#amwriting

Who’s Strutting

I like to people-watch. It’s fun to imagine stories about the humans who cross your path. I was at the mall today and couldn’t help but notice the woman strutting down the corridor in front of me. I thought she was putting a lot of effort into that walk with no one to appreciate it. When she stopped and turned to look at a window display, I could see she was very pregnant. I almost laughed out loud, not at her, but at myself, for not being able to tell the difference between a strut and an uncomfortable waddle.

Written in response to Charli Mills April 9, 2024, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about someone (or something) strutting. What has caused the overconfidence? Is it arrogant? Foolish? Legit? How does strutting shape a story? Have fun and go where the prompt leads!

04/15/2024 5

Beer as a Food

Ya know that old adage? “Don’t fret when your child moves out. They always come home again.” After a breakup, my son returned for a few weeks. We told him he wasn’t intruding, but he would come home from work, grab a beer, and escape to the patio to talk on his cell and pace.

Upon his departure, we noticed the grass between the fence and patio was a lush dark green. We asked if he could explain. With the look of a guilty child, he replied, “That’s where I peed.”

My husband mumbled, “Beer is a complete food.”

Written in response to Charli Mills March 12, 2024, promo at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about leaving a leak. What (or who) is leaking? How can you use the leak to create tension? Expand the idea of leaks. Go where the prompt leads!

03/18/2024 1

Culture Shock

When he arrived, the eleven-year-old visitor stared at his new surroundings with trepidation and awe. Being raised in the New York City projects, he had only seen pictures of a modern log house surrounded by grass, fields, and a pond with a zip line. He never dreamed he would get to stay in such a place until he learned about the Fresh Air program.

The first two days of his visit he barely spoke because he was overwhelmed by the differences, but by the end of the two weeks, he was “family” being invited to return the following year.

Written in response to Charli Mills January 23, 2024, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a fish out of water. What is the source of the tension? The characters, the action, the setting? Or, is it literally a story about fish, real or metaphorical? Go where the prompt leads!

01/29/2024 3

Snow Covered Roads

The woman with three sons made the white knuckle drive to the ski resort. “I wish your hobby didn’t take us out in wrecker weather.”

“Mom, we always make it to the slopes with no problem. If you’d relax, it wouldn’t seem so difficult a drive. You knew the first time Dad brought us this might be a thing.”

“I remember. You don’t have to remind me.”

“Besides, you’ve never experienced the serenity when the snow falls while you command the hill. You really need to try it with us.”

“Thanks all the same. I’ll wait in the lodge.”

Written in response to Charli Mills January 16, 2024, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that unfolds during wrecking weather. You can set the story anywhere and use any genre. Who are your wreckers? Your targets? Your merchants? Are there difficulties to overcome the weather? Go where the prompt leads!

01/22/2024 8

Recognize the Parallel

A girl in her late teens screams at her mother, “You mean I have to be in this cast for three months.”

“Who wrecked the car? Deal with it.”

“Is my car all right? I don’t remember.”

“No. It’s going to take months to get the parts to fix it.”

***

Two months later, the girl pouts. “This recovery is getting to me. I don’t know if I can do it.”

Her mother is sympathetic. “I know, honey. It’s wearing on me too. But I promise, on the other side, there is much catching up to look forward to.”

Written in response to Charli Mills January 9, 2024, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a recovery story. What instigated the recovery? What is being recovered? Data, athletes, illness — expand the idea of recovery and find your story. Go where the prompt leads!

01/15/2024 7

The Nickname That Won’t Go Away

The adoring fan seated herself near the drum set. Batting her eyelashes, she asked, “Tyrell, why do you have a moose sticker on each of your drums?”

He wasn’t very forthcoming. “Identifies them as mine.”

“But, why a moose?”

He opened his arms, then pulled his hands together and ran them down his front. “You figure it out.”

Kurt intervened. “He’s big, tall, brown, aloof, and eats way more vegetables than anyone else. A skinny, short, white guy called him that in the mess tent one day and it stuck.”

“Oh. Now I get it.”

Tyrell wished she didn’t.

Written in response to Charli Mills December 5, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a moose. It can be an attribute of moose — big, protective, wild, gentle. Your story can express realism or fantasy. It can be a sci-fi or cli-fi moose. Is the moose loose or hidden? Go where the prompt leads!

12/11/2023 3