Fiction Writing Prompt: Elephant in the Room

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Fiction Writing Prompt: Elephant in the Room

Let’s talk about the metaphorical elephant in the room. When it’s there, everyone is aware of it. The subject has our attention, yet it often goes unmentioned because discussion is uncomfortable. Moments of discomfort and avoidance are common in life, so they should be common in writing. Make that your mission for today’s fiction writing prompt.

THE PROMPT

This short writing exercise could fit into your existing imagined universe if you’re working on something that feels stuck, or it can exist as a stand-alone activity with characters and a scene that you never return to. The point is practice, not perfection.

Let’s just say 2-3 characters in close proximity with a large and unaddressed conflict between them.

Here’s the Challenge:

For this activity, the elephant in the room cannot be directly mentioned. This prompt is about engaging avoidance and discomfort, not antagonism and bickering. How do your characters act when they cannot acknowledge the thing that is clearly on all of their minds? If that’s all the nudge you need to get writing, go for it. If not, keep reading.

What kind of conflict are you interested in?

At least give this a vague direction. Is it political? religious? cultural? romantic? familial? moral? logical? Something else entirely? Try not to over-think what kind of conflict you choose, just choose.

What is each character feeling?

It can be incredibly helpful to explicitly name which emotions our characters are feeling. This should be done with complexity, not just reduction to a simple word like “fear.” Humans rarely feel just one thing at a time. And they are rarely feeling the exact same way as others going through similar circumstances. Here are some examples:

Character A is feeling guilty. It’s a heavy, low, depressive guilt.
Character B also feels guilty but with hot anger at themself.
Character C also feels guilty but with underlying feelings of justice or stubborn rebellion.

How does emotion translate into action?

Was it super entertaining to read the above emotion breakdowns for each character? Probably not, because it’s giving information, not telling a story. For this part of the prompt, consider how each individual would act because of the emotions they’re feeling, and how that might become clear to a reader through description, rather than exposition. To continue with those same examples:

Character A might be more likely to cry, zone out, or seek privacy.
Character B might be flushed, more likely to knock something over with haste or overcorrect in action.
Character C might seem fine on the surface, or more likely to say something harsh without thinking.

Once you’ve got a rough roadmap, get writing!

If you use this prompt, please let us know how it goes.

Thanks for reading.

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