Writing Prompt Story Starter: Uniforms

With half-term on the horizon, this week’s story starter is all about — uniforms!

Your Story’s Characters

When you’re planning a story, there are a number of things to take into consideration.

Setting, of course — where the story takes place.

Period — is it contemporary, set in the present day, or historical?

Plot — what’s going to happen? How are things going to be resolved?

And last, but definitely not least — characters.

What are they doing? What are they thinking? And what are they wearing?

Uniforms

If you’d like to write a story but are a bit stuck for ideas, it’s helpful to have a starting point — so what about clothes?

Lots of jobs involve clothing that’s instantly recognisable.

What most obviously springs to mind?

Forces’ uniforms — so, army, navy and air force.

Will your story be set in peacetime — or wartime?

Health Care And Hospitals

Nurse’s uniforms. A story set in a hospital? A maternity unit? Could it feature a health visitor, perhaps?

Student nurses?

Or might it feature doctors — in a GP surgery setting? White coat syndrome?

School Days

School uniforms. Stories set in schooldays gone by, or present day? Boarding or day school?

Shopping for school shoes (still brings back memories!).

Finding it tricky to afford uniform? And ways around that? As long as your story has a positive resolution, we can feature ‘grittier’ storylines.

Uniforms Past And Present

Firemen. Police. Emergency services.

Traffic wardens (!).

Security guards. Construction workers — hard hat, and hi-vis jackets.

Bakers. Chefs. Lifeguards.

Pilot. Waitress. Vicars.

Or uniforms of bygone days — seafaring men. Or pirates!

Footmen. Regimental uniforms — bagpipers, massed pipes and drums.

Thinking about what your characters will be wearing is a good starting point for your story.

Once you have a picture of them in your mind’s eye, you can start thinking about storyline.

Find more writing prompts on our website.