site member prompt Creative Prompt 18

[Graeme]

Since this forum has gone quiet, I thought I'd try something different.

 

The previous writing prompts have helped exercise the technical craft of writing. However, that is only part of the process. One major part is the creative exercise of coming up with new ideas for stories. This writing prompt is asking for plot ideas, not actual writing.

 

Situation:

 

Two boys, friends, have been kicked out of home.

 

Action:

 

Come up with overall plots suggestions in different genres.

 

For example:

 

Romance: The two boys had recently become lovers. When discovered and kicked out of home, they learn the true meaning of friendship as some friends turn their backs, will others welcome them with open arms. Struggling, but with assistance from unlikely sources, they complete their high school education and win scholarships to college.

 

Horror: The boys end up on the street, where they are approached by low-level crims. Desperate for a place to live and a source of income, they descend into a world where their mental state becomes threatened as they are forced to do things that repulse them. They are finally rescued, but the one of them has become insane.

Action: They don't understand why they have been kicked out. Following one of their father's, they see him gunned down in what appears to be an underworld execution. From there, they are pursued by persons unknown. They eventually learn that they were kicked out in an attempt to save them from the "enemy".

 

Erotica: Er... not really sure what to do with this one...

 

Science Fiction: Homeless, the boys are picked up by a military recruiter. Thinking that this would give them somewhere to live and allow them to earn some money while they regained their feet, they accept. It was only when it was too late that they learnt that they would be subjects of some new scientific experiments to develop superior soldiers. They gained some new abilities, but with associated weaknesses. When they used their new abilities to discover that they were to be 'terminated' at the end of the experiments, they escaped. They were chased and eventually faked their deaths, which allowed them to establish as quiet life... for the moment. (Yeah, I know -- Universal Solider with a handful of twists. Sorry -- I need to stretch myself more in this area).

 

Feel free to pick your own genre's or sub-genre's. The idea is to try to push yourself out of the genre that you normally write in (in my case, romance), though feel free to offer a suggestion in your preferred genre if you like.

[Menzoberranzen]

Great prompt!

Romance: As the boys struggle to survive, alone on the streets, they soon learn that they have no more secrets from one another. When they learn that nobody really understands them except themselves, they turn to each other for comfort. In amidst the brutal existence on the streets, their newfound love is all that keeps them human.

 

Horror: Frightened, alone and starving, the boys throw caution to the wind and accept the help of a shady stranger. Drawn in to a world of intrigue beyond anything they could have imagined, espionage and theft soon devolve into more macabre tasks for a master whose caprice knows no bounds

Action: Fueled by a burning desire for revenge, the two boys turn to a life of petty crime in hopes of getting back at their parents. When they wind up inside an FBI interrogation room, they soon realize that stolen cars are the very least of their troubles. Only one junior agent believes they weren't in on their parents' plot, but his bumbling goodwill seems inadequate as they run for their lives through the streets of Bangkok.

 

Erotica: Ummmm....one of them becomes a cowboy, the other a banker and...yeah.

 

Science Fiction: The world is falling apart and people are willing to do anything to survive - including abandon their children. Australia (sorry Graeme) has slipped into the sea, with South America nothing more than the highest reaches of the Andes. As they search for a way to make it to Asia - along with the rest of the world - they mistakenly wander into a hidden CIA laboratory. Given the choice of participation or death, the two boys are suddenly catapulted to the forefront of the effort to save humanity.

 

Mystery: One of the boys finds a map hidden inside the safe he had stolen when he was kicked out. As the two friends struggle to decipher the map, they find answers to questions they had never thought to ask. When a secret society approaches them with the offer of help just days before the CIA makes the same offer, they realize some things are better left unknown. Not wanting to incur the wrath of either party, the boys decide they will just have to get there first.

 

That's my contribution. Couldn't think of any better genre's to add.

[eliotmoore]

I think the last posts have nicely covered those genres, so I will make a stab at something new.

 

Historical Fiction: Destitute and on the street the boys sign on as powder monkeys on a ship of the line headed out to the Brest Blockade. They band together against the larger bullies and catch the eye of the handsome third officer in charge of the lower deck starboard guns. The boys frollic in the shrouds and down in the cable tire amongst the squeals of rats (other squeals too...)The boy's courage is tested as the ship sails into harm's way during the Battle of Trafalgar. Amidst the terrifying carnage one is wounded and the other must choose between duty to King and Country or friendship. The conflict is resolved by the handsome third officer and the wounded friend is saved. Fade into the sunset... two boys on their way to manhood hanging off the ratlines scanning the coast of Imperial France.

 

Mystery: The boys retreat to a church where they hope they can spend the night. High in the balcony they are roused by the sounds of movement down in the sactuary. Below them shadowed figures struggle and one is felled by the heavy blow of a brass candle stick. Silence descends and the boys creep down to investigate. Frightened by the discovery of the dead body of a teenage boy with a strange tatoo on his neck and an Italian coin clutched in his hand. The boys run from the church, but they have been seen. As the police begin to search for the boys they desperately try to unravel the mystery of the youth. Their search leads them through tatoo parlors and coin shops. Slowly they piece together the story of an Italian heiress befriended by a youth on the street. She has been seeking her father's will which has been left in the care of her uncle, a priest. The boys break into the church to nose out the missing will. Chase scene through the building: boys hiding from vengeful priest. Ends dramatically with the priest falling through a stained glass window onto the sidewalk below. Dawn rises on two friends laying in the grass on a hillside near Florence.

 

Christian: The boys seek out their pastor. After a comforting night of prayer they eagerly enter a boys home that specializes in curing homosexuality. After six months of vigourous indoctrination, prayer and electroshock therapy the boys accept Christ as their personal saviour. They have come to understand that the passion they feel for each other is no more than a pure brotherly love. They are welcomed back into the loving fellowship of their families. The boys begin an extended speaking tour of high schools and church youth groups where they witness their faith and the power of Christ to heal homosexuality. Climactic scene where an angry mob from the Gay-Straight Alliance begin casting stones at the boys. Blessed are those who are cursed and reviled for his name sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven: The boys sink to their knees in prayer, tears of joy anoint their cheeks, as they greet their martyrdom secure in God's eternal love. Shamed by this demonstration of unshakable faith and the power of God's healing members of the crowd come forward to kneel with the boys in prayer. They can no longer accept the emptiness in their lives. Sinners slink away muttering malevolantly. The boys embrace passionately, as only brothers in the faith can do, feeling the power of God in their loins. They return to their discipleship in Christ, a powerful team ministering to the troubled gay youth of the world. Beautiful chaste young men (well one started eating rather heavily and might be termed plump), they are wraptured to take their place beside Christ before the end times begin. Fade to horror-struck faces of Gay-Straight Alliance recognizing, too late, that they are in for one hell of a time....

[Ieshwar]

Let me have a go:

 

Romance

It

[Kanaye]

Horror/Sci-fi: The two brothers, 14 and 17 are thrown out of their home due to their parents dying. After living on the street for a week they are taken in by an elderly lady. First they are greatful but turns out she and her children are vampires and run an underground blood-bar. They are constantly used in the bar for "entertainment" along with other children the woman "helped". One of the woman's son's, who was turned when he was 14, befriends the younger son and attempts to free them. Caught, the 3 boys things become worse then they could possibly imagine.

 

Fantasy/Romance: Cavain and Laron, both 15, are thrown out of thier homes when they are found in bed together. In Dolstoy, a world where differences were "abnormal", there was Kan'ke, a city where all "outcasts" are sent. Growing up, children who misbehave are threatened with being sent to Kan'ke. Having no where else to go Cavain and Laron decide to find the city themselves only to find it was not all make-believe. Along the way thier differences become more appearent and cause conflict. In this great adventure, searching for what may not exist, can these two boys stay together, or will they be ripped apart by everything in thier world?

 

Erotica:Garet and Nate, both 17, are thrown out of their home when they are found 69ing. Going to their gay hockey coach for help, they are granted room and board if they agree to sexually satisfy him and the team whenever he asks them too. Quickly agreeing, they are shown how the coach likes it. The next day, the team arrives to seal the deal in an all out orgy.

 

Theres my attempt. The Horror/Sci-fi one actually sounds like it would be alot of fun to write. I don't usually do Horror OR Sci-fi but... maybe I could take a crack at it.

[Brayon]

*Casts Thered-Necromancy*

https://gayauthors.org/story/bhopper2/my-shorts-2019/4

[Page Scrawler]

Sci-fi: Two boys are unable to return to their homes as a dark Nothingness engulfs their town in a black, inky void that swallows all light. All of the government acronyms are called: FBI, CIA, NSA, DEA, and even the CDC, in an effort to determine who or what caused this anomaly. Road blocks are set up around the perimeter of the Nothing, with Special Forces units stomping around in full assault gear, guarded by heavy artillery. However, any instruments sent to test the Nothing go haywire, and several drones sent inside have simply disappeared. One of the boys hears a strange, eerie, song inside his head, and the other becomes a human lie-detector. Both can also hear the muddled, murky thoughts of the people trapped inside the Nothing. Then, one day, something that looks like an oil slick in human form approaches the boys in the tent-city that was erected for the refugees beyond the military's perimeter. What does this entity have to say?

Adventure/Survival: After losing their home to the bank's foreclosure, two brothers scratch out a living in an old junkyard. One day, they find an old sailboat, a little beat up, but in relatively good condition. After fixing the boat, they decide to go sailing across Lake Michigan to find their estranged aunt and uncle, but are soon swept into a violent storm. Badly damaged, the boat is slowly, painfully foundering, and the brothers learn to rely on the power of trust and love to overcome the struggle.

Romance: One boy has been kicked out of his home. The other has never had one. Both decide to enter a "Chopped"-style cooking show, with the promise of big money and a network TV show. Their individual approach to cooking couldn't be more different: One boy is rigid and very traditional, working 'by the book'. "Cooking is meant to be a science. If you deviate from the recipe, you could end up with a pile of slop. There are just some things that you shouldn't do with food." He says during an interview. The other boy is more carefree and adventurous. "As a three-time survivor of leukemia, I know that life is too short to always worry about the rules. Cooking should be an adventure. Even if you make a mistake, it's still an opportunity to learn." He grins into the camera. As the competition heats up, these two opposites butt heads, and sparks fly in and out of the kitchen. However, someone is attempting to embarrass not only the contestants, but also the judges, by posting salacious photos everywhere, in an effort to get the competition-show cancelled from the network.

Horror: Two boys are sent by their parents to spend several weeks of their summer vacation at Camp Grayling, Michigan. Although Michigan's National Guard makes this base their official headquarters, it's also open to civilians. Though reluctant at first to camp out in a tent, the boys actually start to look forward to fishing from the lake, cooking hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire, and the like. That is, until they start to hear whispered rumors of attacks on livestock in the area, soldiers going missing, and eerie howls at night. After a harrowing encounter in the woods, the boys make a report to the Base Commander: a large, dog-like creature chased them through the trees, stalking upright on two legs. The commander seems reluctant to let them leave, and then, just before the boys are about to return home, one of them is dragged to a plain, unmarked white building on the edge of the base grounds...

Religious: Jonah's grandmother always told him to believe in God, but how can he, when his little brother, the only good thing left in his life, is dead because of his mother's hoarding? After a violent incident at the latest group home gets him in trouble yet again, Jonah is sent to Sharing Hands, a farm in northern Montana. Here the "lost ones", boys who have one last chance before being sent to reform school, learn valuable skills through the power of hard work, perseverance, and The Holy Bible. No TV, no Internet, and no video games. Jonah meets Silas, the only son of the couple who owns the farm. Silas is quiet and aloof, preferring the company of horses over people, until one day when Jonah saves him from falling into a ravine. Then Jonah learns that Silas has been mute from birth, but he has his own beautiful voice in the songs he writes in a private journal. Slowly, the two boys grow closer, and Jonah starts to mend the hole in his heart, but the discovery of a letter from Jonah to his deceased brother leads to suspicion and anger from Silas' mother. Now both boys find themselves stuck in a mountain cabin, standing at a crossroads: will they seek help from the young, handsome new Pastor in town, or forsake their friendship to conform to the ideals of Silas' family?

Edited May 13, 2019 by Page Scrawler

[Ron]

On 5/27/2007 at 5:18 PM, Menzoberranzen said:

Erotica: Ummmm....one of them becomes a cowboy, the other a banker and...yeah.

Ooh, I've read this story before!  

 

Edit to add: I just realized how old the original posting was... Eliot Moore (a favorite author of mine here) replied and he has left the building, so to speak.

Edited May 13, 2019 by Ron