This Week’s Prompts*

1. "Kitchen, dining room, pantry, bath," she chanted to herself, walking deliberately through the room, heel to toe.

2. For six months after their split, Arvin used the LPs she'd left behind as dinner plates, spitefully sawing away at the steak or chicken on top.

3. In the before times, there were Glimmers, Glubs, and hairy, smelly Garweens.

4. A face tattoo: That would show them.

5. Janaki shook her head slowly: "I think you will find that there is nothing remaining in that box."

6. Write a scene in which a man goes to put on his shoes and finds something inside one that shouldn't be there.

7. The air was mild, but her skin was on fire.

*How to Use These Prompts: The italicized prompts let you create your writing entirely from scratch; the non-italicized prompts are intended as your first line and jumping off point. But, at the same time, there are no rules. Write on!

Book(s) We’re Reading This Week

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld
In spite of the popularity of her novels, this short story collection is the first I’ve read of Sittenfeld’s work and, I’ll say, I’m digging it. What can I say? I’m a sucker for good prose and great character studies.

_{Grab it on Bookshop.org (and support local bookstores!)
Grab it on Amazon}

Top (Published) First Line of the Week

Sunlight floods the room from the bay window, reflects off the wide, honey-colored floorboards, and casts an emerald glow over the perforate leaves of a monstera shaped like a cloud.

From Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico

_{Grab it on Bookshop.org (and support local bookstores!)
Grab it on Amazon}

P.S.

Looking for a way to write for a living—and still get paid well? Check out this training about copywriting. Think: creativity meets strategy, like doing word puzzles for a living. (Seriously; there’s a reason I’ve stuck with it for 20-plus years.)