writercises | EXERCISE: who's that screaming? (Reply)

So we're about to get into the Halloweenie season, and start cranking out stories? Sounds like a plan.

Tell you what, pick a number from one to six. Come on, you know you want to. Pick one now.

No, you can't go on until you pick a number. Now pick that number.

Good. You have chosen:

1. You hear a woman screaming in the parking lot behind your apartment building. Do you try to help?
2. On a cold winter day, you notice a bum who has passed out on the sidewalk. No one else is around. Do you try to help him?
3. You're driving alone on a highway at night. A desperate looking person tries to flag you down. Do you stop?
4. Waiting at a bus stop in a downpour, you see a blind man attempting to cross the street. You are in a rush and see your bus coming. Do you offer to help?
5. A man on the street says he and his wife (who is standing nearby) are stranded and have no money for food. He asks for anything you can spare. You won't miss a five dollar bill. Do you give one to him?
6. You're driving at night and hit a dog. Do you stop and see that the dog gets medical attention?

Six little moral dilemmas, courtesy of A Question of Scruples, the game that makes you think.

Now, you might want to use these as the basis for a Halloween story. I think any of us can pretty easily imagine how these scenarios could get worse. In any case, take your dilemma, and make a list of five ways for things to go wrong. You might want to consider different alternative responses -- going to help or not going to help, either one can turn into complications and contusions. You might want to think about some different background stories. For example, what if there's a demon involved? Or perhaps just a run-of-the-mill terrorist? What about your local psychopathic murderer? Or maybe . . . well, pick your own horrifying characters, and consider how they might be involved in the scenario that you are developing.

Add some motivation, raise the stakes, think about the crucible, ticking clock, maybe some other complications -- double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn . . . oh, you remember. Well, put your fenney snake in, and make that cauldron shake!

Write.