: How to think of a plot in 5 minutes I have an English high school exam in five days in which I will be given 2-3 prompts e.g. A story which includes the sentence, "I could not not believe

Vote Up Vote Down

You're being given a prompt, so that will do half the work for you.

I think it was J. Michael Straczynski, writer of Bablyon 5, who wrote that one could sum up "conflict" in three questions:

What does the character want?
What will the character do to get it?
What will someone do to stop the character?

So you take your prompt (John needs to find a flat in an expensive area of London. Describe your favorite childhood memory. There's a hungry cat on your porch.) and apply the three questions to it.

John needs a flat. [Want] He'll look online and through newspaper ads. [Do] But
his current flatmate doesn't want him to move out, so he'll delete
voicemails from prospective landlords and otherwise sabotage his
efforts.[Thwart]
My favorite childhood memory was getting ice cream at the fair. [Want] I had
to share it with my sister, [Do] and she wanted to hog the whole thing, [Thwart]
but my mom stopped her.
The cat sat on my porch, meowing occasionally and looking hopeful. My
mom said "No more cats!" [Thwart] but really, was I going to let a cat starve
to death on my porch? [Want: to feed the cat] Of course not. [Do: feed the cat]

(0)