Welcome to the 1st Red-Hot July Writing Fest

[Lin Neiswender]

This month join our Red-Hot July Writing Festival with a new writing prompt every day for 31 days. The prompts will be in a variety of styles and you can respond in any fashion you like- poetry or prose, flash fiction or fantasy, whatever you choose.

"What's my reward for participating," you say? Besides the satisfaction of completing it? You have 31 jumping-off points for stories or poems or plays or movies or articles or blogs or... you get the picture. Plus we post a list of the winners with a gold star by their name- how's that for motivation!

So let the writing begin (once we get that first prompt up)...

(And if you would like to volunteer a prompt, message Anne or Lin)

[Valerie K]

This is a wonderful beginning. Would love to see how it plays out...

[Lin Neiswender]

I'd like to see the contagion spread to the parents too, while she's gone, making them believers...

[Anne Westlund]

July 18th writing prompt:

STRINGS ATTACHED by Ciro Manchetti

[Carol Clark]

Wow, Anne, gorgeous pix and concept...!

[Becca Allison]

Argggh, I'm soooo behind!!!

[Lin Neiswender]

You are way ahead of me!

[Anne Westlund]

my response to the July 18th prompt:

A Children’s Party




Who pulls the strings?
On this marionette, me
children clap, clearly amused
I take a bow
I forget my lines, another voice
speaks from behind the curtain
You go through the motions
not knowing why you’re here
To entertain us!
My friends, sock puppets
with googly eyes and felt tongues
are animated by some unseen force
I look up and see nimble hands
I wasn’t supposed to notice
that I’m just wood and metal screws
Even the audience starts to catch on
there are yawns and boos
The curtain closes
we are put up in a cupboard
awaiting our next performance.


July 21, 2008
© 2008 Anne Westlund

[Lin Neiswender]

That's a very apt description of the life of the puppet we saw in that picture. t's awfully dark in that cupboard!

[Tygur]

Prompt for Saturday, July 19

"There, in the doorway, stood a sillouhet of him/her."

[Anne Westlund]

my response to the July 19th prompt:

Satisfaction





In the doorway, she stood
I dropped the diary
to the floor
“How could you?”
She turned and left

Now I know
all the things she’s been hiding
from me, her husband
fantasies, secrets, transgressions
She has nowhere to hide

I hold my newfound knowledge
in my right hand
I would use it, mercilessly
without remorse
I found her crying in the bathroom

You must think I’m awful
but I have my reasons
Soon she will forgive me
then the games will begin
cat and mouse.


July 20, 2008
© 2008 Anne Westlund

[Lin Neiswender]

Oh my, the hair on the back of my neck was raising up on this one, Anne! Creep-y!

[Malinda Neisess]

Hey Y'all,
I'm out of town but managed some computer time at the hotel and since tomorrow is my prompt day, thought I'd better seize the moment! (even though no one uses my prompts anyway :-) OK, I'm just being a little passive aggressive...
hmmm... that gives me an idea for the prompt -

Write something about passive aggressive behavior!
a poem, haiku, flash fiction, share an experience with a passive aggressive, whatever...I hope this isn't too negative...

'can't wait to see what you all come up with
oh wait, no one will write anything anyway... :-) OK that's my passive aggressive piece right there