On Friday, I started a new weekly writing challenge. Many people struggle with the beginning stages in writing. Character development, idea generation, and solid plot lines. The goal of these challenges is not to have a full book written in only a couple days, but rather improving your skills as a writer. I love writing prompts as a way to create the start of something and throw it to friends for feedback. This allows me to find audiences for each of my types of work, and how they perceive the words I use.
Writing Challenge
So the writing prompt last week encouraged you to write a short story about a peasant girl who is an anti-villain and a charlatan. You can read more about the prompt before reading my take.
The Princess & The Fraud
She stared at the water beginning to lap her toes, the frigid temps waking her inner soul. The moon was full without a cloud in sight. It was a gorgeous evening to be out for an evening stroll, which helped her restless mind. She was, once again, without a home. The war was devastating to everyone, but for a young woman barely 20, she struggled to find her place. A small shimmer from a hundred feet away caught her eye. She walked towards the light that would occasionally flash as the water reflected the moon’s glow. As she neared, she realized it was a box … or rather, a chest? Looking around for any signs of life, she knelt beside the dark, rusty tote. The cold water soaked her legs and raggedy dress. Tucking her long, brown hair behind her ears, she brushed the mud from the clasps. There was a small lock that was rust covered.
“Hmm.” She hummed to herself, as she looked around once more for any clue that there was a wreck or someone looking for this.
Seeing nothing, she went to pick the box up using the handles on the side. It was too heavy to lift, so she resorted to grabbing the handle on one side and dragging it across the sand. She had found a small cave that was big enough for her to sleep for the night, and brought the treasure inside.
She grabbed a large rock that was nearby and thrust it down on the lock. It gave way easily due to the erosion of the metal. Tossing the lock to the side, she lifted the lid. It creaked open to reveal a folded quilt.
“This will be nice tonight,” she whispered as she unfolded the blanket and draped it around her shoulders. “Wonder what else is useful in here.”
She continued to scrounge through the lock box, but it was mostly filled with pictures and loose papers. Carefully stacking the stuff to the side, she noticed three small cardboard boxes on the bottom. Lifting the lid, she expected to find more pictures. She gasped as she saw neatly stacked, banded bills. Slowly counting the bills, she realized that she had stumbled across $100,000. She knew it likely belonged to someone, but who. Looking at the pictures again, she noticed the age of the images. There is no way these people were still alive. Putting everything back into the tote, she pushed it up against the wall of the cave and made herself a bed.
Where to Go From Here
I would love to see what your creations were in the comments below. You can either post links to a shared file online or a link to a site where you’re writing. I have only posted a short snippet of my work to give you an idea of how I use writing prompts. All of my writing work is available on Wattpad.
Hello!
Good cheer to all on this beautiful day!!!!!
Good luck 🙂