1. Creating a Storyworld
Sci Fi/Fantasy
Narrative Prompt

2. BRAINSTORM YOUR STORYWORD
Physical Description Rules and Values
• Time—past, present, future, • Laws, Rules, Behavior Codes
day, night, summer, winter, • Do people have advanced
iconic era, etc. abilities?
• Place—Real or imaginary, • Is society barbaric,
country, planet, sea, land, sophisticated, or both?
room, community, ship, • Language?
satellite, island, etc. • Wealth or Poverty
• What does it look like? • Freedoms? Religious Views?
• What does it feel like? Political Climate?
• What does it sound like? • Goals
• What does it smell like? • Society events and
• What does it taste like? circumstances?

3. 1
Imagine you are in a world other
than ours. You are currently at
the home you have lived in your
entire life. It is all very familiar
in your world. Describe your
immediate surroundings.

4. 2
You are planning to leave today,
but you feel anxious about what
to bring. You go through several
possibilities. Gratefully, you
make a decision and place the
object(s) in your bag. Describe.

5. 3
You are thinking about all you will
leave behind. Much to your
dismay, less than a minute later,
your solitude is shattered.
Describe what you were thinking
and the subsequent interruption.

6. 4
Who does the interruption come
from? And what does this
person/entity want from you?

7. 5
You are ____________
(uncomfortable, afraid, excited,
confused, annoyed) by the
request. Describe your reaction
through your body language.

8. 6
How do you respond to the
request? What do you do? What
do you say to the person/entity?

9. 7
Your response is not well received
by the requester. Describe the
requester’s voice and response to
you. What is said? How is it
said?

10. 8
As you think about the request,
your mind drifts to the reason(s)
you are leaving. Where are you
going? And, why are you leaving?

11. 9
You are trying to make sense out of
it all, and then you realize you are
going to be late. Describe what
you do next.

12. Prompt created by Elizabeth Nelson
for Writing Workshop on
“Creating a Storyworld and Character”
April 2013