As of now(ish), the first-ever Write Club has been running for 12 weeks. That's six prompts, six short stories per writer, and a lot of stress.
But man, has it been rewarding.
These guys, @jayna, @jordan.lesich, @johnkingwriter, and @xanderslee, are fantastic. Like, all around. And, looking back on the first week of Write Club, you can see how every writer has grown and matured and I know for a fact that Write Club has shaped us into better writers. It's tough, but goodness, it's so worth it just to get to read these folks' work every other week. Even if it is with a time limit.
So, with much honor (and a little anxiety) it has befallen me to compose the prompt for session seven, and, well, let's just talk about it.
The Story
Alright, yep, every prompt needs a story. Without being a total schmuck, I predetermined that my prompt would be from a female author. And then, deciding that Jhumpa Lahiri's work may be a little less focused, and since I love Flannery O'Connor, my only question was "Which O'Connor work?"
So I pulled down my copy of "Good Men Are Hard to Find" and browsed briefly, when I particular story stuck out at me.
Duh!
The story is called "Good Country People," and, without giving away too much, it involves a Bible salesman and an atheistic girl with a prosthetic leg.
I'll give you a sec to read. Yeah, I apologize for the pdf I found, it's a little meh, but it beats the blue-font version I first stumbled on. Like, eww.
Okay. So we have a lot going on here, and I was like "Yeah, this'll make a good prompt." But wait.
What Would the Prompt Be?
The only reason I'm making this that big a deal is that, no joke, I'm debating what it is that makes this story so darn great. Is it poetic justice? Or is it justice at all?
Nah. The prompt I want y'all to write on is appearances. Smoke and mirrors, man. In essence, write a story with a character, object, organization, etc. that isn't what it seems. It appears and acts one way, but it has completely different motives or make up altogether.
I painted as broadly as I could.
Write your stories and, if you're not in the Write Club but write something from this prompt, post that sucka in the comments and I'll resteem it. Because I love you folks.
Goodnight, God bless, and happy writing!!
Oh, this is good. I'm excited! Things are not as they seem...!
Cue Whimden Cthulhu
Ha ha! You know it’s only a matter of time. Cthulhu will make an appearance in Whimden sometime, somehow...!
Did you catch the Cthulhu I threw in on the rewrite for the one story I did with the house of mirrors?
Nice. I'm sure I can work something up for this :)
I can't wait!! I think I finally have a functioning story idea.
I haven't started yet. I'll go take the motorcycle out. It's a nice day. That should give me some ideas.
Cool prompt!
Thank you! The WC folks seem to like it too. I have no clue what to write though!!
Fyi, that link is missing a page of the story. Had to read the blue-font one to get that page :D
Oh goodness! I had no clue! Thanks for calling me out on it ;)