Happy First Friday in November.
Wait, that can’t be right.
Pausing to check calendar . . .
OMG it is November already!
Well that certainly explains all those holiday decorations at the stores.
As I’m writing this post it is actually late on Halloween night. The trick-or-treaters are nowhere to be seen. I’m not sure if there ever were any in the neighborhood, but I am sure that none made it to my porch. Perhaps they all went to one of the local trunk-or-treat events instead. Or perhaps with all of the recent fires and evacuations and power outages no one was in the mood for going door to door.
While I didn’t see any little costumed ghosts or goblins at home, I did see a wide range of costumes today at work (well, I’m assuming at least some of those were costumes). Sadly, my department was costume free today since we had a Big Important Meeting that required projecting a Professional Image! A meeting that was, of course, cancelled at the last minute.
Talk about a trick!
Ah well, at least I won’t have to worry about meetings or image for the next five days; instead, I’ll be enjoying some time off work. I’m planning to use the time to get a good start on this year’s NaNo story. Before I start that writing, I have a book to finish reading. Somewhat ironically, it’s Things You Save in a Fire, by Katherine Center. I’m just a few chapters in but I’m pretty sure the “things” in the title doesn’t refer to physical things nor does the “fire” refer to an actual fire. According to the blurb it is a novel about family, hope, and learning to love against all odds.
We’ll see.
Before I start my NaNo writing I think I’ll warm up my creativity by giving today’s writing prompt and random words a try.
Care to join me?
For those of you working away on a story (whether a first draft or a polished version on its way to publication), if you’re not feeling random, we’d love to hear a bit – whether it’s a scene, a paragraph, or even a phrase that you are especially pleased with and would like to share.
If you don’t have a story in progress, or just want to work on something new, I hope today’s story prompt and/or random words will catch your creative fancy.
Ready?
What would: “Your character save in an emergency”
Feel free to interpret the “What if” any way you choose and include any (or all) of the following random words:
cocoon challenge indecent compartment
copper fortress crawling bizarre
official conversation frantic forgiven
bluff air murky sunrise
I look forward to seeing your stories in the comments. If you’re not feeling in the writing mood today, or don’t have time, feel free to post suggestions you might have for future “what-if” prompts. Ideas are always welcome.
Happy writing to all!
Eight Ladies Writing 
This was fun! It sounds like you’re reading an interesting book! I hope it fires you up (ahem) for your NaNo. Good luck and happy writing there! My sprint is about a fire; I guess that’s on our minds these days.
A Hunka-Hunka Burning Oatmeal
Brittanica Underwood heard the alarm, but she didn’t care. It was probably a bluff, anyway. The alarm went off every time Marigold burned the oatmeal. Brittanica was in the middle of a wonderful and bizarre dream, cocooned under a blanket fortress, and she intended to stay that way. It was Saturday, a day she was excused from official duties. and she could be forgiven for staying in bed an extra hour or two.
Except that damn alarm wouldn’t shut off. It was sounding really frantic. Marigold must really have done a number on breakfast. But—
Brittanica stuck her nose out from under her quilt. The air was murky. Maybe sunrise wasn’t happening today. Or maybe the alarm had a point.
She pushed back the covers and crawled to the bathroom, something of a challenge in her indecent state of dress. There she put on her beautiful, copper-colored silk bathrobe that hung on the inside door, shoved open the window, and peered out. She couldn’t see much, but she could see smoke. And smell it, too.
“Marigold!” she yelled.
No answer, but like herself, Marigold wasn’t much of a morning conversationalist.
“Marigold!” she yelled again, charging out of the bathroom. On her way out of her room, she grabbed her Kindle and her mother’s pearls, and from the downstairs storage compartment, her unfinished manuscript.
Marigold was at the stove, valiantly trying to beat the back the flames from the burning oatmeal.
“Leave it!” Brittanica ordered, grabbing her sister’s arm. “Grab your phone! Call the fire department! And put some make-up on! This is our chance! Have you ever seen a fire fighter? Those guys are gorgeous!”
Yay, Kay! I love this. Now we just need a couple of husky fire fighters and Our Girls will be all set. Especially Britt, with her slinky copper-colored silk bathrobe and her mother’s pearls, not to mention her Kindle and unfinished manuscript. I have no doubt she’ll turn the Oatmeal Disaster into a stunning triumph.
Thanks, Jilly! I thought of this ending when I was in my doctor’s office, and she reported that she’d had a patient who passed out cold in her chair and slipped to the floor. When she came to, they couldn’t get her up, so they called the fire department. “Is it a job requirement that fire fighters all be gorgeous?” she asked me. I thought yes, because their handsomeness and stalwart physiques would give people a reason to live. And so it was with Marigold, Brittanica, and the burned oatmeal. 🙂
That was wonderful, Kay. Your characters always come across as people I’d like to meet and hang out with. Plus, who can resist firefighters!
(-: Oh, what a lot of fun! The story reminds me that I need a better class of pajama. I just upgraded to some striped summer pants and a blue heather Henley, but what I really want is a robe — the kind that’s a fire hazard, but shimmers and floats!
Every day the fire news sounds horrible, but it isn’t very specific — “northern California” or “around Los Angeles” is all I see. Stay safe and I hope you guys get some more story out of it! Every cloud has a silver lining, and some of them have a firefighter bursting through it.
I was very tempted by “cocoon” but I think I better start my NaNo — it’s the fourth here already. I’m hoping you are out of harm’s way, too, Elizabeth!