You might also call this prompt Ordinary World.

Think of your main character. What was he doing before the story snuck up on him? What was his typical day like? What problems was he dealing with even before the story’s main problem appeared?

Now, think of a scene that would show all the essentials a reader needs to know about the character and his ordinary day.

To make this easier/less pressured, feel free to leave out any of the details that are only important in hindsight or with foresight of the problem to come. Just focus on showing us the character in a representative moment on a representative day. (If you like the scene, you can layer in hindsight, foresight, and other first-pages details later.)

Character in all his pre-story glory! Write the scene.

Book that inspired this prompt

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That’s it for me!

How about you? What sort of questions do you ask yourself about your character pre-story? Tell us in the comments!

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