I Went to a Writing Group Today - August 14th, 2019
Analiese pulled the writing prompts out of a hat today. Each prompt was different. The hat was a glittery Irish hat, one of those festive ones for St. Patrick's Day. I made a few jokes about Leprechauns, that caught on, a few more people talked about Leprechauns, and then I couldn't get it out of my head. Yes, I mentioned the speech I gave about my family being descended from Leprechauns and winning the frog trophy.
Here's my entire prompt.
The three dots are an ellipsis. That's the important part of this prompt, it's where the mysteries and the possibilities lie.
I sat staring at my blank sheet of paper for a few minutes. I didn't want to write about Leprechauns because I thought someone else might because of our discussion, and... it was just too obvious. But, nothing else would come to mind, so I began.
I have so many thoughts about that. But, I'll leave those a mystery and let the writing speak for itself.
Here's my entire prompt.
- - - - - - -
What if...
- - - - - - -
What if...
- - - - - - -
The three dots are an ellipsis. That's the important part of this prompt, it's where the mysteries and the possibilities lie.
I sat staring at my blank sheet of paper for a few minutes. I didn't want to write about Leprechauns because I thought someone else might because of our discussion, and... it was just too obvious. But, nothing else would come to mind, so I began.
- - - - - - -
"Alright McDuffy, I see that you're upset, and maybe that's reasonable, but I think we can come to some kind of arrangement here." said Mr. O'Shaniganihan.
"No!" said McDuffy, sticking out his bottom lip and pouting, "I want my gold, it's mine and I want it."
O'Shaniganihan had the normal look of a 335-year-old middle-aged Leprechaun arguing with a 9-year-old about the subtleties of what does and does not constitute a "catch."
McDuffy held out his right hand, palm up, fingers spread, and said, "Give me!"
"What if..." O'Shaniganihan was searching for something. "What if we do this, I give you a gold coin that, when you open it, is chocolate?" He said it with a happy expression, like chocolate was better than gold, like trying to give candy to a baby.
McDuffy stared at him, the veteran of one thousand such battles, emotionally hardened against false promises of things that were supposed to be better, jaded and stubborn. He slowly lowered his arm to his side, raised his chin by one degree, and with defiance in his voice stated most assuredly, "No."
O'Shaniganihan smiled like it was okay, like everything would be alright, like he hadn't been caught on average every 6 years and was down to his last two magical coins. He smiled like a Leprechaun with everything to lose. He said, "Alright McDuffy, you win, I'll take you to my gold, you earned it." But he thought, what if we don't make it.
- - - - - - -
"Alright McDuffy, I see that you're upset, and maybe that's reasonable, but I think we can come to some kind of arrangement here." said Mr. O'Shaniganihan.
"No!" said McDuffy, sticking out his bottom lip and pouting, "I want my gold, it's mine and I want it."
O'Shaniganihan had the normal look of a 335-year-old middle-aged Leprechaun arguing with a 9-year-old about the subtleties of what does and does not constitute a "catch."
McDuffy held out his right hand, palm up, fingers spread, and said, "Give me!"
"What if..." O'Shaniganihan was searching for something. "What if we do this, I give you a gold coin that, when you open it, is chocolate?" He said it with a happy expression, like chocolate was better than gold, like trying to give candy to a baby.
McDuffy stared at him, the veteran of one thousand such battles, emotionally hardened against false promises of things that were supposed to be better, jaded and stubborn. He slowly lowered his arm to his side, raised his chin by one degree, and with defiance in his voice stated most assuredly, "No."
O'Shaniganihan smiled like it was okay, like everything would be alright, like he hadn't been caught on average every 6 years and was down to his last two magical coins. He smiled like a Leprechaun with everything to lose. He said, "Alright McDuffy, you win, I'll take you to my gold, you earned it." But he thought, what if we don't make it.
- - - - - - -
I have so many thoughts about that. But, I'll leave those a mystery and let the writing speak for itself.
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Read more of what Jeff deems worthy of attention at: http://www.JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com
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