I thought it'd be fun to do a writing prompt today! :)
Here's the catch, though, since you guys are too good now for this to be a real challenge... (wink) You have to give FOUR responses to the same prompt. One as if you were writing a historical, one as if you were writing a romance, one as if you were writing a YA, and one as if you were writing a suspense/thriller.
Your prompt response can be anywhere from 3 - 5 sentences total. No more, no less. Your challenge is to bring out the essence of the genre in each answer while not copying more than the first line each time. The first line HAS TO REMAIN THE FIRST LINE. You can't mix up the order.
Hehehehe. This will be good :)
Here's your prompt!
The wind had a secret.
And since I'm making you do this, I'll do it first to show you what I mean.
1. The wind had a secret. Ella knew from the way it whistled through the oak branches that it'd seen exactly what had transpired night before last. Under an innocent harvest moon, just two hours after Sara's masquerade ball, it'd watched Bradley ask for her hand and then for a lot more. But the question remained - would the wind keep her secret?
2. The wind had a secret. So did Matthew--and if he didn't tell her the truth soon, she might just take her favorite Miranda Lambert lyrics to heart and throw his luggage in the front yard. Ashley squinted out the window, wishing it would just storm already and get it over with. But the rain never arrived, and neither did Matthew's truck.
3. The wind had a secret. And if the sudden gale didn't stop threatening to blow her dress up, it was going to leave Haley without any secrets left of her own. She wrestled with the fluttering skirt of her favorite sundress, debating on whether her dignity was worth tossing her mocha from Starbucks when there was still a third of it left in the cup. She should have worn jeans, but it was school picture day, and she wasn't about to be caught dead with a replay of last year's embarrassment, framed for all eternity in mom's bedroom.
4. The wind had a secret. And it chilled to the bone. Rachel rubbed both arms as she tried to fully merge her body into the side of the barn wall. A horse nickered, and footsteps sounded from the stall to her left--human footsteps, not of the hooved variety. Another breeze through the open door ruffled her hair, and she bit back a whimper as the footsteps edged closer.
There you go!
Remember - 1 response for each of the 4 genres (historical, romance, YA and suspense/thriller). 3-5 lines total including your starting prompt line. No more, no less, no duplicating besides the prompt line.
GO! :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1. Historical
ReplyDeleteThe wind had a secret. The day’s heat was slowly swept away along with the scent of horse manure from the dusty street. A promise of rain hung in the air as Mary looked at the letter the postmistress had given her. The thick missive was from her sister, the address carefully penned in familiar, wispy lettering; the first letter in months. Anxious to hear the news, Mary made haste in getting home knowing Mum would expect to read it first.
2. Romance
The wind had a secret. Sand kicked up beneath his feet as Daniel finished his run, his heart thudding when he saw Lacy, her black hair dancing around her face. She was waiting for someone; Greg, probably. Listening to the surf pound against the shore, he decided to finally listen to his heart. He stood for a long moment on the sand beside her, comfortable in her presence, then carefully formed his words with his hands so she could read them.
3. YA
The wind had a secret. Tiny droplets from the fountain sprayed against her as Molly walked by, catching a glimpse of Taryn’s long blond hair round the corner out of sight. Fingering the folded note in her hand, remembering the traitorous words it held, Molly clenched her teeth and slowed her step. Obviously, Taryn had not meant for her to see the note, but she had. And now that she knew, what should she do about it?
4. Suspense/Thriller
The wind had a secret. It whipped through Jane’s too-thin blouse, goose-bumps crawling across her skin. The trees groaned against the blustering night as the moon slid behind a bank of clouds. Her calf muscles ached as she crouched behind the sparse bushes, waiting for Mack to leave. Would her key still fit the lock?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis was fun! We should do this more often –except I vote for 5-7 sentences, next time. ;)
ReplyDelete1) The wind had a secret. And the way it tugged at seventeen year old Sarah Endicott’s cloak on that cold February morning made her feel as though it just might tell her something important if she were stop and listen. However, she had no time to stop if she hoped to make it home before her parents. She simply had to make it home before they did, for Her Loyalist Father would never forgive her if he knew where she had been. Clutching Thomas Paine’s forbidden pamphlet tightly against her bosom, she tried to calm herself as her Philadelphia home came into view.
2) The wind had a secret. As Katie attempted to pull her loose auburn curls away from her face, she hoped that she didn’t look too disheveled. She hadn’t seen Adrian in almost a month and had wanted to look perfect for their reunion. Too bad he’d wanted to meet her at the docks. “Well, good evening Beautiful,” came the wonderfully familiar voice from behind her, causing her breath to catch in her throat and her heart to skip a beat.
3) The wind had a secret. Jason feared that it was that the Tigers weren’t going to win this one. As he glanced at the scoreboard, 14-16 with eighteen seconds on the clock, he knew that his teammates were looking to him to save this game. He also knew, as all good kickers do, that making a successful field goal wasn’t completely within his control. A field goal can be influenced by any combination of three distinct components: the kicker, the holder, and –invariably- the wind.
4) The wind had a secret. And secrets don’t make friends, except in Elliot’s business. As an undercover agent on the small college campus, no one could know what she was really up to –and she had to make friends. If she didn’t, she’d never be able to find out who had driven nineteen year old Melynda Hartwell to attempt suicide. Pulling her blue Hollister jacket close about her, she took a deep breath as she approached her newest group of “friends” huddled near the Social Science building.
Sorry I had to delete that comment. It looked like one big paragraph when I published it. Lol.
Ashley, both of us wrote about sports for the YA one... And I promise, I didn't read yours first. =)
DeleteLol. Sports and YA go together well and so do sports and wind. It was the easiest thing, but that just shows the diversity in writing. :)
Delete1)The Wind had a secret. Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, had been raised to know the power of nature's prophesy. She had not been raised to read the wind's secrets, but the signs she knew how to read promised that her battle would be victorious. The Romans had humiliated her and tried to kill her entire clan. Now with her army lined up on the field in their traditional Iceni battle paint, she hoped that this wind was blowing in her favor.
ReplyDelete2)The wind had a secret. Aiden normally didn't think in such poetic views of the wind keeping secrets or such things. He had never thought that way until he had met her and that had made him think in a whole new way.
3)The wind had a secret. Sometimes, Lydia would pretend that she knew the wind's secrets. At least that way she would know someone's. A new school in a new town meant that she didn't have any friends to even talk with, much less exchange secrets with.
4) The wind had a secret. In this case, it was a very dark and bitter secret that aspiring investigator, Timothy Sewell, wasn't sure he wanted to uncover. Tim had always been fond of solving mysteries ever since he first watched Scooby Doo as a child. He had been through some grisly cases in his time, but never had he experienced the reluctance in solving the case as he did now.
You should do this more often! I only read yours, not the other comments before I wrote mine, because I didn't want to be borrowing ideas.
ReplyDeleteHistorical:
The wind had a secret. It seemed to whisper words of encouragement to me as I slunk toward the front lines, desperate to get up to where I was needed the most. It created distractions that gave me cover as I rushed out of my hidden gully to pull a wounded man back from the firing zone. I knew I wasn't supposed to be here, but I couldn't sit back in idleness when men, perhaps even John, were out there crying in pain.
Romance:
*The wind had a secret.* I looked at the words for a long time, taking deep breaths to control my rapidly accelerating pulse. So, the coded message I had awaited for so long was finally here. And yet I didn't know what to do. I truly loved Luke, but was it really right to do as he asked and run away?
YA:
The wind had a secret. Kate knew that, it was quite obvious. What she couldn't decide was if the wind was on her side or Susan's? Looking at the tennis ball in her hand, she waited for a second to see if the wind would change directions *again* and then quickly served it.
Suspense/thriller:
"The Wind had a secret." Our commander stomped his foot twice and then peered at us over his bifocals. "Yes, protégées of D'Arb Academy, I did say had. And he died with his secret, without giving the enemy anything to disclose our whereabouts. He is a hero and will forever more be herald as one."
Good job guys!!! So proud :)
ReplyDelete