Most Creative Response

In response to the Character Prompt:

'Sound of White' by *cloudtographer



The author's comments describe this piece as 'definitely very abstract'. So it is. It is also poetic, well written and creative. Take it how you will!

Gently, her body rocked against the sand on the bottom of the ocean; she settled into the shell of a crab, tucked the wispy ends of her white dress in, thrummed with seaweed and whispered to the eel that curled its tail around her shell.

Scenario Prompt Responses

'The Talent Show' by ~Nekogirl8000



Compulsory school talent shows are the pits, and Rose is just like any other student who would rather not perform. Clearly, she lacks confidence - and as the story goes on, we see that there are deeper issues involved.

Celeste was doing a tap dance. I envied her. Celeste was good at everything, and she never got nervous.
Her family didn’t have any problems either.

'And I Will Always Love you' by ~re4p3r1



This is a piece of flash fiction, describing the love that an audience member feels for a performer. If not for the prompt, you would not know the piece described a school talent show. It is a piece with many possibly meanings and interpretations.

Plagues of onlookers yell out her name but their screams are meaningless compared to my utter and devoted silence.

Character Prompt Responses

'Seashore' by ~nycterent



This is a quick read, but it has plenty of rich imagery and romantic narrative. Two characters and a secluded, beautiful nighttime setting are always a winning combination. This a writer who truly has a way with words.

"Before you, I never woke up before noon. Now I never miss a sunrise," he said. I heard him coming, flip-flops clapping against his feet. I didn't answer.

'Through the Blue-Green Haze' by ~anotherfirename



What a lovely response to one of our prompts! Writing from the perspective of an inanimate object is always a great idea, but difficult to pull off. Here, ~anotherfirename does it beautifully. The story is emotional, well paced, rich in images and just the right length to sustain reader interest.

Algae clings to my gray body, giving it colour and texture. Tiny creatures crawl across my face, nibbling on the plant as they go. It refuses to grow on the smoothness of my bare face and arms, instead hiding in the creases of my hair and dress.

'Wreck' by ~Zelme



Here is a piece with a self-explanatory title. Another author has chosen to write from the perspective of an inanimate object, and such pieces always have a poetic feel about them. In only just over two hundred and fifty words, this story beautifully captures the bitter feelings of a once proud vessel.

The darkness is crushing. It presses always down, grinding me into the floor of the world.

'The Lost King of Atlantis' by ~Riyuu



This is a very short piece, from the perspective of the title character. He is 'lost' indeed.

All that's left now, is this water that consumes me, and my heart that aches for the life I could have had.

Word Association Prompt Responses

'The Butcher's Daughter' by *cel3131



This story of a widowed butcher and his daughter starts out with a traditional fairytale feel to it, and then quickly becomes an intriguing mystery. Themes of blood and gore are prevalent here, for those who like their short stories with an edge.

With joy he had watched his little princess grow up into a young woman as skilled with a blade as he.

'Credible' by ~KannaSireyu



Here we have a very unconventional piece of prose, for those of you who feel like something a bit different. Come follow the thought processes of this young writer, and see what you get from it!

I'm an artist; I'm always going for the most beautiful scene: The loving expression of the mortician as he worked who had an odd name, the glittering rainbow pattern the sunset created on the ebon fur of the feline.

Combination Responses

'Bonfire Night - With the Fishe' by ~carlylemctarvish

Character and miscellaneous prompts:



Audrey's only companions at work one night are fish, but she is quite unfazed. Well, who better to celebrate Bonfire Night with?

“Come now. I must have mentioned Bonfire Night. It’s the one were we commemorate the failed Gunpowder Plot. There are fireworks and bonfires and effigies. Oh it’s all good fun,” she informed them.
“How shall we celebrate?”

' Pauper's Morning' by ~noones

Scenario, character and word association prompts:



Three prompts in one submission! We are delighted to have inspired somebody so much. This is the beginning of the story of two friends, nicknamed Princess and Pauper (their guitar-strumming friend is called Plastic), as the day of the school talent show approaches. I admit I didn't see at first where the character prompt came in, but it's there, and relates to the most intriguing aspect of this story. I wonder, ~noones, is there any more...?

Pauper looked ahead and frowned. “The raving street preacher? I thought the school got a restraining order on him.”

December's Prompts

If you were hoping that we would not be bringing you festive prompts this month, then I can only recommend that you scroll down to the miscellaneous prompt straightaway. That one is for you. But if, like our administrator, you are a bit of a romantic when it comes to the festive season, you're going to love us!

Scenario Prompt:

A character of your choosing is visited by three spirits on the night before Christmas. That's right - we want to see A Christmas Carol parodies!

We recommend that you read the original novella by Charles Dickens, if you haven't already, and of course watch that very wonderful adaptation by the Muppets, The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Character Prompt:

Perhaps you have been a waiter or waitress who had to work long hours over the holiday season, when you would rather be at home. Or perhaps, like me, you have only ever felt sorry for the people who have had to wait on you at this time, when you were eating out with work colleagues or loved ones. Either way, this December you are going to tell us what it's really like for those dedicated, hard-working people.

This character is a waiter or waitress working those long hours in late December. Whether he or she has a good or a bad attitude is up to you, but please, let the character be loved and have somewhere to go after work. You surely don't want to depress people this month!

Word Association Prompt:

Candle. Winter. Family.

Remember that all three words must appear in the body of your piece. Pieces that do not contain all three words will not be accepted.

Literary Music Videos!

Now then, I promised you a non-festive prompt. You have our News Feature Coordinator, ~Freyad-Dryden, to thank for this one.

Start by thinking of a music video. Not necessarily a specific one - just use your knowledge of what music videos tend to be like. ~Freyad-Dryden recommends: [link] *ThornyEnglishRose recommends that wonderfully cheesey Wham! video, but only to people who did not scroll down to avoid festive prompts: [link]

You might also look at some movie previews. The following is recommended by ~Freyad-Dryden, and I assure you it's suitable for all audiences: [link]

Now for the prompt. This is challenging! If you clicked any of those links, you have just seen a sequence of images that piece together part of a story. (If you didn't look, I'm sure you've seen enough music videos and movie trailers to know what we mean.) What we want you to do is this: using a sequence of scenes and imagery - not necessarily following a linear order - create a narrative that has the basic foundation of a story, but leaves enough unsaid to allow the audience to imagine their own story from it. As such, your words will have a similar effect to watching, for example, that lovely Wham! video.

The sequence you use can be from an existing anything; you can use song lyrics if you like, but please credit the original artist, and a link to the song in some from would be good.

If you have any questions about this prompt, please direct them to ~Freyad-Dryden, because he is the only person who really knows what this all means!

If it's just too complicated, here is an alternative: watch a music video, movie preview or something similar; basically, a short sequence of images that tell a story. Then... well, tell us the story! That's simple, isn't it? (But please try ~Freyad-Dryden's idea first; we do want to challenge you to be creative!)