Abducted
(What If? Exercise: Read the description here.)
I thought that spot in the sky was a star.
It didn’t occur to me that stars don’t waver.
We screamed as the bright lights blinded us.
I tried to run with everyone else.
But they had come for me.
The ground beneath me vanished.
No way out now.
Only one way.
Their way.
This piece is based on What If? Exercise 93: “Ten to One”. The exercise is to write a 55-word story in which the first sentence has ten words, the second has nine, etc., until the last sentence has only one word. The objective is to show that precision and thrift in writing can produce surprisingly powerful results. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
The Monster in My Room
(What If? Exercise: Read the description here.)
It was the only thing I ever feared growing up.
It started with the missing socks from my drawer.
Then the snacks in my backpack started disappearing.
The food trails went under the bed.
I thought I was done for.
One night, I saw it.
It bared its teeth.
I knew then.
“Carrot sticks!”
This piece is based on What If? Exercise 93: “Ten to One”. The exercise is to write a 55-word story in which the first sentence has ten words, the second has nine, etc., until the last sentence has only one word. The objective is to show that precision and thrift in writing can produce surprisingly powerful results. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
Don’t Be Invisible
Sometimes I wonder if it was all a dream.
I’d walk through the halls alone, always with my head down, never looking them in the eye. Maybe I was afraid they’d see too far into my soul.
Nobody ever saw into me. They only ever saw through me.
It was fear that guided me, fear that blinded me, fear that trapped me.
My solitude lasted to the end of those years. I felt like a ghost in their world. I almost believed they could feel a chill whenever I walked by.
I watched them grow and blossom into such interesting people. I knew their stories, their values, their hopes and their fears. I knew everyone’s name. Did anyone know mine?
I realized my mistake too late. I should have been brave. I should have reached out. I should have said hello every day, and asked how they were, and spent time with them any chance I had.
I should have tried to be part of their world. Instead, I chose to be invisible.
So don’t make the same mistake I did. Be brave. Live life. Choose to be seen.
Youth passes like a dream. Those who live it gain friendships and experience to take into the real world, while all that’s left for the invisible is to someday flip through a senior yearbook and scribble on the blank signature page that one question that will haunt them for years…
Did I ever exist?
Close Encounters
Personal Log – Planet CCCLXV: Day 3
We had our first encounter with native intelligent lifeforms today. As expected, they’re rather bizarre and, in my opinion, frightfully ugly. They have rigid figures topped with a single round multi-cavity structure, which we suspect hold their cognitive centers. Each lifeform only possesses two optical organs, both of which face forward; it’s a wonder how they can see anything at all. Stranger still, however, are the limbs protruding from their cores: four stiff members that bend in the middle. It’s lucky those limbs are jointed, else the creatures wouldn’t be able to move or perform any functions. Speaking of functions… No, perhaps it’s best we don’t understand. That would be the stuff of nightmares to last for weeks.
Adapted from a writing prompt from Writer’s Carnival: Alien Reversal.
Write a paragraph on an encounter with an alien… only you are the alien meeting a human for the first time. Make it funny, scary or completely off the wall.
I imagine extraterrestrials would be just as horrified by us as we would be by them! I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
The Circus Dancers
It’s you and me, sweetheart.
Don’t be afraid. Forget the crowd, the lights, the world. Just like we practiced, all alone in the tent every night.
Follow my lead: reach out your gentle trunk and lift me into the air. I’ll climb aboard, and we’ll dance in the ring like only the stars are watching.
Everyone will love us, but we don’t dance for them. We don’t dance for anyone but us.
Tonight, baby, it’s only you and me.
Based on a circus-themed writing prompt from Writer’s Carnival: Class Act.
Using 100 words or less, write about a circus act. […] You can describe it, write about it from the POV of the circus performer, or even make up your own circus act.
The circus act I chose was a dance between a trainer and her beloved elephant partner. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
Note: for the record, I consider the use of animals in circus performing highly unethical and am strongly against it (which is why the only circus I really like is Cirque du Soleil). I simply took advantage of a circus-themed writing prompt to portray an emotional bond between a human and an elephant, as I consider elephants to be among the most fascinating creatures in the world. Thank you!
Run, Johnny, Run!
No one could believe it when they saw Johnny in first place. He was moving so fast, spectators hardly noticed him the moment he came round the corner. Just two more miles, he thought, then he’d finally prove himself to the whole town. “No one can move like Johnny!” they’d say. “He beat the world record!” Yes, he’d be a champion, and for the first time in his life, everybody would care.
—
No one could believe it when they saw Johnny in first place. He was moving so slow, spectators hardly noticed him the moment he came round the corner. Just two more miles, he thought, then he’d finally prove himself to the whole town. “No one can move like Johnny!” they’d say. “He beat the world record!” Yes, he’d be a champion, and for the first time in his life, nobody would care.
Based on a writing prompt from Writer’s Carnival: Banana Split.
Write a mini scene, no more than 200 words, about anything at all. Then when you’re finished, take two words and swap them with their opposites (for example, you would switch love with hate or cold with hot, left with right, etc.). Try to pick words that will scramble the read and/or make it humorous.
To make my way of thinking clear, I wrote out both versions of this scene: first the original, then the opposite. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
The Visitor
Its skin was pale green, it had a dozen eyes, and it crawled on eight long spindly legs.
Evolution had made its teeth sharp to tear through the tough tissue of the vegetation on its native planet.
It had come to Earth to taste some exotic salads. Sadly, the local wildlife thought it had come to taste them.
The translators were all aboard the ship. It never had a chance to explain.
Based on a writing prompt from Writer’s Carnival: Alien Madness!
Create an alien life form. Describe what it looks like and what its habits are using no more than 100 words.
I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
Dirty Little Secret
“What’s that?”
“Nothing! Nothing at all.”
“Hey, don’t hide it! I wanna see!”
“No, you don’t. You really, really don’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know you. Trust me, you’d freak out.”
“What do you take me for?”
“Honestly? …A prude.”
“What?! Now I have to know!”
“Ow! Let go! No, give it back!”
“Why? What’s- Oh my god…”
“I can explain…”
“Please don’t. You were right; I didn’t wanna know.”
“…Can I have it back?”
“…Fine. Just promise you’ll never let me find it again.”
Based on a writing prompt from Writer’s Carnival: Keep It Secret!
Using dialogue only, and no more than 15 lines, write a scene between two people. One is keeping a secret from the other. Don’t mention the secret.
As you can imagine, I had a lot of fun with this one! I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
The Temptress
Her skin glows a pale blue-green in the moonlight.
Her eyes shine like emeralds, hypnotizing anyone who dares to gaze into them.
She sings ethereal melodies that melt the coldest of hearts.
Her voice lures the unwitting into her company.
The razor-sharp claws and teeth are what keep them there forever.
Based on a writing prompt from Writer’s Carnival: Make Me a Monster!
Using no more than five sentences, create a new monster. You can make it as silly or scary as you want.
It’s not the most original creation, but it was still fun to imagine. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
The View from My Bedroom Window
Man, the view from my window is awesome! Seriously, you have no idea. The real upside to living in the suburbs is being able to look outside and see Nature’s work of art, you know, instead of a concrete landscape. When I look outside, I can see mountains weaving across the horizon, beautiful green mountains all covered in trees and grass. I can see the ocean far away, this big blue bay surrounded by beaches. I can see the forest stretching out everywhere, with all these vivid colors and wild animals around, mostly the birds that are always flying by. I can see houses lining the roads down the hill, and a little church on the hill right across from my window, with bells that ring every Sunday morning. I can see white clouds rolling by on clear days, and the sun setting behind the mountains in the afternoon. I can see a blending palette of greens and blues, plus whatever colors are painted on the houses. I get to look out my window whenever I want and see something beautiful every single day.
The view from my window is awesome. Why? Because it really captures so much of the natural beauty of Brazil.
I wrote this short piece a few years ago as part of a writing exercise to practice the element of voice. The exercise is to describe the view from your bedroom window as casually as if you were speaking to someone, so as to capture the essence of your natural voice in your writing. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
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