The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin as investigative reporter Carl Kolchak, premiered on this date in 1972. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s refusal to believe the truth is out there leaves her/him vulnerable when that truth takes a sudden interest in your protag.
On this date in Jack Finney’s “I’m Scared” 1956, a man was shot and killed in Central Park by a gun that had been discovered the day before and remained locked in a police department safe. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is attacked by an opponent with a weapon that is impossible for that opponent to possess.
“The custom is, sir, that those who know a situation handle it and those who don’t watch and learn, or get out of the way.” -CJ Cherryh in Downbelow Station, in which the Alliance takes Pell Station on this date in 2353. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist refuses to watch, learn, or get out of the way despite having no clue about how to handle the situation.
“God not only plays dice, He also sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen.” -Stephen Hawking, born on this date in 1942. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist confronts something that is infinitely improbable.
Galileo discovered the four major moons of Jupiter (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) on this date in 1610. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must accomplish a herculean task using only technology everyone else in the world you’ve created considers hopelessly outdated and obsolete.
Novelist, critic, and photographer Wright Morris was born on this date in 1910. He used photos taken on a 15,000-mile round trip of the USA to inspire his fiction. Writing prompt: Write the story of this Wright Morris photo from your antagonist’s point of view: