cooked then served

whoever eats the most gets his estate

Where's the conflict?


A person is in heaven and is given the option to be reincarnated as one of three possible people, each with serious flaws. Who does he/she choose?

 

[Yoga Face]

Where's the conflict?

good point as conflict is essential as it carries the story

I see the conflict is the eating of the body

Can they actually do it?

 

[DigitallyYours]

good point as conflict is essential as it carries the story

I see the conflict is the eating of the body

Can they actually do it?

Well, you'll need to create some sort of scenario whereby the beneficiaries really need the money or don't want the money to fall into someone else's hands, or something like that. You also have the problem that I'm pretty sure a court would throw that provision out.


A man wakes up during ancient times with nothing but a fully functional smart phone. He tries to convince everyone the phone is God.

 

[Terminator2000]

my latest idea is a witch gives a lad a treasure map

he digs for the treasure and finds a casket

he opens it up

any ideas on what he should find???

witch shows up and cackles with laughter. witch has a whole bunch of men with her. she catches him by surprise and shoves him. he loses his footing. the casket is open and buried quite a ways down in a hole that goes deeep. longer than 6 feet. he can't crawl out. she gives a loud maniacal laughter and the men start burying him alive.

the end.

 

[buttercup]

Tell the story of an escort lady. Young, super-attractive, blessed with a golden body, in demand, making good money, loves her work.

Then the Cdn govt changes the law, to protect "victims" like her from bad men who exploit her, even if she thinks they don't. Now, all her clients are criminals, liable to be "outed", and worse, if caught paying her. Now, anyone she pays (for rent, phone, advertising) can be charged with "living off the avails" and sent to prison.

Now, all the professional people (her most favoured clients) have gone, and she's left with the criminal class (to whom another conviction makes no difference). She's protected now, but everyone she deals with is a criminal. Whatever "good" clients she does have, humiliate her by demanding proof that she is not an undercover cop.

In her spare time (which she now has in abundance) she studies the laws in other countries, and whether the sex-workers in those countries wind up safe and secure and able to live happily, or are victimized and exploited, as a result of the range of different laws.

She knows the new cdn law, if it can be put before the supreme court, will be slung out. She and a colleague get together to engineer a test case. Several years later, the SCoC duly rejects the law. But now, she finds she's rather too old to be successful at escorting.

So, with her new background of factual knowledge about how the intent behind the law translates into real-life effects, she finds fulfillment in promoting, around the world, the kinds of laws that really do protect sex workers, underagers, victims of trafficking, etc, and that do protect the public from the nuisance aspects of having a brothel in the next-door apartment.

She becomes secretary-general of the United Nations.

 

[Yoga Face]

Well, you'll need to create some sort of scenario whereby the beneficiaries really need the money or don't want the money to fall into someone else's hands, or something like that.

agree

also, this story is driven by action as well as conflict

You also have the problem that I'm pretty sure a court would throw that provision out.

agree

perhaps could be in different times , different country or the deceased is so powerful (mafia godfather?) he makes his own laws in death as he did in life

also, as part of the mafia family they will keep their mouths shut

 

[gtamassage]

my latest idea is a witch gives a lad a treasure map

he digs for the treasure and finds a casket

he opens it up

any ideas on what he should find???

He finds himself but not really himself. The casket is empty but on opening it a life flashback forms and he sees the effect of his inner most secret and what he did that caused a young girl to live a tragic life. this thought was surpressed and he live a great life after that event. The emotion of the life reflection causes a heart attack where he falls into the casket His body lays in the postition that he first saw it when he opened the casket.