Sentenced to Writing

Your character is standing in front of a wall. How do they get over it? What’s on the other side? The wall stretched towards the clouds, the top unseeable from the ground. Giant slabs of smooth granite were fitted so tightly together that the edges were seamless. She put her hand on the cool stone and looked behind her. “I’m supposed to do what now?” She asked. His lips turned up in a smirk, “You must cross to the other side of the wall.” She stomped her foot, “And how am I supposed to do that? Do you see this wall,” she pointed dramatically, “there are no footholds, nothing to help me get over this wall. And it goes for miles! It’s not like there is a gate conveniently waiting for me.” The winged being rolled his eyes in impatience. The masculine voice responded, “Stalling will not help you, child.” “Oh, you quit that. You have wings. As you can very well see, I have nothing of the sort to get me over that wall.” “Quit yammering at me, and cross to the other side of the wall. There ar...

Task:   Create 5 new aspects of a world. They can be a new race, trees, creatures, calendar and seasons, anything. But they have to be new and of your own design. Try to give a description, and what its purpose might be/how it fits into a world. (doesn’t have to be five but at least a few) How to get Power There is a large type of feline that generates a form of electricity. They are called the Grimeltrics. There are paddle brushes that are used to gather the electricity so it can be refined for general use. Their power output can be increased by feeding them electric eels. The eels can grow up to 30 meters long and only the most skilled fishermen can catch them and survive. Special equipment is needed to withstand the voltage the eels give off when they feel threatened. The eels only live in freshwater. The felines are as large as a house when full grown, with thick, fluffy coats that are jet-black and silky. There are eyes are large, round, and always ice blue. Their canines do n...

Back in 2019, our writing group had the following assignment: Take a movie scene you are familiar with and write it.  I chose Ride of the Rohirrim from The Lord of the Rings. Disclaimer: this is not  my story. I simply took the Movie adaptation of Tolkien's books and wrote it in my style.  Leave a comment with your thoughts! The Ride of the Rohirrim All was lost. The last of the men charged from the gates, horses pushing Orcs off the causeway, swords glinting in the light from the coming dawn. This was their last stand, their last hope. Should they fall, there was no one left to protect the women and children hiding in the cavernous depths of Helm’s Deep. Arms tired, the defenders swung, lopping off the heads of any Orcs they could reach. Their strength was failing. Hope was promised when the dawn sun rose. Aragon turned to face the first beams of light breaking over the mountain. There he was. Gandalf the White, the wizard who promised salvation as he deserted them, sat ...

 Prompt: Write about a character whose solution to every problem is to run. “Why do you always run from your problems?” I yelled.  Nothing I said made Ren stop his feverish packing, he just yelled back as he stuffed random things into his duffle bag.  “Some things you can’t face and live, so I’m running and you should run with me.” “I don’t even know what you’re running from!” I tried to block his way to the next room and make him talk to me.  He dropped his bag and put both of his large hands on my shoulders. “Ryah, love of my life, the best thing to ever happen to me, I need you to move.” I gave in and stepped aside. He rushed past and started pulling clothes out of the drawers, flinging loose things all over the place.  He spoke as he grabbed, “I’ve been running from this man for fifteen years and I can’t afford to stop now.” “But why do you have to run?” “ We have to run Ryah. If he knows that you’re important to me, he’s going to do things to you and I won...

Prompt: Use the following characters in a scene: a floating skull, a headless man, an apparition. Darkness was just beginning to descend upon the sleepy town, signaling to the supernatural creatures that it was safe to leave their havens, for the humans were at last abed. Dale poked his head around the corner of the cemetery, his body-less head bobbing gently with the breeze. Mark and Steve hadn’t arrived yet. He clicked his tongue impatiently. “Come on, fools, there are places we need to be,” he grumbled to himself. A ghostly apparition appeared right in front of Dale. “AH!” Dale screamed. “Mark! Stop doing that to me. I know you can control it, so stop popping up when I’m not expecting you.” The misty being just shrugged, a smile barely visible on the faded face. “Do you know when Steve’s going to show up? We’ve got places to be.” Dale asked Mark the Apparition. Mark just shrugged again. Dale floated up until he was higher than the cemetery walls. There were plenty of creatures about...

Create a unique human culture in with a few specific factors.  How do they eat? Food is encapsulated into 1 inch cubes. The cubes are complete nutritional meals. When you put them in your mouth they dissolve within two minutes and then can be swallowed. The cubes are designed in layers, so as they dissolve, the flavors of each portion of the meal come through. Grocery shopping involves going to the dispensary and picking out the meals you want. They come in dessert first/main dish last or main dish first/dessert last. There are exotic meals that are more expensive. Each cube can be tailored to a different diet requirement (vegan, vegetarian, carb free, etc.). What is romantic in this society? Direct eye contact with that coy head tilt. Direct eye contact without the tilt can be taken as a threat, which is very symbolic of a romantic relationship. It is a way they can argue without words as well.  What do they value most? Which career is the most respected? They val...

Use the following items in a story: Six-pointed star, egg (opening action of some sort), Pendant/Necklace/Amulet, Crown (male version) Sparklies glittered everywhere the Dark One looked. Each nook and cranny of the interior of the giant oak tree held a priceless treasure. Each treasure stolen from those who did not see the worth of what they had. The Dark One would give each piece the attention it deserved. The golden, six-pointed star shown in the fading light from the entryway. “Sheriff” was printed on the front. The Dark One snatched it from the molding body of a fallen officer of the law, took it, in the dark of the night, hours before the body was found by the townspeople. It held a place of honor, the center of the stash. Stacked neatly on the tippy top of the teetering tower of tokens.  The star was held up by a silver crown that once graced the head of nobility passing through the Dark One’s territory on their way to somewhere grand and glorious. The noble was mu...

Create a scene where two friends are taking a walk outside. They begin flirting and realize they like each other.   “What did you think of Mr. Chelsy’s new haircut?” Chad asked as he hiked his backpack further up on his shoulders. “Ugh, that mullet?” Amanda answered, disgusted. “Those went out of style like thirty years ago. What sane person would let someone do that to them? It should be a war crime.” She had one hand keeping her purse from swinging around and the other swung lazily by her side, helping her stay balanced as they walked down the uneven sidewalk. Chad chuckled as he dropped his hands to his side, “I know right?” They walked in easily silence until they reached the next stoplight. They both looked at the signals, the crosswalk they needed still said “Don’t Walk”.  Amanda leaned slightly off the curb to look further down the street. “I don’t see any cars.” They waited a few more minutes and the lights still hadn’t changed. Chad looked down at her, ...

Use the following five words in a story: Cactus, Cauldron, Rain Cloud, Octopus/Kraken, Cave Simone wiped the sweat from her forehead as she stirred the contents of the cauldron clockwise for two more strokes. Her potion would be ruined if an unintended ingredient got added at this point. Revenge was specific and would only be had if everything was added in perfect timing. She’d already added ten spines from a wilted cactus, twin tails from an albino salamander, twenty drops of eel blood, and a witch’s tear. All that was left was the kraken tentacle; added slowly in pieces cut in precise squares. As she added each piece she thought of the magnificent creature that had been willing to part with one of its legs. She had found the poor things wedged tightly between rocks during low-tide. It had been struggling to free itself for hours and was exhausted, baking in the sun. Using her magic, she freed the beast and helped guide it to her home in the cliff caves. The trek was dangerous to...

In any other mission, she would have been grateful for the natural cover, but tonight it made her uneasy.  If she could hide, so could her enemies. Breaking into the royal treasury wasn’t difficult. The guards were sloppy and paid more attention to their wineskins than they did their surroundings. They hadn’t even noticed when the first shift never returned, they just took their places and paced from habit. Who would be stupid enough to rob the royal treasury, they probably thought.There were five checkpoints and countless guards between the entrance and the loot. And I passed by them all, Salitha thought as she clung to the rafters, high above the heads of the lazy guards dawdling below. The sticky tar on her fingers and toes kept her from slipping, but it left its mark on the beams she used, a trail leading from the outermost window to her present hiding place. I can’t believe this is working, she thought. She had been trying for months to make it to the treasury. Flirting ...

I started these writing prompt/short stories to help me get into the writing mood. This one kind of took off on me so it is quite a bit longer than my others so far. Enjoy! I heard the call as I scrubbed the floors below deck. Pirates had been sighted, and laden as we were with so much cargo, outrunning the fleet vessel wasn't likely. I couldn't afford to abandon my post, the whip marks from the morning still open and tender. I'd only missed one spot in my scrubbing to earn that punishment. Then the captain had poured all waste bins on the floor and made me scrub it clean again. There was still a quarter of the deck left before I could dare to take a break to relieve myself.  The tell-tale crack of a whip made me flinch, even though it wasn't near me, but the sound came through the wooden planks above my head. Captain and the first mate were fond of that whip, and as equally unfond of me. The money I had given them to allow me to board this ship only held their re...

Prompt: The dark is all I have ever known. Julianne heard the doorbell ring and made her way confidently to the front door, her way marked by the rhythmic click of her tongue on the roof of her mouth. She found the door handle and pulled the door open, exposing her home to the sounds of her friends waiting on her doorstep. She recognized most of their voices. "Come in, come in," she said with a bob of her head. She wasn't always quite sure when people were so she didn't want to wave her hand and knock into somebody. Several someones trooped past her into the open front room. One of these someones stopped and Julianne felt arms wrap around her. "Hey Julianne. I hope you don't mind, but I found Mark wandering around like a lost puppy and asked him if he wanted to come over too." Kari's voice was kind and warm.  Julianne answered, "Of course I don't mind. Mark, wherever you are, come on in and join us. I'm not sure what seats are ...

Prompt: She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist. "Do not challenge me." Erick had been working up to this moment for two years, and I'd endured every miserable moment of it. The endless teasing, the nips, the subtle disobedience, and every put down he could throw out of his useless mouth.  He just wasn't okay with having a female Alpha, and since he was definitely not a candidate to be my equal and lead the pack, he apparently felt like he could win the title by undermining my authority. I was done. I finished my sparring session and wiped my face with the towel from my gym bag. Thanking Julianne for her time, I strode out the doors and into the chilly air. Our compound was deep in the Alaskan wilderness and it was at least a twelve hour drive to the next town, thank goodness. Any closer and no one's livestock would be safe, not with Erick running his night raids thinking I didn't noticed. Oh I noticed. I just couldn't win that fight without seri...

Prompt: Sure it hurt, it always did. But the louder you screamed the more blood they would take. My skin burned and itched. My heart beat harder and harder, trying to push precious life force through my failing body. I wanted, more than anything, to push the vile man from my neck, but any movement would rip my veins beyond healing capacity.  A quiet whimper escaped my traitorous mouth and the pull stopped. He let me go and I slid to the floor in a pathetic heap.  His voice rumbled around my head as I started to lose consciousness. "Oh pet, you should have let me know, I would have stopped much sooner." I knew he wouldn't have, he never did, no matter how much noise I made. His footsteps grew quieter and I heard the heavy door slam shut behind him.  I stumbled over to my head, hitting my shin on the bed frame. I groped for the nightstand, grabbing for the handkerchiefs I stashed there for just this purpose. Finally the soft fabric met my fingertips and I snatche...