All fingers and thumbs

Oct 30 Plot Background Story

"2021 Prep Calendar"  [E]

Oct. 30: - CONTEST ROUND: Plot Background Story ▼

Write a story that sets up your plot. EXAMPLE: The Lord of the Rings story revolves around the One Ring, its significance, and how it's destroyed. But how did Frodo get the One Ring in the first place? We learn that in The Hobbit. You obviously can't write a full-scale novel in 15 minutes, but you could write the scene where Bilbo encounters Gollum and stumbles across the ring. That would be a background story that sets up the plot in Lord of the Rings.

*Contest Round entries may be any rating. Follow these instructions ("IMPORTANT: How to compete in a Contest Round" ) by 1200 noon WDC time on Sunday to compete. WDC time is New York City time and can be found at the top of the IM Console. If you miss this deadline or choose not to compete, you must still log the assignment complete (without linking your work) for the grand prize, per the standard Prep guidelines.

Scene: Where did the Book Shanhaijing come from; how did it end up at the auction?
(15 minutes, with an alarm clock.)

A pair of eyes squinted through the living room, a face hidden with a black ninja mask, an agile person maneuvering through the dark mansion.

It was the house of a private collector of beautiful Asian nicknacks, but the figure was only interested in the spacious bookcase at the end. He opened its doors and took out some books when his eyes fell on the small manuscript on the middle of the shelf. Shanhaijing. He whispered its name softly before taking the precious Book into his gloved hands.

This was what he came for; this was his price. When the alarm went off, he already was miles away, driving his car towards the harbor. He had a plan of action to hide the Book.

Arriving near the container ship, he managed to get on board unseen and walked to the space where a few wooden crates were lined up. One of them was still open, the wooden plate to close it standing near the chest. It contained old books, and the thief put his stolen manuscript between the other books with a smile. Nobody would know the difference. Then he nailed the cover on top and looked for the stamp with the address. It was a utility shop in a big city in the United States, Los Angeles. He made a mental note of the address and left as he came. His job was done.

That night at 3 am. the big steamer left on the Yangzi River in China. It would take a few months before it arrived at its destination. Everything was set in place!