Time Travel Baby – Writer’s Prompt to Stretch Your Imagination

Lynn Kelley, Time Travel Baby

For years, I’ve been wanting to make a short video that gives the effect of a time travel baby, which could be used as a writer’s prompt. I’m not sure if I accomplished my goal or not.

Perhaps if you stretch your imagination it will work, so let’s try to bend it a tad here, twist it a wee bit there, and voila! Let the magic begin by writing your short story.

Lynn Kelley, Time Travel Baby

Questions to Get Us Pondering

Let’s begin by asking some questions, which will hopefully lead to some amazing answers and thus light a blaze under our muses.

  • How is this baby able to time travel?
  • Why is she alone?
  • Is she in danger?
  • Is she from the future or the past? (Note: Some time travel theories state time travel into the future isn’t possible. Perhaps those theorists need to exercise their imaginations.)

  • Is this baby from another universe?
  • Does she have super powers?
  • Is she an only child?
  • Where is she going to land, touch down, or appear?
  • Why isn’t she in a time machine?
  • How will she get back to her own time or will she?

That’s plenty to get our imaginations stirred up. Did the questions trigger any ideas? Do these questions make you think of more questions that need to be answered?

Does the video spark any other type of story you could write about besides time travel? Maybe you don’t like time travel tales. What genre would you rather write? How about fantasy? Or a nonfiction piece about making videos with a green screen?

Who is your target audience? Do you want to write a story for children or for grownups? Or teens?

I think I’ll write a story for children. Now to decide what age group. I don’t think the concept of time travel would work for a picture book, unless they’re little toddler geniuses.

Lynn Kelley, Time Travel Baby

Oh man! Toddler geniuses! That just triggered another idea for a story. Did a group of preschool geniuses invent time travel? Did they nab a baby from another time period when the teacher turned her back, just so Lucinda could have a baby sister?

Lynn Kelley, Time Travel Baby

If you need some tips for how to write a short story, check out The Write Practice, How to Write a Short Story From Start to Finish by Joe Bunting. It has some good tips.

If you already know what to do, get started or at least jot your ideas down so you don’t forget them. That’s happened to me many times.

Lynn Kelley, Time Travel Baby

If only I’d written down that masterpiece idea as soon as I thought of it, I could have sold a million copies. Ugh!

Believe me, it’s not a good feeling when you forget that brilliant story idea.

For another writer’s prompt, you might find some inspiration in this post, Ugly Foot Finds Its Doppleganger.

Happy writing. Have fun with it.

Are you a fan of time travel stories? Do you like story prompts? Do you enjoy exercising your imagination? 

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7 Responses to Time Travel Baby – Writer’s Prompt to Stretch Your Imagination

  1. Maybe the baby is Superman?

  2. Yvette Carol says:

    You’re onto some good ideas there! Maybe she’s an angel….

  3. Patricia says:

    That’s too many questions for a Monday. Fun game/project though.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

    • Too funny, Patricia! Yes, too many questions, but you don’t have to answer them. If an idea doesn’t pop into your head as soon as you read the question, then your story isn’t along those lines. Yes, just a game, prompt to get the creative juices flowing.

      I know what you mean about it being a Monday. Hope you have a great week!

  4. Pingback: Welcome Video Using Green Screen Effect - Trial and Error - Lynn Kelley, AuthorLynn Kelley, Author

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