Well, what started out as one big novel, than became a series of 4 children’s chapter books, and now seems to be evolving into a series of short horror stories inspired by one sentence prompts. Here are the prompts I’m currently using. For my own book, I’m attempting to make each (or at least as many of them as possible) of these prompts into stories (each 1k to 5K long) about Dracula. I’m also trying to find a way to include Rancid Yak Butter in each one. 100 short stories times 1k words = 100k words right? and 5k times 100 is 500k? So that means I’ll be writing up to 500k this year???????? YIKES! What did I get myself into? Wow, what a weird DARE I’ve made for myself! LOL!
Anyways, I was thinking, there might be something here in this list one of you might be able to use as a dare in your own NaNovel, so I thought I’d pass my list on to you, just in case. Here it is:
Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling.
A reality show contestant can’t handle the sudden fame and becomes a recluse.
A woman digging in her garden discovers . . .
A high rise window washer witnesses something horrifying while washing the top floor windows.
A book comes and says: “Write me.”
Two childhood friend reunite after 20 years. One of them is a serial killer.
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.
A scientist has an other worldly experience, which forces him to reevaluate his spiritual beliefs.
An older married couple is trying to recapture the romance of their youth.
You’ve burned my waffles for the last time.
Two strangers agree to share a room after it’s announced there are no more rooms available.
All this because he cooked some eggs?
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.
While plowing his newly purchased land, a farmer discovers a mass grave.
I told my wife that a husband is like a fine wine; he gets better with age. The next day, she locked me in the cellar.
Whatever you do, don’t turn on the lights!
Girls are like phones. We love to be held, talked too but if you press the wrong button you’ll be disconnected!
Venice, Italy is sinking rapidly and must be evacuated.
Gravestone reads: I told you I was allergic to shellfish.
Did the shag carpet just get up and walk away?
Following the trail of several murders, a detective finds an unlikely clue when taking his family to visit Stonehenge.
The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think.
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.
A woman finds a strange laptop and a list of instructions in her bed room.
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep — not screaming, like the passengers in his car.
While on a cruise a man and his wife stumble upon several dead bodies.
But I was just trying to stay out of the way . . .
A young scientist finds the cure for cancer. The next day he receives a threatening phone call. A week later his body washes up on the beach.
Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
What are the three words guaranteed to humiliate men everywhere? ‘Hold my purse.’
An excommunicated priest receives a holy relic in the mail.
I’m sorry, but your position is being eliminated.
A man looked out his window to see some one digging in his back yard.
Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
Says the man falling from the sky: “Hello ground!”
An old man returns to the tree in which he carved his long lost sweetheart’s initials.
Only after she dies during surgery, does the head surgeon realize the patient was his daughter.
After years of dead end leads a tabloid reporter finds evidence of a legendary small town monster.
This is my first time on a plane.
Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?
A book store clerk decides to recommend the same book to all her customers regardless of what they ask for.
I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places.
You find the Venus de Milo’s arms.
The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
An escaped convict is trying to get as far away as possible from civilization.
A woman is attracted to a bus driver and finds excuses to ride his bus every day.
Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
Quit eating my pudding cups!
When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room.
A door to door sales man witnesses a crime.
Everybody wants to go to heaven; but nobody wants to die.
A man decides to attend the funeral of his favorite author.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
Do you notice anything different about me?
The only reason people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.
What do you mean, my birth certificate expired?
A couple renovating a house, discover a secret passage.
I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.
A woman wakes up to find herself horribly disfigured after using a face cream that promised amazing results.
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
A mail carrier suspects some one on his route is engaged in some thing fishy.
I have opinions of my own — strong opinions — but I don’t always agree with them.
A botanist proves that plants feel pain and exhibit conscious thought.
When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity. – Albert Einstein
Help! Some one in this book is trying to kill me!
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together.
Why do you have ten cans of easy cheese in your cart?
He who laughs last didn’t get it.
A blue lion walked past her window and disappeared into the woods.
Everyone has photographic memory; some just don’t have the film.
A man is astonished to discover he has grown gills,
There are three sides of an arguement — your side, my side and the right side.
She must choose between a professional body builder and a burnt out college professor.
Always remember you’re unique, just like everyone else.
While on a camping trip, the family finds a carnival in the middle of no where.
If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the Up button.
Seven people take a boat trip, but only six return.
There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
Car service: If it ain’t broke, we’ll break it.
Who are you and how did you get in here? —– I’m a locksmith. And… I’m a locksmith…
If there is a “WILL”, there are 500 relatives.
It’s 11PM, do you know where your pants are?
What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists?
This is a quantum car. I don’t know where I am, but I’m going really fast.
That makes exactly 100.
These btw came from this book: The Writer’s Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction (Writers Digest) This book has been a constant inspiration for me and each of these prompts can be used over and over and over again – as short stories, as flash fiction, as novels, as comedy, as horror, as sci-fi, as romance, etc. I’ve been using this book to get ideas for my writing for the last 5 or 6 years and it never ceases to amaze me the ideas it inspires. I highly recommend that if you are going to be writing a lot of stories, you really MUST get this book!
All Hail Bela Lugosi!
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