Plot Twist Story Prompts: Without a Trace

Plot twist story prompts aren't meant for the beginning or the end of stories. Rather, they're for forcing big and small turns in the anticipated trajectory of a story. This is to make it more interesting for the readers and writers alike.

Each week, I'll provide a new prompt to help twist your story. Find last week's prompt, Fight or Flight, here.

For today's prompt, have a character leave without a trace. The departure may have been a long time coming. Maybe they were threatening to leave for a while and finally screwed up the courage to take off. Or perhaps, it was something completely unexpected.

In fact, leaving without a trace could be voluntary, but it could also be under suspicious circumstances. Was the character hit by a train? Murdered by a hitchhiker? Eaten by a monster? Kidnapped? These are all nefarious possibilities.

(5 moral dilemmas that make characters and stories better.)

Of course, the character may have just wandered off out of boredom. Or to test their independence. A character could be responding to a challenge that nobody else knows exists. There's a chance he or she fell in love with a mysterious stranger and went on a romantic adventure.

Regardless of why or under what circumstances, the character who leaves without a trace leaves behind consequences for the characters who remain. What do they do (if anything) when the character leaves? In what new directions will the story and the characters bend?

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Are you ready to dive in to writing your next fight scene? Join expert instructor Carla Hoch in this video course to learn the three most important points for writers to consider before writing fight scenes, battles, and brawls! Using historical examples and real-world expertise, Carla will guide you through the entire process of determining why, where, and who—essential elements for the writer to understand in order to make the scene work properly.

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