“What if” posts are not simple writing prompts but supercharged explorations into the many directions a simple prompt can take you. Here you will find conventional questions and “what if” questions surrounding a prompt to help get the creative juices flowing.
This prompt comes from me.
A conversation with a stranger.
What if you are on a blind date with a stranger? What if the date is going well? But…your date starts to tell you things no one knew about yourself?
What if your date starts talking about the people you know and things you didn’t know about them? What if it is gossip gone to extreme?
What if it is a mystery story? The date talks about your neighbors and friends as criminals. The date starts citing things that you know are true but said in a way that it is possible of them being criminal. A murder, a thief, and more than just one friend or neighbor. Everybody has something to hide.
What if the date hints at your murder? A vague subtle reference? What if you wonder why anyone would want you dead? What if your date hints toward something you have and someone wants it? Or they want resume for someone you don’t know or don’t think you know? The child you gave up when you were a teenage? The brother/sister you didn’t know you had? The father/mother you never knew?
Sci-Fi: What if a stranger tells of the possibility of you saving the world? Or you can save their world(think Galaxy Quest but serious vice comedy)? What if the stranger refers to yourself as not being of Earth? Do you have a power you didn’t know about or one you hadn’t thought of as a power?
Crime: You are interrogating a witness and he starts giving you clues that will solve a lot of cold cases. Random cases that don’t appear to be linked. What if the witness, like the date above, tells you things you thought no one knew? Are you now in danger? Does solving the current crime eliminate that danger? Or does walking away or turning your head from the current crime?
What if the witness tells of a crime that hasn’t happened? You look into it but there is no evidence or suggestion that it could be true, until it happens right in front of you.
Love: What if a strange saddles up to the bar beside you and the conversation goes well but both of you are in a committed relationship and happy? How does this evolve as you continue to meet at the same bar? What if both of your partners happen to meet in the same way? How does that relationship evolve?
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