This Is the First in a Series of Story Prompts

These prompts aren’t just a couple of lines but a comprehensive outline that a writer could use for subplots or entire novels.

If you create a story or poem based on something you read in this post, I’d love to hear from you in the comments area or via the contact form near the top of this page.

Smartwatch

In addition to heart rhythms, seizures, sleeping patterns, sudden falls, and breath-alcohol content, a smartwatch might monitor many events, including:

1. a spouse having an affair
2. burglars planning a heist
3. paranormal events
4. pets in unusual circumstances
5. alien invasions
6. a chat in a hairdressing salon
7. a blackmailer’s conversation
8. kids bullying someone
9. an illegal drug buy
10. a serial killer committing murder
11. teenagers making out
12. neighbors gossiping
13. a writer’s self-talk while plagiarizing someone’s work
14. secret chats in the White House or Kremlin
15. a climate-change or civil-rights march

Some of these ideas would make excellent all-dialogue short stories.

Who and Why?

Perhaps the smartwatch was invented for a niche market.

1. The watch could generate a frequency that: inhibits fertility, restrains independent thought, or controls only a certain segment of the world’s population.
2. Perhaps it could be a killing device, waiting for someone to activate it via wireless.

Why would a company manufacture this?

1. Perhaps the CEO has had an unusual experience.
2. Maybe the inventor came up with the idea after a drug-induced hallucination.
3. Perhaps a news story caught the attention of someone on the board of directors.
4. Maybe this stems purely from greed, with the rich attempting to control the poor.
5. Could the WHO (World Health Organization) or its equivalent have spearheaded the watch’s development? This leaves a huge why?
6. And there’s always the military …

 What?

A unique moniker for the watch could become the name of your short story or book. Before finalizing it, though, google your idea to see if it’s already in use.

A few idea starters:

1. CheatTracker
2. HeistAlerter
3. SpecterWatch
4. PetChrono
5. AlienReconchrono
6. TranquiltyChron

When?

1. Does this happen now?
2. In the future?
3. Is there a way to move this into the past? (Think steampunk.)
4. Could it occur even farther back, when dinosaurs existed? That could lead to a time-travel component.

Where?

1. Is the watch developed on Earth?
2. If it’s developed on Earth, is it sold only in specific areas?
3. Could it be manufactured on another planet?
4. Would a space station or spacecraft contain sufficient materials to allow fabrication of such a device?

How?

1. Does the technology require elements from asteroids or other planets?
2. Does it rely on a newly discovered top-secret substance?
3. Does it require an artificial element with devastating side effects?

[… eerie music …] Maybe one or more of these ideas has already been incorporated into existing technology.