Jan. WIP Writing Challenge FIGHT OR FLIGHT!!

I thought I’d start off the year with the mother of all prompt challenges for my ongoing interactive monthly WIP challenge. It’s taken me a few days to really come up with the right fit! I skimmed over so many ideas, passing up everything as I’ve felt them less than worthy. Weird, I know, but this morning while I was in the shower (yes that’s where I do my best brainstorming, don’t judge) I was trying to convince myself to put off my WIP post off for one more day. That’s when it hit me!!!  How well do we really know our characters? If put in the face of a life altering/traumatic dilemma, how would they REALLY handle it?! We all like to think that we’re strong and smart and would take the best approach, but really, I mean REALLY, how do we actually react when it’s…  

FIGHT OR FLIGHT?!

If confronted by surprise, be it violently or otherwise, do we fight back or retract in that two seconds that it counts. When our minds don’t have the time to fully process, what happens? Do we throw punches on instinct, or do we freeze and/or flee? Same goes with our characters! Who are they really? In the depths of our character’s souls, do they have what it takes to act accordingly? Are they passive, or are they aggressive naturally?

My monthly WIP challenge is easy, you just take the characters from your WIP and plug them into a scene that fits the prompt. Give me your link in a comment here, and I’ll share it along with the others at the end of the month with my own post! Easy Peasy!

So, for January 2020, the first month of this year, not only do I challenge you to write your characters in a dire FIGHT OR FLIGHT scene, but I dare you to. This isn’t an easy challenge, so naturally I expect only those who are truly ready for a challenge to step up to the task!

For those who are unfamiliar with this phrase I did a little bit of research on your behalf. Here’s a little taste of some descriptions that I found:

EXAMPLE: The flight-or flight–response is a protective devise that the nervous system makes so that you can be ready to run away from danger or fight off a danger. All body systems shunt blood to the muscles and brain. It shunts blood away from the digestive system. This is some times seen if you feel like throwing up.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE: This is called the “fight or flight” response, and it causes a surge of adrenaline to assist with either fighting or fleeing. Your heart rate and blood pressure increase, and yo

YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE: There are three stages of stress: the alarm, resistance and exhaustion stages. The alarm stage is also known as the fight or flight stage. When you’re in the alarm stage, your heart beats faster, sending more blood to your arms and legs in case you need to fight or flee.

So, let’s see it writers! Give me a scene where the characters that you already know and love so much are forced into a FIGHT OR FLIGHT circumstance! GOOD LUCK!!!

HOW IT WORKS

As the initiator: Every month I’ll give a real time circumstance, hang out spot, or every day situation. I’ll post the exact scene/challenge the first week of every month.

As an Author/challenge joiner: All you need to do is use the characters from your WIP (work in progress), or even a published works, and plug them into the given scene for a short story style post. It can be funny, serious, deadly, really just whatever you want as long as it’s true to your characters (as in, what they would actually do in this situation)!! It’s a fun way to be creative with those personalities that you as their creator love so much. It’s also a fun way to introduce them to the world and your blogs, without giving away your plots and twists… Just pure ‘meet my characters, and get to know their personalities’ separate from their book.

How we work together as Authors and the Initiator:  I’ll do my own scene/challenge post on the very last day of the month (that way I can be sure to link in every joiner, and you can do your posts at your own leisure). Write your scene’s anytime you wish, at any point of the month. All that I need is your final challenge post link.