An impractical traitor

Generated by RanGen. If there's a piece you don't like, click on the link to go to that generator.

Character 1 (Lead, Opposition, 2nd Lead, Side kick)
Archetype: Traitor
Personality: Impractical
This man has dark skin, dark green eyes and long, wild brown hair.
He has a small nose and a round chin.
He is 6' 1" and has a heavy build.
His clothes are usually quite stylish and he prefers them to be revealing.
He often wears an emerald earring in one ear.

Character 2 (Lead, Opposition, 2nd Lead, Side kick)
Archetype: Sports obsessed
Personality: Independent
This woman has fair skin, green eyes and curly white hair.
She has thin eyebrows and a softly shaped jaw.
She is 5' 11" and has a medium build.
Her clothes are usually quite stylish and she prefers them to be modest.
A notable feature is her distinctive accent.



Family Tree
Grandmother: In good health
Grandfather: Status unknown
Mother: Estranged
Father: Deceased
Brothers: 1
Sisters: 3
Sons: 3
Daughters: 1

Plot premise: Just a few days from retirement, the main character loses what's dearest to them when they accidentally commit a minor crime that could cost them their life.

Goal: Determined to set things right, and in a race against time, the main character comes up with a cunning plan to find out the truth.

How it ends: In the end, after the development of a surprising relationship, the main character loses what they had, but gains a new opportunity.

Plot device (driving force of the story): A mysterious young woman who doesn't speak the native language

Evil has no boundaries

Evil has no boundaries

What's a warm up?

The Ghost People

Princess Nuwara, the new leader of the small republic.

Source: desert-dreamer.tumblr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

She is proud and unsure of herself. She has been thrust into leadership too soon after her mother succumbed to an illness that shouldn't have been fatal.

Eliya, her older sister.

Source: byroos.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Eliya has voluntarily exiled herself to what was a protected area of the republic to be with the nearly one hundred others of her kind, often referred to as the Ghost People. She is looked to as a leader by them.

Source: media.tumblr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Source: lettera43.it via Dragon on Pinterest

There have always been rumors of the Ghost People being sorcerers but the land has been so peaceful, the rumors had remained murmurs, creating discomfort but little else. Before Eliya and Nuwara's mother died, Ghosts would find their way to the Ghost enclave once a year. But ever since Nuwara's ascension, Ghosts have been arriving more frequently, rising to once a month bringing with them tales of persecution.

To dig into the matter Eliya arrives at her sister's palace, once her home too.

Source: fuckyeahprettyplaces.tumblr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

The atmosphere feels different as though it's no longer her home. Eliya's unsure if it's the place that has changed or herself. She's greeted by Menifer, the sisters' nurse, caretaker and companion since they were born, who is now her sister's advisor.

Source: gypsies-love.tumblr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

They spend some time reminiscing in an antechamber before she's escorted -- allowed? -- to see her sister. Eliya can't shake the feeling of being controlled and manipulated as she enters her sister's receiving room.

Leave in silence

Leave in silence

What's a warm up?

The shadows are alive

The shadows are alive

What's a warm up?

"When an elder dies ..."

Step out of Hell

Step out of Hell

What's a warm up?

Getting in the spirit

Source: conghailecottage.blogspot.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Draganhelm Manor, the most haunted spot in the country, is up for sale. The owners have finally agreed to allow True Spirit Investigators to check into the phenomena that's been reported ever since the series of mysterious disappearances 73 years ago. Unfortunately True Spirit just lost two of their investigators in a big dust up that resulted in both of them quitting.

Source: sadmanstongue.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Currently the team consists of Amy Clarry, the founder of the team. She works as an ambulance driver during the week.

Source: Uploaded by user via Dragon on Pinterest

And Sammi Nordstrom, their electronics expert, who works full time as the homeschooling daughter of a couple of free spirit parents.

Source: cookiesound.com via Dragon on Pinterest

And Harry Nakamura, their media expert. He works as a photographer reluctantly specializing in family portraits.

Against her better instincts, but pressed for time, Amy puts out an ad, knowing that it will draw all sorts of nut cases.

I am Amy, the founder of a small but well-established paranormal team. We are seeking someone who is comfortable with electronics and ideally has a background in marketing. We are looking for serious-minded individuals ONLY.

Source: prikol.i.ua via Dragon on Pinterest

After a dozen of the expected nut cases, Zazzy Draganov shows up. After a morning of wasted time, she doesn't receive him well. (Her, Zazzy corrects her.) But his credentials are quite impressive, having worked as a paranormal investigator for five years. And it turns out that his last name isn't merely coincidentally like the name of the manor house. So she hires him and arranges for the team to spend the weekend at Draganhelm.

---

Courtesy of Dusk to Dawn Paranormal Investigators:

Equipment
Definitions
Protocols

"I don't know where ..."

Russian winter

Russian winter

What's a warm up?

Would you rather ... 2

Image inspiration

Would you rather...

• Never have to worry about money?
• Or live in a world with Pokemon?

(If you'd rather consider a different dream fantasy world it's cheating to pick the universe of Star Trek since money isn't an issue in the Federation! ;-))

Create a list of pros and cons for each. The more convincingly you can argue both sides of an issue, the more effective your writing. :-)

---

This came from The 15 Hardest "Would You Rather" Questions You Will Ever Be Asked (undoubtedly just one of many repostings). When I hit the dragon one then this one, my interest was piqued! As I read the rest, I realized why I don't like "Would you rathers". They're almost always picking between two horrible things. I'd much rather ponder the quandary of two equally tempting things!

Paint it black

Paint it black

What's a warm up?

Found ...

Source: bitsandpieces.us via Dragon on Pinterest

Rising of the damned

Rising of the damned

What's a warm up?

Prisoner of Love

Prisoner of Love by Paul Manktelo

Love, AKA The God or Goddess of Love, has imprisoned your character. Why? Has Love fallen in unrequited love? Or is your character a threat to Love? Or a threat to love? Is the imprisonment intended as permanent? Or temporary until some event passes?

Below is a list of the gods and goddesses of love throughout the ages. (Perhaps one Love has captured another Love.) Feel free to use one or come up with your own.

List of love and lust deities (from Wikipedia)

Albanian folklore

• Prende, goddess of love

Armenian mythology

• Astghik, goddess of fertility and love

Aztec mythology

• Xochiquetzal, goddess of fertility, beauty, female sexual power, protection of young mothers, pregnancy, childbirth, and women's crafts
• Xochipilli, god of love, art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, maize, fertility, and song
• Tlazolteotl, goddess of lust, carnality, sexual misdeeds
• Ixcuiname, goddess of the carnality.
  • Tiacapan, goddess of sexual passion.
  • Teicu, goddess of sexual appetite.
  • Tlaco, goddess of sexual longing.
  • Xocotzin, goddess of sexual desire.

Buddhism

• Aizen Myō-ō or Rāgarāja, a deity who transforms worldly lust into spiritual awakening; his red-skinned appearance represents suppressed lust and passion

Canaanite mythology

• Astarte, goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare
• Qetesh, goddess of love, beauty and sex

Celtic mythology

• Aine, Irish goddess of love, summer, wealth and sovereignty
• Cliodhna Irish goddess, sometimes identified as a goddess of love and beauty

Chinese mythology

• Yue-Lao, a Chinese god of love who binds two people together with an invisible red string
• Tu Er Shen, a Chinese deity who manages the love and sex between homosexual men
• White Peony (Bai Mudan), a chinese godess who tempt men specifically the ascetic

Egyptian mythology

• Bes, god of music, dance, and sexual pleasure
• Hathor, goddess of the sky, love, beauty, and music
• Bastet, goddess of felines, love, sexuality, protection, beauty, and dance

Etruscan mythology

• Albina, goddess of the dawn and protector of ill-fated lovers
• Turan, goddess of love and vitality

Greek mythology

• Aphrodite, goddess of love, lust and beauty
• Hera, goddess of marriage, which is a lifetime of love and compromise.
• The Erotes
  • Anteros, god of requited love
  • Eros, god of love and sexual passion
  • Himeros, god of sexual desire
  • Hedylogos, god of sweet talk and flattery
  • Hymen, god of marriage and marriage feasts
  • Pothos, god of sexual longing, yearning and desire
• Peitho, personification of persuasion and seduction

Guaraní mythology

• Kurupi, god of sexuality and fertility

Hindu mythology

• Kamadeva or Manmadhan or Kama, god of love
• Rati, goddess of passion and lust

Lithuanian mythology

• Milda, goddess of love and freedom

Mesopotamian mythology

• Inanna or Ishtar, goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare

Moroccan mythology

• Qandisa, goddess of lust who first seduces men then drives them insane

Norse and Germanic mythology

• Frigg, goddess of romance, marriage, sex and reproduction, married women, household duty, and divination.
• Freyja, goddess associated with magic, shamanism, seiðr, sacrifice, war, death, and sexuality.
• Freyr, worshipped as a phallic fertility god, he was said to "[bestow] peace and pleasure on mortals"
• Sjöfn, goddess associated with love

Roman mythology

• Cupid, the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Eros
• Venus, the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite

Slavic mythology

• Dogoda, Polish spirit of the west wind, associated with love and gentleness
• Dzydzilelya, Polish goddess of love and marriage and of sexuality and fertility
• Lada, fakeloric goddess of harmony, merriment, youth, love and beauty
• Siebog, god of love and marriage
• Živa, goddess of love and fertility

Vodou

• Baron La Croix, loa of the dead and sexuality
• Baron Samedi, loa of the dead, sex and resurrection
• Erzulie Freda Dahomey, loa of love, beauty, jewelry, dancing, luxury, and flowers

Yoruba mythology

• Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities sometimes associated with love and lust
• Oshun, goddess of love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy

When death calls

When death calls

What's a warm up?

Quay's quandary

Quay is the King's magician. He wakes up one morning and discovers his magic gone. This is not a good thing! The King's prospective bride is arriving in a week and he'll be asked to cast several spells to confirm she is who she claims. And to make matters worse, there are others coveting his position as King's Magician.

Source: twimg0-a.akamaihd.net via Dragon on Pinterest

He has asked for a leave of a few days to attend his "sick aunt" who isn't sick but is a healer. He arrives at her home.

Source: h-e-r-b-s.tumblr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

He finds his Aunt Edelia ...

Source: teikodornor.blogspot.com via Dragon on Pinterest

with her apprentice Siff,

Source: ibtimes.co.uk via Dragon on Pinterest

Quay explains his quandary. Edelia hovers over Siff, directing her in the casting of spells and mixing of potions that the apprentice doesn't seem particularly adept at. Finally his aunt says he's been cursed. But she can't do anything unless she knows more about it.

Quay is in a bind. He needs his magic back NOW.

Siff offers her help. She confesses she's not much of a healer. Her family made her apprentice here. What she really has always wanted to be is a magical investigator and she'd love this opportunity to prove she can do it. Quay is skeptical (and a bit of a snob). But what choice does he have?

Alright, onto the next

Alright, onto the next

What's a warm up?

Would you rather ...

Would you rather ...

Have a dragon?

Or be a dragon?


Argue why you wouldn't want to be one. Then argue why you wouldn't want to be the other.

Living a lie

Living a lie

What's a warm up?

Snakes on a plane

Ms. Shofi Ademola has been hired as assistant to Jan Czarnecki, 137th richest man in the world. After a night jet flight to Montevideo, then a two seater plane ride to a landing strip in a cow pasture, then a 3 hour jolting ride in a Jeep, the odd questions she'd been asked in her third and final interview looped in her head. Had she ever been bungee jumping? Was she allergic to exotic foods? And was her baby sitting certificate up to date? They had laughed after the last question.

Source: bookerrising.net via Dragon on Pinterest

The jeep brought her to mud hut with a corrugated tin roof where a guide and donkeys waited for her and her luggage. After four hours on the donkey there was a forty five minute climb up the side of a mountain which brought her here:

Source: uniqhotels.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Surely this was some bizarre joke. Perhaps one of those reality shows. She was dusty, sore and the guide was calling for Jan, his voice growing distant as he ventured further into the jungled forest. Then twenty minutes later she was greeted with, "Hey, Shof, know any new ways of cooking snake?" If it weren't for the smile, she wouldn't have recognize this man before her as Jan Czarnecki.

Source: Uploaded by user via Dragon on Pinterest

Take it from there.

Spotlight kid

Spotlight kid

What's a warm up?

Star kissed

Write a single sentence describing a star filled night sky from the point of view of someone who feels:

lonely
weary
trapped
persecuted
betrayed
infected by wanderlust

and/or someone who is:

an alien who can't get home
a cleaning woman who just won a seventeen million dollar lottery
a woman new turned to a vampire against her will
a miner trapped beneath the ground for three days
a cadet for the space force who has been kicked out of the academy
a wizard on the night before her 1000th birthday

You don't need to mention whose point of view or anything about their state. Work at conveying how their emotions color and change what they see.

Wake up the mountain

Wake up the mountain

What's a warm up?

"To my mind ..."

The Ritual

The Ritual

What's a warm up?

Hooked from the beginning

Write several opening lines to a story that begin, a la Dean Koontz, with "a named person and some sort of immediate interruption to normality" as James Bell describes in Plot & Structure. (Koontz made it a practice to come up with opening lines regularly as an idea generator.)

Begin with something the reader can relate to as having an emotional impact on the character.

If you'd like something to work with, cut up the following and make two piles. Draw one from each pile. Feel free to change the form of the word.

Chamilsaya
Ranem Zarker
Rothkal the Magnificent
Sundast Ganbaatar
Fumblewit
Vicious Dog
Jochi
Susan Fysher
Amphelice Groby
Marjolaine Lalande
Zoé Babin
Edward Purser
Doom the Battlehaunter
Analena Torilles
Grumbledoof
Orlando Blood
Aziel
Plague Heart
Hilda Quackenbush
Sara St. Clare

apple cart
T. Rex
funeral
manhole cover
phase weapon
decaffeinated
proselytize
chalkboard
declassified
estranged
miscalculate
spellbound
sabotage
little white lie
tangle
haven
enchant
curse
pirate
rite
insane
astrology
ghost
beef stew
comet

---

Some examples from Dean Koontz:

Katharine Sellers was sure that, at any moment, the car would begin to slide along the smooth, icy pavement and she would lose control of it. — Dance With the Devil, written as “Deanna Dwyer”

Penny Dawson woke and heard something moving furtively in the dark bedroom. — Darkfall

Tuesday was a fine California day, full of sunshine and promise, until Harry Lyon had to shoot someone at lunch. — Dragon Tears

In his onyx-walled room in the occupation tower, Hulann — a naoili — had disassociated his overmind from his organic regulating brain. — Beastchild

Lonely in your nightmare

Lonely in your nightmare

What's a warm up?

First assignment

The Captain

Source: fanpop.com via DarjeelingPlum on Pinterest

The bridge of the ship he has wanted to command since he was a child and has finally been given the opportunity.

Source: Uploaded by user via DarjeelingPlum on Pinterest

But first he must win the approval of the ship's conscience who has been connected to the ship for 78 years. She is very particular about who commands her ship.

Source: stevemccurry.wordpress.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Listen to the flies

Listen to the flies

What's a warm up?

Comet tales

Broom of Doom by Matt Dixon

What will the fairy tales of the future be? What tales will they tell on generations ships? On the colonies of Mars? On a universally peaceful Earth?

What stories would resonate with the kids on the Next Generation's Enterprise? What things go bump in the night? Who are the wolves and the evil beasts? What character types would be satisfying as the rescuer and the one to be rescued? What will be the rewards and the magic?

I stumbled across a succinct list of fairy tale character, setting, action and so on motifs to help you build a tale.

FAIRY TALE MOTIFS (From Carole Slattery's notes taken at a Harvard Extension course  taught by folklore expert David Bynum) I. Character Motifs

This is based on what the character DOES in the story. The character can change but rarely does. Characters in fairy tales are stereotypes, that is they are patterns rather than fully developed persons. One prince is the same as another. In fact the essence of the fairy tale is predictable pattern, or motif, where the predictability is comforting but the details of plot and particulars make it interesting. There are seven character types in fairy tales. A story may not have all seven, but every character in the story may be classified as one of these types.

A. Elder

1. A king or a father figure.
2. Stationary (Stays home.The hero does the adventuring.)
3. Sometimes disabled. (Can be sick, impoverished, or have a rotten kid.)

B. Hero (Male or Female)

1. Person who has gained the most by the end of the story.
2. Moves, often vertically (This is meant very literally. The hero is the one who climbs glass mountains, goes down into wells and caverns, etc.)

C. True Love (Male or Female)

1. Object of the hero's affections.
2. Hero often does battle for his/her True Love.

D. Villain (Evil deeds can be done before the story opens, as in Frog Prince, Beauty and the Beast, etc.)

1. Opposes hero.
2. Force of evil. (Can be a traditionally evil creature such as a witch, giant, gnome, etc.)

E. Helper

1. Often a powerful, magical person (Cinderella's Fairy Godmother)
2. Gives advice or a valuable gift to the hero
3. Often tests the hero (and others)

F. Friend (Role may overlap with Helper.)

1. Friend or companion of the hero, often of lower social class, a servant
2. Binding/unbinding relationship with the hero (Again, very literal. Snow White is freed by the dwarves from the comb which binds her hair and the girdle which is laced too tight.)

G. Messenger

1. Brings news (Messenger in Rumplestilskin, also the Mirror in Snow White, which while not human, behaves like a character)

II. Place Motifs - These are less definite than characters because places are not always discreet.

A. Home (The hero's home. Often Home-Adventure-Home pattern.)

1. An ordinary place, not magical.
2. Often the starting and/or ending place of the story.

B. Paradise

1. Where the hero gets his/her heart's desire.
2. Often a monster here to overcome first (In Hansel and Gretel, to hungry children the gingerbread house is paradise, but they must first overcome the witch.)

C. Bad Place

1. Escape desired. (The oven in Hansel and Gretel.)

D. Limbo

1. Seems dangerous, but isn't.
2. Shadowy, mysterious.
3. Transitions occur, deals are made. (Hansel and Gretel are frightened in the forest, but they are not in danger there. Cinderella is transformed in the garden.)

III Object Motifs

A. Objects in groups. Usually makes a pattern such as:

1. Size (Increasing or decreasing.)
2. Material (Everything may be gold, for example.)
3. Power (Each object has some kind of magical or symbolic power such as wealth, authority.)

B. Ordinary objects with magical powers. Such as:

1. Transportation (Seven league boots, horseless saddle, traveling cloak)
2. Weapons
3. Supply (bottomless purses)
4. Medicine (elixir, a medicine that restore life)

C. Objects that serve a special function in the story.

1. Token of Recognition - by which the hero/true love recognize each other (Cinderella's slipper), may have some relationship to water or liquid.

IV. Action Motifs

A. Actions of the Hero

1. Quest
2. Endurance test (Hero can't speak until task done or time is up.)
3. Tasks to perform, usually 3, involving:
   

• food or water
• wood
• fire or stone

B. Means of success for Hero. (For example The Wizard of Oz - brains, heart, courage)

1. Cleverness or wit
2. Virtue
3. Courage and strength

C. Rewards of the Hero.

1. Wealth
2. Love
3. Status

V. Style Motifs

A. Use of numbers: 3, 7, 12

B. Opening and closing lines ("Once upon a time, ...happily every after". See Once Upon a Time for a list from tales around the world.)

C. Chante Fable, the inclusion of a song, chant, incantation, etc. in story (like "Mirror mirror on the wall," "I'll huff and I'll puff, etc.")

Children of the damned

Children of the damned

What's a warm up?

Basquing in the desert

You arrive in the desert town of Cappadocia. The main route in is blocked by an overturned truck of melons and an animal-drawn cart of dung. The two drivers argue in the middle of the street in different languages.

Source: chachasconeyisland.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Detouring around, you approach the center by way of a less used side street. Along the way there is a small square with a hand pump for water where you see this trio. They speak rapidly in a language that sounds like nothing you've heard before. As you approach, they still, their gazes following you.

Source: basque.unr.edu via Dragon on Pinterest

A movement ahead catches your eye as someone disappears into the side door of the inn you intend to stay at. You enter and find ...

Source: thefabweb.com via Dragon on Pinterest

speaking in tense, low tones. "They're back. You need to get down here now. We can't go through that again." When he notices you he hangs up abruptly. After a pause and stare he says, "Can I help you?"

Take it from there.

Windows to the soul

Windows to the soul

What's a warm up?

Random conflict

Two suggestions for these words.

One, write a sentence for each word (or some form of it) dealing with an internal or external conflict for the main character of the sentence.

Two, create a list of 6 characters -- yours or your favorites. Roll a die to randomly choose two characters. Pit those two characters in conflict with each other. If you roll the same number twice, you can either roll again or make it an internal conflict. If you have a lot of characters, you can make two lists of 6, perhaps a list of good guys and bad guys. Though putting two good guys or two bad guys in conflict is potentially more interesting! :-)

A is for Abandoned
B is for Betrayal
C is for Clandestine
D is for Double-cross
E is for Elegy
F is for Favoritism
G is for Grovel
H is for Hostility
I is for Isolation
J is for Jealousy
K is for Kinship
L is for Liaison
M is for Misunderstanding
N is for Neglectful
O is for Obedient
P is for Phobia
Q is for Questionable
R is for Rebellion
S is for Surrender
T is for Thwart
U is for Underestimate
V is for Violated
W is for Withdraw
X is for eXhume
Y is for Yield
Z is for Zealous

Bad religion

Bad religion

What's a warm up?

A rose tattoo

My collection of quotes is getting a thin and uninspiring so I'll be doing just a quote a month until I can build up a collection again. In their place I'll be putting up Pinterest pin story starters on Sundays.

IN VICTORIAN LONDON, your character has stepped from his place of business for lunch. As he is headed for the pub, an unusual woman catches his eye.

INTRIGUED, YOUR CHARACTER BEGINS FOLLOWING ...

Source: Uploaded by user via Mariana on Pinterest

SHE HEADS DOWN ...

Source: bluepueblo.tumblr.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

AT THE BOTTOM SHE SPEAKS WITH ...

Source: verycoolphotoblog.com via @ngela on Pinterest

He's a street performer but also involved in less savory trades. Apparently the two know each other. The woman with the rose tattoo walks away, leaving the fellow agitated, his gaze darting about.

Alien shore

Alien shore

What's a warm up?

Weird funerals and Elven dungeons

Pick one of the following and see where it takes you.

• The story is about a blasphemous demigod who is a storyteller.
• The setting includes a devastated well.
• Include the following words: dreams ambition extinguish

• The story is about a broken-winged hawk who is a talent agent.
• The setting includes a destroyed nightclub.
• Include the following words: mosaic fear deceive

• The story is about a secretive alien who is a goddess.
• The setting includes a weird funeral.
• Include the following words: loom truth bless

• The story is about a gentle ogre who is a judge.
• The setting includes a splendrous tomb.
• Include the following words: talisman direction choke

• The story is about an arresting goblin who is a cult hero.
• The setting includes an abandoned well.
• Include the following words: shackles racism sacred water

• The story is about a cat boy who is a stable hand.
• The setting includes a fairy empire.
• Include the following words: explosion belief vanquish

• The story is about a reluctant cyborg who is a monk.
• The setting includes a fog enshrouded lake.
• Include the following words: coincidence corruption experience

• The story is about a rare book dealer who is a soul stealer.
• The setting includes a elven dungeon.
• Include the following words: ambition belief hinder

• The story is about a wise cat who is a father.
• The setting includes a war-torn library.
• Include the following words: cure excel deliver

• The story is about a irascible demon who is a writer.
• The setting includes a frosted chamber.
• Include the following words: silhouette love conviction

Heroes End

Heroes End

What's a warm up?

"An art teacher ran an experiment ..."

An art teacher ran an experiment in his ceramics class. He divided the class into two groups. One would receive their final grade based on the quantity of pots they were able to make: for example, 50 pounds was worth an A, 40 pounds a B, and so forth. The other half of the class would be graded on the quality of only one pot; it had to be exquisite.
And the experiment began...

The first group made pot after pot, some small, some large, more, more, more.

The second group strategized, studied the ceramics of the masters, sketched and plotted, calculated, planned, and finally each made his one pot.

So which group won?

Interestingly, the group that was judged on quantity also ended up with the highest quality pots. The second, strategizing, group found their pots beset with mistakes that they hadn't anticipated. As the first group made pot after pot, they also learned to better produce works of art.*

*a story from John Ortberg's If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat.

(From Amy Deardon's The Story Template blog with tips on story techniques, structure, and publishing.)

Teenage queen

Teenage queen

What's a warm up?

Resolution war

Calvin and Hobbes

List 5 New Year's resolutions of the bad guy in your current or favorite story you've done.

List 5 New Year's resolutions of the good guy in your current or favorite story you've done.

Now have them critique each other's list.

Year 3000

Year 3000

What's a warm up?

We were promised jet packs

We were promised jet packs

What's a warm up?

Manipulator General

This is Grandma. Mover and shaker of her world. Quite often without people realizing they're being moved and shaken.

Source: belizetimes.bz via Dragon on Pinterest

This is her son-in-law. Too often left wondering whether he's been manipulated or not.

Source: belizetimes.bz via Dragon on Pinterest

This is grandma's new ... companion. The son-in-law is suspicious. Grandma seems oblivious to the fact that he's manipulating her. Or is he? Who really has the upper hand?

Source: flickr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

Sticky fingers

In $18 Million Theft, Victim Was a Canadian Maple Syrup Cartel


The police in Quebec arrested three men in connection with the theft of six million pounds of syrup from Canada's global strategic maple syrup reserve.

---

Yes, real story. :-) Not just a cartel. But one holding a global strategic reserve of maple syrup.

Midnight maniac

Midnight maniac

What's a warm up?

The necromancer

The necromancer

What's a warm up?

Supernova goes POP!

THE HOME

Source: 26.media.tumblr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

THE HOME OWNER

Source: pharosbones.tumblr.com via Dragon on Pinterest

THE RESPONDER TO THE AD FOR GENERAL FACTOTUM

Source: fuckyouverymuch.dk via Dragon on Pinterest