They say that if you give a thousand monkeys a thousand typewriters, in a thousand years, they’ll produce Shakespeare. Well, why waste all that time and money when you can give a few dozen people a couple of prompts and in a month they’ll produce works just as entertaining?
Welcome to *simplyprose’s monthly news feature, march edition. We’ve got some great stories to go over, so let’s get started.

Most Creative Piece

The most creative piece for this month is ‘Moira’s Fate’ by *LatteBleu from the scenario prompts.


This piece of work takes the most mundane scenario imaginable and gives it the least mundane twist possible, turning the ordinary into the fantastic.

"Well dang," said the Moira. "I guess that was inevitable." She looked around the room filled with thread before turning and shutting the door.


Scenario Prompt Responses

Prompt: A woman is fired from her job

‘Fired’ by =Lilith-Elina


Solid emotion drives this piece. The pain and bitterness felt by the main character over her unfair termination is packed into each line of dialogue, putting you into her position and letting you experience it for yourself.

Standing outside the ugly building that had been her home for years, Catherine drew in great breaths of fresh air, trying to calm down.

‘Becoming the Tiger’ by ~Leonca


An interesting piece that focuses more on the cause than the results of the prompt. This story highlights the dangerous obsession of its main character in a morbid, but powerfully engaging manner.

It’s incredible the kinds of things that one can find in antique book stores, Charlie thought to himself as he thumbed through the crinkled pages of the old book.

‘Barbs Got Fired’ by ~D-E-F


This story is interesting in the passive-aggressive attitude of the protagonist’s viewpoint, which shifts between oddly detached and uncaring about her termination, to powerfully bitter and back.

Instead of frantically looking through the newspapers for a job opening, Barbs had decided to take the day off, unwind, and deal with it all tomorrow. She crushed the cigarette’s butt on the bench and carelessly tossed it behind her.

‘Drama in Four Parts’ by ~boaste


Boaste is probably my favorite new writer for simplyprose. In this story, she displays a brilliant sense of comic exaggeration in her story of a woman who goes postal on her ex-employer, told as a series of newspaper clippings that leaves you the pleasure of filling in the gaps on your own.

Woman Chases Ex-Boss with Chainsaw

‘Three Times Burnt’ by *Tyrobia


This piece gives the concept of melodrama a poetic flair. From the beginning line, it establishes that life is boring, then proceeds to make a great deal out of nothing, which is ended with a sharp, shocking moment of epiphany.

I wanted to write about life, but I don’t know what’s so interesting about it. I tried to figure it out, but the words never came to me.

‘Good Riddance’ by ~Tirinka


Once again, a highly emotional piece, but what makes this really stand out is how compact it is. The author masterfully captures the inner turmoil and the fears of the main character in only a few brief paragraphs. Truly, a demonstration of expert emotive writing.

I figure if I keep repeating those two words to myself, I'll end up believing in them. It's not working.

Character Prompt Responses

Prompt: The character is an aspiring athlete of your favorite sport

‘Coach From Hell’ by ~TheLightsWentOutIn99


The tale of the coach pushing his team to be better has been done many times, but this time, but careful use of irony and reimagining of the characters turns the scenario into a much more thematically complex piece.

“Thank you, Coach,” said Peter, between clenched teeth. Veronica was hanging back, absentmindedly brushing at her shoulders.

‘Daddy’ by ~nearlywitches


This piece is interesting in the way that it uses the prompt to show that not everyone aspires for the same thing. It fires you with a powerful emotional buildup over the moment of the game and then coldly, cruelly drops when, despite apparent success, the main character can’t get what she wants most.

Faster, faster, faster! She thought, exploding from the ten-foot line and into the air. She pulled her arm back tight, like a spring and, summoning up all of the anger she could, hit the ball as hard as she could.

Word Association Prompt Responses

Prompt: Desert, Statue, Unwind

‘The Forgotten City’ by ~Freyad-Dryden


An allegorical fantasy piece, this is an unexpected response to our word association prompt. Journeys through the desert are arduous indeed, and make for wonderful stories.


The Sea of Sands is not just a desert. Like all places in the Dream, it is the Idea of the desert; not any particular desert, but of what desert itself Is.

‘Forever’ by ~random-kumquats


It’s difficult to write an effective story in as short a space as this author has. It plays with the contrast between eternity and a single moment by placing the two together, by stretching a single, moving moment into eternity in a way that adds a strong emotional impact to the story.

They existed in a world of make-believe, of superlatives in fantasy. There was no “us” in the real world, where couples sat together on park benches and shared ice cream cones of deceit delight.

‘We All Look for Something’ by ~boaste


If any single thing can be said to make this piece stand out, it’s the masterful development of the setting. The place of the story is richly detailed and vividly described, but also gives a strong sense of alienation from the world you know.

All that lay ahead was a long night of torrent sand and dust. The type of sand storm that choked a man as he stood, then buried his body in the desert for none to find.

‘The Breath of Durin’ by ~kazmiz


A gritty fantasy setting with ghost story of almost classical sensibility. An excellent display of world-building skills, with just a twist of suspense and gruesome action make this piece a fun read.

It had taken a single club blow to the head to kill Fahlan. The lowly piece of maggot bait had stolen his woman, and it’d been only right that Steffon take his life and his possessions.

‘Yin and Yang’ by =yourpleasantdarkness


This piece focuses on a character who doesn’t know what he wants to say, or how to feel about the situation he’s in. This confusion and frustration is reflected in the meandering, lost-in-thought style that the narration takes.

I rolled over to examine the rain-splattered window that omitted a dull, emerald light from the blossoming grass outside.

‘Defining What Isn’t A Word’ by ~sagalisela


The repeated use of dictionary excerpts to describe the moment is a stroke of brilliance. It gives the narrator a sense of calm, methodical thinking that organizes a plot full of irrational elements.

Definition of hate- to dislike somebody or something intensely, often in a way that evokes feelings of anger, hostility, or animosity.

‘Grave Digger’ by ~NamelessShe


Not quite a ghost story, not quite a fantasy, not quite horror, but certainly very good. The careful choice of descriptions and masterful selection of which facts to reveal to the audience and which to conceal give this piece enough suspense to make Alfred Hitchcock himself proud.

Roz Havelock always held her breath when she drove past a cemetery. The old superstition was something her brother used to tease her about on car rides; you'll swallow someone's soul, he used to say.

‘Breathtaking’ by ~helekri


Take one part stream-of-thought, add two parts dreamlike narrative flow and flavor it with a twist of philosophical musing and you have something that begins to describe this story. Somewhere between prose and poetry, but not quite being either, this story will certainly make you stop and think about the world.

Last night I dreamt of getting shot and it was interesting. I didn't bleed blood, I bled hope. Funny that, I never knew I had that much of it.

‘Long Journey’ by ~windwater


This is really more the suggestion of a long journey, but it does in a couple of paragraphs what some stories can’t effectively do in a few pages. The way that it establishes the setting, the characters and a sense of direction would make it an excellent start to highly engaging story.

Maria stood in the middle of the desert. Far away she could make out the statue of Nelson, marking the center of Landen.

‘Dust’ by ~Kikimaymay


There is something strangely urgent in the way the sentences and paragraphs run away with the story, reflecting the way the confused narrator’s life is quickly spiraling out of control. It’s disorienting, but it also grips at you, dragging you along until the story’s end.

This girl comes into my life six months ago and she’s looking for a room for rent so I let her move in, she is a figure from the past, I have known her since childhood but somewhere along the years we lost touch and when I open the door that day there she is, older but unchanged.

‘My Place’ by ~Tirinka


A good experiment in mood building. There’s a hopeful overtone to this piece, and a sense of self-empowerment, underlaid with the implication of problems lying just beneath the surface of things.

I have a place I go to relax. Lots of people have a place, but nobody has mine. Mine is special. Just like I'm special, where I spend my time is special.

Miscellaneous Prompt Responses

Prompt: Write about the first day of something

‘The Stereotypists’ by ~Nicktroptopolis


This story is a real treat. The first day at work for a job that isn’t exactly normal - or anywhere near it. Aside from a clear and easy to understand narrative flow, this story really stands out for its clever presentation of an interesting idea.

Laura was sitting at her desk, which was so new that no one had bothered to even peel the sticker off of the surface.

‘Beginning of a Book’ by ~Izbetthequeen


A brilliant play with personification, the author gives the computer a sense of impatient menace to it, putting into words the difficulty that every writer experiences when he/she first sits down to write.

Oh how the keyboard loomed on his desk, staring at him, an evil grin. He glared at it, hoping that it would stop looking at him like that.

‘Beginning of a New Game’ by ~sagalisela


This story, although rough, has outstanding and interesting characters. The interplay between the two very different characters is entertaining to read.

She was a cruel, beautiful, vindictive, but witty girl and he was a quiet, naive bookworm of a boy.

‘First of the Year’ by ~anotherfirename


It’s hard to pin down the one thing that is most impressive about this piece, but I’d have to go with the way the author uses description of the physical world, engaging us with all the senses to build the sense of place and action. Very well done.

My arms are pumping now, my feet and lungs moving in rhythm. The wind scatters raindrops across my cheeks and I splash through the half drowned lanes.

Once again, this new feature has been brought to you by *simplyprose

Simply Prose: simply better than a thousand monkeys.

Until next time, sayonara, and happy writing.