Prompts - Setting

Prompt: Write a short piece that demonstrates a clear and vivid setting.

Katie sat stiffly against the cold stone wall, aiming a weak flashlight beam at the thick brown door. Her mother had gone out to check the barometers a while ago – was it thirty minutes? Forty? She hoped no more than forty-five, but with no clocks or windows, she couldn’t be sure. She pulled off her blanket. The room was small and offered no comfort in its white walls and thin cots. Katie shoved open the heavy door and took a deep breath.

The room beyond was large and drafty, illuminated by small slivers of light from long, thin windows near the ceiling. Rain streaked the panes and dark clouds obscured the small strip of sky. Hugging herself, Katie walked around the tables and chairs littering the floor to the large closet on the opposite wall. Silently she pulled out a large coat and rubber boots. An umbrella would be pointless; she’d need her hands to pull herself along the rope strung from the building to the meters.

She took another breath and refused to wince as the wind and rain pounded the windows and rattled the door. Her mother was out there, gone far longer than she should have been. Resolutely she continued on, struggling with the many layers of clothes. She had barely grasped the door when it flung open, causing her to jump back and reach for her goggles. Securing them, she flailed for the slick rope, sighing when she grasped it. She began pulling herself the fifty feet to the barometers. Their old chicken coop bent under the wind and garden gnomes smashed into its metal frame. Her mother’s plants were torn from their roots. Terrified, Katie doubled over, barely keeping a hold on the rope. She yelled as she moved, but her mother wasn’t in sight.

Prompts - Inventing Definitions

Prompt: Pick any noun, verb, adjective, and conjunction from the dictionary and give them fake origin stories. 4-6 sentences only.

dune: (noun) a rounded hill or ride of sand heaped up by the action of the wind.

            In early England, Sir Richard Dune was a messenger in the king’s army. He had fallen ill, but still vowed to deliver an important message across the desert that divided the army and its main stronghold. Halfway through his journey, he succumbed to his sickness and collapsed. Days later, reinforcements marched across the sands to the army and one soldier noticed a slight hill with a stiff hand sticking straight out of it. Dune’s body was uncovered and forever after soldiers warned that piles of sand might really be dunes – that is, covering up dead bodies.

snub: (verb) to check or interrupt with sharp or slighting words.

            In a small country town in Europe, a young girl lived with her family. They had the unfortunate last name of “Nubbin,” and all the other children teased the girl, calling her “nubby” or “nub.” Eventually it became an insult among them, and the girl grew tired of being upset by this. She began to turn up her nose and make jokes about the others as she walked by, which caused them to call her a snob. One child, feeling himself to be particularly creative, combined the two and called her a “snub”, meaning a “snobby nub.” The others soon picked up on this and used the word “snub” to characterize the action of meanly insulting someone.

mettlesome: (adjective) full of mettle; spirited; ardent, brave, etc.

            An aboriginal tribe in Australia has a legend that has been passed down for centuries. They say that their ancestors once lived in harmony with all living things, sharing thoughts and feelings through a force of nature known as the Mettle. Every living thing was woven into the Mettle, and all could instinctively access it. However, as the years went by, tribes learned things such as “fighting” and “owning” and “greed,” and they began to split up. As soon as people separated themselves from other living things, cracks formed in the Mettle, until it was no longer a force that contained all beings, but rather a spirit that lived inside all things. Now, if a person shows great spirit or bravery, they are said to have some mettle in them, or are “mettlesome.”

nor: (conjunction) and not; and not either; usually as the second of the correlatives neither…nor, implying negation of both parts of the statement.

            The young boy stood in the shadow of a giant stone monolith, the words of his elders still ringing in his ears. He had to complete an arduous task for his tribe to accept his as an adult; he was to travel to a neighboring land that lie between Norway and the Netherlands and return with an artifact of an enemy tribe. This monolith was to guide him, but the boy, versed as he was in the tribe’s written language, could not make out a single word inscribed on the stone. Two shallow arrows and a few thin letters were carved in its face, but it looked as though some of the markings had been worn away. Frustrated, the boy lamented “I don’t want “neither” or “nor”, I need to find the other tribe!”

Prompts - Characterization

Prompt: Create a character. Choose 5 people in their life to characterize them in only 50 words.

Tattoo Artist

            I refused to ink a dumbass “mom” heart on Nikki when she asked. I’d talked her out of bad tattoos before, something I do for customers who are also friends. And I like her style, loose and confident. We started bar-hopping on Friday nights, great fun for two twenty-somethings.

Therapist

            After 18 sessions I finally comprehend Nikki’s issues. She’s begun to answer questions about the incident (see session logs). I believe the best course of action is to locate her father. Nikki is nervous around males and refuses to consider dating. A positive male influence is vital to her progress.

Coffee Barista

            “Double chocolate chip frappuccino, extra chocolate!”

            I know who ordered that. Nikki Lamont. Gorgeous Nikki.

            I watch her everyday as she struts into the shop. She’s the most wonderful girl I’ve ever seen. Those deep green eyes, thick, shiny brown hair…

            Hell, I love her. I’m gonna ask her out.

Chauffeur

            I politely told Miss Lamont what I think of the horrid places I drive her to, but she ignores me and demands I drop her off a block away. Poor rearing, if you ask me. Good genes, but her mother pays no mind to Nikki’s childish behavior.

‘Tis a pity.

 Sister

            Nikki’s grown to be quite the bitch. Couldn’t be prouder, honestly. Mother doesn’t know day from night and my little sis has finally quit the goody-goody act. That therapist probably blames her behavior on me, but whatever. All I do is supply the fake IDs. Nikki’s finally tasting real life.