It’s “Writing Prompt” Thursday. I really hope more of you will begin to participate in this activity. It’s wonderful practice for those of you who write as well as an opportunity to share your writing with others.
Remember, no disrespectful or degrading comments will be posted here about anyone’s writing, as all comments must be approved by me before they post. This site is for encouraging and helping writers. It is a place to lift each other up.
The prompt for this month is:
Suzy ran from the house, letting the screen door bang behind her. She ran to her favorite hiding place.
This can be used anywhere in your story. It doesn’t have to be the first sentence.
Remember, if your story is 500 words or less, please post it in the comments section below. If your story is over 500 words, please email it to me at cre8tiveme07@gmail.com and I will create a special post for it here on a Saturday, or you can post it on your own blog or website and post a link to it in the comments section below.
Also, remember, you have until the first Thursday of October to write and submit something for this prompt — plenty of time to get those creative juices flowing!
Kelly F Barr 
Suzy ran from the house, letting the screen door bang behind her. She ran to her favorite hiding place.
Tears flowed, tracking down her cheeks and dribbling off her chin. “I won’t do it. They can’t make me.” She tucked herself into a tiny corner of the dilapidated old tree house, pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping thin arms around them.
“Suzy. Are you up there?”
Her father’s voice filtered through the slats of the floor. Suzy pouted, refusing to answer. It was his fault they had to move.
“Suzy, you need to come down. I’m too heavy to come up. Please? We need to talk.”
She huffed out a breath. Why did they have to talk? Daddy and Mommy already made up their minds. A sob worked it way past her flattened lips. They had known for months. And now the house was sold, and they’d be moving next week. One week wasn’t enough time to say goodbye to her best friend, Marcia.
“No, Daddy. I don’t want to talk to you. I have nothing to say.” She tossed her red braid over her shoulder and wiped her nose in the sleeve of her favorite shirt. The one with the baby fox … the one Marcia gave her on her last birthday.
“I know this is hard, honey, but we have no choice. Your grandmother is too sick to live on her own and we need to help her. You love Grammie, don’t you?”
Suzy nodded though her father couldn’t see it. Grammie, Daddy’s mommy, couldn’t be sick. She lived on a farm and still did most of the chores herself. No. Daddy must be lying. But Daddy never lied. He must be telling the truth. And Suzy had always loved visiting the farm.
“Grammie’s farm is only three hours away. You’ll still get to see Marcia. And … if you want … and her parents agree, she can come and stay at the farm for visits.”
Suzy peeked through the floor. “For real?”
Daddy smiled up at her. “For real and for sure.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Yeah. Come on down, and we’ll do it.”
Suzy climbed out of the treehouse and stood looking up at her father. He winked and stuck out his pinky. She wrapped her tiny digit around his thick finger, and they sealed the bargain. He picked her up and carried her back to the house on his shoulder.
Suzy couldn’t wait to tell Marcia that she could come and visit her at their new home. A farm with pygmy goats, chickens, a pony called Dandy, and even a swimming hole.
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Hi Chris,
So glad you have participated in the writing prompt here again. Another very nice story.
I enjoyed it and could definitely relate to how Suzy felt about moving and loved how
quickly and easily it was for her to feel better when she knew her friend, Marcia, could
visit at her new home.
Kelly Barr
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Hi! I’m new here, coming back to writing after being away for a long time. I’m trying to get back in the habit of writing, so prompts help a lot! Here is my contribution today.
Sticks and Stones
by Amanda Perry
Suzy ran from the house, letting the screen door bang behind her. She ran to her favorite hiding place. The sound of the cicadas buzzing in the trees surrounded her like a warm blanket. Her knees knew the feel of the cool dirt as she crawled through the dim tunnel created by the criss-cross of vines and branches over her head. When she reached the trunk of the big tree, she settled in between the roots that reared up from the ground in a cradle just right for her. It didn’t matter that the air was still. The heat of the day never quite reached this far. She scrabbled around in the niche under the biggest roots and pulled out her weapon and shield. She knew she could depend on her pencil and notebook to build a wall of words between her and the other kids.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
Oh, but she could make sure her words could hurt THEM. She started writing, already planning where she could leave her word wall to deflect their slings and arrows.
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Hi Amanda,
I’m so glad you found my blog and this post. I’m also glad you decided to participate.
If you receive this and wonder why you’re getting another comment from me, it’s because you had submitted your story twice to the comments, making a
small change, so I deleted the first comment/story to post the second one, the way you wanted it to be. Then I had to rewrite a comment.
Anyway, I understand putting writing aside for a while, then getting back to it. I’ve done the same thing, but I have been back at it for seven years
now, though I have not published a novel yet.
I hope you will visit my blog frequently and participate in my monthly story prompts. I enjoyed the story you wrote for this prompt. You are very good
at descriptions, and even in this short piece, you gave me enough to relate to your character and enable me to feel her emotions.
Blessings,
Kelly
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