Friday already? How did that happen?
This week didn’t include much writing outside of the day job, but I did do a great job on my “get rid of one thing every day” goal.
At the end of last year Michille posted about the successful completion of her 2019 goal to basically “get rid of stuff.” Inspired by her resulting empty drawers and clean mudroom, I decided to adopt the goal for 2020. I don’t have a mudroom, but I’m visualizing a tidier garage and maybe some empty dresser drawers too.
It’s currently day 16 and I’ve already gotten rid of close to 100 items. True, many of them were holiday decorations that hadn’t been out of their boxes for years, but I’m pretty sure they still count. Next up is the household-goods cupboard in the garage. Since I’m pretty sure I have pots and pans out there that came from my parents house, I’m sure to find plenty of things to part with. I’m visualizing an empty shelf in my future.
Now that I have my tidiness goal well underway, it’s time to turn my sights on writing. I think I’ll start things off by giving today’s writing prompt and/or 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 random words and writing prompt will catch your creative fancy.
Ready?
What if: “Your character goes on a blind date?
Feel free to interpret the “What if” any way you choose (or ignore it completely) and include any (or all) of the following random words:
glamorous psycho binge costume
greedy horrors nervous crisis
scientific glacier pearl believable
hope system blockhead sideways
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 
Congratulations on your super progress on getting rid of stuff! 100 items so far is truly amazing. I’m afraid that although I found MIchille’s idea inspiring, so far I have put only two things in the bag to the Goodwill. I guess two is better than none, but it falls far short of goals.
However, this story was a lot of fun. Thanks for the great prompts!
The Crisis
Aubriana McAfee turned sideways in front of the mirror.
“How do I look?” she asked her sister Brittanica. “Too psycho? Or just psycho enough?”
Brit considered her sister’s costume—the pearls, orange leather bra, pink tulle skirt, black fishnet stockings, and red Converse sneakers.
“Perfect,” she said. “We don’t want to make the poor blockhead nervous.”
“Sure we do.” Aubriana flopped down on the tufted satin sofa that was her only concession to glamour. “My hope is that he takes one look at me and runs screaming into the night.”
Their greedy older brother had binged on the secret Twinkies stash at Christmas and in a massive sugar rush, abdicated his responsibilities, precipitating a constitutional crisis. Ascending to the highest chair held only horrors for Aubriana, who, as fourth in line after her father, mother, and the greedy older brother, figured she was far enough removed from the seat of power.
But no. Her father, a scientific nutcase, had disappeared in a glacier in the far north. Her mother then entered a convent. The greedy older brother, who swore he’d never even look at another Twinkie, had landed a job testing chocolate at Cadwell’s and moved into a studio apartment one block from work.
Now it was all up to her.
The ruling system wasn’t her thing, but on one point she was clear. She would not be married off to the first sane nutcase that rolled through the palace, if she had to stand on her head and scream like a banshee to avoid it.
Her outfit would have to do the job for her.
She stood up and plunked the crown on her head.
“Let’s go,” she said to her younger sister. “And if this doesn’t work, I’m joining the circus, kiddo. Then it’ll be up to you.”
Very fun, Kay! I love where you took the words. I’d love to see the expression on her date’s face when he get a look at her. Although who wouldn’t like black fishnets with red converse sneakers?
LOL! And very topical, too! The former emperor of Japan was a fish scientist, and I think one of the Danish royalty was a commercial pilot. Divine right just isn’t the perk it used to be! LOL.
Good job on the decluttering! I’m trying to catch up on internet stuff, and I’m calling that digital decluttering. For some reason, my creativity has been haywire — story-telling isn’t doing that great, but I’m working on some new songs for Valentine’s Day, been putting together some graphics for English grammar worksheets, and have a giraffe made of hearts that’s been haunting my mind.
“Vandal the Magician couldn’t believe the costume that his blockhead manager wanted him to wear. It was a tailored tux, fit close to the body. Vandal preferred his zoot suit — the pockets on that thing was amazing, and was there anything up his sleeve? Nobody would know if he had a hammer, saw and three gross of nails up there — it was huge.
“‘Take it back, Harvey,’ Vandal said. ‘Buy some pearls and sequins for my glamorous assistant, Fifi.’
“‘Fuck you, Vandal,’ Josephine said. ‘Call me Fifi again, and I’ll rip the rabbit right out of your hat.’ She took a final drag on her cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray. ‘Harvey, I want pockets, too. So I’ll bring my own costume. You could spend the refund on getting that saw-the-woman-in-half box re-lined in satin. It’s too gross.’
“‘That’s what you get when you buy second-hand,’ Harvey said. ‘You guys don’t look like magicians up there on stage. You look like a couple of bums from the dance floor who wandered up there. I’ve got 30 years of show biz experience and when I tell you . . . .’
“‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ Vandal said. ‘But that’s part of the schtick, Harvey. Jo is right. We gotta upgrade the stage equipment — if she gets a sliver in her ass half way through the show, it’s gonna be a problem.’
“Josephine nodded emphatically, and Harvey sighed, then wandered out of the dressing room, bearing away the awful tux.”
That’s all I’ve got. There’s got to be more, LOL. But not today.
Fun, Michaeline! I love the idea of the second-hand equipment for the magicians and the sliver perils of the sawing-a-woman-in-half trick.