Encouraging things go here.
You know, that was a placeholder, but I’m leaving it because it’s true. Ultimately, that’s what this whole prompt challenge is about: encouragement. I don’t know about you, but I certainly need encouraging these days. The prompts give me something to chew over in my mind when I am trying not to think about the stuff I can’t change. It gives me a way to create, and motivate myself to write when I might otherwise be able to justify just curling up and doing nothing productive. It’s also encouraging to see the great stuff everyone writes every week. It’s a privilege to be a part of a group this consistently good.
| Prompter Name | Prompt |
Promptee Name
|
| B. Durbin | Feral kitties, railroad tracks, and a trail by the creek. And something unusual in the water. | Brena Bock |
| Cedar Sanderson | “Not a Candidate for Reanimation.” | nother Mike |
| nother Mike | In the want ads, you see someone looking for wranglers for a butterfly roundup… | B. Durbin |
| Fiona Grey | Hidden amidst the wildly patterned mosaic tile was… |
Cedar Sanderson
|
| Becky Jones | Walking along the river path you look up and see a dragon sailing lazily through the air heading up river. Not an unusual sight in these parts but what makes you stop in your tracks is you notice a rider on the dragon’s back. Dragons don’t allow anyone to ride them! | Fiona Grey |
| Brena Bock | You keep hearing Elvis Presley songs, and they’re appropriate to the situation. What’s going on? “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog…” | Leigh Kimmel |
| Leigh Kimmel | Peculiar odour of a book of childhood induces repetition of childhood fancy. | Becky Jones |
A different kind of visual spare prompt: Go to https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/ocean-voyager/ , pick one of the live webcams, watch… and tell us what you saw!
| spare | You open the closet because your child is scared, and… there is a monster inside! |
| spare | You’ve finally been hired for that spot in a movie that you dreamed of. As the boat pulls into the island, the director explains that they shoot all their movies on scene, with live action. This time, it’s a kaiju monster movie, with Godzilla and all the rest! Rowr! |
| Spare | There is a planet where it rains iron. There is a snail that eats metal and then extrudes it as armor. What can you make of this? |
See you in the comments.
Let’s make this week a fun one, in spite of it all!
Header image by Fiona Grey, The Flume, Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire.
More Odds Than Ends 
[…] Week 12 prompt came from Leigh Kimmel: Peculiar odour of a book of childhood induces repetition of childhood […]
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It hit me and I had to write it NOW.
https://profornery.wordpress.com/2020/03/18/old-books/
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And you should read it now! GO!
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Nostalgia! I’m definitely picking that book up for my granddaughter in a few years.
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The title picture reminded me of a flume I was at recently. Here’s a photo. The trail is a two-mile water ditch for mining that was converted about a decade ago into a wheelchair-accessible trail, though it’s probably muddy as heck for that purpose. It’s at the South Yuba Ricer State Park.
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Here’s what it looks like from the side.
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Just in case someone didn’t see it, over here https://madgeniusclub.com/2020/03/21/writing-slapstick/ Cedar talks about her continuing tale of the Perambulating Hatrack! Here we go again!
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And it’s hilarious. Go read it ASAP!
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The prompt this week at was pretty simple, just
“Not a Candidate for Reanimation.”
Which reminded me that I hadn’t had Gil, the chef for the monster hunters, visit HR and fill in forms yet. So…
Paperwork in HR. Or is it Inhuman Relations?
Most of the paperwork that HR wanted Gil to fill out was ordinary stuff. Direct deposit, tax forms, a nice little retirement savings setup, health insurance… but Gil wasn’t really expecting the ones about next of kin and so forth. The HR lady had explained everything as they went through, making sure he understood before he signed anything. And then…
“What’s this one? Reanimation release? Huh?”
You can read the rest at https://mbarker.dreamwidth.org/232251.html
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I like it! And, having worked a job with a badge, I’ve seen people get surprised on what’s listed on their badge.
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*chuckle* taking DNR to the next level.
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I really get an ominous feeling about what Gil just signed on for!
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[…] week on Odd Prompts, I challenged Cedar Sanderson to tell us what’s hidden amongst the wildly patterned tiles. My […]
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This one’s a mite weird… https://fionagreywrites.com/happy-snacks/
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I liked the twist at the end. 🙂
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That’s not weird… big sisters are like that, and knights are kind of crunchy…
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[…] week’s prompt was digital art from Cedar with this caption: What might come out of one of those branching side […]
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Adventure… YOU ARE IN A LITTLE MAZE OF TWISTING PASSAGES, ALL DIFFERENT! Yes! Uh oh…
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And that was just under the wire. Sorry, everyone, I’ve been down with the flu forever, it feels like. https://www.cedarwrites.com/2020/03/24/the-case-of-the-perambulating-hatrack-part-7/
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[…] My prompt was from ‘nother Mike: “In the want ads, you see someone looking for wranglers for a butterfly roundup…” […]
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Yes! I got this in under the wire!
I’ll probably tweak it at some point, but I’m reasonably happy with it.
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Ride ’em, butterfly pixy! Wow!
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The rendering of his hand! I am so tickled with this. Thank you!
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Mine is finally done. The delay was largely the result of problems with the WordPress install on the Shepardsport Pirate Radio project, but I now have it up both there and at my LiveJournal at https://starshipcat.livejournal.com/718773.html.
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Obliquely inspired by the covered bridge photo, and more by my recent walk on my beloved Powder Valley Trail.
***
The arrow struck, quivering the in the sod, a yard in front of the lead traveler’s foot.
The traveler’s froze in place and waited. They didn’t wait long.
The man who glided out of the woods was slim and fair, dressed in died green leathers. He bent to pull the arrow from the dirt, paused to examine the blade, then stuck it into the quiver he wore. Only then did he look towards the travelers.
“Greetings,” he said, and bowed.
“There are seven of you,” he observed. “More than twice that of us, although you’ll have to take my word for it–you don’t see any of my men, do you?”
He didn’t wait for an answer, but went on. “That was not a lucky shot. We fill our bellies with our bows, every day. We hit what we’re aiming at.”
A pause that stretched a bit, then the stranger in green smiled. “We’re not averse to visitors taking the Good King’s Road through our lands, of course. But we get curious when a band of armed men with the look of sellswords journeys in company. Your destination, sirs?”
The travelers looked to their leader, who nodded. “We make for the Iron Hills, woodsman.”
A raised eyebrow. “Goblin territory it is now–or hadn’t you heard?”
“We’d heard.” the leader said.
The woodsman waited, but no more information was forthcoming. “Well, I don’t need to know what business you have with goblins–so long as you don’t bring any back with you.”
A chuckle. “Not that you could induce any to enter our lands save you dragged them in chains. We’ve schooled them well not to cross our markers.”
“May we pass, woodsman?” the leader asked. “We’ve a long road yet before us.”
“Aye, certainly,” the woodsman said. “To make the Iron Hills you stay on the King’s Road and take the Northern Fork at the Hill Of Stones–you’ll not miss it, the forks are well marked.”
“And I do mean–stay ON the King’s Road.” The woodsman’s tone was light, but his meaning was inescapable. “The woods can be quite treacherous to outsiders. There is peril even but a few yards from the road markers.”
“I thank you for the caution, woodsman,” the leader said. “I will be sure that my men heed it.”
The woodsman nodded in return, with a slight smile. “You’ll cross four streams along your path, all with good bridges. At any stream there will be room for you to fill your skins without leaving the road, and the water is sweet and clean.”
“That is good to know.”
“And I am sure such canny men as you brought food enough for your journey, but should you grow tired of dried fare and crave some fresh game, just call out and one of my men is sure to hear. We’re always happy to trade a cony or partridge for a few coins. And we’ll almost certainly be close by.”
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