Scene Starter #3

Sometimes, it's good to be realistic. Sometimes, outlandish fiction is more fun. Here's a prompt that plays with normality versus insanity.

You have accidentally picked up somebody else's luggage on your international flight, but don't realize it until you return to your hotel room. The bag is identical to yours in color and brand. What is the first item inside that tips you off? What else is in there? Is it run of the mill, or is it extremely strange and/or valuable?Was your luggage full of normal stuff too? What do you do with the bag? 

Extra challenge- try writing this scene first from the perspective of a regular traveler expecting the usual folded undergarments and space for souvenirs and discovering, say, a trove of rare artifacts or the evidence to a crime or completely inexplicable and seemingly unrelated items. Next, try writing as an art thief who expected to finally have gotten away with the Mona Lisa or a child who has packed all of their favorite toys and instead gets a businessman's carefully packed suits or a tourist's camera. Bon voyage.


All prompts on this blog are free for personal and instructional use, but cannot be republished without the permission of the author.