365 Prompts

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Prompt: 002. stairs

1. Why are stairs and doors always louder when you’re creeping around at night?

A. Why are stairs and doors always louder when you’re creeping around at night? The last thing she wanted to do was wake anyone up, especially not the children. It would be a hassle trying to get them back to sleep and the two oldest had school in the morning.

B. Why are stairs and doors always louder when you’re creeping around at night? It was a question without an answer as he was busily sneaking through the house, gathering up any small valuables that he could find.

2. Staring up at what had to be eighty flights of stairs, he had a feeling that he was going to be late for his appointment.

A. Staring up at what had to be eighty flights of stairs, he had a feeling that he was going to be late for his appointment. He didn’t have any choice though; he needed to meet with Dr. Cavanaugh if he wanted to be included in the study.

3. It gave him a sense of pride when he realized that he’d finally saved enough money to replace the splintering stairs.

A. His wife had been complaining for months about the children getting splinters in their feet from the stairs. He finally gave in and arranged to have them repaired. Except it turned out to be more expensive than he expected. The HOA’s resident handyman had given him a reasonable seeming quote for replacing the stairs, and that was the last time things went as expected.

The next thing he knew, he was being told that he had foundation issues. There was a problem with one of the load bearing walls. There was mold growing inside the walls.

Everywhere he turned, there seemed to be more and more problems, and they became costlier by the day.

It was a nightmare.

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0 comments on "Prompt: 001. “I did it! I did it! he kept saying”"

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Prompt: 001. “I did it! I did it! he kept saying”

1. “I did it! I did it! he kept saying” was how the newspaper quoted him, which other news outlets took to be a typo and corrected to ‘”I did it! I did it!” he kept saying‘. When people saw the headline in the news–his confession–they began turning on him.

A. His family was dead, and some editor somewhere had changed his words into a confession.

The horror of that day still lingered–dizzy from whatever the EMT had injected him with, he could only repeat what the man had said. “I did it! I did it!” And at their looks he’d explained: “‘I did it! I did it!’ he kept saying. Over and over again. It was all he would say as he killed them. That madman murdered my family. And I couldn’t do anything to stop him.”–as did the effects of his follow-up breakdown.

He hadn’t been able to work, and not just because people had ceased to hire him.

He got anxiety attacks. His heart would suddenly begin pounding and his head would get floaty and feel like it was too large.

He’d thrown up a few times just from thinking about people looking at him. Judging him.

He was a nervous wreck. And he blamed the media.

They’d turned his worst day into the worst ten years of his life.

2. It was an amazing Olympic win for their country, only a little spoiled by the man that kept yelling “I did it! I did it!” as he waved his medal over his head.

A.  It was an amazing Olympic win for their country, only a little spoiled by the man that kept yelling “I did it! I did it!” as he waved his medal over his head.

Being such a small country, the athletes were welcomed home with a parade and a national holiday. It only seemed fair considering the honor they had brought to their people.

3. “I did it! I did it!” he kept saying with a disturbingly wide grin.

A. “I did it! I did it!” he kept saying with a disturbingly wide grin. Blood was smeared down the side of his neck and stained the front of his shirt and pants. His bare feet had left footprints all through the house.

Even as he was slammed into the ground and handcuffed, the grin didn’t leave. And by the time he was closed into the backseat of the patrol car, the grin was joined by a rusty sounding chuckle.

It was clear to see that he was proud of what he’d done, the depravities he had committed.

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0 comments on "Window shopping: ceramic tile cutters; “365 Prompts”; NaNoWriMo"

I’ve been looking into getting a pair of ceramic tile cutters. One of those handheld tools that looks like a rotary can opener. But I’m not sure what kind I would need.

I want to be able to cut old ceramic plates into different sized pieces to make a mosaic backsplash for the kitchen.

^above^
These are the two cutters I was looking at on Amazon. There wasn’t a very wide variety to choose from (only 7!). Still, these two look like either one would meet my needs okay (~_~;).

* * *

“365 Prompts” is coming out December 10th, but will be available for pre-order after November 14th.

“What is it?” you ask. Well, “365 Prompts” is a collection comprising 365 subjects, each with three accompanying prompts. Which makes it great for anyone looking for a quick story idea, thought experiment, or creative writing subject.

So, you know, yay!

Plus it creates a handy reference when I post a story titled something like “Prompt Fill: 192. mushroom 2A[1]” without any further introduction. And it gives people something to request prompts from (“Can you give us a ‘Prompt 056. chainsaw 3A’?”).

* * *

I’m half-heartedly participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I’ve only got a very very few words written for my entry, which even this early makes me think that I’m not going to win 2016 ;_;

Though who knows, I might throw together a collection of short stories that consists of 50k. That would be neato.

Anyways, if you’re participating in National Novel Writing Month, I wish you luck that you win the year. Fighting!

==

[1] Prompt Fill: 192. mushroom 2A

Unsure whether he was hallucinating, he stared at the tiny creatures and their mushroom house village.

The mushrooms had sprouted after the rain and were arranged in a loose circle next to the stump he used for chopping wood. Inch tall humanoid creatures were moving around the mushrooms, walking upright on their back legs while their forelegs and paws were used to burrow into the mushroom stems to create hollows they were climbing in and out of.

As he watched, one of the creatures chewed and swallowed several chunks of mushroom stem. Its sharp teeth flashed as the mouth worked the mushroom flesh. It ate and ate until its stomach was swollen and full. Then its body jerked and vomited up a long stream of greenish pulp that nearby creatures gathered up and began applying to the outside of the mushroom houses.

“What…” He rubbed his hand over his face and leaned closer to the screen.

He’d set up the CCTV cameras after several small thefts around the property. He’d thought it was kids messing around.

Yet now he was watching as strange little creatures used his missing Phillips head screwdriver to dig furrows in the dirt. Furrows that looked a lot like the beginnings of a garden.

[/1]