Prompt #40
Opposite Day
Hello, everybody!
Thanks so much for last week…
…when I was down and out with the demon covid. Still not completely recovered but at least I can sit up. Thank you for reading one another’s stories and making comments when I wasn’t able to. (I finally made it through all of the stories!) Without you, there’d be no point to any of this. You are much appreciated!
I’m going to cut right to the chase today, because I’m pretty tired at the moment. What with the aforementioned covid, my newest grandchild’s impending appearance on the planet, an upcoming wedding across the country, and several deadlines nipping at my heels, I’m suddenly a bit overwhelmed. So, forgive me. This week is going to be short and sweet. And hopefully, the prompt will make sense despite my covid brain.
So. Here we go—
We all know that a story needs something driving it forward. Usually, that driver is called conflict. But sometimes it can be hard to think in terms of “conflict” when drafting a story. It can be easier, at times, to use other terms or find other entryways. Sometimes, I like to think of verb opposites.
Take a look at the following list:
Deny/admit
Reward/punish
Break/repair
Accept/reject
Deposit/withdraw
Ignore/heed
Lose/find
Catch/miss
Float/sink
Spend/save
Stress/relax
Put on/take off
Loosen/tighten
Shout/whisper
Arrive/leave
Succeed/fail
Approve/disapprove
Help/hinder
Inhale/exhale
Borrow/lend
Sit/stand
Take apart/put together
Get ahead/fall behind
Give/take
Go/stop
Live/die
Lie/tell the truth
Love/hate
Can you see already where this is going? (You will—keep reading.)
TODAY’S PROMPT
Choose one pairing from the list of verb opposites.
Draft a story that begins with one of the verbs and ends with the other. (Switch the order of the verbs as needed.)
For instance, let’s say I choose “approve/disapprove.” I may write a story about a parent who disapproves of their child’s choice of mate. That’s the conflict! The ending of the story moves toward approval. Or how about “inhale/exhale”? I might write a story about someone with a very tense life, so tense they can hardly breathe out. I’d start the story with that inhale and end with a movement toward exhalation in some form.
See what you can come up with! I know I haven’t given you written examples this week, but I have faith in you.
Alternate prompt: the one house in the neighborhood with the dead lawn.
Feel free to post up to 400 words of your stories in the Comments section.
I knelt on the floor, sobbing, trying to fit the broken pieces of the lamp back together.
“Now aren’t you sorry you did that?” Phil asked.
“Am *I* sorry? Are you kidding me? You -”
But I was sorry. I could as well have thrown a frying pan at the wall. I didn’t have to throw this lamp that I’d always loved. The lamp we’d found in Spain, in better days. Midcentury modern ceramic, painted chalk white, according to the dealer, whose English vocabulary seemed to be limited to terms of the trade. We had both said “Yes, that’s it!” when we spotted it, hiding in a dark corner.
“I was always fond of that lamp,” Phil said.
“Don’t even – “
“I know,” he said.
Of course, if I had thrown a frying pan, unless I’d thrown it directly at him, it wouldn’t have hurt him nearly as much. That’s why the lamp called out to me, from its place of honor on the end table: Remember that time you thought you were happy, well, ha! Ha!
“What can I do?” he said.
I held a jagged piece of pottery out toward him, mutely. He stepped back as if I were threatening him with it, and then came and took it from my hand when he saw that I wasn’t.
He squatted down next to me and picked up another piece, saying, “It’s like a puzzle, isn’t it?”
“I’ll try,” he said. “I don’t know if I can fix it, but I’ll try.”
I can't believe it! Mary G has walked our street and noticed our lawn.