Sentenced to Writing

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 ...