Fear as a Writing Prompt

Fear has its use but cowardice has none.
–Mohandas Gandhi

One thing is a certainty when writing fiction: be sure your character has a fear, whether or not he acknowledges it on the inside or shows it on the outside. In life, we all are afraid of something coming from a personal experience we may or may not remember. Your character is no different. A fear, or the resulting belief your character has stemming from the fear, drives your protagonist and therefore, the story.

Many times the crux of a story is the moment a character faces his fear. The outcome can be either tragic (the fear wins by paralyzing him or he turns away) or happy (he is able to overcome his worst fear to save the day) or somewhere in between.

There are many ways to find out a character’s fear, but one fun way to approach it (fear can be fun? Yes!) is to use it as a motivation to write and discover what sort of story you can develop with a fear at the core of your idea. I’m betting Rod Serling and Stephen King have used this technique a time or two.

Gandhi was right…fear has its use, so use it as a creative writing prompt. Look through the following fears, choose one for your character, then begin answering the questions following the fear list (steps two and three) and let your story flow.

Step One: Choose a fear from the list below

Emotional Fear—write a story about someone who is afraid of:

Abandonment
Anger (or becoming angry)
Being laughed at
Being forgotten (or ignored)
Being hated
Being touched
Being useless
Change
Commitment
Criticism
The dark (actual or figurative? Spiritual?)
Disorder or chaos
Failure
Falling in love
Heaven
Hell
Ideas or anything new
Leaving the house
Loneliness
Loss of control
Loss of functionality
Making decisions
Making a mistake
Memories
Poverty
Responsibility
Words

Physical Fear—write a story about someone who is afraid of:
Accidents
Animals (in general or a specific one)
Being a victim
Being buried alive
Cemeteries
Clowns (had to include that oneJ)
Computers
Confined spaces
Crossing bridges
Death
Dead things
Demons
Disease or germs
Dolls (or puppets)
Extreme cold (snow, freezing temperatures, ice)
Falling asleep
Fire
Fog
Forests
Ghosts or spirits
Growing old
Heights
Injury
Mirrors
Money
The night
Pain
Parasites
People
Public speaking (who isn’t?)
Rain
Saints, priests, nuns or holy icons
Storms (thunder and lightning)
Strangers
Sun
Teenagers
Violence
Water (bodies of, moving, or bathing)

Step Two: Ask the following questions:

What happened in his childhood for the character to learn this fear?
Did the fear come from an actual event or was it learned from another person?
Is his fear real or is it irrational?
Is his fear physical, and if so are there emotional reasons behind it?
Is his fear emotional, and if so is there a real reason behind it?
Does he recognize or acknowledge his fear, or is he in denial?
How does this fear manifest and outwardly affect him?
What does he do to hide this fear from others?
Do others know about his fear or is he able to hide it?
How does it change his life?
How far will he go to avoid facing this fear?
Does he seek treatment or help?

In first person, let the character describe the fear and tell you what is so terrifying about it. Let him say it in his own words.

Step Three: Ask these questions to start your story

In light of this fear, what is the worst thing that can happen to this character?
Does he face his fear? How?
Or does he turn away and hide from it?
What will he lose if he can’t face it?
What will he lose if he does face it?

Step Four: Keep writing

Use fear as a positive force in your writing. Start with a character with a fear, follow him, and watch your story develop.

Award-winning novelist Kathy Steffen teaches fiction writing and speaks at writing programs across the country. Additionally, Kathy is also published in short fiction and pens a monthly writing column, Between the Lines. Her books, FIRST THERE IS A RIVER, JASPER MOUNTAIN and THEATER OF ILLUSION are available online and at bookstores everywhere.

1. Melanie Franklin says:

   November 8, 2011 at 10:31 am

   Just found this and I love it. A multi-purpose prompt! What a great way to round out characters, develop backstory and come up with a few ideas for conflict in scenes.
2. Kathy says:

   November 8, 2011 at 6:02 pm

   Thanks Melanie! I appreciate that. I always try and trick myself into writing and love to share:)