A Year of Writing Prompts by Brian A. Klems and Zachary Petit

January 21

“Craft a story featuring a cell phone, a lost-and-found box, and a blizzard.”

The blizzard fell over Raven, Colorado, in the blink of an eye, trapping all of the citizens that had felt it safe to venture out into the cloudy weather. For some it was work. The time spent in bars, using alcohol to warm their spirit and life, would have to wait until the storm had subsided. For the children it meant a long wait in class.

The kids of Mr. Flecker’s sixth grade class groaned once again. Lunch today was going to be a quick affair.

“I want you all to go and get your hot lunches in the cafeteria and then report immediately back to me.”

The students formed a haphazard line and meandered to join the others in the lunch room.

“I wonder if they have to go back?” Andrew Nickle said, ruefully eyeing the kids seated at the tables, laughing.

“Maybe he’ll play a movie,” Andrew’s friend Eric Blanch replied. His gaze was firmly fixed on the buffet of re-heated foods. Today was chicken nugget day and as bland and terrible as they may have been to some, Eric loved them.

“I’m not even hungry,” Andrew said.

“What? How can you say that? You don’t know when we’re going to eat next. Hell you don’t even know when we’ll be able to leave.”

Andrew shivered nervously and looked around at those standing close enough that they could have heard Eric swear.

“Do you want to get us into trouble?” Andrew whispered heatedly.

Eric rolled his eyes.

The two boys grabbed orange trays and brushed them along the aluminum rails before the parade of edibles.

“Do you want your nuggets?” Eric said.

Andrew eyed them. He really wasn’t hungry. Regardless of them tasting like mounds of sawdust, battered and deep fried.

“No,” Andrew said, “I’ll give them to you when we sit down.”

The two boys rounded the end of the line and scanned the tables for a seat.

“I don’t see anywhere,” Eric said.

Andrew looked over to the exit. The two teachers on duty were deep in conversation.

“Hey,” Andrew said, “Let’s go find somewhere else to eat.”

“Like where?”

“Just follow me.”

Andrew wound his way through the tables and kids and towards the door. He set his tray onto the trash can. Per his agreement he grabbed the paper tray of nuggets and handed them to his friend, who took them eagerly and binned the rest of his lunch. Without any flashy trays they skirted past the teachers and out into the empty hallways.

While Eric joyously ate each nugget, two bites each time, Andrew led them through the school. His ears stayed perked for the sound of any teacher or student. Although, even if they did come across someone it wouldn’t have mattered in the slightest. But being sneaky made it all the more exciting for Andrew.

The two rounded a corner and found themselves outside the boys locker room, next to the lost-and-found bin.

“Oh, hey,” Eric said, “I need to look for my jacket. I lost it almost two months ago.”

Eric shoved the final two nuggets into his mouth and chewed as he dove headfirst into the bin. Jackets, bags, notebooks, hats, and other items went flying as he swam through to the bottom of the barrel. When his hand thunked against the bottom he had still not found his jacket. What he did find was a cell phone and a snow globe that had been turned upside down. He grabbed them both and came up for air.

“And, look at these,” Eric said.

He flashed him the cell phone, which upon further inspection was dead and offered no secrets. Though that didn’t stop eric from slipping it into his pocket for later.

“What’re you doing?” Andrew said, furrowing his eyebrows.

Eric shrugged. “If they haven’t missed it already they’re not going to need it if I take it.”

Andrew shook his head.

Eric righted the snow globe and the two boys watched with interest as the white flakes and glitter settled slowly onto the cabin, trees, and lamppost scene.

It was then that the wind that had been howling all day suddenly went stone silent.

Andrew walked to the door and looked out the strip of window at the playground covered in thick sheets of snow.

“Great! The blizzard just stopped!”

“Really?” Eric said.

The boy, still clutching the snow globe, lowered it and walked to the window. When he got there though the calm scene Andrew saw was hidden behind fluffy curtains of white.

“What the heck?” Andrew said.

“It’s the same storm that’s been going all day.”

“No,” Andrew said, “it just stopped. I swear.”

A strange thought crossed Eric’s mind. He held the snowglobe up-right and watched as the snow slowly drifted back around the miniature setting.

The snow flurries disappeared leaving an unobstructed view of the playground stretched out before them.

A year of writing prompts
Jan 20
A friend is arrested and asks you to clear their computer files. You come across one with your name.

It’s a part of the unofficial BroCode to clear the internet history and any contraband if one ends up dead. Typically it’s not if your bud ends up in jail, but regardless it still stands. Jeff really didn’t need to ask. I’m sure he’s just panicking.

His house isn’t its usual luster. Cheeto bags are spread across the floor, mixed with Coors light cans, and what I mistakenly looks like a pair of pink lace panties.

“Dude,” I say. I didn’t know that cleaning was also part of the job. Not knowing when or if his parents would arrive at the house i hurry and rid the house of any garbage. Then onto the computer.

A good scrub is going to be tough but he walked me through it once before. Luckily most of the incriminating stuff is on his 1 terabyte external hard drive.

I log into his PC and safely remove external hardware. He thinks you can just unplug it but I’d rather be safe than sorry.

The next logical step is to clear all internet browsing history and do a search for any files with illicit names. It is in my search that the computer populates a file with my name.

I double click on the ‘Bill’ file and browse the PDFS docs within. As it turns out he has not only illegally downloaded files but committed murder as well. Each document details direct orders in ridding himself of all evidence.

My body goes cold and I convulse once.

“It’s all part of the BroCode,” I remind myself and set to work.

I really didn’t want to do this prompt.  Mainly because I couldn’t think of anything.  It’s hard putting words into the mouth of a hero.  Especially one I know only vaguely.  I’ve listened to the beginning half of “The Narnian,” but it would seem that even audiobooks can’t escape the curse of my only reading a book halfway through.  Although the point isn’t to have things to say at the word go.  This is an exercise to get my literary mind pumping.  I want to be good and the only way that is possible is to do this daily.  The next few months will be increasingly difficult.  I have inadvertently double booked myself with school.  For a brief moment I even contemplated adding participation into a theatrical endeavor and then remembered I would go berserk.  Below is a pitiful effort, but I got more than I thought I could do.  That is, at least, saying something for my imagination.

A Year of Writing Prompts by Brian A. Klems and Zachary Petit

January 19

“Write the tweets of your dead hero, a dead historical figure, or a long passed literary great.”

@CS_Lewis How could one believe such nonsense?

@CS_Lewis I’m beginning to rethink this agnostic view I have taken. It can’t all be wrong.

@CS_Lewis I might change my handle to ProgressiveAnglican. Thoughts?

@CS_Lewis Never would have I thought that one day I would be teaching at Oxford. All the more exciting twist of life.

@CS_Lewis A thought has just come to mind, what if two demons were having a twitter discussion about the end of the world?

@CS_Lewis Meeting with my fellow Inklings at The Eagle and Child.

@CS_Lewis The things John comes up with send my mind into a frenzy.

@CS_Lewis No one thought my manuscript was up to snuff. I guess it’s in to the kindling pile.

@CS_Lewis I came across this old bit I’d penned some time ago. Can’t imagine why I’d throw it away.

@CS_Lewis For loathing allegory as much as he does, John certainly pushes a belief in symbolism of legends.

@CS_Lewis After much deliberation I have once again returned to the church of childhood. It feels warm and wonderful in the pew.

@CS_Lewis On this day I have lost one of my dearest friends. He was afflicted with homosexuality, but I did not care.

@CS_Lewis It must be Wednesday if I’m meeting with some grubby chaps at The Eagle.

@CS_Lewis Bloody Americans and their endless thirst. Only one pub open tonight.

@CS_Lewis It becomes increasingly apparent that someone does not know me truly if they call me Clive.

@CS_Lewis I suppose I should write a beginning if I intend to tell an end.

@CS_Lewis To all my fellow veterans, pleasant armistice day.

@CS_Lewis Who doesn’t enjoy a warm pint now and again.

A Year of Writing Prompts by Brian A. Klems and Zachary Petit

January 18

“Pick and Event from your childhood that you wish would have gone differently. Write it as though it had happened ideally.”

Okay, this is going to sound so phony, but I don’t identify with this prompt. When I look back on my life there isn’t one moment I would want to change. Everything that has happened has made me the person I am. There are overall themes I wish I could change, but are too broad to pinpoint into a single scene or short story. In reality, if I changed certain moments I would have altered my fate entirely. Who knows where I would be.

This isn’t just me being lazy and not wanting to write. Nor is it that I just can’t think of anything right now. I read the prompt last night and have been thinking about it since then. There isn’t anything I would want to change. My husband though seems to think he knows what I would choose. He didn’t want to tell me just in case he was right. Boy, will he be surprised when I tell him. Unless that’s what he thought and then… Well, fuck him then.

To alter my past would destroy my present. Even the most insignificant of moments have a large impact. I love my life. The only things I want to change depend solely on my actions now.