Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Dude, face it. There will be no second date for you.

(repost from January 2, 2010)

Many agent and publisher blogs comment that a writer must write a million words (good or bad) before they really become publishable.

Well, whether it is a fact or not, I've started counting.

Okay. Not really. That'd be crazy.

However, it did occur to me while flipping through my first (seriously) copy of Writer's Digest Magazine that I should take advantage of the writing prompts. At first I thought writing prompts were crazy. We are not in school anymore. But, then (because sometimes it takes me awhile to get the point) I realized, "AH! If I want to be physically fit, I must exercise. So, if I want to be a great writer, I should exercise my writing ability." Duh!

I thought it would be fun to share those writing exercises here - - and invite you to share your results as well.

Here was the basic challenge from Writer's Digest, page 11 from the January 2010 issue:

A Date Derailed; start the story with "No matter what I do..."; include the phrase "A penny saved is a penny earned" somewhere in the story; take ten minutes to write the story.

Now - before you read MINE - go write yours. Then read mine and share yours in the comment section.

Mine took:
11minutes 45seconds

“No matter what I do, she won’t return my phone calls,” Jason moaned. His head sagged to his chest.

“Dude, lighten up. It’s just one girl. Move on,” Hunter said and shoved Jason hard. So, hard, Jason lost his balance and fell off his stool.

“Unnecessary,” Jason got up off the diner’s floor and brushed himself off. Jason slid back onto his stool and fingered his French Fries. With two fries in his mouth and one in his hand, Jason wrote Julie’s name in ketchup on his barren plate.

“Dude, you are messed up,” Hunter said eyeing Jason’s plate.

“Shut up.” The waitress stopped in front of them, totaled their bill, and slipped it on to the counter. Jason pushed the bill towards Hunter. “Your turn.”

“Nuh-uh.” Hunter pushed the bill back towards Jason. Jason tried to push it back but Hunter kept his hand in place.

Jason said, “Man, you have to get the bill this time. I’m broke. My date Friday night with Julie wiped me clean. She refused to pay for anything.”

“She wasn’t supposed to pay, dork. It was a date. You asked her out. You were supposed to pay for everything. Did you seriously ask her to pay for stuff on the date?”

“Yah,” Jason said pausing to consider Hunter’s advice. “I figured a penny saved is a penny earned.”

“No wonder she won’t return your phone calls. You’re a cheap skate! And a lousy date,” Hunter said as he grabbed the bill.

“I figured if I saved money on the date, I could afford to go out with her on a second date.”

“Dude, face it. There will be no second date for you.”

____________

Now post your 10 minute writing exercise in the comments.

Everyone who posts their writing exercise will win a virtual cupcake!! uh. YUM!!

(Cupcakes will be awarded after I return from the Alaskan cruise!)

6 comments:

  1. This is great! Yours was so funny :) I'll have to try this during my free time this evening.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did this a while ago. Mine didn't turn out as well as yours, so I'm going to keep mine stashed away on my hard drive. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I certainly enjoyed reading your funny story. Really liked his excuse for saving money so he could afford a second date that would never occur.
    Very good, Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ggreat prompt! Good thing Jason has a friend like Hunter or he'd never get a second date in his life, LoL.

    I love writing prompts! Which is why I post them every Wednesday on my blog. Some of mine have come from WD, too. The mag always has terrific prompts and exercises!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hahahahaha That's awesome!! Hmmm, you may be on to something with the writing prompts...

    ReplyDelete