Tag Archives: Day Seventy Three

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 74

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74.jpgDay 74 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Listen to Hurt by Johnny Cash.

Shannon: “I’m here,” an aged woman appeared behind Benjamin’s screen door.

“What? You crazy witch, you came back for me,” his old bones brought him to the door slowly, but he was awe for each step.

“Hon I told you many years ago how this works. I appear when you need me. When your heart is calling for me. So why am I here again? I thought I already gave you everything you wanted,” he opened the door and she glided in. “I gave you fame” she flashed to the fireplace before he could blink, “Money,” she picked up the framed picture of him surrounded by his family. “Love,” she turned the image toward him. “Power,” she hummed. “What did you do with all of the gifts I gave you? Why are you so empty now.”

“You know my shortcomings. I hurt good things. They all leave in the end. I can’t keep them, but I always miss them.”

She sighed. “So what is your wish this time? How are you going to fix it,” she questioned.

“Can I start over? Can I go back in time to the moment where everything went wrong? Let me fix my mistakes,” he begged.

She turned to put the picture back and paused to stare at it for a while. “It doesn’t often help,” she spoke to the wall and then turned. “Most events that happen to you will happen no matter what changes you try to make. You may just relive the heartache again,” she warned as her fierce eyes analyzed him.

“It’s worth the risk,” he responded without hesitation.

“Then yes. I can send you back in time.”

Erin: “You were at the gym for seven hours,” my therapist asked.

“Correct,” I agreed.

“What were you doing at the gym,” she asked what to me sounded like a pretty dumb question for someone who claimed to be a doctor.

“Working out,” I shrugged.

“In what context. What type of workouts,” she started to make a little more sense?

“Running and lifting weights. Swapping every hour,” I clarified my typical workout routine.

“Is that regime pretty hard on your body,” she questioned.

“Yes, cardio and weights mixing can be quite the challenge,” I admitted. “But I don’t get as sore as I used to. Before one hour of intense weights would make me start to feel some tenderness. Now I have to leave because the gym is closing and I still have to wake up the next day feeling completely the same as I always do.”

“When did you start to have that kind of endurance?”

“I don’t know. The last time I felt sore was a few months after Candice’s death,” I sighed. “Ever since I don’t feel anything. If I work out enough though I should be able to get that feeling back. Or get any type of feeling back.”

Songs can be emotional, so can your writing, right?

Writing Prompt: Day 73

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73.jpgDay 73 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Your character is moving and leaves behind a note for the next resident.

Erin:

Dear Future Resident,

Welcome to your new home. You have made a great choice in all of the choices of abodes. If you treat her right she will care for you like a royal. While I am going to miss her, I hope she can bring you and your family as many smiles as she has brought us.

In order to facilitate your relationship there are a few things you should know. First of all, in the attic, in the farthest back left corner there is a circular window. It faces to the sky. You must press your face close to the glass to get any type of view, however there is no prettier place to sit during a full moon. Appreciate that fact and appreciate her when she brings you that gift.

Second the oven can get a little hot in the back-left corner. But if you utilize the front right corner, you will get the yummiest gooiest brownies you have ever tasted. Avoid the bottom rack at all cost. And for havens sake if you make a lasagna place the pan on the top shelf in the center.

Lastly for me to tell you, is in the basement there are treasures. Walls can speak and books can move. Most importantly, the floor boards will revile more than you ever knew you wanted to know.

That is the wisdom I leave you with today. The rest she will reveal to you in time. I wish you all the best.

Love,

Her Previous Family

Shannon:

To whomever finds this letter,

Hopefully this page has found its way into the hands of the next resident. I thought it might be fun to leave something behind for you, and let you know what you’re up against with this place, considering I did live her for three years.

I’ll start with some things you should be aware of, so you can learn from my mistakes. The winding staircase is beautiful. Enjoy it, but don’t underestimate the danger. The metal bars under the steps might as well be knives to your heels if you use them too carelessly. Also, the front door clicks once before it truly locks. Don’t let it fool you. Test the handle. One last thing, and please understand that I don’t want to scare you, I just want to prepare you for what’s to come. The small storage closet downstairs is apparently a spider’s heaven. Hopefully you don’t mind them, or at least none of them will catch you by surprise.

Now for the fun part, you may figure these things out on your own, but I personally wished I had realized them sooner. Feel free to stop here, if you don’t like spoiler alerts. First, don’t forget to open the blinds even when it dark. You have a perfect view of the moon, and I’ve always found moon to be quite peaceful. Your view of the sunrise is memorizing too. Wake up early enough to see it once in a while. It’s worth it. Finally, the nearby park has an amphitheater. You can hear the music if you open the windows. Some of the performances are quite amazing. Give them a chance before you try to drown out the noise.

I could make a ton of other suggestions, but I suppose I’ll let you figure the rest out. I just wanted to make sure that no matter how long you stay you remember to really enjoy the place. I know I did and it feels weird leaving it behind now. I guess that’s why I felt the need to write this note. I felt this place deserved a goodbye. Maybe you will too.

Sincerely,

An Previous Resident

Tell us what your character must tell someone else.