Happy Friday, Everyone!
Hurray!!! It’s time for another Short & Sweet! But first…
I have returned from The Pine Tree State where I still did not see a moose! I saw signs – “Moose Crossing”, “Watch for moose in roadway” and just plain
but although pretty much everyone else in the northern hemisphere has seen an actual moose, I still haven’t. Don’t get me wrong… I do not want to meet one in my car at 60 mph! I just want to see a real one looking serene in his or her natural surroundings 🙂 preferably alongside a cute baby moose 🙂
Anyway, onto business. The winner of the June pitch pick, whose pitch will go for a read by editor Erin Molta, is none other than the fabulous Lori with her pitch for These Little Piggies! Congratulations, Lori! And congratulations and thanks to all who bravely put forth their pitches – you are all winners in my book just for stepping up to the plate!
In other Would You Read It news, the vote for whether or not to keep the system the way it is was TOTALLY evenly split and indecisive! So now what? I don’t know. I’ll have to think on it. While I think, nothing will change. If anyone has thoughts or opinions, please share 🙂
Now then, are you ready? Let the fun begin!!!!!!!!
Today’s Short & Sweet will work best if you don’t peek 🙂 I’m not sure quite how to accomplish that on a blog post, so let’s go on the honor system – no scrolling down yet!
First, pick a number from 1-10. Got it? Write it down.
Now pick a number from 1-10 again and write that down.
Now do it again.
And now one last time.
(BTW, it’s okay of you pick the same number more than once. If you want to make it really random you can roll a pair of dice and just discard any 11s or 12s you roll, or take an ace-10 out of a deck of cards and randomly choose cards.)
Hopefully you now have 4 numbers between 1 and 10 written down (for example, I have 3, 7, 1, and 5)
Now, use your first number to select from this list:
- A pirate who likes to sing
- A little girl who doesn’t want to practice her violin
- A zookeeper with a lost animal
- A 5 year old girl with a rainbow umbrella
- A homeless child
- A boy whose father is a Navy SEAL
- A monster who is afraid of thunderstorms
- A disobedient robot
- A sailor who is far from home
- A six year old boy who can’t ride his two-wheeler
Use your second number to select from this list:
- a museum
- a national park
- a playground
- a big city
- a birthday party
- the porch of an old farmhouse
- an enchanted forest
- a fancy restaurant
- the moon
- Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Shop
Use your third number to select from this list:
- first day of school
- the Fourth of July
- during a thunderstorm
- in early autumn
- sitting down to breakfast
- bath time
- the first warm day of spring
- during church
- a winter evening
- after a fight
And use your last number to select from this list:
- something embarrassing has just happened
- someone feels like giving up
- someone has to keep a secret
- an important decision has to be made
- someone has lost something
- someone has found something
- someone’s pride has been injured
- something is where it shouldn’t be
- someone has been chosen for something
- something has made someone mad
You should now have a randomly selected character, setting, time, and situation/challenge – everything you need to prompt a story!
In the comments below, list the 4 you got and write 50-100 words of whatever story they suggest to you! Don’t agonize! Don’t over-think! We’re all among friends. Just write! All we’re doing here is priming the pump. If all you can squeeze out is 50 rusty words, that’s fine! You wrote 50 words in the middle of your hectic, busy day! But maybe, just maybe, 25-50 more will trickle out a little less rusty, and maybe after you’ve written your 50-100 here you’ll find you’ve got a gush of clear water rushing forth and a whole new story will well up and land on your list of accomplishments for today!
Oh, and if you find it’s too hard to include all 4, it’s okay to just use 1, 2, or 3 of the prompts you picked – the exercise is just to get ideas and words flowing 🙂
Here’s my example in case you don’t quite get it:
The numbers I chose were 3, 7, 1, 5, so I get
P.S. For anyone who’s just finding Summer Short & Sweets, full info is on that link or above in the tab 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
This is wonderful! Very creative and fun! I sure hope they find the missing balloon blowing monkey! Thanks for joining in! (P.S. Are you Romelle? I'm keeping track of the points and I'm not sure if you're someone new… :))
I'm a linear thinker, so 10-9-8-7 gave me:
CHARACTER: A six year old boy who can’t ride his two-wheeler
SETTING: the moon
TIME: during church
CHALLENGE: someone’s pride has been injured
CLONG! CLONG! The church bells rang as Tyrone skulked out from behind the garage, pulling his bike free from the weeds. He looked left and right, searching for the little girls who had teased him about his training wheels the last time he went for a ride. The coast was clear. This time Tyrone planned to launch himself from the from roof of the school, pedalling hard enough to reach the moon. On the moon, Tyrone thought, I could practice riding on two wheels without that pesky gravity making me fall onto the pavement.
A zookeeper who lost an animal
The enchanted forest
someone feels like giving up
At Enchanted Forrest Entertainment Villa, the unicorn was drawing in record crowds. When he spoke, the crowd gasped.
“Hey zookeeper, are you heading to the unicorn exhibit?” said the wizard.
“No, I need to find my pony Pete,” said the zookeeper.
“Did Pete get lost galloping in Gnome Gardens again?”
“No, he volunteered to help you, remember?” said the zookeeper. “You made him disappear but couldn’t get him back, remember?”
“That’s just a tiny glitch. Pete will return. Relax. Come see the unicorn with me,” said the wizard.
“I really need to find Pete. It’s his bath time.”
“You can’t wash him until you find him,” said the wizard. “Come on, let’s go t the exhibit.”
The unicorn is beautiful. Its blue eyes sparkled so bright even the person farthest from the stage could see his eyes. Its horn is a foot long, spiraled, and made of pure gold.
“Did you see that?” said the zookeeper.
“What?”
“The unicorn smiled,” said the zookeeper. He pushed through the crowd to get a better look. When he made it to the side of the stage, the zookeeper yelled.
“Pete! Over here, Pete!”
The unicorn turned to see who was yelling. The wide smile vanished and his gold horn disappeared, but the bright blue eyes stayed put.
The brown pony trotted off the stage to the zookeeper.
“Come on, Pete. It’s bath time.”
Yes, I am. I have so many accounts, I can't figure out which one I am logged under at any given time. I'll figure it out sooner or later.
I thought so but just wanted to check! Thanks, Romelle 🙂
romily wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
Yes, I am. I have so many accounts, I can't figure out which one I am logged under at any given time. I'll figure it out sooner or later.
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Ooh, I'm using this idea with my kids. 🙂
I've seen teen moose while I've been jogging in my neighborhood. Fortunately, they don't have antlers, but I still wouldn't want one chasing after me.
Hi Susanna! I did this exercise with my kids yesterday and they came up with 3 great stories (all waaaay over the suggested word count). They were: Wilbur, the Naughty Robot (will Wilbur clean his room so that he can go to his best friend's birthday party?), Sophie and The Rainbow Umbrella (what will happen when a thunderstorm hits the playground and whisks Sophie's treasured umbrella away?) and Violin Practice (when a walk through the enchanted forest reveals a golden violin, will a little girl who hates to practice learn to love it?). THANKS for a wonderful boredom-buster. They asked today if they could work on illustrating their stories, and want to do it again with different numbers! I am one happy mama.
I haven't written mine yet, but hope to get back to it at some point…
I'm thrilled that your kids had such fun with it, Amy! They sound so creative – all those stories sound terrific! The suggested word count was only so people would't feel intimidated by having to write a lot – not a limit! I'll look forward to reading yours! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill
So funny you said that, Stina! Amy just commented that she did it with her kids yesterday and they had a great time! I hope your kids have fun with it too. Feel free to post anything you or they come up with! 🙂 (And I don't think I want to meet a moose face to face – I just want to see a real one :))
Apparently some critters will do anything to avoid a bath 🙂 Thanks for a fun entry, Sue! 🙂
Ooh, I like this! I get such a kick out of seeing all the different, fun, creative things everyone comes up with!!! Thanks for joining the fun, Cathy! 🙂
This looks like fun and after seeing the others I thought I would give it a try…. this will teach me for picking all No.1's…lol.
A pirate who sings
a museum
first day of school
and something embarrasing has just happened.
LOL … lets see if you can quess what that something embarrasing was/is….lol.
Hoping from one foot to the other Billy thought he could hear singing from behind tall wooden doors off to the centre of the museum entrance hall.
“Come follow me now. Keep in single file and no lagging behind” called out Miss Saunders, our history teacher. It was our first day of school and as a treat she had brought us to the City Museum.
Slipping through the creaking doors Billy gasped at the room filled with swords, pirate hats, model ships and caskets of treasure in glass cabinets and standing in the middle was a real pirate, singing, while waving his sword in the air. The pirate stopped and turned glaring through his one eye at him, Billy, cheeks burning and an increasing warmth in his trousers, no longer needed to hop from one foot to the other.
… *wink*…lol.
Oh! forgot to mention I came in at 139 words…. boy that was hard..lol.
EXCELLENT, Diane! I love it! Poor Billy – that's about as embarrassing as it gets 🙂
You could have kept going as long as you wanted 🙂 The word count was a suggestion only, so that people wouldn't feel intimidated by having to write a lot, or write a complete story. Thanks so much for joining in the fun!
I re-subscribed to get your emails. I'll see if that works 🙂
Here's my story idea…
The sun was setting at the launch bay, darkness was rising, and the snow was worse than it ever was in Pennsylvania (where Greg Y. Jilnethunson lived) and New York (where Jeff Kwinefordan lived). Of course, they were in Russia, and, according to the locals, it was the best kind of weather there. Greg and Jeff were chosen to live on Earth’s moon. On the day of the launch, Greg called in sick with a highly contagious disease. Not believing Greg’s so-called sickness, Jeff texted him saying “chikn :(”. Jeff became the first official sailor to step onto Destiny, Earth’s first solarship. A solarship is a metal boat that can float on water and fly in air and space with super-strong rockets and a super-strong force-field. ‘Now,’ Jeff thought, ‘To hop aboard Destiny!’
Thanks for trying, Erik. I asked Donna to work on it and she did… so now we're waiting to see what happens tomorrow… Great story idea! I'd sure like to find out what happens when Jeff hops aboard Destiny! 🙂
This Kid Reviews Bks wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
I re-subscribed to get your emails. I'll see if that works 🙂
Here's my story idea…
The sun was setting at the launch bay, darkness was rising, and the snow was worse than it ever was in Pennsylvania (where Greg Y. Jilnethunson lived) and New York (where Jeff Kwinefordan lived). Of course, they were in Russia, and, according to the locals, it was the best kind of weather there. Greg and Jeff were chosen to live on Earth’s moon. On the day of the launch, Greg called in sick with a highly contagious disease. Not believing Greg’s so-called sickness, Jeff texted him saying “chikn :(”. Jeff became the first official sailor to step onto Destiny, Earth’s first solarship. A solarship is a metal boat that can float on water and fly in air and space with super-strong rockets and a super-strong force-field. ‘Now,’ Jeff thought, ‘To hop aboard Destiny!’
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I loved reading all the entries. It still boggles my mind how everyone's is so different.
For the record, I didn't cheat. LOL
My random numbers are: 7, 5, 3 and 1.
Character #7 – A monster who is afraid of thunderstorms
Setting #3 – a playground
Time #5 – sitting down to breakfast
Situation/Challenge #1 – something embarrassing has just happened
Morley scanned the playground. Deserted. His shoulders slumped.
A sonic shock wave cracked and a lightning bolt lit up the sky the way fireworks exploded on July 1st.
Morley’s fur stood at attention like toy soldiers. Rain pelted his body. He pounded the gravel. Cowering beneath the plank that led to the slide, the wood creaked. I should run home. His paws turned to lead.
He fished a peanut butter and jelly clump out of his shirt pocket. Maybe mom’s breakfast will help. He’d scooped his toast off the kitchen table and lumbered out the door. He didn’t have time to sit down for breakfast. He hoped his girlfriend might be at the playground.
He stuffed the gooey morsel into his mouth and chewed. Thunder rumbled. He shivered. A tear leaked and dribbled down his cheek. Samantha didn’t even know she was his girlfriend and mom’s breakfast didn’t calm him one bit.
The plank rattled again.
“W-who’s there?” asked Morley.
“Boo!” Fuzzy, purple braids tied with silk ribbons dangled over the side.
He gulped. “Samantha?” Heat flushed his cheeks. Certain he was redder than his raspberry jelly, he pinched his arm. Why did I let my voice crack louder than thunder?
“Yup. It’s me. Climb up so we can dance in the rain.”
She’s asking me to dance? Morley wasn’t about to let a thunderstorm ruin his chance at happiness. His chest puffed out. He gripped the plank and swung his legs up. Leaping to his musty feet, the board bounced. Samantha teetered like the see-saw. He grabbed her warm paw. She giggled.
“Ready to dance?” he asked. She offered a nod. He twirled her faster than the merry-go-around.
“S-slow down,” said Samantha, gasping for air.
Morley chuckled. The rain tapered off.
Samantha flipped her soppy braids, smacking Morley’s face. “Oops. Morley, look.” Her glossy, pink fingernail pointed at the sky.
A rainbow bowed.
Morley’s heart jumped for joy. Thunderstorms didn’t terrify him anymore. Because…at last, Samantha was his girlfriend.
“He who has hope, has everything.” Arabic proverb
Okay, okay. So this week, I’m over the word count by 230. But hey, I’m having fun.
Thanks Susanna. Such fun. I'll be posting your instructions and my “long” story on my blog.
Fun story, Tracy! Glad you enjoyed doing it! I can't remember if you participated last week but it's not too late to go back and put an entry in there if you want to be qualified for prizes at the end of Short & Sweets 🙂
Tracy Campbell wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
I loved reading all the entries. It still boggles my mind how everyone's is so different. For the record, I didn't cheat. LOL
My random numbers are: 7, 5, 3 and 1.
Character #7 – A monster who is afraid of thunderstorms
Setting #3 – a playground
Time #5 – sitting down to breakfast
Situation/Challenge #1 – something embarrassing has just happened
Morley scanned the playground. Deserted. His shoulders slumped.
A sonic shock wave cracked and a lightning bolt lit up the sky the way fireworks exploded on July 1st.
Morley’s fur stood at attention like toy soldiers. Rain pelted his body. He pounded the gravel. Cowering beneath the plank that led to the slide, the wood creaked. I should run home. His paws turned to lead.
He fished a peanut butter and jelly clump out of his shirt pocket. Maybe mom’s breakfast will help. He’d scooped his toast off the kitchen table and lumbered out the door. He didn’t have time to sit down for breakfast. He hoped his girlfriend might be at the playground.
He stuffed the gooey morsel into his mouth and chewed. Thunder rumbled. He shivered. A tear leaked and dribbled down his cheek. Samantha didn’t even know she was his girlfriend and mom’s breakfast didn’t calm him one bit.
The plank rattled again.
“W-who’s there?” asked Morley.
“Boo!” Fuzzy, purple braids tied with silk ribbons dangled over the side.
He gulped. “Samantha?” Heat flushed his cheeks. Certain he was redder than his raspberry jelly, he pinched his arm. Why did I let my voice crack louder than thunder?
“Yup. It’s me. Climb up so we can dance in the rain.”
She’s asking me to dance? Morley wasn’t about to let a thunderstorm ruin his chance at happiness. His chest puffed out. He gripped the plank and swung his legs up. Leaping to his musty feet, the board bounced. Samantha teetered like the see-saw. He grabbed her warm paw. She giggled.
“Ready to dance?” he asked. She offered a nod. He twirled her faster than the merry-go-around.
“S-slow down,” said Samantha, gasping for air.
Morley chuckled. The rain tapered off.
Samantha flipped her soppy braids, smacking Morley’s face. “Oops. Morley, look.” Her glossy, pink fingernail pointed at the sky.
A rainbow bowed.
Morley’s heart jumped for joy. Thunderstorms didn’t terrify him anymore. Because…at last, Samantha was his girlfriend.
“He who has hope, has everything.” Arabic proverb
Okay, okay. So this week, I’m over the word count by 230. But hey, I’m having fun.
Thanks Susanna. Such fun. I'll be posting your instructions and my “long” story on my blog.
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Oops! Just checked my list and I see you already did last week. I'm happy to report that so many people entered I can't remember them all 🙂
Tracy Campbell wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
I loved reading all the entries. It still boggles my mind how everyone's is so different. For the record, I didn't cheat. LOL
My random numbers are: 7, 5, 3 and 1.
Character #7 – A monster who is afraid of thunderstorms
Setting #3 – a playground
Time #5 – sitting down to breakfast
Situation/Challenge #1 – something embarrassing has just happened
Morley scanned the playground. Deserted. His shoulders slumped.
A sonic shock wave cracked and a lightning bolt lit up the sky the way fireworks exploded on July 1st.
Morley’s fur stood at attention like toy soldiers. Rain pelted his body. He pounded the gravel. Cowering beneath the plank that led to the slide, the wood creaked. I should run home. His paws turned to lead.
He fished a peanut butter and jelly clump out of his shirt pocket. Maybe mom’s breakfast will help. He’d scooped his toast off the kitchen table and lumbered out the door. He didn’t have time to sit down for breakfast. He hoped his girlfriend might be at the playground.
He stuffed the gooey morsel into his mouth and chewed. Thunder rumbled. He shivered. A tear leaked and dribbled down his cheek. Samantha didn’t even know she was his girlfriend and mom’s breakfast didn’t calm him one bit.
The plank rattled again.
“W-who’s there?” asked Morley.
“Boo!” Fuzzy, purple braids tied with silk ribbons dangled over the side.
He gulped. “Samantha?” Heat flushed his cheeks. Certain he was redder than his raspberry jelly, he pinched his arm. Why did I let my voice crack louder than thunder?
“Yup. It’s me. Climb up so we can dance in the rain.”
She’s asking me to dance? Morley wasn’t about to let a thunderstorm ruin his chance at happiness. His chest puffed out. He gripped the plank and swung his legs up. Leaping to his musty feet, the board bounced. Samantha teetered like the see-saw. He grabbed her warm paw. She giggled.
“Ready to dance?” he asked. She offered a nod. He twirled her faster than the merry-go-around.
“S-slow down,” said Samantha, gasping for air.
Morley chuckled. The rain tapered off.
Samantha flipped her soppy braids, smacking Morley’s face. “Oops. Morley, look.” Her glossy, pink fingernail pointed at the sky.
A rainbow bowed.
Morley’s heart jumped for joy. Thunderstorms didn’t terrify him anymore. Because…at last, Samantha was his girlfriend.
“He who has hope, has everything.” Arabic proverb
Okay, okay. So this week, I’m over the word count by 230. But hey, I’m having fun.
Thanks Susanna. Such fun. I'll be posting your instructions and my “long” story on my blog.
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I'm glad you liked my story 🙂 It seemed to work when I re-subscribed. I got the notice of your post today 🙂
Great! Glad to hear it! Thanks, Erik 🙂
This Kid Reviews Bks wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
I'm glad you liked my story 🙂 It seemed to work when I re-subscribed. I got the notice of your post today 🙂
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Hi Susanna:
I did enter last week.
Again, this is fun.
Have a great week.
This exercise has a distinctive 4th grade who-will-you-marry feel to it! Love it! And I love what has come of it!
2: little girl who doesn't want to practice violin
7: an enchanted forest
9: a winter's evening
4: an important decision has to be made
The storm Tillie felt inside was as bad as the storm outside. But inside she was getting hotter and outside it was getting colder.
She didn’t want to practice, practice, practice. She didn’t want to play her violin the way someone else wanted her too, and she didn’t want to sit still, still, still while she played.
The walk to her teacher’s studio led through the forest and it would soon be getting dark.
“Hurry Tillie, you’ll be late! And bundle up proper!” said her mother, but Tillie’s ears were so hot she could not listen. Her hands were so hot she could not wear mittens. She only put her coat on so she would not get wet from melting snow.
Thanks so much Susanna! Looks like I may have two mss for July!
Just wanted o mention I wrote this while on hold (customer service) with a bank, and though I have finished I am still on hold!
This is great, Julie! I love the juxtaposition of Tillie's hot hot hot and the outside cold! So glad if this helped spark a story! And I love your comparison to 4th grade marriage – so true 🙂 Did you ever do the one where you twist an apple stem and however many times you twisted was the alphabet letter that would start your future husband's name? Mine actually worked – I used to get E all the time… (although maybe because most apple stems can't take much more than 5 twists :))
Susanna Leonard HillChildren's AuthorWebsiteBlogFB Author PageTwitter
Subject: [susannaleonardhillblog] Re: Susanna Leonard Hill: Summer Short & Sweet – Week 2
I hate being on hold! At least you were able to do something productive with the time 🙂
Julie Rowan-Zoch wrote, in response to Julie Rowan-Zoch:
Just wanted o mention I wrote this while on hold (customer service) with a bank, and though I have finished I am still on hold!
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A homeless child
A big city
Early autumn
An important decision needs to be made
Leaves fell from the tree next to the park bench. Audrey sat down with her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do? She had no home and now no mother. Trying to find her father would be impossible. He moved around so much no one ever knew where he would turn up next. The weather was starting to turn and sleeping outside was soon become unbearable.
Sounds a little depressing, but could be a great story! 🙂
I like it! I think it has lots of potential! It feels MG to me – what do you think? 🙂 Thanks so much for joining in, Jennifer!
This is so much fun, Susanna!
7-Character: A boy whose father is in the Navy Seal (oh boy)
6-Setting: The Enchanted Forest
5-Time: Sitting down for breakfast
3-Situation: Someone has a secret
His orders had come. Dad was leaving, again. Jason and his Dad ate breakfast in silence. Jason kept his head down. He couldn’t look at his dad. He could barely control his quivering lips as he pleaded with his tears. Dad was also deep in thought. Jason was getting older. The secret beyond the trees would soon cease to exist. And his childhood friend would be set adrift, forever.
Dad got up from the table and placed the breakfast dishes in the sink. C'mon champ. Jason thought he saw something jolt down the hall. “What was that, Dad?” Dad did not answer. He squeezed Jason's shoulder, and pointed toward the small door under the stairs. Dad kept his Navy Seals duffle bag there. That door has always been locked. Not today. Dad's face had a peculiar but knowing grin.
It had not rain. Yet coming from beneath the small closet door were muddy prints. Jason followed the prints out into the back yard but they were barely visible on the morning grass. Then they disappeared through the trees. Jason thought he saw something move. Just as he had convinced himself that he had not seen anything, he heard a giggling voice, “Are you coming or not?” Jason squinted through the thick growth of Mimosas. Curiosity was getting the best of him. He looked back over his shoulders at his dad. Dad nodded with approval. Jason stepped into the dense woods.
Ooh, good one, Pam! You've left me seriously wondering what's in the forest and what Jason is going to find and what the secret between the trees is! Thanks of joining in the fun!
5-A homeless child
3-a playground
7-the first warm day of spring
2-someone feels like giving up
Amy, wearing her tattered dress trudged to the playground. She hung her head and walked to her spot where she always sat and listened to the children's laughter. Amy knew not to try to play with them. But this day was different. As her eyes watched the leaves falling softly from the huge oak tree she heard a sound. Crackle, crunch, crackle, crunch. She walked slowly toward the tree and her eyes popped out and the corners of her mouth raised high.
Okay. Not so good. *sigh* This is what came out. I did not work on this for a week. I took my numbers and wrote this in 5-10 minutes. *embarrassed*
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunder rumbles in the distance as Mugli hides under the slide on the playground. Hugging his knees to his chest , Mugli watches the rain splashing puddles all around him. Monsters aren’t supposed to be afraid of thunderstorms. Dad says he was never afraid of the rain when he was a little monster. Mom tells Mugli at breakfast, “If you are a big monster the next time it rains, I will get you that monster truck you want.” Mugli wants that truck but he isn’t sure he can be brave. What’s a monster to do?
.
Sorry…forgot to say I picked #7 a monster who's afraid of thunderstorms, #3 at a playground, #5 sitting down to breakfast, and #2 wanting to give up.
Renee, I promise I never read your submission until AFTER I posted mine. How funny that we both picked monsters afraid of thunderstorms and that YOURS is named MUGGLES while MINE is named MUGLI…;~)
Good job!
Donna
Such a dilemma for a little monster! Funny about you and Renee! Thanks for joining in the fun 🙂
Donna L Martin (unregistered) wrote :
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunder rumbles in the distance as Mugli hides under the slide on the playground. Hugging his knees to his chest , Mugli watches the rain splashing puddles all around him. Monsters aren’t supposed to be afraid of thunderstorms. Dad says he was never afraid of the rain when he was a little monster. Mom tells Mugli at breakfast, “If you are a big monster the next time it rains, I will get you that monster truck you want.” Mugli wants that truck but he isn’t sure he can be brave. What’s a monster to do? .
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Okay!
A pirate who likes to sing
A birthday party
First warm day in Spring
Someone has been chosen for something
Jessie's birthday party happens to be held on the first warm day in spring. She is somewhat of a tomboy, so she is delighted to discover her mother has hired a pirate to entertain them. And what do you know…he sings! But it get's better…after her friends are gone, her Mom reveals the best gift of all…a sailing on the pirate's vessel! She is allowed to bring one friend. Who will it be???
Ooh, I LOVE this, Jarm! I hope you're going to write it so that I can read it when it's published!!! 🙂
The idea is not really “me” but, it's certainly worth consideration. It almost sounded like a pitch, so, I'll see where the story leads me. Thanks for your encouragement, Susanna!
Have fun with the story 🙂
Jarmila V. Del Boccio wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
The idea is not really “me” but, it's certainly worth consideration. It almost sounded like a pitch, so, I'll see where the story leads me. Thanks for your encouragement, Susanna!
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Just back from vacation and I can finally get to this! This was a fun one. I'm usually a plotter, but I do like the challenge of “just write” and see where things lead.
Here's what I picked:
8: A disobedient robot
2: A national park
3: During a thunderstorm
4: An important decision has to be made
No one could explain why Ranger-bot started to malfunction. Maybe some rain leaked into his casing and fried some circuits. Maybe it was the lightening, or maybe it was just bad programming. Whatever the reason, Ranger-bot, who was supposed to be calmly patrolling the trail at Minuteman National Historic Park, was instead racing up and down blaring, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” and pelting anyone wearing red with acorn “bullets.”
“What should we do?” asked Josh, as he and his dad hunkered down behind an old stone wall.
“We’ve got to stop that crazy robot,” Dad said. “I told Mr. McKenna he’d be better off hiring another human park ranger. Instead he spent twice as much on that piece of junk. Now I’ll probably be blamed for breaking it.”
Josh tried to think of a plan to stop Ranger-bot – one that wouldn’t get his dad fired, or get either one of them blinded by an acorn.
Character: A 5 year old girl with a rainbow umbrella
Setting: An enchanted forest
Time: First day of school
Situation: Something is where it shouldn’t be
“The first day of kindergarten!” Violet Rose squealed. She grabbed a banana, her carefully packed bag, and headed for the door.
Violet remembered her mother’s directions. I pass the Weeping Willow growing in the Pool of Tears and say something cheerful. Then I turn left at the Babbling Brook to practice my small talk. Finally, I climb over the Sparkling Spring and search for the rainbow. The school house is just beyond the Mossy Glen.
Why is my rainbow umbrella outside? Violet wondered.
Perhaps I should take it along…. Violet grabbed the umbrella and stepped into the Enchanted Forest.
Wonderful, Laura! I'm hooked! I definitely want to know how she gets to school, if everything hoes OK, and what she might need that rainbow umbrella for – certainly nothing as obvious as rain 🙂 Thanks so much for joining in! 🙂
This is great, Carrie, I love it! I can easily see it being developed into an early reader or early chapter book – it would be such fun! Thanks for joining in!
disobedient robot; big city; during thunderstorm; something embarrassing has just happened
No doubt about it, TJ was embarrassed. There was a rosy hue to his smushy silicone cheeks, and he refused to raise his eyes from the floor. Another flash of wild, jagged light appeared, illuminating the empty street outside our apartment window. A lone store light shone after the lightning disappeared. The crack of thunder that followed made us all jump in our chairs. TJ slid one round lens to the back of his head, glancing over his shoulder at the door. “I cannot go out in this storm,” he insisted. “My electronic systems will fail.”
I'd say poor TJ has better reason than most to be afraid of thunderstorms! Thanks for a fun entry, Essie! 🙂
Al scraped birthday cake off his behind and sighed. It was nice of the crew to try to throw him a birthday party. He guessed they knew how much he missed his family and home. Cap'n even dressed up like a pirate and sang happy birthday to him. There was a storm approaching and the ship rolled and tossed. Just as they brought in the cake, Al's feet slid out from under him and he ended up sitting on the cake. Maybe, thought Al, I'll just skip birthday parties until we get back into port.
a sailor far from home
birthday party
during a thunderstorm
something embarrassing has happened
Sorry I'm late with this one…..
No need to be sorry at all! And I enjoyed it tremendously! I hope other people will get back to read it too!
Ok off the top of my head!!! Here it goes…
Character: A disobedient robot…
Setting: a big city…
Time: During church…
Situation: An important decision has to be made…
Off the top of my head!!! Really!! Scary!!
Looking out the window from his resting place on the cluttered desk, Mikey stretched his metal arms and legs to relieve the tension of standing still for most of the dark night on his re-charging plug…Ahhh he thought, I feel charged up and ready for the day…I love the city in the morning…It's quiet and peaceful with the anticipation of great things to come…He glanced at his program for the morning…Oooo it's Sunday morning…Must get to church…He could hear bells in the distance…He loved walking in the morning along the cobblestone roads, the smell of coffee brewing, he could almost taste it with his wiring…He quietly made his way to the front of the church…The music played…people streamed in…
Should I tell them what I know today?
Are they ready to hear all of it?
Well done with some tough components! And you certainly left me wanting more at the end! What is he (or isn't he) going to tell them??? Thanks for playing along 🙂