Today’s writing prompt/story prompt is the first in hopefully a long line of gems of inspiration to get you writing. It’s midsummer here in the UK, so I’ve thought up a good summery writing prompt…
Write a story about someone who stays up through the shortest night of the year, midsummer’s eve, 21st June.
Here's a few questions to get you thinking! Why do they stay up? - Do they think something magical is going to happen? Are they stargazing? Are they a child staying up late for the first time? Do they have something to achieve? Are they just looking for an adventure? What do they see/hear/feel/smell? - Does it ever get truly dark? Is the moon up? What animals are visible that normally would be hidden by darkness? Are they in a city with buildings radiating out the heat of the day? Are they in the countryside and can smell fresh cut hay, or dusty, dry earth? Where do they go? - For a walk? For a drive? For a midnight swim? To visit a place special to them, like a grave of a loved one? To a rave? To visit someone? To steal something? Can they convince anyone else to stay up with them? - Do they try and fail, and then set out on a path of angry self destruction? Do they get a friend along for the adventure? Do they meet up with a stranger who becomes a friend? Do they bring someone who turns against them?
I really hope you like this writing prompt/story prompt. You can try any aspect of the above questions, it doesn’t need to be a complete story. Don’t overthink it. Just start writing. If you’re stuck, start writing about what your character might see as they step out of their front door, or look out of their window as the sun is slowly sinking. Write it in the first person if you get bogged down thinking of a name.
Do let me know in the comments if you use this one, whether it’s just for a paragraph, or a whole story. And if you’re happy to share, please feel free to post your work in the comment thread.
Happy Writing!
