Marcus V. Calvert's Blog, page 49

December 1, 2016

Writing Prompt #11--The Loose End

You’re in a hospital bed, channel surfing while recovering from an appendectomy. Breaking news pops up, announcing that the city’s ace crime fighter is dead. Her unmasked, mutilated remains were left hanging from City Hall last night. Her sidekick’s MIA and presumed dead, according to police statements. Actually . . . you were her sidekick. If they caught her alive or found the lair, then you’re next. A brave pal sneaks you out of the hospital. As you recover in a cheap motel, you get word that the lair was breached by your boss’ killers—a new mob looking to set up in your city. Once they unlock the lair’s mainframe, they’ll be looking for you—hard. You also heard that they’re looking for new local talent.
What happens next?

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Published on December 01, 2016 16:02 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 30, 2016

Writing Prompt #10--Trash Day

You’re a hacker, married to an ace vampire hunter. He’s good with weapons and tactics. You cover his tracks and help him find targets. Tonight, he brings home a big-time trophy—the heart of Curtis Delivus. Delivus, the oldest American vampire lord, has spawned countless vamps throughout his four centuries of life. Your guy lopped off his head and staked his heart, which is still beating and kind of indestructible. For someone like Delivus, the heart won’t stop beating 72 hours. That means he could be healed—with some surgery and a lot of fresh blood. You lock the heart away in your HQ vault, while looking for a ritual means of ending him sooner.

The next night, while on the hunt, your guy gets ambushed and ripped to shreds by a bunch of pissed-off vampire lords. Through your late hubby’s body cameras, you watch with horror as they bicker about what to do next. Apparently, there’s more to Delivus than meets the eye. If they don’t restore Delivus by the third night, he’s dead for good . . . along with every vampire he ever sired. Then they get a bit of good news. Their hackers have found your HQ. Oh. Shit. The whole fanged world’s about end up on your doorstep as you grab the heart (stake and all) and hit the road. Hiding the heart’s a good idea. But if they bite you, you’ll turn and then lead them right to it. That’s why you need to stash the heart, somewhere where they can’t it. Then, for the good of countless lives, you must blow your brains out. As you’re driving along, you pass a garbage truck. It’s trash day on this particular block. Hmm.

What happens next?

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Published on November 30, 2016 05:58 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 29, 2016

Writing Prompt #9--Ignored

A struggling young actress violates numerous traffic laws in order to reach an exclusive mountaintop villa party. Invited by her boss, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime networking opportunity. She gets there fashionably late in a borrowed Versace dress, only to be ignored by everyone there. It’s like she’s not even there. Instead of networking, the cute dreamer simply waits to be noticed . . . but no one does. Her frustration grows to the point where she loses it and speaks up to her boss—who still ignores her. When he doesn’t react, she knows something’s off. What happens next? And no, you can’t say she’s a ghost (that would be too easy).

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Published on November 29, 2016 14:43 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 28, 2016

Writing Prompt #8--The Knock Over

Imagine you’re reading a heist story about a team of experts planning to knock over a bank. They go over the technical specs, escape routes, vehicles, weapons, etc. Along the way, it comes out that two of them are spellcasters. A third’s good with spirits of the dead. Then there's the demon with the yo-yo. Yes, these “people” are about to knock over a bank. The thing is . . . this ain’t a normal bank with normal defenses. What happens next?

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Published on November 28, 2016 14:55 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 27, 2016

Writing Prompt #7--The Lost Race

Aliens discover Earth and collect a few humans to study. When they do, they’re horrified to learn that we’re descendants of an ancient super race who rampaged across the galaxy. Psychic in nature, one of these Old Humans could wipe out a city with a thought. A virus sapped them of their powers, resulting in genocidal retribution from the surviving alien races. The survivors disappeared . . . apparently to Earth. Now, looking over billions of humans, this particular race of amoral/curious aliens see themselves with two choices. One, they could erase humanity (lest they evolve again into psychic gods). Or, they could unlock humanity’s lost power—in order to better study (and replicate)—it.

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Published on November 27, 2016 04:06 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 26, 2016

Writing Prompt #6--Known Associates

You’re a high-end con artist who moves around a lot. You work alone and in small groups, with years of experience and very few behind bars. Everything looks grand until your known associates start dying off, one-by-one. All of them have your real name branded on their foreheads. This a problem for three reasons. One, a skilled S.O.B. is after you with the resources to track down your buddies—some of whom are quite dangerous. Two, once your buds hear that they’re being picked off because of you, some of them decide the only solution’s to kill you. Three, one of your known associates/ex happens to be the love of your life and will likely end up murdered. What happens next?

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Published on November 26, 2016 12:13 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 25, 2016

Writing Prompt #5--Power Shots

Your parents were super heroes but you came out human . . . or so you thought. Bitter and prickly, you ended up in a corporate day job while your family’s on Rolling Stone. At age 30 you have such a foul day that you finally had your first drink since high school. Your first beer gives you the ability to read minds. Vodka turns you into a physical badass. Sake equals super speed. Mixing the drinks just makes you scarier. So . . . what happens next?

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Published on November 25, 2016 15:46 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 24, 2016

Writing Prompt #4--The Damsel

Imagine you’re a legendary warrior on a fantasy world, the type of badass who fights evil and protects the innocent with sword and a bit of magic. Someone pays you a lotta coin to save a damsel in distress who’s been kidnapped by cultists serving some long-forgotten war goddess. Through wits, skill, and luck, you save the spoiled-rotten damsel and race to get her home. Aside from chasing you themselves, the cultists put a large bounty on the both of you. So, all types of scum crawl out of the woodwork, out to chop you down and bring her back to the cult. Still, you wade through them in epic fashion, with a useless damsel cringing in the corner . . . some of the time. See, the cultists were trying to stuff the war goddess into the damsel’s body and turn her into a living WMD. You just happened to interrupt the ritual at the two-third mark. The result is a noblewoman with a mystical case of split personality that’s half-snob, half-war goddess. They switch places at unpredictable times and for no particular reason. What happens next?

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Published on November 24, 2016 15:10 Tags: murdersaucesquare

Writing Prompt #3 -- Need Money

What if you were an activist with a “Need Money to Buy My Own Congressman” sign? Hand-drawn in cardboard, it was put together as a prop for a Saturday protest. Only, a few days later, you find a $50 million check in the mail with instructions to buy a congressman? Most folks might piss the money away. But, assuming the check clears, anyone who could/would front that much cash might have killers on speed-dial. And what if? What if you could actually buy the right politician and persuade him/her to not worry about re-election or party? To just do the right thing? What would happen next?

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Published on November 24, 2016 14:55 Tags: murdersaucesquare

November 22, 2016

Writing Prompt #2 - The Passport

Imagine a busy city on a sunny winter’s day. A slick young thief pickpockets a well-dressed guy on the subway and gets away clean. The problem is that he doesn’t lift the guy’s wallet. Nope, he comes away with a well-used passport. Pissed off by the lack of profit, he notices a thin black button under the passport photo. When he presses it, the passport briefly hums and then . . . ?

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Published on November 22, 2016 15:02 Tags: murdersaucesquare