Day 284 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write one character from seven perspectives…today is his/her teacher or mentor. 

Shannon: Jake was assigned to me a year ago. I’m tutoring him so he can get into college. Everyone is really pleased with his progress, and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. The only thing that bugs me is that no one seems to know he’s an artist, or maybe they just don’t want acknowledge it. He has problems talking notes and paying attention because he draws these elaborate cartoons in notebook instead. It’s like he’s been hit with inspiration halfway through math class. Then he goes back to writing down equations. I’m the last person to believe someone could make a steady career out of their art, but he’s really good. He’s original, and it seems to makes him happy. I know it’s not what his mom wants, but I think we should be focusing on getting him into a school with comic arts.

Erin: He is a good student. He’s not great though. He spends too much time socializing to ever be one of the great ones. Or maybe he is a great one. Maybe he has found the perfect balance.

What is the potential of this student?

Day 282 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write one character from seven perspectives…today is his/her sibling.

Erin: He gets all the attention and I refuse to give him anymore.

Shannon: My brother doesn’t really like me anymore. We hardly ever talk. We mostly just argue now that we’re older. We hung out when we were younger, but I wouldn’t want to be a part of that anymore. Not with the crowd he hangs out with. I guess I can’t say I know a whole lot about him, except the fact that his new hobby seems to be spending as much time as possible in detention.

What does their sibling have to say?

Day 282 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write one character from seven perspectives…today is his/her mother.

Shannon: He’s a good kid. I know he gets into trouble, but he just needs a little more direction. I don’t believe he’s found his passion yet, but once he does I know everyone will see what I see. Even when he was little he just wanted to make people laugh. I know that all this is. I know how sweet he can be.

Erin: There is no love like a mother’s love, but I feel so blessed that my motherly love goes to him. He deserves every bit of it. My boy has the kindest heart, that I wouldn’t believe if I didn’t see it on a daily basis. Even at his worst he was still better than so many at their best, which made up for any of his short comings.

What does mama have to say?

Day 281 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write a parent’s wishes for their child.

Erin: I want my daughter to be as strong as a I would suspect from a son. I want her to have a happy, fulfilling life on her own. Her worth should come from the entirety of herself and experiences, not her dress size. I hope she never gives up on a dream that matters to her. If she finds love, I want her partner to respect her as an equal in their life together. If she doesn’t find a life partner I hope she doesn’t doubt her life is full, and beautiful. Most importantly I wish her a life that brings her as much happiness as she brings me.

Shannon: I want my child to be brave. I want her to always stand up for what she believes in, even when that’s not the easy choice. I want her to be smart, so she can always be confident in her arguments but open-minded enough to hear everyone out. I hope she’s kind and has no intentions to cause anyone any harm. I hope she finds her place in this world, and that she doesn’t believe she has to change who she’ll always truly be just to find it. I hope she believes in herself, and believes in a lot more. I hope she ends up happy, really, really happy. If she’s happy, I’m happy.

What are your character’s wishes?

Day 280 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: In what ways is your character unhealthy.

Shannon:

1. No consistent sleep schedule
2. Doesn’t use gym membership often.
3. Eats a lot of sweet snacks.
4. Doesn’t go to the dentist

Erin: She doesn’t get enough sleep, stresses too much, smokes, and overworks

Your character has areas for improvement.

Day 279 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: In what ways is your character healthy.

Erin: She runs 5 miles every day to make up for the junk she eats. That’s about it.

Shannon:

1. Drinks mostly water
2. Walks her dog ever day
3. Has a gym membership
4. Eats healthy foods

Good habits are hard to make.

Day 278 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write a character who is too big for their environment.

Shannon: “This place isn’t big enough for you. You’ll eventually have to leave you know?” I finally said what I was I’d known for a while now. I just couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. I didn’t want him to know he was too good for this place.

“What are you talking about,” he let out a huff and shook his head.

“You’re getting out of this boring town and you’re never coming back,” I stuck firm to my prediction, because it was inevitable.

I could he was uncomfortable, but he eventually responded, “And you’re not getting out of here?”

I sighed, “You already know the answer.”

Erin: This world wasn’t made for me. I was two times bigger than the next biggest citizen. That meant I was two times bigger than the biggest furniture could hold and two times taller than the tallest door frame. To cover my body, I had to make my own clothing with my tiny sewing machine. Life was not meant to be this hard.

Time to outgrow the surroundings.

Day 277 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about someone who wants to get in.

Erin: “Why do you want to get into that stupid school,” my friend asked condescendingly.

“They hold my future I explained,” freaking out.

“No, you do.”

Shannon: My older sister took me by the wrist yanked me away from the glass. “It’s not for us,” she growled. “Stop looking.

“Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe I could,” I was sick of hearing I didn’t have a shot at the only thing I wanted.

“You think you’re so different,” she shook her head. “Go ahead, you want to be a part of tat word. “Give it a try. Keep chasing something you’ll never get. Don’t come crying to me when you find out I was right,” she push my shoulder in frustration.

What must your character do? 

Day 276 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about a character softening.

Shannon:  “Leave her,” I heard his friend shout before running off. I expected him to listen, but I watched him struggle to decide. He looked back at me for a few seconds before bolting forward. I thought that was odd, but when I saw him turn around I was even more surprise.

He knelt down to my level. “Let’s go,” he pushed forward his shoulder. I was reluctant to take his help. He wasn’t a kind person, so I didn’t know if I could trust him.

“Why are you helping me?” I tried to read his eyes.

“No time to explain,” he put a hand under my legs and the other on my back as he started lifting. I quickly wrapped my hands around his neck.

Erin: At some point I decided to just stop pretending. I wasn’t what society had labeled as manly. There were some movies that were so cute they could make my eyes water. When people hurt my feelings it did hurt, it didn’t bead off of me like spills in advertisements for a waterproof shirt. I was good at hiding truths like that, but I just didn’t want to. I wanted to watch the movies I liked, listen to the music I liked and be the person I deep down was.

Show us the softer side.

Day 275 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about something that has multiple layers beneath the surface.

Erin: There was a certain point in life where everyone stopped being my perception of them. I never took a human as the face value I had slapped on them. Mr. Ken was one of those people. He was the most pretentious of all of the teachers at Lincoln High. He thought so little of all of us. One day however I found out that he lost his daughter only a few years prior to .my freshman year. She was valedictorian of her class, one of the smartest classes to ever pass through the halls of our school. He wanted us all to live up to her. His hopes were too high for most of us though. That discrepancy lead to misunderstanding and frustration.

Shannon: She couldn’t be classified by one thing. That didn’t do her justice. Most people are easy to understand, but she’s a puzzle until you get used to her. When I first met her I was on the same assumption as everyone else: she was sour and cold. Then I peeled back a few layers and learned that wasn’t the only side to her. There was a lot to admire.

What layers make up the whole?