Starting can be the hardest part of writing a story, so this week I’m giving you an opening line, to break through that block.
I’ve written before about opening lines and how important they are to a story, so don’t think that this opening line has to be your story’s opening line forever. In fact, these Wednesday prompts are designed to get you writing and often result in throwaway tales, rather than works of art, but the point is: you’re writing.
Read more about opening lines here (listen to the podcast version, here).
The Prompt
She had never understood why anyone would want a tattoo.
Tips
- You can change the gender pronouns to suit your preferences
- You can change the POV and voice of the piece
- Think about setting a timer and just seeing where the story takes you
- Or think about a character and their wants/needs before you start writing
- You might want to think about the climax/midpoint of a story about a character like this, and write towards it
- Will you character end up getting a tattoo? Understanding why people want them? Being tattooed against her will?
Feel free too share here, in the comments.
I wrote with a 10 minutes timer… then I needed to add time. It took me almost 25 minutes to find the story and the end was a surprise for me. When I read it complete, I decided that I wasn’t paying attention before: of course that is the most obvious end 🙂
Thanks for a story I didn’t know about.
Here’s my take on the prompt: https://article94.com/2018/01/19/interruptions/