Tuesday, April 25

Posted by Laurel Garver on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 20 comments
Welcome, A-Z Blogging Challenge friends. This year, my theme is Prompt-a-day, with fun or thought-provoking writing prompts to use as a story start, warm up, or creativity stretching exercise.

Unexpected


Your weird, socially awkward friend sets you up on a blind date with someone awesome.



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Q4U: How might you spin this prompt in an unexpected direction? How about as cyberpunk or historical fiction?

20 comments:

  1. That would be unexpected! Not sure where I'd go with that one as a conflict doesn't readily spring to mind. I'll have to give it some thought.
    Discarded Darlings - Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction

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    1. The underlying paranoia that this person couldn't possibly be as awesome as they first seem could become the relationship's undoing, however.

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    1. Especially if the character had gone through a series of terrible set-ups, it could be fun to have his/her expectations be even deeper disaster, but, surprise! the current date isn't terrible after all.

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  3. I could easily see it in historical fiction - some sort of arranged marriage or something. In cyberpunk I would imagine you would be paired with an unwanted partner for some sort of black ops, that turned out to be a way better partnership than expected.

    U - Underground SNOWLAB

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    1. Of course, the longer you can build up the expectation of disaster, the more entertaining it is when the new possible partner proves to not be a horror.

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  4. Perhaps the socially awkward friend has a crush on the awesome one! The set-up is a sideways attempt to spend more time with the object of shis affection. That's where the conflicts might come in! Visiting you from "Romance Righter" where, today, U is for Umbrageous. Angelica French http://bit.ly/2q0QEpR

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    1. Ah, the love-triangle built from the friend zone--good one!

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  5. It go in so many different directions... simple love story, love triangle, psycho murder thriller, a time loop kinda scenario...

    You picked a unique theme. I wish I'd landed on your blog sooner. Will have to go through your series after the challenge.

    Happy AtoZing! Do stop by on mine sometime! :D
    Chicky @ www.mysteriouskaddu.com

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    1. Hmm, the psycho murder thriller spin has be really intrigued! Have fun with it!

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  6. Hi Laurel - oh gosh ... different time zones, different religions, different latitudes ... unexpected would appear rather too often ... I'd like to lose some of my unexpected meeters (people I've met recently!) ... cheers Hilary

    http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/u-is-for-unicorn.html

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    1. Once in a while, it can be fun to have a wonderful surprise instead of an unpleasant one.

      Happy A to Z-ing

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  7. I can only remember one "blind date." She was cute, but a member of a serious Pentecostal church that shunned movies and makeup, dresses had to be over her knees which in the mid-70s wasn't exactly trendy. It was kind of unexpected, but not unpleasant.

    http://sagecoveredhills.blogspot.com/2017/04/u-is-for-ursa-major.html

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    1. Pleasant surprises do seem rather rare with blind date stories that I've heard. I fortunately didn't have matchmaker friends, so I haven't experienced such a match up myself.

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  8. Oh, writing prompts are so much fun! Thank you for coming up with so many of them for us. Someday I think I want to write a list of writing prompts. :)

    Visiting from the A to Z Challenge. See my “U” post here: https://lydiahowe.com/2017/04/25/u-is-for-uncle-izaac-atozchallenge/

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    1. Glad to hear you are a fan of prompts. I've always had story ideas pop up that I didn't necessarily want to write, so I've channeled that creative energy into crafting them into pithy prompts for others.

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  9. How about "someone awesome" turns out to be a time traveler from the past, making it speculative historical fiction :-) @mirymom1 from
    Balancing Act

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    1. Fantastic! Love it. One could have so much fun writing that story for sure!

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  10. I could definitely see that happening! Maybe the blind date turns out to be a spy or something equally adventurous that's SO the opposite of the friend who introduced them.

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    1. Sound like a really fun twist. And ordinary date becomes a grand adventure!

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