Prompt #18

We all spend time, money, and energy on curious fascinations. Maybe you detail your moped every Wednesday or have doubled your grandma’s collection of two cent stamps. But sometimes habits get to the level of obsession or compulsion. And not just locking your car door three times or turning on and off the lights in your apartment. Any given interest taken to an extreme suddenly become a driver for a great character, an interesting story.

So pick a desire, any desire, and lean on it until the character seems both foreign and unmistakably human. The roller derby girl who’s been knocked unconscious twenty times. The third shift baker who drives across state lines to play penny slots. The retired neighbor who can’t go two days without yard work. A fledgling golfer who spends half his paycheck on new irons. They’ve all gone from mundane hobbyists to interesting characters with something to lose. What stories will you find in them?

Do you like what you’ve written? How about submitting it to our contest?