This prompt was taken from https://killzoneblog.com/2014/06/the-three-elements-writing-exercise-html. I accessed the site today, 9/11/17. "Write a story that contains all three of these elements: A funeral, a missing cat, and a promise."
It was coupled with the www.merriamwebster.com word of the day: bibelot (BEE-buh-loh), meaning 'decorative ornament' or 'trinket.' I challenged my students to use "bibelot" in the writing sample.
It was over. Mom and Dad had decided to hold a backyard funeral for our missing cat, Sparkles. We'd spent two months searching for her, and the last we'd heard, she was seen running down the road with her favorite bibelot in her mouth, past the farm with all the stray dogs. I wondered if they'd eaten her, though they didn't seem the killer type.
Mom had promised we would search until we found Sparkles or her bibelot. Sparkles was nowhere to be found, but the trinket had turned up two days ago. Dad said we would bury the toy in a shoebox, and we could say a few words in memory of Sparkles. I wasn't ready to forget Sparkles yet, but I understood that we couldn't wait for her forever.
I loved my cat. She'd been with us for six years. She wasn't super-cuddly, but she'd let me pet and hold her when I was sad or crying. She was also playful and independent, so it wasn't too surprising that she ran off sometimes. It was just heartbreaking for me when she didn't return this time. Mom and Dad explained that cats don't like to die around their owners, and that maybe she knew her time was coming, so she ran away. At least we had her bibelot to bury; it provided me a little closure.
As we tossed dirt on the shoebox, a few tears slipped down my cheeks. "Good-bye, Sparkles," I whispered.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Rudy the Red has had enough
The following prompt was written by Brian A. Klems, and it was posted at http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts, on December 16, 2016. I accessed it on 1/24/17, but wrote my wee story on 9/8/17.
"After two years of teasing and name-calling, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has finally had it. Write a strongly-worded letter to all the other reindeer from Rudolph, allowing him to air his grievances and announce that he is quitting to join ____________."
Dear Bucks,
For many years I have endured shame and humiliation from you weak-minded doe-jumpers, and I have reached my limit. You ruined my childhood! How could you spend your life bringing joy to children, while heaping misery on one of your own? You think you are so special, macho, and handsome, but you are really just cowards.
Even after I saved the day on that foggy Christmas Eve, your ridicule and jealousy didn't stop. You think I haven't noticed all the nasty names you've called me all these years? You think I've been oblivious to the fact that you haven't let me play in your reindeer games?
Well! You may keep you self-important life, you feeble-minded sons of buck-whores! I'm quitting this sordid business to go where I'm appreciated! I'm going to join the Peace Corps Traveling Petting Zoo, where I can help children all over the world all year long, and not just on Christmas Eve.
Let the hunters get you next season and mount your heads on their walls as trophies. I have just one thing left to say to you: Buck you!
Good riddance to the lot of you!
Rudy the Red
"After two years of teasing and name-calling, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has finally had it. Write a strongly-worded letter to all the other reindeer from Rudolph, allowing him to air his grievances and announce that he is quitting to join ____________."
Dear Bucks,
For many years I have endured shame and humiliation from you weak-minded doe-jumpers, and I have reached my limit. You ruined my childhood! How could you spend your life bringing joy to children, while heaping misery on one of your own? You think you are so special, macho, and handsome, but you are really just cowards.
Even after I saved the day on that foggy Christmas Eve, your ridicule and jealousy didn't stop. You think I haven't noticed all the nasty names you've called me all these years? You think I've been oblivious to the fact that you haven't let me play in your reindeer games?
Well! You may keep you self-important life, you feeble-minded sons of buck-whores! I'm quitting this sordid business to go where I'm appreciated! I'm going to join the Peace Corps Traveling Petting Zoo, where I can help children all over the world all year long, and not just on Christmas Eve.
Let the hunters get you next season and mount your heads on their walls as trophies. I have just one thing left to say to you: Buck you!
Good riddance to the lot of you!
Rudy the Red
What I do now
I teach multiple subjects in a correctional facility in my state. I've been full time for about four years now, and I enjoy what I do. As with all jobs, it has its challenges and frustrations, but overall, I am content.
Betimes, I provide some of my students with writing prompts, and lately, I have joined with them to see what I can produce during the time allotted to them. There is nothing earth-shattering in what I write, but it can be fun to jot down a few lines and see what comes of a few minutes' prose.
Whether you read it or not, like it or not, or respond to it or not, matters little to me. I've simply decided to post it in this blog. Perhaps you'll take the same prompts and write your own stories?
Bill, the Moose on Patrol
Betimes, I provide some of my students with writing prompts, and lately, I have joined with them to see what I can produce during the time allotted to them. There is nothing earth-shattering in what I write, but it can be fun to jot down a few lines and see what comes of a few minutes' prose.
Whether you read it or not, like it or not, or respond to it or not, matters little to me. I've simply decided to post it in this blog. Perhaps you'll take the same prompts and write your own stories?
Bill, the Moose on Patrol
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