I thought that for Oct 17th’s prompt, we could take the word WAY and approach it nine different ways… use the word WAY and peruse the pictures to come up with a story idea… writing prompts are great fillers for when you get stuck during next months NaNoWriMo… okay, now for Nine

In the family WAY… Adding a baby to the picture can throw a whole new spin on your characters way of life, their personality, and their willingness to be ruthless… some may freak out, unready for the responsibility… or maybe overwhelming fear of one small being depending on them…

My WAY or the highway… This is a stubborn personality type that your other characters may want to punch in the face… but what if your character is an alpha male, and in a situation that needs him/her to be in charge… my way or the highway might come into play… eventually you could allow him/her a chance to grow a little, by allowing someone else to make the decisions

Going the WAY of the dodo. This is a phrase that has to do with extinction. The dodo was discovered and then quickly hunted into extinction rather quickly, because of their passive nature. If people, businesses, technology is unwilling or unable to change with the tide, to grow into more to stay ahead of the race, then they too will become extinct… For us writers, Barns and Noble is an excellent example… they weren’t quick or efficient enough to compete with Kindle and now we see less and less actual physical locations in which to purchase books… people still love a good paperback, but the cheaper prices and the ease of delivery makes E-books attractive.

Which WAY/ freeway. Your character could be on a trip. I like to go on vacation and try to stop along the way at random places that catch my fancy. I call it going on walk about… Which way should your character go?? Have then set out for one destination, but be sidetracked by something… A roadside sign that shows Amish country fudge or construction… A flat tire in the middle of nowhere… Hunger or restroom needs… Once they stop, so many different things could try to keep them from getting on their way, endanger their lives, or even make them stay and never want to leave.

That WAY lies destruction. Your character keeps doing something that leads them closer and closer to a dead end, a fight, further away from their goal.

In the WAY of progress. Is your character a nature lover, afraid that a corporation will clear out a forest of trees so that they can build a resort… or a logger… or a family of Brownies (or other Fae) living in the trees, needing to learn to cohabitate with humans. Stories revolving around trees are the ones that pop into my mind, but standing in the way of progress could be so many different things… a group of terrorists that refuse to grow, to change, and will fight to stick to the old ways… even trying to force their ways on the progressive cultures… technologies, businesses, farmers, book stores, cultures… anything or anyone that stands in the way of progress will be fighting to stick to the old ways…

WAYlay… hmmm what does the word waylay mean and how can we use it in a story… this is when you take by surprise, attack from the shadows, strike when others have their guard down. The trickster Fae have a tendency to draw travelers from the beaten path, get them lost, and then all manner of bad things can happen… Or a pitcher know for their fast balls can surprise the batter with a curve ball… or maybe your character is a hunter, lying in wait for a deer…

Give-a-WAY. This one is very self explanatory. It is when you give things away, toys to children, money as surprise gifts, even the suckers at the bank when you go in to cash a check…

Layaway. This is when you lay claim to something, and then have time to pay it off… Your character can work in layaway, and deal with the insanity of holiday gift layaways… or maybe a woman that has a layaway for her child goes to cancel it because she knows she wont be able to come up with the funds, and she finds that someone has paid for the purchases… turns out a man that secretly loves her knew of her troubles and secretly paid for her stuff…

That concluded our nine different WAYS. But I just had to add this last piece… it has the word layaway in it, but for the most part it is just a cute little story… Happy wordage, Tracey