writing prompt

A Monday Moment: Foreboding

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Monday Moment - Foreboding

Todd grasped his wife’s upper arms. “You must take the magistrate’s fastest horse and warn everyone in and around the village that they need to escape before it’s too late.”

Tears streamed down Rachel’s face. “Would it not be wiser to ride straight to Northbay and ask them to send an army?”

“You know we don’t have time for that. We’ve all heard the tales—once Antios’s men show up outside the village, it’s only a matter of time before Antios himself arrives and destroys the village. Our town only has hours left. If we can warn enough people, maybe someone will survive to tell our story too.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. “I will warn who I can.” Then she pulled her husband into a quick embrace.

“We’ll keep Antios’s men engaged as long as we can to allow those escaping to get away. As soon as you have sounded sufficient alarm, make for the nearest town.”

She pulled back and looked him in the eye. “I won’t leave without you.” Her jaw was set and eyes unwavering.

“Rachel, my love, you know that those of us staying to fight will leave before Antios arrives if we can. We must stay as long as we can, to give the rest of you a chance. But listen to me—if I do not make it, it would be better for Laura and Joshua to lose one parent, and for Shanna to lose one grandparent, than two. They will need you.”

Prompt used: After a powerful enemy destroys 2 major cities, they arrive at your main character’s city

Daily Writing Check-in: May 5, 2019

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Words/Time:  54 minutes doing preliminary work for the new outline of “Vin” as well as some free writing with a prompt.

Over half of this time was spent finishing reading through the first draft. I then used a prompt for some free writing for 10-15 minutes, which will be tomorrow’s Monday Moment.

And for the last few minutes, I got Scrivener set up to start putting broad scenes into it, to start outlining the first draft of “Vin,” so I can see what I’m starting with at a glance, figure out what needs cut and what can be kept, and decide where to go from there. I’ll work on that tomorrow, because I’m pretty beat right now.

Daily Writing Check-in: May 3, 2019

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Words/Time:  3 hours, 42 minutes doing preliminary work for the new outline of “Vin” as well as some free writing with a prompt.

3 hours were spent reading through the first draft of “Vin,” which was written in November of 2017 for NaNoWriMo. I’m now on page 109 out of 137, deep in the climax scene. This time was spent throughout the day, coming back to reading whenever I could, because I just enjoyed it that much.

When I got to my normal writing time in the evening, I decided that with so much time already on the clock for the day, it was a good day to get some writing practice in, so I pulled a prompt. It ended up leading me to a scene that involves a story I have barely even thought about yet–book 3 of the “Pursuit of Power” trilogy*. It actually led to some small ideas for a story that intimidates me, because it’s been in such darkness for so long. It’s invigorating to have some light shed onto it out of nowhere like this.

I also had a crazy, out-of-nowhere idea for the story I’m currently outlining, “Vin,” that solves one big issue I had, and also adds some serious drama and intrigue. After the free writing, I took some time to write that idea down so I didn’t forget it, and then decided that I had plenty of time in for today.

I don’t know if any of these ideas today will make it anywhere, but I’m really enjoying the organic discovery that’s been happening, after weeks of coaxing ideas for “The Seeger Book.” I know both ways of arriving at a story are valid, and it doesn’t make the plot & outline for “The Seeger Book” any less good or worth writing, just because it took more work to shape it to what it is. But the random, out-of-nowhere ideas are just so much more fun and exhilarating. And considering how light on plot “Vin” is, it’s going to take a lot of new ideas to shape it into a story anyway.

*I’m still guessing it’s going to be a trilogy. I haven’t figured out what the 3rd book will entail yet, or if it will be too much for just 1 more book after the 2 I have planned.

A Monday Moment: Favor

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“So, can you do me a favor?”

“A favor?” he scoffed. “You must be joking!”

I stared at him, trying so hard to keep my face as stoic as possible.

“Don’t think of it as a favor for me then. Think of it as a favor for your homeland. For your friends and family there. For you, even.” I could see his jaw jumping as he clenched and unclenched it over and over. He was angry. He had every right to be. Still, he had come to see me.

“If this has anything to do with Linus, you can save your breath. He’s not getting out any time soon. And neither are you.”

“I don’t want him to get out. I don’t care if I’m released either. But he can still do a lot from prison.”

“Not from prison in Pithea,” he countered.

“You don’t think so? Do you know anything about the operation he was running back home? About the operation he was running here?”

For as cold as he had been, his tone turned to ice when he replied, “I think I know enough.”

I lowered my gaze for a moment. I would have apologized for my part in all this, but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“I’m only saying that Linus is very connected, very smart, and very determined. I wanted him caught here in Pithea, but the truth is—”

“Wait, what?”

I looked back up at him to see narrowed eyes.

“You wanted him caught? Don’t you work for him? And you got yourself arrested too.”

“I’m well aware of that, thank you. But if you haven’t noticed, they don’t have much in the way of charges against me. My guess is the worst they’ll do is keep me here for a bit, and then send me back. I can’t go back—not after getting Linus thrown in jail.”

“I’m supposed to feel bad that they’ll hate you back home after what you’ve done?”

“They won’t just hate me.” I searched his face for the slightest hint of the compassion or kindness I once knew. “They’ll kill me.”

Prompt used: favor

Daily Writing Check-in: April 28, 2019

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Words/Time:  28 minutes of freewriting

I knew it would be difficult to find time to write this weekend. Yesterday, I managed to carve out some time in the afternoon, which was good, because I didn’t get home from a concert until around midnight.

Today, after being up super early and getting home only a couple of hours before my family we going to see Avengers: Endgame, by the time we got home from that, I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. Still, I knew I had 150 minutes of writing work left to finish Camp NaNoWriMo before the end of the month, so I decided anything I could get done was better than nothing.

It seemed like a good time for freewriting, rather than trying to focus on the outline I’ve been working on, so I went back to an old word list I wrote down in my failed attempt at a bullet journal 1 1/2 years ago. I picked a word from the list and wrote 356 words. And even better, it’s not too vague, confusing, or spoiler-y to be used as a Monday Moment, an attempt at a weekly feature on my blog that has been incredibly sporadic over the last 5 months. But come Monday, there will be a Monday Moment!

A Monday Moment: Mistaken Identity

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Natos had specifically chosen to spend that day alone, not wanting to get caught up in his brother’s chaos for once. He figured Jaffna would be safe, because he’d heard Acronis discuss heading to Taellyn with some of the others. As soon as he heard the giggle right behind him, he knew he should have gone to Qulu instead. His brother and the others would never bother with that remote location.

Despite hearing her coming, he wasn’t expecting the arms to wrap around his body from behind. He let out a startled yelp and pulled away, turning around quickly.

“Inanna!” he said with a gasp.

“Oh!” Her face turned bright red and she covered her cheeks with her hands. “I thought you were Acronis!”

“I gathered,” he muttered.

“I’m so sorry!”

“Right…well, it’s not a big deal.”

“Maybe not for you,” she said breathlessly. “You’re…Natos, right?”

He refrained from rolling his eyes as he nodded his head. It wasn’t that he minded that this rather attractive young woman preferred his brother to him. But despite how little he cared to hang out with his Acronis and the others, he had been around a lot when Acronis was in Jaffna and spent time with Inanna. Was it that hard to remember his name?

“Is Acronis here too?” she asked, looking around the area.

“I don’t think so. I heard them talking about going to Taellyn today.”

She stuck her bottom lip out. “What’s in Taellyn? Who is in Taellyn?”

Natos only shrugged. He couldn’t tell her what he was thinking. I couldn’t even begin to care. Why on earth do you want anything to do with my brother or those others that he spends all of his time with? What must be wrong with you that this is the kind of attention you want?

The truth was, he had always seen signs that Inanna’s family was not much better than his own. He felt bad for the girl, but on the other hand, at least her life was better than his. At least she wouldn’t be expected to become a mercenary and assassin, living in the shadows for the rest of her life, never having the chance to have real connections with others. He could only hope that she didn’t waste her freedom—that she would outgrow this fascination with his brothers and find some better friends.

Prompt used: What if your character was mistaken for someone else?

Daily Writing Check-in: March 1, 2019

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Words/Time: 396 words of free writing.

I didn’t get to my writing time until 11:30, so I knew I wasn’t going to have an easy time getting into anything substantial. I figured this was a good time to do some free writing and try to come up with something for the next Monday Moment. I knew a prompt of some kind would help a lot in getting started quickly, so I went to a blog that I know has prompts every Friday. I looked through several of the Friday posts, looking for a prompt that sparked a quick idea, and weirdly ended up back at the prompt posted today.

A Monday Moment: Batman

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My friends and I stopped in the coffee shop to sit and drink and talk. I almost ran into Jessica, who had stopped in the doorway. She ushered us back outside quickly.

“Batman’s in there,” she whispered frantically. Her face was red and there were tears forming in her eyes.

“What?” Grace asked. “Seriously, why’d you make us come back out here?”

“Seriously.” Jessica pointed at the door. “Batman is in there.”

“What does that mean?” I asked. Jessica always was one who would say something cryptic and expect us to follow her thinking.

“It means—” She opened the door so we could see inside. “—freaking Batman is in the coffee shop!”

Seated at a table not far from the door was a man wearing black clothes and a black hat. He was watching us peek in the door at him, and I wondered just how crazy he thought we were.

Jessica shut the door and we backed away as we saw someone else walking toward it.

“So…he’s Batman why?” Grace asked.

“What do you mean, ‘why?’ He had the whole get-up.”

Grace looked at me and I sighed.

“A black hat and sweater aren’t exactly a Batman outfit,” I said. “Maybe he’s just not a colorful person.”

“That wasn’t a sweater! Or a hat. He had the mask and all. You guys didn’t notice? Over in the back corner?”

“Oh…no, I was looking at the guy right up front here.”

“I was looking at the guy in the corner,” Grace said. “But isn’t Batman a fictional guy?”

Jessica stared at Grace silently for a few seconds before looking back at me. “Okay, look in there again, but this time look in the back.”

“I don’t want to stand out here looking in there again like some idiot. Let’s just go in.”

“But—”

The door opened then, and out walked a man in a full Batman outfit—cape, cowl, and all.

He turned our way and walked by us while we stared at him.

“Ladies,” he said in a gravelly voice.

After he left, Grace whispered, “He is Batman.”

Prompt used: You walk into a coffee shop and see Batman sitting in the corner booth.

A Monday Moment: Christmas Eve

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Today’s writing was mostly inspired by it simply being Christmas Eve today, and by my own involvement in my church’s Christmas Eve service tonight, which I’m participating in.

The couple in the writing are two people whose relationship develops in the down time between stories (so far), so anytime I write about them as a couple, before they’re married, it’s new and interesting insight into their relationship.

To all who read this today or soon after it’s posted, I hope your Christmas is wonderful!

“Is the church having a service on Christmas Eve again this year?” Penny asked.

Nathan nodded. “But I already told the pastor that I wouldn’t be able to be involved this year. I’ll help him plan it, but won’t be part of it.”

“Why not?”

Nathan held back a chuckle to avoid giving her the wrong impression. “Because our wedding is only a few weeks after Christmas. I figured we’d be too busy to attend this year.”

“You want to skip the service?” Penny asked with surprise.

“I…I guess I thought we’d need to. Or at least that I wouldn’t be able to be part of it, considering the extra time that I would have to take to prepare.” He looked at his fiancée and noticed the disappointed look on her face. He wasn’t expecting this reaction at all. “Did you want to go to the service?”

She nodded.

“We certainly can. I only wanted to avoid any unnecessary stress.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but took another moment to consider what she wanted to say. She stared past him when she said, “The service last year was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced. I never knew that side of Christmas, and, as you know, it was a huge part of me learning about your God.”

Nathan smiled. He remembered.

“But not just that—the music, the lights…the compassion.”

He noticed tears in her eyes and felt a tug on his heart.

“It’s hard to explain,” she said, meeting his eyes again. “But I have been looking forward to it this year. I would really like to go.”

“Of course we can.” He took her nearest hand in his. “I should have talked to you about it sooner; I do remember how much you enjoyed it last year.”

Penny squeezed his hand. “And, hey, if you want to be a part of the service, you should. I think we’re going to have plenty of time to get ready for the wedding without you needing to sacrifice a tradition.”

Nathan chuckled. “It’s not exactly a tradition; I’ve only been part of it for a couple of years.”

“All traditions have to start somewhere.”

A Monday Moment: Christmas Spirit

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For today’s Monday Moment, I pulled another card from my Story World: Christmas Tales set. I pulled this out last night and thought about what to write, but ended up just too tired to think of anything (I had a very long week).

I usually prefer to post these Monday Moments earlier in the day, but I just came to a point where I knew I wasn’t going to write anything worth reading last night. I hoped to have time to write something today, but the card hadn’t sparked any ideas, so I decided to look elsewhere.

Then I picked the card up again and reminded me that what I write doesn’t have to be taken directly from what’s on the card, but can go anywhere, inspired by the images.

Here is what I came up with:

Christmas was always his favorite time of year. It was also the time of year he was the most unbearable. She had grown accustomed to his jovial nature, his generous attitude, and his childish spirit. She could even pretend to like it. But it all went into overtime during the Christmas season. She was most in danger of revealing herself then.

She knew there were risks, but she had the sleeping powder for a reason. Granted, it wasn’t just to give herself a break, but somehow, every year, there was that one night that she had just had enough. She couldn’t handle it anymore. She couldn’t handle him.

After the first two years, she found that she was looking forward to the night she’d treat herself by putting him to sleep for a while. The type of sleep she knew he wouldn’t shake himself out of no matter what little goblins and demons worked around him. She could have her peace, get her work done without hiding, and even have a visitor over.

Maybe this year, she’d treat herself a second night. Or was that too greedy?

Christmas Eve2

I’m not sure I kept with the spirit of the card…on the other hand, that snowman is creepy.