It’s time for this month’s writing prompt. The prompt will appear in bolded text in the story. You need this job. You need this job, You need this job, I chanted silently to myself. Keep your mouth shut. You need this job. When Aubrey had described her Aunt Beatrix as whimsical and a little eccentric, […]
It’s time for another Promptly Penned post–flash fiction that starts from a word prompt. The prompt will be in bold in the story. “Motherfucking piece of shit,” Lucy muttered, trying to untangle the thread that had pulled through the other side of the fabric, making it impossible to gather this portion of the ridiculously […]
Prompt: You’ve been able to read people’s thoughts since you were a child. But no one has ever talked back. Until now. I hated the F train at night. Well, I hated the F train anytime of day, but it was easier to tune out the voices on the early morning commute. Most […]
The prompt will be in bold in the story. Head pounding, Kat slowly blinked open her eyes and squinted, trying to make out her surroundings. It smelled a little like wet earth and moldering leaves. There was a bare lightbulb in a table lamp across the room–the wire of the bent harp cast odd, […]
CW: Domestic violence, murder Because of the nature of this prompt, it will appear in bold as it occurs in the story rather than at the beginning like usual. “Just come meet him, Molly. He’s nice, I swear. And besides, Mark will vouch for him.” Molly rolled her eyes. “That’s the same thing you […]
Prompt: “Take a step closer to me and I swear to God, I’ll drop this cake! I’ll do it! Don’t test me!” From the corner of her eye, Laura watched her older sister, Katy, slowly navigate the perimeter of the room, mingling with the twenty or so guests who’d chosen to spend their Saturday here, in […]
Prompt: “No, I said we were safer, not safe.” “We should be safer up here. Did you make sure all the doors and windows are locked?” Mark nodded. “I covered all of the windows, too.” “Good.” Rowan pushed her hair off her face and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her forearm as she […]
Prompt: While cleaning the attic, he/she finds a box of glass balls with names on them. One drops and as it shatters, a person appears. Fuck my life. Emily looked around at the mountains of boxes, trunks and bags in the attic. This was not how she’d envisioned her mid-term break. When she’d agreed to stay […]
Prompt: They say I’m a traitor. Maybe I am. All I know is that I did what I had to do. “Hi, I’m Roxanne,” I said when she answered the door. “We spoke on the phone earlier.” “I’m Alicia.” We shook hands, and warily, she invited me inside, leading me to her dining room […]
Prompt: S/he gripped the rim of the porcelain sink and tried to steady her/his hands. “One last time,” s/he whispered to her/himself. “One. Last. Time.” (I owe anyone who reads this an apology. I couldn’t think of anything until my husband made a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad suggestion. And of course, my brain […]