As a child I often imagined myself or my characters with superpowers ranging from invisibility to wings. Now that I am an adult I like to play with superpowers that are more unusual, perhaps even deeply impractical.

Today’s writing prompt is to write for fifteen minutes about a human being that has a strange ability. They could have always had this ability or it could have been gifted to them later in life by a meter maid, or a lightening strike or any number of things.

The main point of the prompt is not how they got this ability but what it is, and how it changes their life. This ability shouldn’t be anything incredible or predictable, like super strength or x-ray vision. It should be something unexpected.

For example your main character could have the ability to know everyone’s full given name, without anyone telling them that name. Any new person the main character passed on the street would have their name spelled out and floating near their shoulder.

Or your main character could have the ability to speak with bugs.  Or perhaps they could turn any dairy product into a soy product just by touching it.

In this prompt you are to focus on the absurdity of having a secret ability and how it might effect one’s life to have a strange gift that no one else would have.

This prompt is a great way to exercise your imagination and have fun.