Category: Writing Prompts

Prompts are short, fun exercises that can be used to get the creative juices flowing or break the ice at a critique meeting. They start as a brief list of ingredients, forming a challenge for the writer to incorporate all of them into one self-contained piece. There are many ways to come up with prompts and each author will find a unique way to express a given prompt.

“I Want Him Back for the Same Reason I Married Him”

  • by jenone thing led to another
  • tempt you into sleeping with your ex
  • with tantric sex thrown in
  • the madman could have still been in the house
  • up to my ankles in long wet grass

Tune in next time part 521      Click Here for Earlier Installments

“I want him back for the same reason I married him in the first place,” said Marnie. “Revenge.”

Svetlana gasped. Heinrich chortled and scratched his belly. Marnie explained that her family and her husband’s had been feuding for generations and that their marriage was actually an elaborate ploy on both sides to wreak havoc. She went into great detail and I got a little bored with her tale, and one thing led to another, and eventually I confronted the trio in the clearing.

Svetlana’s eyes lit up when she saw me. Heinrich said, “Ignore him, sweeting, he’s merely going to try to tempt you into sleeping with your ex.”

“We were never a couple,” I said.

“It wouldn’t take much to tempt me,” Svetlana said. “I quite enjoyed our last romp.”

“I don’t have time right now,” I lied. I needed to find a way out of this garden if I wanted to get back to my life, whatever my life looked like now.

Svetlana rose to her feet and began a swaying, hypnotic dance. She approached me while Heinrich grumbled and scratched his belly some more. “Could I tempt you,” Svetlana asked, “with tantric sex thrown in? I’ve learned a few things since the last time we were together.” She pressed herself against my bare chest and I could not resist. We tumbled together into a hollow beneath the shrubberies for a rousing game Svetlana called The Madman and the Housekeeper. I was the housekeeper.

At some point Marnie joined us. The madman could have still been in the housekeeper’s headlock at that point, but I can’t remember for sure. It went on for a very long time, and was very invigorating. Finally Heinrich called, “Svetlana, are you about done? We need to get going.”

Svetlana arched her back and replied, “I’m up to my ankles in long wet grass! Give me a moment!”

She being a contortionist, Svetlana’s ankles weren’t currently located where you might suppose, which made her comment about the grass a little more impressive.

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Svetlana Laughed Heartily

  • by Kentbrave enough to try something this strange and enchanting
  • the eyeliner, the desperation
  • strange, but harmless enough
  • stayed up all night to drunkenly hook up
  • expensive adulterous affairs

Tune in next time part 520      Click Here for Earlier Installments

Svetlana laughed heartily. “I never would have guessed you were brave enough to try something this strange and enchanting!”

Marnie gave a bashful half-curtsey, playing the vamp. But from my place of concealment in the hedges I saw it all: the feigned confidence, the eyeliner, the desperation. She knew she was falling in with a rough crowd. She sighed. “Enchanting? I wouldn’t say so. I guess it is strange, but harmless enough, to want to trap a man. It’s how we met, even. I stayed up all night to drunkenly hook up with him. He thought he’d seduced me, and I played upon his sense of chivalry to make him propose. Then as soon as we were married he commenced a series of expensive adulterous affairs.”

Svetlana turned somber. “And you want him back, why exactly?”

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In the Past

  • by jenwith glitter and colored glass
  • even on a dare
  • It’s another ritual.
  • The internet’s first conspiracy theory
  • He probably thought you were trying to trap him

Tune in next time part 519      Click Here for Earlier Installments

In the past when I received a letter like Marnie’s, it came in a box filled with glitter and colored glass slippers I would never wear, not even on a dare. Some people might think the whole thing is a test or a joke, but it’s not. It’s another ritual. Contrarian, of course.

The internet’s first conspiracy theory was about Contrarian rituals, and most of the conspiracies since have been, too, even if inadvertently. Contrarian rituals are complex and ubiquitous. How could I extract poor Marnie Glockenspiel from this ritual she didn’t even know she was participating in?

I heard Svetlana say, “I don’t think your husband was kidnapped at all. He probably thought you were trying to trap him, and fled. Men do that, you know.”

“Oh, but I was trying to trap him!” Marnie declared.

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Marnie Glockenspiel Took a Paper

  • by Kentaddressed to her husband
  • Even your fingernails
  • Nor am I trying to repay you with money
  • I do not care to be hypnotized
  • such a methodical revenge

Tune in next time part 518      Click Here for Earlier Installments

Marnie Glockenspiel took a paper out of a pocket of her nurse uniform. She explained to Heinrich and Svetlana that it was a letter addressed to her husband, which had arrived only after he disappeared. She read them a few lines, faltering over the strange syntax, then sobbed that the whole letter made no sense.

It was obviously in code, and in fact it was one I was fluent with. I could help Marnie figure out what her husband had been mixed up in.

But Svetlana kept badgering her about crawling under Heinrich’s clothes as a way to travel. “Even your fingernails won’t bother him, he has such a thick hide,” she assured Marnie.

“Look,” the erstwhile nurse said, “I do really appreciate the ride you already gave me. It’s gotten me this far, which is worth something. But I can’t become any more deeply indebted to you. Nor am I trying to repay you with money, for the simple reason that I have none. My mission is to find my husband, and I do not care to be hypnotized by the uncanny motion of your limbs. Besides, it’s impractical. I can’t travel as you do, because unlike you I am not a contortionist.”

“You’re overlooking one thing,” Heinrich put in. “Without us, you’re stuck here. There’s something in that letter about a bear, right? You think that’s a coincidence?”

Svetlana chortled.

Everything about Marnie’s situation clicked in my mind. Someone had kidnapped her husband, so that they could send a letter to him that she would read, which would take her to this place, and make her susceptible to the flimsy rationale of two criminals inside a bear suit. But who would trouble themselves to take such a methodical revenge on a nurse?

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My Stomach Growled Like the Bear I was Chasing

  • by jensmear it on the underside
  • as enjoyable as possible for both of us
  • I learned ‘Very Social’ = Unabashedly Enthusiastic Swingers into BDSM.
  • I was completely naïve
  • Will your mom be cool with that?

Tune in next time part 517      Click Here for Earlier Installments

My stomach growled like the bear I was chasing. While the chef was distracted by a tray of tater tots, I snatched up a slice of bread. A few feet along the buffet table I found butter, and a knife with which to smear it on the underside of the bread — a trick I’d learned at the Academy.

Munching my snack, I trotted through the garden in search of Marnie Glockenspiel and her ursine companion. As I neared another turning in the hedge maze, I heard voices coming through the vegetation. I paused to listen. To my shock I recognized both voices. One was Marnie, the other Heinrich Hunter. And then a third voice. Svetlana, the contortionist who traveled the world hidden inside Heinrich’s shirt.

Svetlana, mother of my quadruplet sons, said, “There’s plenty of room in here, Marnie, and I promise to make it as enjoyable as possible for both of us. You’ll love it. We’re very social.”

I dropped to the ground and peered underneath the bushes. Heinrich was sitting on the ground, having shed the top half of his bear suit to expose Svetlana. Svetlana was working hard to convince Marnie to join her inside Heinrich’s clothes. While they talked I learned ‘Very Social’ = Unabashedly Enthusiastic Swingers into BDSM. Before overhearing this sordid negotiation I would not have thought I was completely naïve, but all I could think was “Will your mom be cool with that?”

I mean, my mom probably would be, but most moms wouldn’t.

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Brady, Of Course, Hadn’t Known

  • by Kentthe blackest ink
  • and tater tots on Tuesdays
  • “Yeah, that sucks, buddy.”
  • that the ginger chef insisted on
  • I am a man with a refined palate

Tune in next time part 516      Click Here for Earlier Installments

Brady, of course, hadn’t known I was aware of his affiliation with Jorgensen. He was as surprised as Scrim, his eyes bugging over cheeks smeared with mascara dark as the blackest ink available for calligraphic pen refills. While he was still in shock, I took advantage of Brady’s foot injury and the fact that Scrim’s knees didn’t bend to dash off into the garden without being pursued.

I hoped to find nurse Marnie, but the garden was like a maze. Around the third turning between towering, flowering hedges, I encountered a sort of clearing that was being used as an outdoor kitchen. Several large tables were configured for prep zones, and people in white jackets and toques scurried about stirring the contents of kettles suspended over bonfires.

“Did a nurse just ride a bear through here?” I asked.

“Don’t think so,” a red-haired cook said. “But it’s possible we wouldn’t notice, because we’re so busy. We have to prepare casseroles and desserts and salads every day, and tater tots on Tuesdays.”

I sighed. “Yeah, that sucks, buddy.”

“Now please clear out. You’re distracting my staff!” Hollandaise sauce flew off the wooden spoon that the ginger chef insisted on waving around as he spoke. “Or, at least keep quiet. I am a man with a refined palate and a short temper.”

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Ignoring the Struggling Bear

  • by jenfamously hard to train
  • But this technique you’re practicing
  • impaled his foot
  • mascara stains
  • an expired clown license

Tune in next time part 515      Click Here for Earlier Installments

Ignoring the struggling bear, and Nurse Marnie as well, Brady said to Scrim, “As you know, storm clouds are famously hard to train, but Dr Thunderboom has devised a technique. Isn’t that right, Dr Thunderboom?”

I nodded solemnly, watching Marnie and her ursine companion from the corner of my eye.

Scrim approached the fountain. “I’ve done a lot of research into weather control, and I’ve always been disappointed. But this technique you’re practicing, Thunderboom, this training regimen — you say it really works?”

“Absolutely.”

Scrim stared, wide-eyed with wonder. Behind him, Brady gestured for me to elaborate. I didn’t see the point. Scrim had already bought my story, his eagerness to control the weather eclipsing his skepticism.

I pointed to the clear blue sky. “It was supposed to rain today, but you can see my results for yourself.”

Brady rushed forward to deliver his planned interruption, but in his haste impaled his foot on a salmon bone from the bear’s earlier meal. He shrieked in pain, which certainly derailed any further talk of weather control devices. Blood spurted from his injury, and mascara stains streaked his cheeks as he began to cry.

Marnie took advantage of the distraction to hoist the bear out of the fountain. She hopped onto his back like a bareback rider at the circus, and he carried her away into the garden at a fast waddle.

The yowls still coming from Brady were ear-splitting. I leapt out of the fountain and went to see about shutting him up. I grasped the fishbone and tugged it out, then wrapped my soggy mountaineering shirt around the wound as a bandage. Brady whimpered.

“You impress me, Thunderboom,” Scrim said. “What are you doing working for a clown like Brady? You should join me and the Tap Dancers if you want a taste of real power.”

“A clown like Brady?” I scoffed. “I guess you hadn’t heard, but the only clown license Brady has is an expired clown license. He traded his greasepaint for that tattoo on his chest when he joined up with Jorgensen’s pirate crew.”

Kabbadan Scrim gasped.

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Scrim Gazed Up At Nurse Marnie

  • by Kenthis chin began to quiver
  • My best friends and I engaged in it too
  • that seemed strange
  • lover with the most gumption
  • addition of plastic footwear didn’t help

Tune in next time part 514      Click Here for Earlier Installments

Scrim gazed up at Nurse Marnie, and his chin began to quiver. “I understand. I see how it is. The thrill of bathing with bears is undeniable. My best friends and I engaged in it, too, but I no longer have a bear. But Doctor Thunderboom does.”

I glanced to Brady for some cue about beginning our ruse, but he was distracted trying to assist Kabbadan Scrim back to his feet. Marnie left my side and went over to the bear. That seemed strange. Stranger yet, she engaged in what appeared to be a whispered conversation with it.

“To business!” Brady announced, rubbing his hands together.

“Yes, to business,” Scrim agreed blandly. “I got my hopes up, upon seeing that lovely, familiar face, but it’s only right for her to choose the lover with the most gumption.”

Brady clapped him on the back. “Well, nothing like paying a large sum for a weather control device to mend a broken heart, right?”

A loud sloshing noise interrupted, as the bear stood up and a veritable waterfall poured from its pelt. It was visibly struggling to step out over the side of the fountain, almost slipping and falling several times. The addition of plastic footwear didn’t help it get traction on the smooth, wet surfaces.

Nurse Marnie was shooting me an unreadable look.

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“Ahem,” Brady Said Again

  • by jenhere’s the deal, Marnie
  • throwing himself passionately on his knees before her
  • in a way that isn’t platonic
  • with each passing day
  • music upon the air

Tune in next time part 513      Click Here for Earlier Installments

“Ahem,” Brady said again. “Nurse Marnie. Ahem.” When she continued to ignore him and pretend to kiss me, he said, “Here’s the deal, Marnie. I need you to stop kissing Dr Thunderboom. We have a meeting.”

“Marnie!” cried Kabbadan Scrim. “Marnie Glockenspiel! I haven’t seen you since you left the Paradiddle Tap Academy!”

Marnie whispered, “Help me. He’s obsessed,” before turning to face Scrim.

The head of the League of Tap Dancers got a rapturous look on his face, and did something that resembled throwing himself passionately on his knees before her, but since his knees didn’t bend he wound up on the floor in a way that isn’t platonic, supporting himself on his hands like a trained seal. Even from behind I could see Marnie cringe.

“I worried more and more with each passing day that you didn’t return to Paradiddle,” Scrim whined. “You and I had something together, something special, something that was like music upon the air, and I knew that you would never simply shuffle-ball-change away from it. Away from us. And now I’ve found you! At long last!” He bellycrawled forward to the edge of the fountain. “What on Earth is that dastardly weathermonger doing to you!”

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“So,” I Asked Casually

  • by Kentpresent your cocoon
  • the syllable is the paragraph of the word
  • would have been described as stocky
  • and BOOM! You got yourself a fire.
  • chewed my lips nervously

Tune in next time part 512      Click Here for Earlier Installments

“So,” I asked casually, “what’s in all this for me?” I meant besides not being eaten by a grizzly bear, and I assumed Brady understood that. The nurse was done with my complicated vest and had started unbuttoning the shirt underneath.

“You owe me,” Brady growled. “After how rude you were two years, ten months, and fifteen days ago. You completely blew me off. You didn’t even bother to present your cocoon.”

I waited, but he didn’t finish the code phrase. I tried the countersign anyway. “You forget that the syllable is the paragraph of the word.” Brady looked confused, but also still smug. It renewed my desire to be away from here.

My chance to skedaddle before the meeting evaporated, as Kabbadan Scrim marched out into the courtyard. Like Brady — and soon myself if the pretty nurse had anything to say about it — he was shirtless. But unlike Brady, Scrim was hairy and uninked, and would have been described as stocky by someone who was trying not to offend him. Another nurse had escorted him this far, and was clearly glad to be done with such duty, but Scrim wasn’t done talking. “So you aim a lightning bolt at the hospital and BOOM! You got yourself a fire.”

As Brady welcomed his unpleasant visitor, the nurse undoing my buttons leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Play along.” And then she kissed me full on the mouth. She obviously didn’t have much experience with the activity, but was going all-in. Brady cleared his throat behind her as the nurse chewed my lips nervously.

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