Powers & systems
Tobermory · Saki (H. H. Munro)Their cat can talk, and he remembers their private conversations
Turn a wonderful discovery into social comedy by letting it expose things people previously said without expecting an answer.
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Mysteries & clues
Trifles · Susan GlaspellThe investigators dismiss the kitchen. The women know how to read it.
Make overlooked expertise produce a discovery, then force the discoverers to decide what to do with evidence that changes their view of the accused.
Mysteries & clues
After Twenty Years · O. HenryA match lights one face. The other man stays in the dark.
Let two people leave the same encounter with different information without concealing something the viewpoint plainly saw.
Dilemmas & costs
After Twenty Years · O. HenryHis duty requires an action he cannot bear to perform himself
Give a character a compromise between personal loyalty and official responsibility that still has a cost.
Organizations
The Yellow Wallpaper · Charlotte Perkins GilmanShe asks to leave. Her husband answers as her doctor.
Show how a person can struggle to challenge a decision when the same authority controls care, permission and whose account is believed.
Character & identity
The Yellow Wallpaper · Charlotte Perkins GilmanShe keeps looking at the wallpaper. What she sees changes what she does.
Let a repeated detail develop from something a character notices into a reason they take action.
Dilemmas & costs
A White Heron · Sarah Orne JewettShe could earn ten dollars by showing a hunter where a bird nests
Make a choice about sharing information difficult by giving the character something they sincerely want from the person asking.
Relationships
The Woman of the House · Kate MooneyHe thinks her tears mean yes. She tells him he is right.
Let a misunderstood reaction become a promise when a character wants approval more than an immediate difficult conversation.
Relationships
Worm · WildbowThe former best friend knows where it hurts
Make a betrayal feel personal by showing what a former friend knows, how they use it now, and what the target must do differently.
Powers & systems
Worm · WildbowControlling spiders is only the start of making a costume
Show competence by following a useful power through the ordinary work needed to produce something reliable.
Ongoing story
Worm · WildbowRebuild the ruined notes, or finally take the first step?
Move a prepared but hesitant character into action by making them reconsider one more round of preparation.
Character & identity
Worm · WildbowShe can send the swarm. She wants to become a hero.
Make restraint an active choice by showing both the tempting action and the problem left unsolved when it is refused.