What Lies Inside the Basement Preptober

Week 1
The Spark: What Are You Writing?

Oct 1 - Oct 9
This week is about turning "I have an idea" into something resembling a story.
The Elevator Pitch: Describe your story in 50 words or fewer. Then try again in one sentence.

Attempt 1. The story is about a woman who moves into a house. Everything is quite cheap, and she does not know why, until the landlord tells her one thing: Never open the basement door.

Attempt 2. My story is about a woman who moves into a house, where the landlord tells her not to open the basement door.

Three Things I Know: Provide three things you absolutely know about your story and three things you haven't figured out yet.

What I know:
1. The woman's name is Dolores, as she is gullible.
2. Dolores ends up opening the door one day when she is doing her washing.
3. The landlord planted the dangerous thing in the basement.

What I don't know:
1. What is in the basement.
2. Why the landlord put it in there.
3. Who the landlord really is.

The Promise: Complete the following phrase: "I want this story to make the reader feel ______." Then explain why.

I want this story to make the reader feel intrigued. This is because the genre is mystery and there are lots of plot twists throughout the story.

CHALLENGE. Steal This Prompt: Pick one of these 10 elements and incorporate it somehow into your concept.
- A locked door
- An unwanted inheritance
- A lie told at dinner
- Something buried beneath a tree
- An embarrassing lie
- A secret
- Something very very pink
- A monster
- A sport game
- A story within a story