#three word story

[thecomfywriter]

Any advice on how to turn a 3 sentence writing prompt into a full-fledged (long) story?

Oooh this is a good one. I literally had a post about this in my drafts, but that was more oriented towards giving prompts, not expanding on them. So let’s get into it!

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How to make a story out of a prompt:

Whether it’s three words or a whole paragraph, prompts are tools to inspire a story out of a storyteller. That’s you. There are three ways to go about this:

1) Review the prompt(s) on their own:

Let’s break down what this means. Say I’m doing a three word story, and the words are spider, thief, and ring. I like to consider the foundations of any book and try to apply them to each word. So how can I fit spider into the theme of this story I want to tell? What kind of story would centralize spiders as a motif or a symbol for the theme it carries?

I know personally, when I think of spiders, I think of arachnophobia. So maybe I want to use spiders as an integral component of the protagonist or antagonists’ characterization. Maybe that fear is what propels the story forward. The main character’s fear of spiders is what causes the inciting incident to occur (i.e. they scramble away in fear, try to kill the spider with the first object they find, only to realize the object is their secret inheritance being gambled away; or maybe the spider is the reincarnation of an ancient deity who curses the protagonist into the world of spiders/the body of a fly to try to punish them for being scared when THEY are the spider’s predator. you can take it in so many different directions). OR, if you’re taking the villain route, maybe the fear of spiders in the villain is what started their villain arc. Their older, cruel sister locking them in a box filled with spiders and leaving them there overnight could cause them to become a serial killer that targets anyone who resembles their sister or shares her features and kill them by suffocating them in a box of insects (eek that’s morbid sorry)

Then, for the thief. Another integral character, plot point, or character arc for your protagonist. Is your protagonist forced to resort to thievery to fulfil their quest, or maybe thievery IS the quest, or perhaps that is who they become along the way.

That leads me to my next point…

2) What is the connection between the words?

Or rather, what connections can you make? How can you push your character through pivotal events that force them to encounter each of these words, or fulfil the conditions of the prompt? In which situations would they say a certain quote, and what events would lead up to that? How would you want to fill the blank space between the dots to create your puzzle?

That’s the greatest part of being a storyteller— the answer is entirely unique to your imagination.

3) Polish your characters:

This may be better as the first thing you do actually, but consider the lens the story occurs from. Who is telling this story? Why are they telling this story? Why is it THEM specifically that encounter these three objects or words? How does the themes of the story apply to them?

By fortifying your characterization of your protagonist and antagonist, you create the fundamentals of the story itself— the goal and the opposition. The rest of the cast can be introduced as helpers or obstacles to reaching that goal or preventing it from happening, but that is the bare bones essence of storytelling. What is the goal? What is stopping your protagonist from reaching that goal? What tools or oppositions (this is where your three words may come in to help answer this question) help or delay their journey towards their desired outcome?

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have more questions, and thanks for the ask!

Happy Writing!

[serious-goose]

three word horror story:

shag carpeted bathroom

[miss-americanbi]

gay people can never say “i love you” it’s always some incoherent shit like “you idiot. we could’ve been… us”.

[royalarchivist]

Jaiden: Cucurucho, you have a lot of power, right?

Cucurucho: ...I don't know. Maybe.

Roier: Ah... Yes, you know, don't act like a dumbass, you have it. You have it, man. Eh?

Jaiden: Is there a way for us to protect all the Eggs? Do you know? I don't want anything to happen to the Eggs that happened to Bobby.

Cucurucho: Ha ha ha

Roier: WHAT? [Smacks Cucurucho]

Jaiden: [Bops him] Headpats.

Cucurucho: Maybe.

Jaiden: [Continues to bop him] Headpats. C'mon, I can get it out of you! Headpats! Chin scratches! Belly rubs!

Roier: [Joins Jaiden in bopping Cucurucho, chuckling and laughs]

Jaiden: Yeah? He's comin' around!

[Jaiden and Roier both laugh]

[koroart]

No new art but I do have this meme

[atomicradiogirl]

son of a coma guy, three stories, the c word

GOD the house not feeling like he deserves to live parallel coupled with wilson’s words. OUGHHHHHH. THIS SHOW.

[gio-cosmo]

Are you answering yes or no ❤️

[venvellan]

da2's arishok is a good villain. if you have a fundamental understanding of the qun and listen to his thought process, the things he does makes sense. he uses the qun to justify slaughtering kirkwall's people, which is utterly inexcusable and what makes him a villain, but his character is complex enough to make dealing with him that much more thought provoking. he sends agents to kill petrice because she was killing his people, he doesn't give up the elves because they committed their lives to the qun, no matter how recently they converted, and he refuses to leave without the tome (and isabela) because his idea of justice hasn't been done. his logic makes sense, generally, though it is wrong on more than one occasion. he isn't moral, but he is methodical.

i feel this way about solas, too. i like da2's arishok for the same reasons that initially draw people to solas, i think. when we meet them, i find them interesting and educational to talk to, someone worthy of respect, and someone very honorable in their own way. similarly, many of my issues with solas compare with flaws in the qun/the arishok.

solas asserts that all of his beliefs are correct, and we're never allowed to challenge him on any of it. if he has high enough approval, he'll approach you to go, "yknow, i thought you were all [insert prejudice or stereotype] but YOU showed me that some of you guys are actually okay," which is NOT what it looks like for someone's beliefs to be challenged.

brief aside, i want to be fair in that we don't get this opportunity with many of the companions, and it's not even an inquisition specific issue. the dialogue format is agree, joke, be mean, and it's flawed, but it works in the majority of interactions. we don't really get to engage in nuanced discussions with characters, but there are positives and negatives to the system overall. it is possible to challenge and shape a character within this dialogue system (i.e., garrus vakarian) but in dragon age that really only comes in the form of harden/unharden. it was a little more doable with origins' system, but it really hasn't been a huge part of any dragon age game. most characters' beliefs remain largely unchanged by you regardless of how you play.

solas also possesses a strong sense of duty and purpose, though what duty he has, what his true goals are, he keeps hidden as long as he can. the most damning comparison though, to me, is how willing he is to destroy the world and bring back "his people," while the qunari fight to conquer the world and homogenize society into "their people."

in any case, with both him and the arishok, you can see the wheels turning in their heads. you can see why they do what they do, even if it's wholly immoral. it makes their threat a lot more personal, a lot scarier, psychologically, that a "normal" person, who doesn't want to cause suffering, can hold such specific beliefs and such strong conviction that knowing that they'll hurt people doesn't give them any pause. the root of their motivation is understandable. solas wants to right his wrongs, at his core. the arishok implicitly believes that the qun is safer, better for its people than life outside the qun. we can see that they're taking it too far, but they don't care. it makes them good villains.

"i am not corypheus, i take no joy in this." sure, which is a very similar sentiment, emotionally, to the qunari sense of duty. you can say you don't enjoy it all you want, you're still committing genocide. you can hate the qunari all you want, but you fight with their ferocity, their unshakeable faith in their own cause. their need to "do what's right," no matter who's caught in the wake.

i understand why people like solas, i go back and forth on it myself, but i don't think he's all that different from the arishok in method and motivation. they're each thrust into a world so different from what they believe is "right" that they demand it change around them. if we had to kill the old arishok, then if solas refuses to give up, he will have to die. he doesn't get to do genocide just because he's romanceable. he's a good character, he's a good villain, but he's not a good guy, and unless he stops before he does any real harm (which he will not do), he should share the arishok's fate.

[soothedcerberus]

Erik!! I keep seeing your adorable centaur OCs and I always wanted to ask what's the story behind them??

Plushi!! Sorry for the mega-late reply… 🥺I was so happy to get this ask but I didn't know how to explain my silly ocs…I will try now-more under the cut.

Dael Braam (dwarf) is a cooped up farmhand looking to see the world, but being immune-compromised from birth it took a lot of persuasion to convince her parents to let them go. They relent under the condition that she finds a capable and strong person to travel with to keep her safe… Just so happens that a strong and capable centaur knight is visiting in town…

Rembrandt (horsey) was created from a dark fusion spell by an amateur mage, who had intentions to construct a powerful warrior to do his bidding.

However, the spell cast did not result in a powerful and fully-armored warrior…. but instead a frail baby knight centaur, with only its top half made of living armor. The mage, not wanting to raise any kind of child, promptly abandons his creation. He can always try to make another one after all.

Into adulthood, Rembrandt still carries a lot of pent-up abandonment and self-esteem issues. You wouldn't know that from the proud facade he puts on though, lying about being a royal knight yet helping all those he comes across with a smile, but never staying long. When the opportunity of having a long-term travel companion (and perhaps a friend…?) arises from Dael requiring a bodyguard, his craving for companionship and affirmation outweighs his worries about her seeing eldritch elements of himself.

Dirk (beefy dragon thing) is the second (and more "successful") attempt from the same mage to create a powerful monster. Think Rembrandt's "big evil" brother. Except he's quite a bit younger. Dirk emerged fully-developed except for his wings-which remain as little nubs. Despite his brawn and warrior-appearance, Dirk was mostly a glorified errand boy, using his impressive strength to terrorize the nearby towns and their land-collecting resources for the mage.

Dael and Rembrandt meet Dirk after hearing word of a giant dragon-knight ravaging villages (and their livestock yum yum).

(I also like the idea of the mage sending Dirk to capture Rembrandt + Dael when he recognizes is his first attempt is not only alive and strong, but also quite proficient in battle.)

One way or another Dirk ends up roaming with the two. At first, Dirk is over-confident, rude, and stubborn... Overall a huge pain for them to travel with. After being shown kindness for the first time and being subject to more than a few humbling situations, Dirk allows a protective, loyal and softer side of him to emerge.

Lots of found family shenanigans and adventures occur-and yeah! This was rambly but thank you for reading about my guys! 💖

[themintman]

Oarfish vos for @dragonbma 😋🩷🩷

Kill them with kindness? WRONG. FISH LAZER 💥💥💥

[trillscienceofficer]

Star Trek: Voyager 6x02 “Survival Instinct”

It's nice to be on a Federation starship again. I'd like to stay aboard Voyager.

[nemainofthewater]

Best character surnamed : Zhang

Come and vote for the best characters with the same surname!*

What does best mean? It's up to you! Whether you love them, are intrigued by their characters, love to hate them, or they're your '2 second blorbos whose personality you made up wholesale', these are all reasons for you to vote for your favs!

*note, the surnames are not exactly the same in all the cases, as often there will be a different character. I am, however, grouping them all together otherwise things got more complicated.

Propaganda is very welcome! If I’ve forgot anyone, let me know in the notes.

This is part of a larger series of ‘best character with X surname’ polls’. The overview with ongoing polls, winners, and future polls can be found here

[ask-the-totally-real-peppino]

Aw, don't worry Peppino, we have no intention of hurting anyone!

[Gently and in a friendly pat on the shoulder]

Moreover, with our new abilities, we could help you with your work, if you need it of course :]

Peppino: "Oh no no, yeah, it's fine! There's a bunch of disembodied hands floating around and touching me, this is fine!"

Peppino: "Jeez! Is it hot in here, or is it just me!?"

Gustavo: (If I had a nickel every time this happened...)

Pep: "...Mrr...?"

Pep: "...!"

Pep: "Doog ton! Doog ton! Onippep rof hcum oot ekam! Revo- Revo ot yrt ton od esaelp- Sdneirf on on on!"

Peppino: "!?"

Gustavo: "... Thanks, Brick."

Pep: "..."

Gustavo: "-Alright, just breathe. It's okay, we got you."

Pep: "Um... Really sorry, Peppino and Gustavo..."

Peppino: "It's alright, Pep. It wasn't your fault."

Pep: "Is Peppino... Mad at friends...? Gustavo... Mad at friends...?"

Peppino: "No no, I'm not mad! It was-a just... A lot all at once..."

Gustavo: "They were just excited and wanted to help! I can't be mad at the enthusiasm!"

Pep: "... Okay..."

Peppino: "Look Pep, it's alright. We're all okay now. I don't-a mind if your friends want to help, we just might need to put some rules down to avoid anyone getting overwhelmed again."

Pep: "... Okay..."

Peppino: "We can talk to your friends. You can rest with Brick again, yeah?"

Pep: "... Yes."

(Do not worry, your hands are not gone forever! Just temporarily unsummoned by the master controls Pep somehow button mashed to.)

[padfoot-lupin77]

Lily: wait, I don’t get it, explain the joke

James: but if I explain it then it’s no longer funny

Lily: I doubt it’s funny anyway so get to explaining

[gaylightisminetocommand]

Soooo in 2022 I was doing all these colour palette drawings with my OCs and I didn't draw them as much last year and I miss them so much so I decided to pick up the colour palette drawings again this year cause they're simple but really fun :D

Anyway here's my boy he means more to me than you could ever know.

NEARLY FORGOT I used the palette Unholy Flame (very fitting for this guy >:3) from @color-palettes! Gonna be using a lot more of them in the future, they're really good ✨

[chambers003]

mumbo enjoyers go watch cleo’s video NOW a 4th vampire comparison has hit the mcyt AND he’s LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH about the nature of his current skin