Intro to Creative Writing
Landrigan, Summer I 2013
Assignment #3: Short Story
Prompt Ideas
If you’re having trouble coming up with an idea for your short story, here are a few
prompts to get you started, based on the stories we’ve read and discussed in class. If you
choose to model your story after one of these, you should note that under your title
when handing the story in. Your word count may also vary depending on the story you
choose to model.

Tobias Wolff’s “Bullet in the Brain” – Write a short story in which the action
takes place in a single scene, over the course of just a few minutes. In the middle
of this scene, create an explanation for an extended flashback, which should be
told either in active scene, or in list format, which reveals a significant change in
the protagonist.

ZZ Packer’s “Brownies” – Write a coming-of-age narrative in which the
protagonist has a revelation about what it means to “grow up.” Show us this
revelation in an extended scene that parallels the revelation. Wait until the last
moments of the story to have the protagonist explicitly draw the connection
between that scene and her new understanding.

Denis Johnson’s “Car Crash While Hitchhiking” – Write a short story in which
the narrator recalls a scene from earlier in his life that changed him in a
significant way. Place the narrator in the narrative present, and the scene in the
narrative past, but open the story with the scene. Use restraint – reveal the past
scene only with action, image, dialogue. Allow the way the narrator recalls the
scene, and the narrator’s present location, to reveal to the audience the
significance of that scene.

Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” – Write a short story about a group of
people that takes place over the course of just one day when something
significant happens to change that group of people. Use the point of view of the
group “leader,” whatever that means in your context. Break up the active scenes
of the primary narrative with asides from the narrator told in the form of lists of
significant details or images.

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” – Write a short story that
takes place over just a few minutes or hours, told exclusively in a conversation
between two people. They are talking about something deeply important, but
they are not able to speak directly about it. Use the setting to provide shifts in
mood, tone, and characterization, and allow the subtext of the conversation to
become clear without explicitly stating it.