As writers, we’re constantly looking for ways to deepen our understanding of characters and their motivations. One great way to do that is to use writing prompts to put them in insane situations and see how they react.
Well, a couple of weeks ago, 1.5 million people in Hawaii got to experience such an insane situation in real life, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. One morning they received a text basically saying they were going to die, and then thirty-eight minutes later received another one that it was a false alarm.
I mean whaaat . . . ?
False Alarm Writing Prompt
One positive outcome is that the potential for creativity is just bursting from this scenario, so I’m ripping today’s writing prompt straight from the headlines:
Imagine you or a character you’ve written is in Hawaii for work or pleasure. At 8:07 am local time, the following text is sent to all the phones on the island:
Thirty-eight minutes later another text is sent that it’s a false alarm.
Missile Crisis
What would you or your character do during those thirty-eight minutes? In the days and months after? Where would you go? What decision would suddenly become clear? Or unclear? How would your view or your character’s view of the world change?
We know the strongest form of characterization isn’t what people say, but what they do. What better way to find out who your character really is than by letting them believe for thirty-eight minutes that the world as they know it is ending?
What real-life world events have you used as writing prompts to inspire your writing? Let us know in the comments.
PRACTICE
Take fifteen minutes to write a story based on this writing prompt. When you’re done, share your story in the comments below, and be sure to leave feedback for your fellow writers!
The post Writing Prompt: Hawaii False Missile Alert appeared first on The Write Practice.
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