The Daily Writing Prompt

Archive for January 18th, 2008

SNAFU

Friday, January 18th, 2008

There is a saying in the military that a situation is SNAFU… Situation Normal: All F***** Up.  I think you can fill in the asterisks yourself.  Today’s prompt is SNAFU because I can’t access the website to post it, so I am trying to make the post from Windows Live Writer instead, we’ll see if that works.

As for the prompt.  Is there something that it would truly and honestly surprise your lead if it did not go wrong?  Do they expect their computer to crash consistently?  Do they expect the paper boy to leave their paper in the bushes or on the roof?  Do they expect for their kid to leave their bike laying behind the car in the driveway?  Everyone has that one thing that just makes the day normal, a point where you know something is going to be out of place or messed up or forgotten.  What is that sphere of normal in your character’s life?  How do they deal with it?  Do they call the paper every morning to complain?  Do they keep a long pole by the door for retrieving the newspaper?  Does your lead wake their kid up and make them move the bike or does he move it himself?

What kind of fantasy SNAFUs might there be?  Does the day always start off with one of the hero’s companions starting a fight with someone else?  Does the hero have a faulty sword belt that he has to jurryrig to keep from breaking and dropping his sword in the dirt?  Does the wagon have a bad wheel that needs repair on a regular basis?

Maybe your old west hero has a revolver with a loose cylinder that falls out half the time?  Does their horse know how to untie knots and wander off from the hitching post whenever they stop at the saloon?

Think about every day problems that might have just become a normal situation to your character and use them to add a little believability or even humor into the story.

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