Short Story Prompt: Tell Someone a Story Idea

Prompt: Write about an idea as if you're telling it someone. Tell the story from beginning to end and focus on the story itself.

Nora is looking for a place to make a new start. The realtor shows her beautiful homes, but they don't 'feel right'. She discovers a gate that leads next door and finds the key hidden in a flowerpot. Nora emerges in the yard of a run-down fixer-[upper. She has a feeling it's the 'right one' and purchases it against the realtor's advice.

She spends the summer renovating the house. Nora has all sorts of 'plans, but all her friends and acquantainces think they're 'too ambitious'. But as she goes through the rooms, she finds bits and and pieces of the old house's history. With each new discovery, uncanny things happen. She finds a steamer trunk of fabric, then meets a seamstress who makes pillows, curtains and clothes. She uncovers a set of china plates, then finds matching silverware at a flea market. As she incorporates the old with the new, she discovers new attitudes and new friends, new enthusiasm for life and new love. Nora learns to depend on a circle of steady friends and not be such a loner. The town begins to appreciate her individuality and creativity. She also meets a man who becomes her life mate.

 

Brainstorm a list of complications for this idea. Make it a BIG list--at least 10 items.

The neighbors complain about Nora's renovation project.

Nora struggles with her attraction to Craig, her neighbor.

Nora tries to find the 'perfect accessories'--she's so uptight about it.

Her parents visit briefly. Her mom, the socialite, tries to convince her to come home. Her dad is her secret ally.

The town gossips try to besmirch Nora's reputation.

Is the house haunted (by friendly spirits?)?

Some of the items of the house are of dubious origin. Some may have been smuggled/stolen.

The family of the original owner wants the house back.

Nora hides a drinking problem.

Her old boyfriend shows up and complicates things between Nora and Craig.

Craig has an accident while helping her with the house.

Nora ends up inheriting an unusually sensitive stray cat.

She has suspicions about the townspeople's intentions towards her.