Objective POV Writing Prompt

Awkward Coffee Date?  Write about it!
Taken from Google Images



As you recall, an objective POV entails one being a "fly on the wall" or a reporter viewing the scene and the people in it.  For this prompt, your third person narrator should not be able to enter the minds of the characters, so much of this prompt will focus on setting the scene with details and description, dialogue, and character gestures - not thoughts!  This will be different from the subjective POV prompt, so do your best to get into an objective POV.

You have your choice from the following prompts; choose the one that most inspires you!

1. Place two characters in a room. They have vastly different views of life.  Create dialogue in which these differences become clear to the reader, but don’t allow the characters to confront these differences directly.  Instead, they might argue or talk about a safe or non-explosive subject. 

For instance, a father and son watch a football game and talk mostly about what they are watching.  Two sisters meet for dinner at a trendy restaurant.  A teacher and a student have a conference about a failing test grade.  The different world views, again, should not be stated directly by your narrator - keep it objective!

2. Write a scene in which two former lovers meet after many years.  What happens?  Set the scene, and be sure that you use dialogue that moves your piece forward.  Also, make sure that you illustrate the gestures of the characters: what is she doing with her hands?  How does his voice sound when he speaks to her?  Does she burn her tongue on the coffee she ordered?  Does he spill water all over the table?  Be a fly on the wall for this meeting.

3. Begin a story with a character in the middle of a rage.  The character’s anger seems completely inappropriate to its source.  For example, a character can be cursing in great anger about a minor inconvenience or disappointment—the local basketball team lost an important game, the cookie jar is empty, he forgot to put down the toilet seat again. 

As readers, watch this character complain and bellow his/her frustration at the characters around him, but it becomes clear that the character is angry about something else, which you may name or not.  Remember, no inside thoughts of this character - just paint a picture of him/her as if you are an outside observer.