5 Ways to Spice Up A Contemporary

Hello! 

I’ve been trying my hand at contemporary writing projects recently. I also talked with some other contemporary writers. And one thing I noticed from our conversations about the genre is that it’s kind of hard to make it interesting. 

In fantasy, you can throw in dragons and swords and magic. In sci-fi you can add futuristic technology. In horror, you can add creepy ghosts. But what can you add in contemporary? 

Observe the Oddities of the World 

Yes, our modern world doesn’t have dragons and gowns made of silk, but there are still interesting things in it. I keep a list of these random oddities on my phone. 

Some recent examples: 

• Watching a rancher-cowboy dude send his cart down a hill and into the cart holder, and then celebrating. 
• Seeing people having a headstand contest on paddle boards in a lake. 
• Looking at people’s reactions when my cousins and siblings took over a pizza restaurant. 

The main thing about this is observing. I see a lot of things when I’m sitting in the car, driving through town. Or in a store. Or when camping. If you take a few moments to watch for these moments, you’re sure to come out with some random events and situations. These little kernels of oddness can add some humor to a story and make it seem more realistic. 

Throw A Toddler Into Things 

Okay, so babies are fun. They are adorable, especially as they learn about the world. Babies can be held and carried. You can make them laugh and smile. Toddlers, on the other hand, are a whole different world. 

Toddlers have learned enough about the world that they don’t have to be treated like a baby, but there is also a lot they still don’t know. They have ears that hear and repeat almost everything and anything (this gets very entertaining when they say things without knowing the context for said phrase) They are old enough to play, make big messes, and (sometimes) help clean up. 

If you can, put a toddler or two into your story. They are bound to spice it up with funny actions, taglines, and dialogue. They can add a bit of humor, probably some arguments, and maybe some stress.  

Arguments 

People aren’t perfect. In real life, we get into fights. We argue with our siblings, parents, and friends. There is no perfect argument-less relationship. 

And honestly, arguments can be quite entertaining. (Well, really that’s only if you are observing the fight, but still…) Fights over something stupid like lost flip flops can be used to add humor while more serious fights can be used to add a tone of seriousness. 

Home

Furnish and create your character’s home in an interesting way. Is it a nice *aesthetic* house with pretty big windows and gray carpet? Is it an old creaky victorian house, where you can hear any and every footstep and the windows are five feet tall? 

Every house has its quirks, which can add reality and interesting situations. My family used to live in a creaky Victorian house. We could hear almost any noise from anywhere in the house. This made listening to arguments kind of entertaining. We also had super steep and narrow stairs (somehow after 6 years and a lot of little siblings, no one was seriously injured)

Little quirks where your characters live and work can give a lot of personality to a house and story. 

Take Advantage of Location 

Does your story take place in a big tropical city? Or maybe a small mountain town? Different regions have different kinds of weird weather to offer. Maybe look up crazy weather events for the area you are writing about. Make the weather turn a situation to be a little chaotic. 

Have your character experience a hurricane for the first time. Or snow. Actually, you know what? Use snow to mess up some of their plans. Just throw some snow into the mix, and interesting things will happen. 

Some Other things to Throw In

There are a lot of things that can make contemporaries interesting. It’s one of the few times you can add in funny things that you have experienced. So here are some other ideas to spice up your contemporary story: 

• Crazy neighbors 
• Crazy animals and pets 
• Food incidents 
• Road trip incidents 
• Weird food

I hope some of these ideas can help you add in some humor and oddness into your contemporary story. It’s a ton of fun to throw these random things into a story, and I hope you have fun! 

What are some of your favorite ways to spice up a story? What are some weird things you’ve observed in this crazy world? Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great rest of your day! 

-Hannah

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