Tag Archives: Day 75

Writing Prompt: Day 77

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77.jpgDay 77 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Your character won the lottery. What does he/she do after the first day.

Erin: When he won the lottery, he thought the news would be his ticket to freedom. But it wasn’t, it was his ticket to isolation. He shut out everyone the days following the win. He was worrying people and starting to lose friendships because of his secrecy. The only thing scarier than loosing those friendships though was word getting out and him loosing even more.

Shannon: I had enough money to buy anything I could possibly long for, but I wanted the first purchase to be significant. Sure, I would eventually use the money to pay off my loans, fix my car, and pay for all the other boring life necessities, but for right now I needed a good memory.

I didn’t want to screw it up, so I did what I always do and started looking up ideas online. Not to copy, but to be inspired. Also, to see if anyone had found a way to cheat the system and turn money into happiness. I found a lot of ecstatic people with their new purchases and some theories on how money can lead to happiness, but I decided to give up my search and go out to stumble upon it on my own.

I ended up going to the beach, which was kind of exciting because if I hadn’t won, I would have been working in an office instead. I was a little afraid to go out in public after being featured in so many top news stories, but out of the few people there no one seemed to recognize me. It was nice. I started out by lying on my towel, letting my body rest to soak in sun and watch the peaceful waves. Soon enough my mind was relaxing too, and for once I wasn’t thinking about what I needed to do next. I was actually living in the moment, and I came to the conclusion that I didn’t have to worry about my “grand” first purchase. It had already been made. I bought my time back, and I couldn’t think of a more valuable choice.

What can money buy your character?

Writing Prompt: Day 76

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76.jpgDay 76 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about a character getting an offer that involves a difficult choice.

Shannon: By next year your dog is going to be a star. He is exactly what we need for the TV show. That cute face is one of a kind, and to top it off he’s trained. He’s got the part.“ the casting director was ecstatic as she gave me the good news.

I couldn’t hold back my own excitement. “That’s great,” I started rubbing Oliver’s chest as he continued to pant heavily.

“Yes, your little star is going to make you a lot of money. I’ll have you talk with Rebecca to discuss the process for handing over your ownership rights, and some other legal agreements, so we can pay you,” she explained as she guided I woman carrying a few stack of booklets forward.

“Handing over ownership rights,” I questioned, certain it couldn’t possibly be what it sounded like. Oliver sat down as I took my hand away. It was like he sensed my concern too.

“You do want to sell your dog, don’t you? Didn’t you read the job expectations? This is a full-time gig.”

“Yeah, full-time on set, but can’t I have him during filming breaks and maybe after he’s done for the day?”

“It’s reality TV. It’s all or nothing. He would become their real dog. If you give him up you can never be seen with him again. That could ruin our creditability. Do really need time to think about this? We’re offering you a lot of money,” she was looking at me as if I was crazy.

I secretly wanted to give her the same face, because she was already starting out this “real” show by casting a fake pet, but instead I looked back at Oliver’s sweet face. “Can I sleep on it,” I rubbed the back of his neck.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Make your decision,” she turned stern.

I started thinking about how the money could change my life, but then some memories stated replaying in my head, and I realized Oliver already had. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give him up. You’ll have to find someone else.”

Erin: My whole life was leading up to the opportunity I was getting DataHouse. The only problem was I had to move to the other side of the world for my dream. I would do what I had to do for my dream if I knew I still had the same one. The only problem was Greg was in the picture now. Greg was home, Greg was in the US, and Greg was clouding my career goals. Greg may have been more important than all of the other things I had worked for. Except he couldn’t be, so I needed to cut my ties. I was never going to compromise for a guy, I didn’t know if that meant I couldn’t have a guy, just that it meant I could not have Greg.

Time for you to make your character’s difficult choice.

Writing Prompt: Day 75

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75.jpgDay 75 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Your character does something that terrifies them.

Erin: “You better appreciate how much I love you.” My sister rolled her eyes as she sat down next to me at the head table.

“I think you’ll live,” she suggested adjusting her skirt to smooth it under the table.

“I just danced in front of a large group of people. Most of whom I don’t know. Now I am going to give a speech in front of nearly 500 people. Why did you have to invite so many people?”

“Because this is my wedding and this is who I wanted to have here,” she reminded.

“Fair enough,” I obliged. “You don’t even know half of them,” I grumbled under my breath. She chose to ignore me.

The rest of the time between the grand march and my speech was a blur. My entire body froze to stone. “Almost your turn,” my sister’s smile snapped me out of my trance. Then my heart started pulsating. Pressure seemed to be building and I was certain it was going to bust. Explode out of my chest and soak the families in the front row.

Once I had the mic in my hand. I felt like an outsider hoisting me up by placing my own arms under my own armpits and yanking. “I love this girl,” were the only words I could remember. But after I said those words my eyes filled with water and I couldn’t remember that public speaking made me feel like a thousand knives were stabbing me. All I could think about was how happy I was that she was happy, and that I wanted her to know that.

Shannon: I suffer from a phobia of thing that most people have probably feared at least once in their life, but when I hear them say they’re scared I know they’ll eventually get over it. I, on the other hand, don’t know if I’ll ever truly be past this one. I have a fear of rejection: the fear of people telling me no, and more importantly the fear that those people may actually be right.

I try to make myself believe that I won’t get my hopes up, but that’s not who I am. When I want something my mind freaks out on me, and starts dancing around the idea, nearly making it a fact, or at least something that’s bound to happen within time. Then it comes down to the moment of truth, and I can’t bear to feel that weight of the wrong outcome crashing down on me, so I keep it to myself. I act like I never wanted it in the first place. If I never put it out into the universe, never told a single soul, than no one would have to know I failed.

I put up this wall to protect my secret aspirations so that I’m the only one who can crush me, and boy have I done a good job of pressing down hard on myself. I’m so sick of trapping myself in a corner, and pretending that I don’t want things when I do. That’s why I’m about to do something that scares the crap out of me.

I’m going to give away what I’ve been hiding for so long. The things I’ve never said out loud, but have always wanted to. I know it will take baby steps to get them all out, but I can’t keep them wrapped up anymore. I’m going to start with telling my parents that I want to be a writer, even if it never works out. They deserve to know my real dream, and to know that I actually have one, so they can understand I haven’t been completely disinterested in my future this whole time.

As the right moment arises I know blood will pump through my veins even faster, and my upper body will heat up. I just don’t know what they’ll say. And for the first time ever, it doesn’t matter.

Scare your character, maybe you’ll scare yourself with your own ideas.