Strangers on a Train: Creative Writing Prompt GCSE English.
Imagine a crowded train heading home to a city or town. It’s nearly Christmas Eve. The weather could be better. There have been delays. Emotions are mixed, even messy. Four strangers share a table. Two booked ahead. Two took their chances. After some time spent assessing their surroundings and each other, perhaps they initiate conversation. Then the refreshment trolley appears. The waiter/waitress is also on their way home.
Sketch out the situation and story using the following questions as prompts:
- Imagine each stranger’s mind as an animal. Describe each mind and its attitude to the world and specifically, to the situation on the train.
- Give each character’s opening ice-breaker to the others at the table and then imagine what they order from the trolley and why?
- How do the other’s
respond in this situation? - Describe something else in the same carriage and outside the train window. Build your drama and evoke a strong sense of place and even destiny.
- Restrict yourself to one or two details about each character’s appearance.
- What happens before they leave the train? Who leaves first? Last?
- Write the final sentence of your story/sketch.
