[Write the Story] An Anniversary Party
Prompt: An Anniversary Party Words: tour guide, sprout, beluga, breed, galoshes, bitterness, adversary, binary, radiant, transit Story “Welcome to the Sprout Museum 20th Anniversary Gala. Please leave any coats, bags, and galoshes at the check stand.†Leon stood by the inner doors, waiting as the guests left their belongings and formed up. Leon plastered on […]
[Write the Story] The Main Character Gets Rejected
Prompt: The Main Character gets Rejected Words: office, popcorn, genial, rhyme, shampoo, vote, yawn, baboon, freak, hag Story “Oh, this is going to be fun. Someone pass the popcorn.†Rose rubbed her hands gleefully. “Why are you so invested in this, Rose?†Liz shook her head. “Jim is a genial guy. Maybe he’ll surprise you, […]
[Write the Story] A Fairy Tale in a Faraway Land
Note: My day job is eating up all my time and energy. Essential workers for the win? This is the first bit of ragged creativity I’ve had in a month. I’m not sure I got the prompt right, but this is what came out. Please be kind to each other in the coming weeks and […]
[Write the Story] A Good Reason to Be Afraid of the Dark
Prompt: A Good Reason to Be Afraid of the Dark Words: killer whale, depraved, janitor, bargain, dye, fool, heap, kick, praise, quilt Story “You look like crap, Anna, how much sleep have you gotten?†“Ten hours. I’m fine, Jerry,†she poured coffee on top of a heap of sugar. “Over how many days?†“Three? Four?†[…]
[Write the Story] A Mistake that Costs Someone’s Life
Prompt: A Mistake that Costs Someone’s Life Words: Everglades, bulletin, fiend, crew, floss, humor, grease, kiss, link, notice Story “You fiend! I can’t believe I let you talk me into this!†Kayla went for humor. “Oh, come on, Kayla, it’s not like I asked you to crew a boat in the Everglades during alligator mating […]
[Write the Story] A Lifelong Bachelor Visiting Married Friends
Prompt: A Lifelong Bachelor Visiting Married Friends Words: Tick tock, factory, zoology, arrest, broadcast, comb, divorce, flap, harness, gaze Story Todd glanced at his watch. The mechanical tick tock of the second hand, usually soothing, seemed to broadcast his reluctance to leave his truck and go knock on the door. He delayed further by doing […]
[Write the Story] A Nasty Rumor
Prompt: A Nasty Rumor Words: Antarctica, candy bar, sympathetic, minister, patrol, commonality, auction, bandage, crush, dive Story “Diane! Diane! Hold up!†I took two more steps before stopping with a sigh. “Good morning, Kevin. What’s up? I’m headed out on patrol.†“Did you hear? They’re going to auction off a trip here in a candy […]
[Write the Story] A Myth That Explains a Common Natural Occurrance
Prompt: A Myth That Explains a Common Natural Occurrence Words: river mouth, punishment, warehouse, claim, coder, ache, bend, coop, dam, frown Story “You know why the river mouth is so small don’t you?†Rod took a pull of his beer. Direct from the Coder his ownself!†Rod rubbed his lower back as he straightened, wondering […]
[Write the Story] A Couple Who Married Young
Prompt: A Couple Who Married Young Words: Monopoly, flashlight, aerospace, exchange, biology, lawyer, machinery, revenge, anthill, concealed Story “You know we’ll need a lawyer before we’re done, right?†Wesley played the flashlight over the machinery. “Only if we get caught, and we’ve never been caught, Maggie.†Maggie kept one hand on Wesley’s back as they […]
[Write the Story] Caught in the Rain
Prompt: Caught in the Rain Words: Las Vegas, radiology, etch, funeral, textile, sweep, muslin, wholesale, wildlife, English Story Who knew you could get drenched in Las Vegas, but you can while on your way to a funeral and while wearing muslin. I couldn’t show up to Dr. English’s services looking like a drowned rat in […]