September is nearly over, autumn is in full swing, and let’s not forget November is only a month away–you know what that means. NaNoWriMo is coming!! Yes, it’s still ages away, but the time will pass before we know it, so why not start limbering up with writing prompts?! Or, if you’re just here to join in and have fun, that works too!
Today’s game: Double Up
Fusion of Snap Shot and Fire Starter!! Use both the sentence and the image to spark an idea for a flash piece.
The rules: Write the supplied sentence/sentence fragment at the top of your page, (computer, notebook, etc. Whatever you prefer) now stare at the picture. What does it make you think of? What story is it telling? Okay–thought of something? Good. Now set a timer to 10 minutes and start writing whatever you think would follow the sentence and fit the picture! Ready, set, go!
The Sentence:
Dark splotches everywhere.
The Image (Creative Commons photo from Pixabay–you can use it too!):
After you try this out, you can find what I wrote by clicking here (because comparing everyone’s different ideas is the best bit!). I fixed some of the punctuation and spelling to make it easier to read, but this is about fun, not editing.
You can read another take on the prompt, written by my boyfriend, here!
If you’re really feeling brave, you can post what you’ve written in the comments because, as with all writing games, comparing our unique takes on the picture is the best part.
Have fun!
Sonora Hills 
“There were dark splotches everywhere, swimming in front of my eyes. I blinked a few times, waiting for them to clear. I had been asleep. When my vision cleared, I gasped in wonder and delight – we were driving down a narrow winding road, through an avenue of twisted trees. The bright sunlight filtered through the leaves, colouring everything a pure emerald green. I wound down the window, enraptured. A warm breeze filled the car, freshly scented with flowers and grass. It was a far cry from the cold, grey, concrete city, which was all I’d ever known.
This holiday, I was sure, would be the best of my life – no hustle and bustle; no crowded museums or concerts; no gossiping relatives, pushing to squeeze my cheeks as though I was a baby, or, worse, to plant a soggy wet kiss on whichever part of my face they could reach – just complete and utter freedom.
I could spend my time reading or writing stories without ever being disturbed – “come here”, “talk to your auntie”, “mind your brother” – and go for long walks when my hand (or brain) got cramped. My head was filled with new stories already – stories of magic, tales of talking animals, all kinds of wonderful new stories…
Eventually the car rounded a corner and I saw, nestled in a hollow in the trees, a beautiful, tiny, stone cottage. It was the home of my dreams.
When the unpacking was finally done I escaped to the bottom of the flower-filled garden behind the cottage, where I found the most wonderful surprise of all – a tinkling stream, running softly over a bed of smooth pebbles. It burbled happily to itself, busying on its way, bound for some unknown destination. I sat down on a large stone, which seemed almost to have been placed there just for me, slipped out of my shoes, and dipped my toes into the cool, fresh water. I knew then that this was where I wanted to stay.”
– It’s really interesting to think about how differently people’s brains work, and the variety of things they can imagine from the same picture!
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