The prompt was to explore conflict from various perspectives.
Setup: Two children at playground
First Prompt: Write in third person, omnipotent
Second Prompt: Rewrite the story in first person
Third Prompt: Rewrite the story from the perspective of one of the mothers
Fourth Prompt: Rewrite in second person
Recently, the prompt was about describing the response of a character when put in an internal and moral conflict when confronted with an offensive t-shirt. Another t-shirt is in the news again this week as a SxSW conference attendee wore a shirt handed out by Comedy Central at the conference and was taken off a pending flight by Southwest Airlines for violating their dress code.
Taking our original prompt further, what would be the perspective of the person realizing that the free t-shirt was considered offensive, especially after seeing hundreds if not thousands of them on fellow conference attendees? What about the airline staff seeing the shirt and having to respond? What about the passengers watching this event?
A quick search for similar incidents found that in 2011, a couple protesting outside Dollywood for more inclusive and equal rights for LGBT folks were told their t-shirts, which read “Marriage Is So Gay,” had to be turned inside out or they had to leave as it violated their dress code policy, while saying that the park is open to everyone of “all shapes and sizes.” The married couple was a lesbian couple, 76 and 84 years old.
Consider that perspective as an alternative prompt, both from the women’s perspective, the staff at the entertainment facility, and as a bystander. Does age change the character’s response?
In 2014, a scientist working on the Rosetta comet mission wore a t-shirt featuring scantily clad women as sex objects at a press conference, creating a furor. He made a public apology and broke down in tears as he admitted to his mistake, upset that he could have possibly offended or hurt anyone.
What about his story?
In 2013, a t-shirt manufacturing and online sales company was forced to close after a public uproar about the t-shirt they created that implied rape was a good thing. The owner admitted he made a mistake and the mistake cost him his twenty year old company. (more…)
This prompt is based upon a news story about a person wearing a controversial t-shirt at a university sports game, created by a local sports bar.
“It was pretty much towards the end of the game when things were getting pretty exciting,” said fourth-year medical student Erin Avondet, who spotted the T-shirt. “I spotted it and at first I was just totally taken aback, just completely shocked. I didn’t know how to comprehend it.”
The shirt reads “We are not responsible for lost or stolen virginity!” which appears below the Blue Jay Bar logo.
“The big thing I perceived was the use of the word stolen. That obviously implies it’s just being taken away from you without your permission,” Avondet said.
Avondet posted the picture online and it has been shared thousands of times. She said many people share her disapproval of the message.
“There are so many people that are victims of rape, and I think having that open conversation, starting that conversation is important,” Avondet said.
The prompt was to write about a situation where your character is outraged about an insensitive t-shirt, garment, or situation. Discussing the prompt, we realized that there are layers here in writing such a character driven moment. There are times when a person is offended by something but must constrain their response due to social norms. We can’t throttle everyone we don’t agree with, and protect freedom of speech while promoting responsible behavior.
One of the prompts this week was:
Are you kin to the land?
The prompt this week was a sort of round-robin of serial writing. Done as a group, two prompts were offered to choose from:
The smell was familiar and touched a deep place in my heart.
It was a dark and still night. The noise outside didn’t sound like the wind.
The first person chose one and wrote that down and continued for 2 minutes, then the paper switched to the person next to them for another two minutes of writing, continuing from whatever the first person started, then on to the next and next. If you have eight people in the group, eight stories will circulate through. Allow the first person to end the story when it circles around back to them, then read each story aloud to see where each went.
This technique could be done in the following ways if you are not part of a writing group.
The prompt for this week’s Monday Writers in the Grove Workshop was:
The purple flounder belched and within minutes…
If you would like to participate in these prompts, please do so on your site or personal journal. If you would like to discuss them, please comment below.
The prompt for this week’s Monday Writers in the Grove Workshop was:
A sign to nowhere, specifically a sign to a town that no longer exists.
If you would like to participate in these prompts, please do so on your site or personal journal. If you would like to discuss them, please comment below.
The prompt for this week’s Monday Writers in the Grove Workshop was:
Bystanders are sometimes more than passive, they can be perpetrators, people who inject themselves into the story. Write a short piece on how a bystander moves from outside of the event to inside.
If you would like to participate in these prompts, please do so on your site or personal journal. If you would like to discuss them, please comment below.
The prompt and challenge is to write a very short story as if you were the following ages:
How does the story change? How does the voice change?
The prompt this week was:
If you only had two or three tools, what would they be, and how would you use them?
Put yourself or a character in a situation where they are restricted to using two or three tools. Describe the situation, the tools, their handling of the tools, what they are working on, putting emphasis upon the tools themselves.
Writers in the Grove 