Prompts/Inspirations

Now that we've covered the nuts and bolts of the Pips World system, let's take a moment to talk about the ideas you want to express in your writing - the Prompts and Inspirations that are both generating the desire to write about something (whether it's the overarching idea or a small plot point or anything in between) or to mention something (whether it's a reference or an easter egg). 

If you already know that for a given chapter you want to move your protagonist from plot point A to point B, then that is your prompt. For example, your character survived the little kid kicking their seat for 5 hours on the airplane (plot point A) and are now making their way to the vital presentation where being well-rested is vital (plot point B). But what if you don't know where to take the story? Or you do know but want to have something unexpected or surprising. Enter Prompts.

One way to get things moving in an unexpected direction is to pick three words and use them to guide what happens in the story, even if it's a small plot point. And if that sounds good but you don't know how to pick the words, try this (Parz calls it Seed Word Germination) - start with one word. When in doubt, start with 'I'. Then make a list of words, with each word being somehow related to the word prior. Maybe like this:

I

Eye (homonym)

Sight

Sigh (sounds similar)

Breath

Out

Outsized

and so on. When you've written down a list, maybe twenty, pick three words that jump out at you, or that seem fun and interesting to stick into your story. Remember that these are prompts - they are there to guide the story (but bonus points if you actually add them!)

Another way to incorporate prompts into your writing is to add references to things related to what you're writing about. For instance, if you are writing about 'running down a dream', maybe see that there is a song called that too. You can incorporate lyrics, band member names, whatever you think appropriate.

There are as many ways to include fun elements, references, prompts, and easter eggs, as there are people who write. There's no wrong way to do it. Give it a go!

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