Taking a Break From CTS

As you may know, I post a Complete the Story story every Tuesday and Friday. But I haven’t been the last week or two — frankly, I’ve gotten a little bored of them and moved on to Tiny Tales.

The other day I discovered an awesome word called vignette. It is the word I am looking for that describes my favorite kind of writing better than ‘short story’ (although that works too). The Tiny Tales suit this very well, I think, and I think that’s why I’m enjoying them.

Point is, I’m going to take a break from Complete the Story. I don’t know how long. Probably at least a month, maybe for the rest of the summer. Maybe even longer. Well, it’s not so much of a break, more of an ‘unscheduled’ thing, so I don’t have to post a CTS twice a week. Instead, I can do it whenever I want.

Day 33 – Prompt #135: Drive

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I do one every Tuesday and Friday. This is day 33 (not Tuesday — that was a typo), and prompt #135 in the book.

Today, I am taking a break from my Magic Balloon series. I kinda got bored of it… and I’m kinda annoyed with myself for including Part Two, in which I had the parents mention something about “confiscated magic,” so now I have to somehow make that part of the plot line come to a close. Anyway, I decided to do a one-post CTS story as a break. I will finish The Magic Balloon, though. I hope.

Prompt: On my sixtieth birthday, I decided it was time to learn to drive. Face your fears, I told myself. A growth opportunity, I told myself. When I wrapped my hands around the wheel for the first time since…

Day 32 – Prompt #51: The Magic Balloon (Part 7)

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I do one every Tuesday and Friday, although I kind of accidentally-on-purpose took a break last week. This is day 33, and prompt #51 in the book. Below, the red is the initial prompt and the rest is what has happened in previous parts.

Previously…
When you’re the only family living on that side of the mountain, you learn how to keep calm, work hard, and go with the flow. One morning, Mom, up first as usual, walked into the living room and let out a startled, “Oh!” as a hot air balloon landed in their front yard. “Land” is a bit inaccurate, it was more like stumbled and tumbled across the grass. Soon, the whole family was awake, gaping at the strange, empty balloon. Seven-year-old Charlie happily climbed in, and to everyone’s surprise, the basket tipped upright on its own and he began to slowly float away. He landed in the middle of nowhere, and was determined to find people. So he marched down the hill, confident, and a little excited to start his first journey. He found a stone in the ground, removed it, and fell into a hole: through dirt, water, and finally, nothing. Then Charlie fell even more, only to land at the bottom of the hole. Luckily, he found a tunnel that led to a ladder, and soon he was back out. He sprinted back to his balloon, because it was floating away. He floated for a bit, and then the balloon landed. Charlie jumped to the ground and was delighted to see the little village just a ways away! He tied the balloon again to another T-pole that had sprouted while he was looking at the village, and then he set off.

Day 31 – Prompt #51: The Magic Balloon (Part 6)

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I do one every Tuesday and Friday. This is day 31, and prompt #51 in the book. Below, the red is the initial prompt and the rest is what has happened in previous parts.

Previously…
When you’re the only family living on that side of the mountain, you learn how to keep calm, work hard, and go with the flow. One morning, Mom, up first as usual, walked into the living room and let out a startled, “Oh!” as a hot air balloon landed in their front yard. “Land” is a bit inaccurate, it was more like stumbled and tumbled across the grass. Soon, the whole family was awake, gaping at the strange, empty balloon. Seven-year-old Charlie happily climbed in, and to everyone’s surprise, the basket tipped upright on its own and he began to slowly float away. He landed in the middle of nowhere, and was determined to find people. So he marched down the hill, confident, and a little excited to start his first journey. He found a stone in the ground, removed it, and fell into a hole: through dirt, water, and finally, nothing.

Day 30 – Prompt #51: The Magic Balloon (Part 5)

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I do one every Tuesday and Friday. This is day 30, and prompt #51 in the book. Below, the red is the initial prompt and the rest is what has happened in previous parts.

Previously…
When you’re the only family living on that side of the mountain, you learn how to keep calm, work hard, and go with the flow. One morning, Mom, up first as usual, walked into the living room and let out a startled, “Oh!” as a hot air balloon landed in their front yard. “Land” is a bit inaccurate, it was more like stumbled and tumbled across the grass. Soon, the whole family was awake, gaping at the strange, empty balloon. Seven-year-old Charlie happily climbed in, and to everyone’s surprise, the basket tipped upright on its own and he began to slowly float away. He landed in the middle of nowhere, and was determined to find people. So he marched down the hill, confident, and a little excited to start his first journey.

Day 29 – Prompt #51: The Magic Balloon (Part 4)

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I do one every Tuesday and Friday. This is day 29, and prompt #51 in the book. Below, the red is the initial prompt and the rest is what has happened in previous parts.

Previously…
When you’re the only family living on that side of the mountain, you learn how to keep calm, work hard, and go with the flow. One morning, Mom, up first as usual, walked into the living room and let out a startled, “Oh!” as a hot air balloon landed in our front yard. “Land” is a bit inaccurate, it was more like stumbled and tumbled across the grass. Soon, the whole family was awake, gaping at the strange, empty balloon. Seven-year-old Charlie happily climbed in, and to everyone’s surprise, the basket tipped upright on its own and he began to slowly float away. Mom and Dad, unable to stop their son from drifting away, believed it was some sort of magic that had all been confiscated — or so they thought. Charlie, meanwhile, had a strange, magical experience with the balloon when he landed on a hill. He rubbed his back, stood up, and nearly fainted at the sight of his mountain, his very own mountain, very far off in the distance, and the little village — or any sign of civilization — nowhere to be seen.

Day 28 – Prompt #51: The Magic Balloon (Part 3)

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I do one every Tuesday and Friday. This is day 28, and prompt #51 in the book. Below, the red is the initial prompt and the rest is what has happened in previous parts.

Previously…
When you’re the only family living on that side of the mountain, you learn how to keep calm, work hard, and go with the flow. One morning, Mom, up first as usual, walked into the living room and let out a startled, “Oh!” as a hot air balloon landed in our front yard. “Land” is a bit inaccurate, it was more like stumbled and tumbled across the grass. Soon, the whole family was awake, gaping at the strange, empty balloon. Seven-year-old Charlie happily climbed in, and to everyone’s surprise, the basket tipped upright on its own and he began to slowly float away. His family reached up high as they could, but it was no use, and they watched helplessly as Charlie drifted away from their mountain, the only place he’d ever known. Mom and Dad believed it might be old magic that they thought had all been confiscated, and Scarlett knew nothing of this and is very confused. Meanwhile, Charlie was afraid at first, but as he moved higher up into the sky, he realized how amazing it felt, the cool wind on his face. He looked back behind him and saw his mountain, looking smaller than ever as he was slowly-but-steadily drawn apart from it.

Day 27 – Prompt #51: The Magic Balloon (Part 2)

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one every other day. This is day 27, and prompt #51 in the book. Below, the red is the initial prompt and the rest is what has happened in previous parts.

Previously…
When you’re the only family living on that side of the mountain, you learn how to keep calm, work hard, and go with the flow. One morning, Mom, up first as usual, walked into the living room and let out a startled, “Oh!” as a hot air balloon landed in our front yard. “Land” is a bit inaccurate, it was more like stumbled and tumbled across the grass. Soon, the whole family was awake, gaping at the strange, empty balloon. Seven-year-old Charlie happily climbed in, and to everyone’s surprise, the basket tipped upright on its own and he began to slowly float away. His family reached up high as they could, but it was no use, and they watched helplessly as Charlie drifted away from their mountain, the only place he’d ever known.

Day 26 – Prompt #51: The Magic Balloon (Part 1)

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one every other day. This is day 26, and prompt #51 in the book. UPDATE: If you read this before, in this spot I said that every part would be 650 words long as a challenge, but I now realize that some days I don’t have as much time, so I’m taking it back.

Prompt: When you’re the only family living on that side of the mountain, you learn how to keep calm, work hard, and go with the flow. One morning, Mom, up first as usual, walked into the living room and let out a startled, “Oh!” as a hot air balloon landed in our front yard. “Land” is a bit inaccurate, it was more like…

Day 25 – Prompt #65: Visit

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one every other day. This is day 25, and prompt #65 in the book. Today, my challenge was to not make the story as dramatic as perhaps is expected.

Prompt: I looked at my watch for the third time in as many minutes. I knew I was doing it but couldn’t stop myself. I’d been waiting so long, and it was almost time. I could hear my heart ticking in sync with the second hand and prayed they wouldn’t be late. My brain couldn’t handle it. Another hour-long minute passed before…

Day 24 – Prompt #127: Turkey

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one every other day. This is day 24, and prompt #127 in the book.

Prompt: Okay, so maybe the tweet had been a bad idea, but spontaneity keeps life interesting! Besides, I’d built a public reputation on being unpredictable, and I’ll never apologize for it. It certainly made Thanksgiving dinner interesting, not knowing which of my relatives had read or heard about it and which ones hadn’t. Even Grandma…

Day 23 – Prompt #93 – Night

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one every other day. This is day 23, and prompt #93 in the book. Today, my challenge was to provide an alternative insight.

Prompt: I had never been so cold in my life, but I’d also never felt as alive. I was so exhilarated, I thought I might burst in to a million sparks. I looked up…

Complete the Story Update

The novel coronavirus is, obviously, affecting everyone in one way or another. For me, school has just been officially closed for the rest of the year. There are some things that I was looking forward to that I’ll miss. For example, I qualified for a state competition in an extracurricular activity, and a two-night stay in another part of my state had been scheduled for it this Thursday through Saturday, and I was really looking forward to that. But I also realize that I am so much luckier than so many other people, with the fact that I have a safe home big enough to accommodate us, and a yard, and the privilege to still be able to go for quick walks, and a lot more. Getting to the point: I’m still adjusting to online school, and getting ready to handle it for the rest of the year, and I’ve been kind of busy. If you have noticed, I’ve missed more days of my “daily” Complete the Stories recently, so from now on, I’m just going to do it every other day, starting next week, to give myself a few more days to catch up because this is a busy week for me. I hope everyone has a good and healthy spring.

Day 22 – Prompt #97: Date

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one a day. This is day 22, and prompt #97 in the book. I didn’t really have a challenge today.

Prompt: On the eve of her twenty-fourth birthday, Jane was still unmarried. Every Thursday her parents invited a suitable man to dinner, their eyes filled with desperation, but after years of this parade, the options were dwindling. Jane went about her life and studies as if she had no idea her parents were trying to marry her off. She hoped…

Day 21 – Prompt #49: Pie

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one a day. This is day 21, and prompt #49 in the book. Today’s story is very short and my challenge was to take the story in a different direction.

Prompt: My mother is famous for her pies. They are like no other pies I’ve ever tasted anywhere else. She has even been on TV to teach people how to make them, although she left out her secret ingredient. The day she finally passed the recipe on to me…

Day 20 – Prompt #2: Meditation

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one a day. This is day 20, and prompt #2 in the book. Today, my challenge was to make an uneventful story eventful.

Prompt: It was that fleeting hour of day when the moon and sun are high and bright at the same time. Like many things in my life, these summer nights wouldn’t last much longer. I sat quietly on a…

Day 19 – Prompt #125: Scratch

I haven’t had the chance to write a short story the last few days, but I’m back!

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one a day. This is day 19, and prompt #125 in the book. Today, my challenge was to make it just 150 words long exactly.

Prompt: I’ve been a nurse long enough to know when a person is lying. Only one thing leaves a mark like that, and the quicker I can get the patient to tell the truth, the quicker I can start them on the path to healing. This woman…

Day 17 – Prompt #131: First Meeting

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one a day. This is day 17, and prompt #131 in the book. Today, my challenge was to have kind of a twist at the end.

Prompt: I was pretty sure I’d heard him correctly, but I asked him to repeat himself anyway. I didn’t have any siblings. Surely, I would have noticed them when I was growing up. But this man standing in front of me, at my job no less, insisted he was my brother. I pulled off my apron and…

Day 16 – Prompt #98: Hole

I have a book called Complete the Story and it has 150 interesting writing prompts. I recommend it to anyone who often faces writer’s block. I am going to try to do one a day. This is day 16, and prompt #98 in the book. Today, my challenge was to write a story that could be fairly easily edited to a sentence long, or a whole novel.

Prompt: George walked down the sidewalk, almost home from his morning walk and lost in the music in his earbuds, when instead of landing on the concrete, his foot kept falling into…