Prompted to Write » What If http://www.promptedtowrite.com Writing Prompts for Stories, Songs, & Creative Living Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:12:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 The Ticket http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/the-ticket/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/the-ticket/#comments Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:12:33 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=148 One day, you receive a strange plane ticket in the mail, along with instructions to look for a man with a sign bearing your name once you reach the destination airport.  You don’t know who it’s from or why you received the ticket.  Do you go?  Where does it take you?  What’s waiting for you when you arrive?

Give us 100 words or more on the mysterious plane ticket and the aftermath of your decision.  Are there consequences to not going? Or consequences to going?  If you write the entry on your blog, let us know where we can find it :)

[ Destination choices : Sensual discovery ] Dublin Airport, Ireland [ Pier D in sight - Terminal 1 ]
Creative Commons License photo credit: UggBoy♥UggGirl [ PHOTO // WORLD // TRAVEL ]

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/the-ticket/feed/ 0 Inside the Limo http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/inside-the-limo/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/inside-the-limo/#comments Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:34:03 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=145 If you’re not accustomed to seeing limos, it’s only natural to wonder who – or what – lies within those tinted windows.  One day, though, a limo pulls up alongside you and the window is rolled down.  The passenger gestures to you and invites you in.  Do you enter?  What happens next?  Who is in the limo?  What made you want to get in?  How does your life (or even just your day) change?

Give us 100 words (or more, your choice) in the comments – or blog it and let us know where we can find your passage.

BMW X5
Creative Commons License photo credit: Piutus

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/inside-the-limo/feed/ 0 From Gypsy to Franchisee http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/from-gypsy-to-franchisee/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/from-gypsy-to-franchisee/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:59:03 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=142 caravan
Creative Commons License photo credit: *Melody*

Imagine a gypsy.  He’s wild and boisterous, happy with his unconventional lifestyle and wild ways.  Imagine his typical day…what is it like?

Now, due to a glitch in the fabric of time and circumstance, imagine that this man wakes up to find himself in someone else’s life.  Instead of roaming as he pleases, he’s suddenly trapped in the body and lifestyle of a suburban Sport Clips Franchise owner.   How does he react?  How does the suburban man’s family react to the sudden changes in their husband/father?  What happens when the gypsy turned franchisee walks into his Sport Clips franchise?

Give us 100 words – either in the comments, or on your own blog.  Don’t forget to post a link so we can all enjoy it!

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/from-gypsy-to-franchisee/feed/ 0 One Last Day http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/one-last-day/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/one-last-day/#comments Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:12:35 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=137 The sun is setting on your time on this planet.  You have no family.  How do you spend your last day before it’s all over?  Do you do something familiar and comforting?  Or do you try something new – something you’ve always wanted to do?  The possibilities are endless.  You could rob a bank and toss the money out into the streets of a poor neighborhood.  You could indulge in every sensual pleasure you can find in your short time.  You could sit quietly to reflect on your time.

Give us 100+ words in the comments, or blog it and let us know where we can all enjoy your piece.

Father and Daughter, Sunset at Centennial Park Sydney Australia
photo credit: Alex E. Proimos

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/one-last-day/feed/ 1 The Cuckoo Clock http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/134/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/134/#comments Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:36:03 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=134 You return home one day to find  that a cuckoo clock has mysteriously appeared on your wall.  There is no indication that someone broke in, and no sign that anything was taken.  Still, there it is – a big red cuckoo clock, hanging on your wall.

Not sure what to do, you take a seat.  In 10 minutes, the clock will reach the hour mark.  What pops out when it does?  What happens next?

Give us 100 words or more in the comments section, or post your song/story/poem reply on your blog and let us know where to find it.


Creative Commons License photo credit: zebrasquares

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/134/feed/ 1 Backpack Full of Trouble http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/backpack-full-of-trouble/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/backpack-full-of-trouble/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:50:19 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=123 You work in a fancy high-rise building in the middle of a bustling city.  It’s modern, in the way that so  many fancy high-rises are.  That’s why the odd man in a black bowler hat stands out.  It’s just so…retro.  As you’re staring at him, his hands start to shake.  He falls to the ground, dropping the many bags he’s carrying.  Coming closer, you realize that he’s dead.

What happens next?  And what the heck is in his backpack and all those bags?

Give us 100 words in the comments, or post your reply on your blog/website so we can all check it out (let us know where, of course!)

loaded for bear

photo credit: striatic

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/backpack-full-of-trouble/feed/ 0 Spider Pageant http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/spider-pageant/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/spider-pageant/#comments Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:15:13 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=113 After 6 months of unemployment, your bank account is drained.  One day, you receive a strange call about a job you don’t remember hearing about, much less applying for.  The mysterious caller wants you to be the emcee for a spider beauty pageant.  In one weeks’ time, you’ll earn enough to keep you going for another 6-8 months of job seeking.

What do you think?  Do you take the job?  What is your plan for emceeing the event, given the lack of conversation from your contestants?  Give us 100 words or more in the comments, or blog it and let us know where we can all check it out?

Adult Female Phidippus mystaceus Jumping Spider
Creative Commons License photo credit: Thomas Shahan

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/spider-pageant/feed/ 1 An Oktoberfest to Remember http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/an-oktoberfest-to-remember/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/an-oktoberfest-to-remember/#comments Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:00:03 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=105 After years of dreaming about it, you’ve finally saved up enough money to travel to Oktoberfest in Germany.  You can hardly sleep at night when you arrive at your hotel, because your mind is swimming with thoughts of pretzels, beer, and dancing.

The next day, you’re up bright and early and ready to soak up some local culture.  When you arrive at the square where people are drinking and dancing, however, you notice that something is off.  You feel unsettled.

What is the problem?  What’s off?  Give us 100+ words in the comments below, or blog your story response and let us know where we can read it.

Vintage Ad #570: Oktoberfest Fashion Shoot
Creative Commons License photo credit: jbcurio

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/an-oktoberfest-to-remember/feed/ 0 Quasimodo, Spared. http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/quasimodo-spared/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/quasimodo-spared/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:27:14 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=110 How might things have been different if Quasimodo had been “discovered” and brought over to Hollywood or Las Vegas?  Would he celebrate his hunchback on the stage?  Would he see chiropractors and surgeons and use braces and ergonomic backpacks to keep his spine correctly aligned?  Would he forget all about Esmeralda?

Or would he stay bitter on the inside, remembering his past?  Give us 100 words in the comments, or blog about it and let us know where we can read it on your site.

Quasimodo
Creative Commons License photo credit: Wootang01

]]> http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/quasimodo-spared/feed/ 1 High-Stakes Financial Training http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/high-stakes-financial-training/ http://www.promptedtowrite.com/what-if/high-stakes-financial-training/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:07:21 +0000 admin http://www.promptedtowrite.com/?p=97 All your life, you’ve dreamt of working in high finance.  You watched movies like Boiler Room and Wall Street, you read the Wall Street Journal, and you longed for the day that you could leave your small town for the big city life.

Now, you find yourself enmeshed in a financial modeling training course, and you’re getting real world experience.  Unfortunately, you’re getting a growing sense of unease about whether you’re ready for this life.  What’s your problem?  What are you feeling?  What are your coworkers like?

Give us 100 words in the comments, or post your story on your blog and let us know where to find it.

Wall Street Historic District Panorama
Creative Commons License photo credit: epicharmus

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