Sizzle Bop!

We'll be providing many prompts here (eventually :-) with a variety from which to choose. Some are very short and just give the simplest of idea starters. But for Sizzlers, you may find that they do best with a prompt that gives them actual characters to work with-- starts that take them a bit further into the story.

You can find these on your own as well. Take a well known story and ask your writer to come up with an alternative ending. Or just go on-line and google the words "writing prompts" and you'll find a gazillion (maybe even more) suggestions.

One more thing to try!

WRITING PROMPT #1

Things were perfectly normal for 7AM on a Saturday. The baby was still asleep. Mom and Dad were still asleep. My little brother and I were watching our standard cartoons and other than our TV shows, the house was very quiet. As usual, my kid brother was sticking his feet on me, poking me with one of his action figures and generally being a bit of a nuisance. I tried to get him to pipe down so I could hear what was happening in the show. Then I thought I heard an unusual sound over by the wall but I couldn't make it out with all his giggling and flopping about.

     "Sh!" I barked. "I think I hear something."

There is was again-- an odd little scratching. It came from the sliding glass door behind the curtain off to my left. I went over to peek around the fabric. There was a cute little dog standing there, looking. . .I don't know. . .cheerful? He certainly wasn't afraid because his tail was perky and wagging like crazy. I looked around and didn't see anyone. So I opened the door to pet the little guy. That was when I noticed a note wrapped around his collar.

That was weird.

I quickly opened it up. I couldn't believe what it said. I knew I was going to have to do something about this. . .but just what, I wasn't sure.

But first I should tell you what the note said.

WRITING PROMPT #2

Using the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, take the story in a different direction. When the bear family arrived home, little bear ran in ahead. Instead of being shocked by the intruder, he spend some time with Goldilocks and discovered they had a shared interest in. . .

WRITING PROMPT #3

Allison walked home from the corner store in a foul mood. It was stinking hot today, she was 8 cents short and couldn't buy her favorite soda, and to top it all off, the clerk was rude to her. So now she had to walk all the way home along without a cool drink. Ugh.

On a sudden impulse she veered into a long alley between rows of old houses. She paused just a second, and then went quickly into an open place in the long wooden fence that backed up to one of properties. She decided to take a shorter route home. To be fair, it wasn't much shorter, and it went through some really tall weeds and along several deserted old homes that had been boarded up long ago. But at least she wouldn't be walking along the hot pavement with smelly car exhaust swirling around.

The grasshoppers flew out of the grass just ahead of her approaching steps. She was enjoying the startled bug ballet that she was creating. But she suddenly stopped short. She heard something coming from within the old Schuster house, something that made no sense coming from a house that hadn't been lived in for 20-some years. It certainly made her stop. It made her think. And eventually it made her smile. She broke into a run and bolted in the front door, where she found . . .

LITTLE PROMPTS