Writing Prompts: "Princess Pink"

Here’s this week’s writing prompt: drabble (100 words) * A Child * pink

“No, it has to be pink!” five-year-old Sarah exclaimed, stomping her foot.

“Why pink?” her mom asked. “Purple’s pretty too. Or, what about this yellow?”

“No!” Sarah shrieked. “Pink is prettier. Pink means princess.”

“Pink is for princesses? But princesses wear other colors too.”

“Pink,” Sarah insisted, sticking out her lower lip.

Her mother sighed. “But Sarah, they don’t have any pink.” She held up the purple dress in one hand, and the yellow dress in the other. “You have to pick another color.”

“I’m a princess and princesses wear pink.”

“Fine.” Her mom put back the dresses. She was tired of arguing. “We’ll try somewhere else.”

© Brea Essex 2011 ~ No part of this site (written or artwork) may be reproduced in anyway whatsoever without express written consent by Brea Essex.

*Disclaimer: I do not own the photo used in this post.

I Hope He'll Forgive Me

Here’s this week’s prompt:

300-500 words * original female character * I hope you’ll forgive me

            “Renée, how am I going to look him in the face at every single family gathering for the rest of my life?” Isabel asked her sister.

            “I doubt he’ll be at every family gathering!” Renée said. “His son is marrying your daughter. That doesn’t mean that our families have to socialize.”

            “Yes, but I don’t want Alexis to feel torn between her family and her in-laws.”

            “She won’t. Caleb wouldn’t do that to her.”

            “But his father might.” Isabel sighed. “I don’t know if Nicholas will ever forgive me.”

            Renée took a sip of her coffee and then leaned forward. “It’s not your fault. If anyone needs to ask forgiveness, it’s him.”

            Isabel crossed her arms on the table in front of her. “I gave up on him. Who knows what would have happened if I had stuck around?”

            “Nick treated you like dirt.”

            “I wouldn’t say that exactly,” Isabel said defensively.

            “Your whole relationship was a mess.”

            Isabel snorted indelicately. “If you could even call it a relationship.”

            “Nick was a jerk, plain and simple.”

            “He wasn’t always bad. There were times when things were really great.”

            “And times when he was completely obnoxious and ignored you. He messed with your head and then dropped you—repeatedly.”

            Isabel sighed. She shouldn’t have brought this up to her sister in the first place. Renée had extremely strong opinions about Nicholas . . . she always had. After all, she’d been there to see Isabel’s heart broken by him over and over again. “Well, let’s just hope Caleb doesn’t take after his father.”

            “I doubt he does. He actually asked Alexis to marry him after all.”

            Isabel stared out the window, watching people walk by. “That could have been us. Maybe I gave up too soon.”

            “You put up with his yo-yoing emotions way longer than any sane person would,” Renée said.

            “Stop blaming him for everything, Renée! It wasn’t just him. I’m to blame too. I think he may have been starting to come around, but then I lost my temper.”

            Renée shook her head. “You’re still delusional about him after all these years. Do I need to spell it out for you yet again? He. Didn’t. Love. You.”

            Isabel stared at Renée, angry tears beginning to well in her eyes. “I can’t believe you. Even if that was true, you don’t have to be so hateful about it.”

            “I’m sorry. I just hate that he’s still hurting you after all these years.”

            “I understand. But you’re really not helping.” She drummed her fingers against the table. “Now the question is: Do I tell Lexi or not?”

            “Don’t tell her. You don’t want your daughter getting freaked out and ending her relationship just because her mother dated her future father-in-law.”

            “Yeah, that would freak her out. Okay, we’ll keep this between us.”

            “Agreed.”

            “Maybe I should find someway to apologize to Nicholas,” Isabel said.

            “He doesn’t deserve an apology. He needs to apologize to you. Just let it go.”

            “Fine. I’ll let it go,” Isabel agreed. For now.

*Note: I may eventually extend this into a novel. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of it!

© Brea Essex 2011 ~ No part of this site (written or artwork) may be reproduced in anyway whatsoever without express written consent by Brea Essex.

*Disclaimer: I do not own the photo used in this post.

Writing Prompts: Medical Professional

Here’s the prompt that I chose for this week: write for 20 minutes * A Medical Professional * the third time is the charm

Dr. Weston threw down her scalpel in disgust as the heart monitor gave out the worst sound she could possibly hear: the sound of yet another patient flat lining. She pulled down her mask. “I can’t believe I lost another one.”

“Don’t worry Doctor. You’ll get that grant,” an intern tried to encourage her.

She turned. “I’m not worried about the grant! Well, I am, but only because it will help these patients that I’m trying so hard to save.”

“Sorry, Doctor,” he apologized.

“This is still an experimental treatment,” the surgical fellow reminded her. “We still have plenty of time to perfect it.”

“Yes, but in the meantime, these patients keep dying!”

“Well, we have another scheduled for this afternoon,” the fellow reminded her. “You know what they say: ‘The third time is the charm.’”

Dr. Weston stared at him. “This is no time for your jokes. I need to go research some more. You should also. I’ll be expecting you in on that surgery this afternoon.”

She banged through the doors of the operating room to go wash up. She looked through the window separating the room from the OR to make sure no one was watching and then she slid to the floor. “I’m never going to get this treatment working,” she muttered to herself.

She heard someone coming so she quickly stood back to her feet and stripped off her gloves. She hit the lever to turn on the water and began scrubbing her hands furiously. “Everything okay, Doctor?” the intern asked.

“Yes, fine. Meet Dr. Roacke and me in the conference room after you finish cleaning up. We have a lot more work to do if we want to be ready for the next surgery.”

She didn’t wait for her intern to agree. She knew he would be there. He had to be if he wanted to stay in the internship program. She left the OR and headed for her office before deciding to go to the cafeteria instead. She needed coffee badly. Maybe it would help her concentrate. Maybe it would help her find an answer.

Writing Prompts: Childhood Mythical Creature

Today’s writing prompt:  drabble (100 words) * A Mythical Creature or Idea * childhood memories

When I was eight, I carried a silver mirrored compact with me everywhere. In this compact lived my “faery”, Daphne. I called her a forest sunlight faery. When the sun hit the mirror just so, it would project a light onto the wall. That light was Daphne. I’d move the mirror around so Daphne’s light would “dance” and I would dance and jump around with her. I’m not sure what happened to that compact, but I’d love to get another one. Maybe I’ll find Daphne still residing in the light.

Writing Prompts: "Nothing to Say"

I’m back with Tuesday Writing Prompts. (I really need a better name for this, don’t I? Any suggestions?) Each Tuesday, I’ll be sharing short stories I write using prompts from http://creativewritingprompts.com/

Today’s prompt is: Write a mini-story (100 to 250 words) that begins with: “They had nothing to say to each other.” So, without further ado (I love that phrase for some reason!) here it is: “Nothing to Say”.

They had nothing to say to each other. The time for talking was over. They sat quietly, both fuming in their silence.

Finally, Blake stood. “I’m outta here.”

Janessa glared at him. She wanted to scream, but she’d already done enough of that. “Fine. Go,” she said vehemently.

Blake paused. He hadn’t expected her to agree. He’d expected her to cry, scream, beg . . . something other than her seeming indifference. Just moments ago, they’d been shouting at each other. Now she was showing about as much emotion as she would if he were a stranger. “I’m really leaving,” he reiterated.

“I said go. You don’t need my permission.”

“Fine.” He headed for the door, pausing to scoop up his keys from the hall table. He reached for the door handle and stopped. When he turned to look at her, she still remained in the same position, sitting rigidly straight in a chair. She was staring away from him. He shook his head and stepped into the hall, slamming the door behind him.

Janessa cringed at the noise of the door closing. It sounded so final. He had actually left. She sat there in shock for a moment, then began to sob.

Hope you enjoyed this little story. As always, feel free to leave feedback in the comments below.

Writing Prompts: 60-year old photograph

For today’s prompt, I chose one that says, “Weave a story around a 60-year old photograph.” I found an old picture of my grandparents that was taken shortly after they were married, just before my grandfather left the country to go fight in World War II.

My Nana was nineteen and my Grandpa twenty-two in the photo. Unfortunately, neither of them are alive for me to ask about the day this photo was taken, so I’ll just make it up as well as I can.

Isabelle had to force a smile as she waited for the photographer to take the picture. Philip would be leaving soon and she didn’t know if or when he would return. All she knew was that he was bound for Europe to fight for the American Army in the war. They’d had such a short time together since their wedding, and now they may not see each other for several years . . . that is, if he survived to return home.

Phil would have to leave straight from the photographer’s studio. It was time for him to report for duty. They had wanted one last memento to sustain them during their time apart . . . to remind Izzy of him if he never came back. He’d be on the front lines. The chances of him making it through the war weren’t good.

Izzy hesitated as she was bidding Phil farewell. She was carrying a child that she hadn’t mentioned. She decided not to tell him yet. She didn’t want Phil to worry any more while he was away. She would surprise him when he returned. She didn’t know that the child would never be seen by the father that he would be named for. She would later bear the boy and bury him within a week’s time, alone.

As much as Izzy wanted to cry, she didn’t want Phil to have to leave a sobbing wife. Instead, she watched him leave with a smile on her face and a photo in hand, praying that he would stay safe and return home soon.

*Author’s note:  I can’t even begin to imagine how my grandparents were really feeling when my grandfather left to fight in the war. My Grandpa did survive the war and returned home safely. I believe that my grandfather (and all the men and women who fight for our country) was a hero, as was my grandmother and all the other families that have to be left behind. My family (on both sides) has a long history of former members of the military, and I’m extremely proud of that.

New Blogging Schedule!

Hi all! Beginning tomorrow, I'm going to be blogging every day. Here's my new schedule:

Sundays:  Six Sentence Sunday:  I'll be posting six sentence long teasers of my writing. Brought to you by http://www.sixsunday.com/

Mondays:  Character Archive:  I'll be posting character interviews, "castings", and also songs from my play lists.

Tuesdays:  Writing Prompts:  I'll be using writing prompts from Writer's Digest to write some shorts.

Wednesdays:  Why I Love Wednesdays:  Posting on various things I love, brought to you by http://www.reflectionsofabookaholic.com/ 
I'll also be posting my challenge from Escape! at http://promethiad.blogspot.com/

Thursdays:  Moira's Blog:  My character Moira from Team Promethiad will be taking over the blog to write about her experiences on Escape!, as well as her illicit relationship with Toby from J.F. Jenkins' Team Introv3rsion

Fridays:  Fun Fact Fridays:  I'll be sharing facts about me, my writing, my research, etc.

Saturdays:  Short Story Saturdays:  I'll be sharing an exclusive serialized story featuring my Muse Lorelei. We'll be following her as she goes through her training to become a Muse. (Ever since I gave her a name, she's been clamoring for her own story. Since she's been cooperating with me so well lately, I thought I should give in!)

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Six Sentence Sunday for another sneak peek of Foreshadow!