Prompt #35

Days of the Week Week

Hello, again!

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

Well, last week was fun, right?

In case you missed it, I borrowed a list of ten prompts from someone else (the writer Rebecca Makkai) and used those prompts instead of posting one of my own. As I wrote last week (and as you may have noticed), her prompts are quite different from mine. I usually (but not always) try to provide some sort of pattern, structure, or construction to rely on, leaving it up to you, my trusty comrades, to fill in the content. In contrast, Makkai’s prompts provide mostly content. Some of you really liked her prompts! I think Gladys and the polar bears were maybe the most popular…? I loved seeing how much fun many of you were having. Maybe every so often I should offer up some purely “content-based” prompts, just to keep things new and exciting around here!

But another week beckons, and we’re back to the usual mary g. fare! I hope you’re okay with that. (If not, head on over to Makkai’s substack where you can find her long list of prompts. I’ll only cry a little bit, and only if you don’t come back to me.)

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Welcome to DAYS OF THE WEEK week.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

We’ve done several different kinds of “pattern” stories around here before.

There was Prompt #25—the “I remember” prompt; and then Prompt #27—the “anaphora” prompt. Also, there was the time we wrote “numbered” stories (that would be Prompt #18). In all of these stories, we found a pattern (or structure) and then placed our story inside of it.

Today, we’re going to try yet another pattern. Today, we’re going to write “days of the week” stories. Yes, we recently wrote stories about Sundays (Prompt #29). But those stories were just about that single day. This week, we’re going to write stories that take place over several days of the same week. A story with a compressed time frame—so much can happen!

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To get an idea of how a story can be written this way, here are a few examples:

This first one is “Days of Bargaining” by Donna Gagnon, published online at Smokelong Quarterly. I happen to love this story. Here’s what the author has to say about why she used the days of the week to tell this particular story:

“Time ticks. And when you’re waiting for something important to happen, something positive in a rather dreary life, it tends to go by way too slowly. One bloody day at a time.”

And ain’t that the truth?

This next story is told on three days in 1981:  March 27^th, 29^th and 30^th. Called “Things I Can’t Tell Amma,” it’s by Sudha Balagopal and can be found online at Split Lip Magazine. (This story is part of Balagopal’s novella-in-flash, which has the same name as this story.)

Lastly, here’s another story that uses the days of the week. “Close to Divine” by Andrea Harper was published in the online magazine Split Lip. We are all adults here so I don’t think I need to warn you that this one is a bit R-rated. But looks like I’m warning you anyway. (Nothing wild, I promise.)

Those were three VERY different stories, all using the same structure. You might want to think about which of these three you liked the best and why. Or not. Up to you!

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What I like about this structure is that it is (obviously) time based. If you think of a story as having a beginning, middle and an end, then this structure can fit that idea perfectly! Have Monday be your beginning, Wednesday the middle, and Friday brings your ending. Voila!

And now it’s time for you to write!

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TODAY’S PROMPT

Write your own story, using the days of one week as a structure.

1. You can use the days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) or you can use dates instead, as Balagopal did in her story.

2. You don’t have to use EVERY day of the week. Just do Monday, Wednesday, and Friday if you want (or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday!). Any combination works—just as long as you stay within the confines of a single week.

3. You might want to think of your story this way: The first day is the start of your story; the second day is the middle of your story; the last day is the end of your story.

4. If you care to, your story could take place over a holiday weekend, such as Thanksgiving or Labor Day. Family holidays are always ripe for good stories!

5. Alternate Prompt: bad haircut.

As always, please keep what you post to 400 words or less (though go ahead and write more—just don’t POST more). Thank you!

See you next Monday!