Writing Challenge: Quick-Plotting Challenge

This is an exercise I got from a writing course, which I find really helpful for coming up with some new plots (that is, story ideas). It's really simple and you end up with six new plots every time you play! Warning! This is extremely addictive!!

There are two parts to this challenge. The first part is creating a plot from random elements; the second involves writing a chapter for one of those plots. Here's how it goes:


Part One:

Draw up four columns and label them People, Situation, Setting and Theme. Under the first column write down six generic people or careers, these are your potential characters (use anything that comes to mind; it doesn’t' have to make sense), like so:


PEOPLE
Magician
Young boy
Warrior
Alien
Mysterious stranger
Mystical beast

Then write six different Situations under the 'Situations' column, e.g.,

SITUATION
War
Self-discovery
Ultimate betrayal
An empire challenged
Natural disaster
Deadly Political intrigue

And so on for the other columns (I've included some examples for those who can't think of a setting or theme). 

Once you have written up six ideas for each column, use the numbers 1 through 6 and place them down the columns in a random order (no cheating!!) until you have placed a number beside each element, like so:



You don't have to post your whole table, only the elements you use for your thumbnail and story snippet.

List together your plot elements by the number you've put next to it, then write out a thumbnail plot using the combined elements for those numbers. You'll need to chose the one you like for the next part. For example, by combining all the number threes, I get these plot elements: an Alien in a war-torn land is in a situation of an Empire Challenged, and the theme is power. My thumbnail plot might look like this:

PLOT: The Dragon Empire has been at war for centuries. The Dragon Emperor is always looking to expand his Empire, to subjugate new planets and bring their valuable resources under his dominion. For the last eight years, the planet Alfirk has been torn apart by the Emperor’s war as his forces battle to establish a foothold in the Cepheun Confederacy. Alfirk is losing the battle. Their last hope is to flee before they are wiped out, but Karenis cannot abide to leave her home and will fight to her death rather than give up her home without a fight. Just when all looks lost, aliens appear on Alfirk. Fragile-skinned and carnivorous, these strange “Humans” with their incredible mental abilities hold the key to the impossible: challenging the ultimate power of the Dragon Emperor himself.

Another example: By combining the ones, I get the following plot elements: A Warrior on a Parallel Earth in a situation of Deadly Political Intrigue, and the theme is Honesty. My thumbnail plot might look like this:

PLOT: Taraf was not a politician, but being the last member of his clan meant he must become Speaker for the Plains up on Capitol Hill. Thrust into a deadly game of politics for which he is unprepared, Taraf learns quickly that honesty is no longer the measure of a person, and trust is a foreign concept to those who can determine the fate of his people. But in a game where everybody lies or dies, will honesty ultimately be the key to saving his life and the lives of his fellow Plainspeople? 

You will only need ONE of these for the next part of the challenge, so don't feel like you need to write thumbnails for all of them. Please don’t use my examples – use your own creativity. You'll need at least one plot for the next part of the challenge.

Edit - Add in some CONFLICT ideas as well if you want by including these six basic types of conflict and doing the same processes with the numbering as above:

CONFLICT
2 - Person vs person
5 - Person vs society
7 - Person vs nature
4 - Person vs technology
1 - Person vs self
3 - Person vs supernatural


Part Two:

This part is fairly uncomplicated compared to the first: Write a scene introducing us to this new story you've just outlined. It can be a prologue or the first part of a first chapter - or even part of another chapter, as long as you incorporate the elements of the outline you've written. Do not write an introduction to all six plots, just one.

Post your completed challenge in this thread, and include at the beginning of your post the four elements that you randomly chose - People, Setting, Situation, Theme - as well as your thumbnail plot outline, and then the story extract. Please polish and edit your post in consideration of others.

Reward: Earn a maximum of 10 Honor Points based on your excerpt's word count.

100 words or less = 10 Easy Points
101-300 words = 10 Medium Points
301-500 words = 10 Hard Points