January 31st, 2014, PROMPT# 31:Remember the first book that ever thrilled you? How it smelled, what it weighed in your hand, how you felt as you opened the cover? Recall that amazing feeling – part fulfillment, part desire – and write about it.

January 30th, 2014, PROMPT# 30:Write about being an outsider.

January 29th, 2014, PROMPT# 29:Make a list of things you should know by now.

January 28th, 2014, PROMPT# 28:Write about how you learned to drive.

January 27th, 2014, PROMPT# 27: Write a last line of a novel that's so intriguing that others won't help but want to read your book.

January 26th, 2014, PROMPT#26: Tell of an unlikely friendship

January 25th, 2015, PROMPT#25: Write about a guessing game that goes wrong.

January 24th, 2014, PROMPT#24: A found wallet takes you on an unusual adventure. Tell us about it!

January 23rd, 2014, PROMPT#23: Picture an unusual key and try to imagine what the key once unlocked.

January 22nd, 2014, PROMPT#22: Write about the best compliment you've ever received.

January 21st, 2014, PROMPT #21: Write about a fragile connection.

January 20th, 2014, PROMPT#20: How do you think the world will end?

January 19th, 2014, PROMPT #19: Write in the voice of someone who has, until now, been silent.

January 18th, 2014, PROMPT#18: Start or end with ”That was the year....”

January 17th, 2014, PROMPT#17: Write about an ordinary ritual in which something goes terribly wrong.

January 16th, 2014, PROMPT#16: Start or end with this line:“I could have avoided all of that trouble if only I had remembered to...”

January 15th, 2014, PROMPT#15: Use this line: ”And it was, at that exact moment, that the power came back on”

January 14th, 2014, PROMPT#14: Use this line to start: "Until _______, nothing notable had happened in the town of Madison since the year of it's founding."

January 13th, 2014, PROMPT #13: Write about a journey that a book has taken you on.

January 12th, 2014, PROMPT#12: Write about a roll of film that has been obtained mysteriously.

January 11th, 2014, PROMPT#11: · Write about a long, fraught ride in a car.

January 10th, 2014, PROMPT# 10: Use this line: · ”She ran after him”

January 9th, 2014, PROMPT#9: · Write about a man seeking safety from a woman who is not safe.

January 8th, 2014, PROMPT #8: "It was less than a second, maybe half a second, but it changed everything."

January 7th, 2014, PROMPT #7: Create a set of circumstances in which a perfectly reasonable person would, in fact, cry over spilled milk.

January 6th, 2014, PROMPT#6: Make up a list of alphabetical advice

January 5th, 2014, PROMPT#5: Write about this: Someone close to you will tell your secret.

January 4th, 2014, PROMPT#4: What is something you wish you were told as a high school-er?

My Results: January 4th, 2014, PROMPT#4: What is something you wish you were told as a high school-er?

In high school, much the same as now, I suffered from severe insecurity. I don't think that's different than most high school girls, and it never drove me to eating disorders or self-mutilation. But I remember that I always thought I was huge, obese, fat. Looking back, I wish I had more confidence. I wish I knew how cute I was and I wish I would not have been so insecure. I worked on weekends and at one point in school even had 2 jobs. I worked sophomore, junior and senior year. I didn't go to parties or many dates. When I did go out, I preferred school functions. I was severely monogamous, having steady boyfriends and though I would sometimes know that a relationship was maybe not the best thing for me at the time, I would rarely be the one to call things off. I would let things pile on top of each other until, in my opinion, the other person would lose so much respect for how much I tolerated, that they would dump me. I had very little respect for myself, so I tolerated many things like verbal abuse, unfaithfulness and being treated very badly.

But as far as what I wish someone told me as a high school-er? It's hard to say, because I know I was told a lot of things that I didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to, so who's to say that if someone had told me how beautiful I was, I would have believed it? If someone had told me to stop being so serious, have more fun and don't work so hard, would I have listened to that advice? If someone had said to trust my gut about people, don't overlook glaring warning signs that could really mean something later, would I have paid more attention? Would I have paid attention if someone had told me that above anyone else, I should respect and cherish ME, (which is something I still struggle with by the way)?

Probably not, I was a high school-er who thought that I had everything figured out and thought that grown-ups were so out of touch. If a peer had told me those things, I would have rolled my eyes and wondered what made them think that they were so much smarter than me. Oh, yea, because that's another thing about me in high school; I thought that because I worked hard and didn't drink, do drugs, or spend my time with lots of boys that I was way smarter than most other teenagers. I realize now that everyone finds their way through life differently. I thought I was so mature and levelheaded, and I'm the one who graduated high school with a baby on the way. That's not a decision I regret by any means, but one that I would have likely judged another for.

There are things that I wish I knew in high school, definitely, but nothing that I wish someone would have told me, because I know I would not have listened.

January 3rd, 2014, PROMPT#3: Use this line: His last words were, "It's got melted cheese on it, so how bad can it be?"

 January 3rd, 2014, PROMPT#3: Use this line: His last words were, “It’s got melted cheese on it, so how bad can it be?”
Donnie was dead before he knew it. Perhaps if he had known that he had pushed her that far, he would have suspected it, would have seen it coming. A woman can only take so much lying, philandering and verbal abuse before she snaps, and boy, had Linda snapped.
She was young when they met, fresh out of high school and working a desk job at a vet clinic. He had a job managing the convenience store on the corner. He was older. He was cute.... and he knew just what to say to make an insecure young woman fall head over heels. They were married within 6 months. It was all peaches and cream for almost a year. Donnie wanted babies, and they sure did try, but it just wasn't happening and he just knew it had to be Linda's fault. She must be broken, because there certainly wasn't anything wrong with him or his man parts. He made sure that she knew on a daily basis that she was defective and if he had known that, he never would have married her.
The cheating began about 18 months in, for Donnie. it started with a co-worker of his, but that was fairly short lived. He had more women than he could count and he wasn't shy about it. At first he didn't try to hide it, even hitting Linda with low-blows that maybe one of them could make him a father. Linda considered packing her bags many times, but Donnie had convinced her that she would never find a man that would love her in all of her infertile glory. He considered kicking her to the curb multiple times, finding himself a woman who was worthy of all that he had to offer, but then his father passed away. Linda was very caring and helped him through and he was so grateful and sweet in his grief, he was even faithful for a good 6 month period. Then he found out how much money he would be inheriting, and his mean streak miraculously returned.
His new thing was letting Linda know how much she had failed him, how much of his time she had wasted, because now his children would never get to meet his father. What a miserable human being she was for that, he would tell her. He considered divorce but then discovered that she would get half of his small fortune, and he just couldn't have that. So he began sleeping around again, this time being more sneaky, for fear that she would use this for a reason to leave him.
Linda was no dummy, she knew what was going on. She knew where Donnie was most of the time, and she was just glad he was gone. He had quit his job because he didn't need to work anymore, but would not allow her the same luxury. She kept her job and had to work her 40 hours a week. He also demanded that she make him dinner each night, if only to use that as an opportunity to berate her daily.
Linda was a wonderful cook, everyone said so. Before her mother had died of breast cancer when Linda was 16, less than a year after her father had died in a car accident, she had taught her to cook, and Linda had cooked for the two of them in the last 6 months of her mother's life. Anytime they had guests, they raved about her food. Donnie would tell Linda that his friends took pity on her, they were just being nice. He would tell her how awful her food was, he would pick at everything on his plate. Linda knew he couldn't find it that awful, because he always ate his food. It was just another of his mind games, of which Linda was accustomed to.
Linda's life changed in her 6th year of marriage with Donnie. A new veterinarian, Jeremy, was hired at her office. He was kind, handsome, smart and he valued her. At first, it was wonderful to just have such a great friend, someone who boosted her self-esteem and never pushed anything on her. He knew that she was married, and though he did not care for Donnie and the way that he treated Linda, he never stepped out of line.
Donnie took trips occasionally, giving Linda a reprieve from her nightly abuse. It was during one of these trips that Linda stayed late at the office, and pushed things with Jeremy herself. She had never had an affair, had never even considered it. She had been so convinced that she was broken and incapable of having someone love her. She knew now that that was wrong. Jeremy loved her. He held her and told her that he wanted her to leave Donnie and their unhappy marriage. She wanted to, and began making plans.
Donnie caught wind of her plans, not her affair because he never would have suspected that anyone, let alone his pathetic shell of a wife, Linda, would dare cheat on him. In a drunken rage one night, he hit her for the first and only time. He told her that if she left him, he would murder her, and in that moment, she believed him. She cried to Jeremy that she couldn't leave him, though she wanted to so badly. Jeremy understood, and they continued their affair in secret. Jeremy knew that eventually Donnie would let Linda go, and then they could be together. He was a patient man, and he would wait for her.
They continued like that for several months, Donnie screwing anything he wanted to, yelling at Linda every night for being a failure of a wife. Linda and Jeremy meeting in private on their lunch breaks, and when Donnie was away. Then one day, Linda realized that she had not had her monthly visitor, and a home pregnancy test revealed that she would be a mother. She told Jeremy and he was ecstatic, and Linda was in such shock. Something snapped inside of her. She wasn't broken, and she wasn't useless, and she knew that she would make an amazing wife and an amazing mother, and Donnie had been wrong about her all of these years. She had been wrong about HERSELF for all of these years. At that moment she knew that she would get out. That she would be free and happy, and Donnie would pay.
When he got home that night, Donnie immediately noticed that Linda seemed to be in a good mood. She usually hid her happiness when around him, showing him the broken woman that he wanted to see. Anytime that she shone, he had to make sure to do all that he could to tarnish her. He started in about the meal, a mexican chicken casserole tonight. He told her that her hair looked like shit and she was sure she was putting on weight. He hated this meal, it always gave him heartburn, couldn't she remember simple things like that? What an idiot she was. His last words were, "Well, it's got melted cheese on it, how bad can it be?"
Linda smiled to herself, hand on her belly and mind a million miles away in her new, happy life. "Pretty bad, I guess", she thought to herself.

January 2nd, 2014, PROMPT#2: Explain Christmas to a young pine tree.

DISCLAIMER: This is probably terribly awful, please keep in mind that this is a rough rough rough draft with no revisions made. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism welcome
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Susie watched the tree being planted and she delighted at seeing the progress of its growth, week by week, month by month. Her daddy told her when they put it in the ground that this tree would be hers. When she had a home of her own and was ready to celebrate her first Christmas as a grown up, this would be her Christmas tree. At first, this saddened Susie, that this thing she watched grow would be used for one thing, then be gone forever. She took comfort in knowing that this moment in time was nowhere soon, and she thought that if she explained it to the tree, it might not be so bad. So one sunny day, she sat in her favorite reading spot next to it, and instead of opening her book, she opened her heart.

"Tree, this may be hard to hear, but I think it is important to be honest and upfront with you. Someday, years into the future, you'll be cut down and put in my home. I'll hang strings of lights on you and top you with a beautiful star, or an ornate angel,... I haven't decided yet. Anyway, I'll put ornaments on you and wind tinsel around you... You'll be beautiful! I'll place a piece of cloth under you - it's called a tree skirt, isn't that cute? I will place presents under you. Maybe I'll have a husband, and he'll put presents under you, too. We'll delight in you for a few weeks, get annoyed at you and your falling needles after a while, and then remove all of the decorations from you once the holiday is over. We'll take you outside and your life will be over.... I know that's hard to hear, but it's the truth. I look forward to watching you grow, and this will be a bittersweet experience for me, too." Susie left the tree at that, and knew that she would cry when that last day came.

January 1st, 2014, PROMPT #1: Use this line somewhere in your piece: “I guess he got the umbrella with the slippery handle.”

DISCLAIMER: This is probably terribly awful, please keep in mind that it has been a very long time since I have written and this is a rough rough rough draft with no revisions made. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism welcome
Nora had not had a day this bad in as long as she could remember, which is saying something considering how unlucky she considers herself. She had gotten braces the day before pictures one year, and had an allergic reaction to a new lipstick shortly before her prom date arrived to escort her. She broke her ankle a week before graduation and had to walk on crutches to get her diploma. It seemed that every unlucky event in her life occurred just before an equally important one, much to her dismay. The terrible events of today seemed to be leading to nothing of great significance, as far as she could tell. She could not be more wrong.
She ran out of printer ink while printing a report for work, and while refilling the ink she spilled some on her skirt and marked up her hands with it something good. She made it through the rest of her work day relatively unscathed and headed home with relief. She wasn't aware that the events of the day were just beginning....
She spoke with her mother on the way home from work and was informed that the family pet, a Siamese cat named Koopa had been diagnosed with a respiratory problem that had recently gotten more severe, and they were weighing their options. The conversation with her mother was cut short when Nora realized that she had a flat tire. Upon getting out to investigate, she saw that she had run over a large nail. She flipped her phone open to call Triple A, only to find that her battery was dead. Then, the rain began.
When the first rain drop hit Nora, the events of the day all came crashing in at once. She climbed into her car, which she had parked in a parking lot of a pharmacy that happened to be closed, and she began to cry. She cried, ugly tears of frustration and helplessness. Issues much larger than those of her day arose from the depths of her, as she asked herself those big, unanswerable questions of meaning and purpose. She cried for not nearly long enough when she was interrupted by a rapping on her window. Thankful for assistance, annoyed by the interruption of her soul-searching and more than a little embarrassed to be caught blubbering, she reluctantly rolled down her window.
The rain was really coming down at this point, but there at her window smiled a stranger whose face would come to be the most important one she'd look at for the rest of her life. He smiled, "It looks like you could use some help," he offered. She smiled back meekly at him and thanked him for stopping. She got out of the car to show him the situation and he introduced himself as Nate. As he checked out her spare tire, she couldn't help but admire his dimples and his hands which were free of a wedding band. She said their names together in her head and admitted that she liked the way that they sounded together, then blushed to herself at the thought and at her runaway imagination.
He announced his assessment of the situation was that he could indeed fix the flat, but would either need to wait for the rain to die down a bit or would need an umbrella, which she did not have on hand. He gestured to a nearby coffee shop and suggested they wait out the rain for a bit. She liked the thought of spending more time with him, so she agreed.
They enjoyed each other's company and conversation. She found him to be guarded and a little mysterious, which intrigued her. After about an hour and no sign that the rain would be letting up, she agreed to a short trip to a convenience store to purchase an umbrella. They grabbed two, which he pointed out were matching and she thought that maybe he was going where she was going in her head as far as a future for the two of them.
They returned to her vehicle and before exiting his, everything changed in the blinking of an eye. Or rather, the blacking of one. Handing Nora an umbrella, somehow it hit her in the face. A million thoughts ran through her mind, anecdotes about what a funny story this would make in the future, assuring him that it was ok, accidents happen.... Then the umbrella hit her again and the last thought she remembered thinking was "I guess he got the umbrella with the slippery handle..."
When she woke up, she couldn't move. Her body ached and the well-known feeling of bruises covered her. She was in a fog and she could not comprehend the situation. Her hands were bound and she drifted in an out of consciousness. She saw his face and realized how much she had overlooked. Indeed, this day was the worst of them all.