I’ve discovered that I’m at my best, creatively, when I’m either dared or assigned something. My friend Marshall and I had a conversation about a concept for a scene he had for himself and our other friend Colin, and then the next day I’d written a short film based on that concept. The point is, it’s been like two weeks since I’ve written any new scripts and I’m getting antsy. So I looked up some writing prompts and now I’m going to short-answer them and see if it sparks anything within me. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but hey, new blog! And it’s not even about Brains! Go, me.
Below are the first fifteen prompts from this list.
1. You wake up to find yourself in your five-year-old body and back in time. How do you spend your first 24 hours in this situation?
Ok so first up it worries me greatly that you clarified “first” 24 hours, implying that I am stuck in this predicament for a while. Secondly, I don’t have the resources for a child actor so this prompt doesn’t seem particularly useful to me right now. Third, because the prompt doesn’t say I have a five-year-old brain or communication ability, I’m going to spend the first 24 hours having some very unsettling conversations with my parents.
2. As you are walking down the street, you hear loud sirens. Before you can figure out the reason, you see a giant flash of light and you pass out. You wake up in a giant pile of rubble. What has happened and where do you go from here?
It’s very rude that my kidnappers wouldn’t return me to the street they grabbed me from. It’s doubly rude that they threw me out with the garbage. I need to stop answering these prompts in numbered lists- wouldn’t want to become a hack.
3. You go to work the morning after a long night of drinking. You notice a cheap wedding ring on your finger that wasn’t there yesterday. Describe your action steps to determine what happened.
Scouring social media seems like a good first step, because I have been known to drunk Instagram before, and because I like to catalog things even more than usual when I am liquored up. The real question is this- how did I wake up, get ready for work, and get all the way to work before realizing I have a wedding ring on?
4. You answer your doorbell and you are surprised to see your grandfather standing in the doorway. Mostly because he’s dead. He says, “I have some important things to tell you.†Talk about your reaction and what happens next.
“Since when are you dead?”
5. You have died. You are in hell. Discuss.
Well, based on 75% of religious writing, this makes sense.
6. You have died. You are in heaven. Discuss.
Well, based on 25% of religious writing, go me.
7. You get a phone call from a strange number. The voice on the other line says he can reunite you with a lost love, forever. In return, he will take the life of someone close to you. He proves his power by giving you a full day with your lost love. Describe the day and your decision.
To be honest, I’m pretty curious who this mysterious voice thinks my lost love is, given that I’m in a long-term, committed relationship and very happy. I bet the day would mostly be me looking at said person and saying “really?” Then I would say thanks no thanks, now stop threatening to kill people and making creepy phone calls.
8. All of a sudden, the entire world can hear each other’s thoughts. How does the planet cope?
It doesn’t. We all go down in flames.
9. After a strange encounter with a homeless person, you find yourself infused with superpowers like Superman. What do you do with your new found abilities?
….what KIND of strange encounter?
Also, I don’t do anything with them. I keep living my life, just way easier. I would also definitely stop taking the subway to work.
10. You try a button on your new cell phone and it opens up a channel of communication between you and the Lord. What do you talk to Him/Her about?
How do I know this is the Lord? For all I know you’re that creep from earlier saying that you’ll kill one of my friends to reunite me with some rando that you think is my long lost love.
11. While organizing your bookshelf, you notice a book called, “The Story of You.†You open it to find a description of your own life up to this point. As you flip farther, it details your existence until death. What do you do?
I would read everything up to my current point, then close my eyes, flip to a random page, read one thing from my future, then burn the book.
12. Somehow, you have gained the ability of being irresistible to your preferred gender. The only problem is: you are in a monogamous long-standing relationship. Do you stay in the relationship? Do you cheat? Discuss.
Irresistible sounds dangerous, depending on what that means in practical terms. I definitely stay in my relationship but I feel like this will only do good things for my career.
13. Death gives you a choice between taking your mother or your father. Who do you choose?
14. A bank error in your favor has placed $1.2 billion dollars in your checking account. Detail the next 24 hours.
- Put half in a savings account
- Pay off my student loans
- Find a new apartment or house in NYC for just me and Quinn
- Give my current roommates enough money to cover our portion of the rent thru the end of our current lease
- Pay off the rest of my family’s’ loans/debts
- Pay off Quinn’s student loans
- Get an IMDb Pro account
- Register Undead Burrito Productions as an LLC
- Backpay everyone in full for their work on Brains and my new short film
- Start calling locations for Brains season 3
15. A car accident has left you with severe brain damage. You retain very little information and you now essentially have the capacity and vocabulary of a 2nd grader. How do you live from day to day with your condition?
With help.
So this was…. interesting. I don’t have any new script ideas yet, but hey, writing occurred. That’s good enough for now. Have a good weekend!
