INKsters Virtual Literary Salon

Competitive Writing Daily Prompts
Text Only Version for January 2009

Complete topic list (with photos) and contest rules can be found at:
http://www.mammothgardens.com/inksters/

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There are TWO separate lists of topics here.

Scroll down to find the second set of topics.

You may enter one piece of writing each day for each topic.

STORY STARTERS

1st The Sweater

She'd received the sweater as a gift and it seemed to give her the power to…

2nd Robot Factory

The planning and zoning committee finally relented and allowed the robot factory to…

3rd Chicken Song

Herbie the chicken sang day and night hoping to...

4th Final Tree

"I will chain myself to that dead tree," she said, "and I hope…"

5th Littlest Dock

He'd been using the dock near the hat store and felt certain nobody…

6th Pub Life

The streets were vacant, the sun was rising, and the drunks inside the pub would soon…

7th World Champ

The limo pulled up and he admired the 70 foot tall statue of the champ, himself, and tonight in the arena…

8th Lady of Rock

The two met daily, she of the rocks, and she of the bench, and they shared their stories of…

9th Let Me In

Hiding inside the house, I could see her waiting on the porch and I knew…

10th Photo Booth

She arrived early and stood in the photo booth imagining herself…

11th Dumb Chair

The price of her shoe-shaped chair meant she couldn't just take it to Goodwill, but it was so uncomfortable she decided she would…

12th Snowmen

I couldn't believe I overheard two snowmen talking, but what they said…

13th Whirlygig

The amusement park was abandoned, and being stuck on the whirlygig meant…

14th Subway Ride

She felt queasy alone on the subway, but she felt much worse about…

15th Titanium Lion

Building out of stone and titanium cost more than he wanted to admit, but it assured him…

16th Piano Recital

The music should have been the focus of her piano recital, but she knew one member of the audience would be in for a big surprise when…

17th Oopsy Daisy

The fuzzy hat, the fur muff, the perfect hair and make-up, everything seemed positively luxurious until the cigarette set the mink afire and then…

18th Flying Horses

He watched those stupid flying horses land running along his roof again and he decided he would…

19th Peace Man

Sitting on the roof of her VW van, she assumed the lotus position and opened her heart to the universe, only to find…

20th Fantasy Garden

Waiting for him to arrive in the fantasy garden irritated her to the point of…

21st Hog Tied

The feeling of the heavy hemp ropes around her neck…

22nd Winter Trio

The three snowmen didn't fear the cold temperatures and so they conspired to…

23rd Forest Bridge

They met in the afternoon light as it filtered through the trees into the humid mists just beyond the stone bridge and they…

24th Waterfall

She stood in the mists from the waterfall alone and…

25th Being Dead

Being dead has turned out to be far less awful than I thought, but what bothers me is…

26th Ghost Comedy

Of course, he had to buy the one haunted building with comedic ghosts and knew it would only be a matter of time before…

27th After Work

She waited patiently for 3 a.m. when the bartender would lock to door for the night, and when she knew…

28th Curtains

Hearing the piano in the lobby, he felt uncontrolable rage and raced down to…

29th Snow Bound

The old jalopy died on the country road and the snow blanketed the landscape in every direction, the only thing she could see was…

30th Speed Record

Setting the land speed record in a vehicle of that type would require a top hat, and a…

31st Police Call

I wondered if I should call the police, or if I should just watch it happen, because seeing something like…

IDEA STARTERS

1st Sorry

Write out an apology letter to your 2008 new year's resolutions informing them of your 2009 resolutions.

2nd Elevator

What does the mean voice in your ear tell you to do? What does your "inner idiot" look like?

3rd Bucolic

Describe a situation where a great vocabulary word could soothe your soul.

4th Review

Describe a scene from your life you'd love to have on videotape.

5th Green Tea

So what healthy thing are you trying to avoid?

6th Latte

How much money do you spend on things to drink? What is the result?

7th Hippie

Why do the wisest people have the weirdest footwear?

8th Big Money

The attorneys have reached a settlement and you're required to give all your worldly possessions to … who? Why?

9th Cologne

What would you like to smell like?

10th Black Dress

Describe the last funtion you attended where little black dresses played a key role.

11th Spinal Tap

You're in medical distress and your least capable friend arrives to help. How does that go?

12th Remote

What do you keep losing?

13th Accomplishments

You're forced to lower the bar on a few of your plans. What things are you less good at today than you used to be?

14th Elves

The elves need your help. They're out of work and the factory sank. What do you need done?

15th Babies

We always say "it's a beautiful baby," but surely one of the babies you know is the ugliest one. Describe.

16th Disproportionate

What things in your life are way bigger than they should be? What things are smaller?

17th Flood

How are you surviving the economic downturn in the global economy?

18th Pillow

Where is your comfy place? What do you do there?

19th Hoards

What are you saving you probably ought to throw away?

20th Rushing

Describe a time when you were in a hurry and wanted something blocking your progress to go away.

21st Publishing

Pretend the book industry makes sense and you're being offered a contract for your next novel. Describe how the meeting goes.

22nd Lists

Which list are you on? Which list would you like to be on?

23rd Taxpayers

Which government programs would you like to fund? Which would you like to stop funding?

24th Passengers

You're driving along and your passenger wants to be helpful. What do they say?

25th Aliens

What have the aliens left behind they need to retrieve?

26th Pilot

You're midway between Cleveland and Baltimore and find out your pilot is a dog, so…

27th Apartments

What is the worst place you've ever lived?

28th Nannies

What has changed you?

29th Therapy

You're in therapy, and so is the person who caused you to be crazy, what is their side of the story?

30th Piano Bar

Describe a night on the town with some type of unique entertainment.

31st Escape

You've gotta get out of here. What is your exit strategy and where will you land?