Writing Prompts: Deadly Sins

The concept of the seven deadly sins has been around since the early days of Christianity. In the Christian belief system, they believe that man is prone to sin and that there are seven “capital offenses” that would earn a person a place in eternal damnation.

While based in religion, I believe the seven deadly sins are simply biological processes, thought patterns and general characteristics taken to the extreme. For instance, we all have to eat. Eating keeps us alive. However taken to excess (Gluttony) and eating more than we need leads to obesity and disease as well as the questionable morality of overeating when there are people in the world (and sometimes right next door) starving.

Think of how the seven deadly sins could play out in the lives of your characters or how you could use them to develop into a story. Here a few writing prompts to help get you started.

1. A serial killer burns his victims as a way to purge them of their “Lustful” tendancies.

2. A rich person lives a pauper’s life in order to avoid their natural ability to accumulate wealth and to avoid the stigma of being “Greedy“.

3. A minister takes excessive “Pride” in their ability to convert sinners and ends up alienating their followers.

4. Evil threatens to overtake and destroy all that is good but the person (or people) that could stop this is too “Apathetic” to do anything about it.

5. “Angry” at a rapist being let go because of a technicality, a group of people commit vigilante justice upon the criminal.

The seven deadly sins are:

1. Pride

2. Wrath

3. Lust

4. Greed

5. Sloth

6. Envy

7. Gluttony

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