Playing with writing prompts.

[Michelle Zack]

Prompt 161

"They had nothing to say to each other. . . "

They had nothing to say to each other so they stared in silence. He pulled out his pocket knife and started scrapping under his fingernails.

She rolled her eyes. “You never knew when to just quit.”

“I knew when to start.”

“Ha! I told you when to start and even then you were late.”

“Maybe you shouldda done it yourself.”

“It was your dream.”

“But you cared more.”

“Do you care about anything anymore?”

“I used to.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

He put the pocket knife away.

“Maybe you should start doing something else?”

“What?”

“Packing?”

“Are you kicking me out.”

“No, but I know you want to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not quitting. I might be slow to start but I’ll get there.”

She turned off the lamp and pulled up the covers. “I’ll believe it if you’re still here tomorrow.”

[Michelle Zack]

Prompt 49

“What Do You Do On a Rainy Day?”

Rainy days are great for two sorts of activities; singing and dancing or cooking.

When its warm enough I like to go somewhere the neighbors can’t see me, or for their sake hear me and sing and dance. I’ve never been good at dancing so I pretend to be a ballerina and twirl in circles with the occasional leap or leg-raise-toe-touch, barefoot of course.

Cooking is for cold rainy days. There is nothing like a warm bowl of soup and hot crusty bread with butter to warm up the soul. Homemade broth, homemade bread and homemade noodles are a great way to waste away the day and share some love with those around you.

The bread is essential because cold rainy days demand that you turn on the oven. If I could light an actual fire and cook over that I would but I’m not sure it’s worth the increased cost of homeowners insurance to have a fireplace.

While you’re cooking tea or coffee is of vital importance. Exceptions can be made for hot chocolate, apple cider or mulled cranberry juice.

Since you’ll be pumped up on caffeine and have some extra time while the bread is in the oven the broth is on, the veggies are chopped, the pasta dough is resting and it’s so warm with the oven on you might want to take your shoes off, sing alone with the radio and do a ballerina style leaps while no one is looking.

[Michelle Zack]

Prompt 112

Write A Fictional Scary Encounter with your hairdresser/barber.
*This is semi-fictional, my hair really did get stuck in a round brush, I’ve never used on since.

I was about 10 at the time. Hated Shirley Temple with a passion. Why did she have to have dimples and short curly brown hair? I had grown my hair long so people would quit calling me by her name. Maybe they thought it was cute or a compliment but I hated it.

One day I went to get my hair done and the hairdresser was new. She pulled out one of those fancy circle brushes with a solid wooden handle and long thick brissels. Starting at the top of my head at the right side she brushed some hair with the wooden brush in one hair and the blow drier in the other. She pulled a bit and it hurt, then she turned off the blow drier.

I reached for my glasses so I could see what was going on. The brush was wrapped in my hair, stuck. So, I did what any 10 year old girl with a beauty crisis and no sisters does, I called for my mom.

They inspected my head, lifted and tugged at the brush but it didn’t budge. Then the most horrible words I’ve ever heard came out of my mothers mouth. “I think we’ll have to cut it.”

Tears started streaming down my face. “You can’t cut it! I don’t want short hair. No!”

To this day I’m not sure if the idea of having a buzz cut and looking like a chemo patient or the though of growing it back out and being called Shirley Temple again scared me more.

So one strand at a time I pulled my hair out of that brush. It took hours but it was worth every minute.

[Michelle Zack]

Prompt 175

What would you find in an accountants garbage bin.

-Empty Starbucks coffee cup.
-Energy Bar Wrapper
-Love note from the woman he’s cheating on his wife with.
-Chinese take out box, one half full of white rice
-memo from the boss about upcoming deadlines
-today’s newspaper except the comic section which is still on his desk
-Notes about the Swiss bank account routing number
-The lunch his wife packed him
-Last seasoning junior hockey team game schedule with his son’s team highlighted.
-Invitation to the corporate Christmas party
-Empty Mentos container
-Cell phone bill with those long calls to a number his wife doesn’t know
-Christmas card from his mom
-Secret Santa office rules

[Michelle Zack]

Prompt 135

List 50 things you’ll never do

Kayak over a waterfall
Be a jockey in a professional horse race
Buy out Disney
Move somewhere (else) that doesn’t even have drinkable tap water
Get an apartment in the country.
Work for minimum wage
Move in with my parents
Become a prostitute
Shoot drugs
Trust a dentist without great referrals
Adopt a pot belly pig
Design chairs
Design cars
Live without electricity
Eat pickled octopus (again)
Heart surgery
Eat Velvetta






Prompt 255

Come up with 12 good reasons to sleep in
Someone else is cooking breakfast in bed for you
Stay in the half state of dreaming and consciousness where you lucid dream and remember it
It’s Saturday
It’s a day that ends in -day
You stayed up late
You work from home whenever you want
You’re sick
Just to snuggle
The coffee isn’t done yet
Lunch is in the freezer
Your cat is sleeping on top of you and you don’t want to wake him up
Your momma told you too.

Prompt 263

Give 8 Good Reasons It’s Ok for Men To Lie
His wife asks if she looks fat in these pants.
His daughter asks if she looks ugly because of a pimple.
His boss asks if he likes his job.
His momma can’t dance and his daddy can’t rock n roll
His mother in law asks if he likes her fruitcake
His mother bought him socks and underwear for his birthday and wants to know if he loves them.
His boss wants to know if he can work overtime during the Monday night football game.