Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

Writing prompt

Tuesday prompt

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How about a miracle?  What if Sally just found herself knee deep in an overflowing toilet while the dog is barking crazily at something and is on the verge of being winded.  In ten minutes a young couple will be coming by to see her house, which she needs to sell in record time. What miracle would save her?  When she answers the door, she finds the young couple waiting, the husband dressed in a local plumbing company’s uniform.  That’s a miracle, but what is that dog still barking about?

Jump off from this scenario or imagine your own troubles a-coming and the character needs a miracle setup.   Then come up with the miraculous happening that is going to fix the immediate problem but still leave the character with other things to take care of.

Tuesday fiction prompt

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Write in first person about the beginning of history for a species.  Find the voice of the tribe’s oral historian and have him or her share the tribe’s beginnings to either a formal or informal audience. Focus on establishing a voice for the speaker and putting across the mythology the group reveres.

Tuesday weekly prompt

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Remember a childhood friend or enemy. What stood out as a trait unique to that child?  Consider what has become of him or her based on that trait remaining true.  I had a friend named Marsha for a short time in second grade.  I say short because she did not let any of her friends have other friends.  So I might imagine that she is busy now running the adult lives of her children since she probably lost her husband when he could not stand being smothered any longer.  Or perhaps she translated her controlling ways into a successful Wall Street business but is now charged with insider trading.  Pick someone you did not maintain contact with and haven’t heard about — that way you have plenty of room for imagining.  You might want to change names for your character if you plan on publishing when you are done.

Tuesday prompt 2

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Think about a book or story you have read that made a strong impression on you. Select one of the secondary characters and imagine their point-of-view of what happened.  Now write their story.

This is nothing new. John Gardner did it in Grendel (based on Beowulf) and Rhys’s also voiced other characters in Wide Sargasso Sea (a before Jane Eyre interpretation).  So give it a go.  What would another character say about how things went and why?  Give it a week’s effort. See you next Tuesday.

The first weekly prompt

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So I thought I would combine a little of my teacher stuff with my writer stuff.  Every Tuesday I am going to post a prompt for creative writers to respond to. The idea is to write on the prompt idea for a full week. Then start on the next one.

Prompt:  If you have read the book To Kill a Mockingbird, you will recall the situation I am about to describe.  If not, I think I have enough here to make the event clear.

Remember when Atticus was just trying to make Mayella Ewell comfortable in court, and the girl became quite angry because she felt he was insulting her by calling her Miss Mayella?  She was certain he was making fun of her because no one ever called her Miss Mayella, and she told the judge she was not going to answer any more questions because he was treating her badly. The judge tried to tell Mayella that this was just Atticus Finch’s way, that he was not making fun of her but was being respectful. She wasn’t buying it.

Your prompt is to write about a kindness misread.