This meme was started by Delores a long time ago. Computer issues led her to bow out for a while. The meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast.
Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write. Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image. What we do with those prompts is up to us: a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore... We can use some or all of the prompts.
Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme. If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.
This month the prompts will be posted here but are being provided by Margaret Adamson and her friend Sue Fulton. The prompts will include photographs taken by her Margaret's friend Bill.
This weeks prompts are:
- Fluid
- Optimum
- Excitement
- Bus
- Forensic
- Forest
And/or
- Theatre
- Shoe
- Passion
- Dogmatic
- Prison
- Visitor
Have fun with these.
A big thank you to Margaret Adamson, her friends Sue Fulton and Bill. Next month Delores will be providing the prompts at her blog here.
Even if you don't know Delores, I do hope you will go and check out her posts and prompts. This game is made MUCH more fun by the people who join us.
Good luck every one!
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Thank you.
DeleteAn impressive list this week. It's been a great month.
ReplyDeleteonly slightly confused: It has hasn't it. I am looking forward to the challenges you will set us next month too.
DeleteOptimum excitement was achieved long before the bus ride home when the forensic analyst found a strange fluid in the forest.
ReplyDeleteHow's that?
Alex J Cavanaugh: I had a fluid in the forest too - and hope that your forensic analyst is baffled.
DeleteCSI is hard at work today! :)
DeleteThat is enough to be intriguing, everyone will want to know what fluid, and why was it there.
DeleteOoh, I like this, Alex!
DeleteThat's great Alex:-)
DeleteSlow and steady. I need to be careful. No excitement, just a carefully planned and executed approach to the last problem he is ever going to give me. His dogmatic insistence on always being right about everything was his last mistake. The theatre? Politics? Cooking? Great literature? He knew it all. Knew more than the experts, knew more than a casual visitor, knew more than everyone. And told them so. At length.
ReplyDeleteHe totally deserved it, but hammering his head into a bloody pulp with the brake shoe wasn't planned. A moment of passion He was wrong too. The brake shoe I selected did the job perfectly, even if it didn't quite fit his bus. In an optimum world I would be given and award for taking him out, but if I am going to avoid prison I need to be very, very careful. The forensic evidence needs to be spotless. The forest is going to be his final resting spot I think. In a quiet area. Unburied, so that the nasty fluid leaking from his head attracts insects and animals to taint the evidence. I can do this. I will do this...
You went wonderfully dark this week! I love it!
DeleteOooooh! I hope he/she hasn't left fingerprints or any other personal evidence.
DeleteWe seem to be in a similar mood this morning, EC! l
DeleteI'll keep my mouth shut! They'll not get anything out of me! :)
Whoa...youi visited the dark place this week.
DeleteThere's that spot in all of us that sympathizes with the person who illegally and wrongly gave him what he seemed to deserve. Does this make us complicit?
DeleteOoh, I see writing murder mysteries in your future. Good job1
DeleteThis was an unusual twist. We all know someone we would like to batter with a brake shoe because they know everything! LOL Also loved your ending to my story. It was perfect. My part was true...
DeleteOoh!
DeleteI liked this.
All the best Jan
oh my. brilliant. scary, but loved it. how is the smaller portion by the way?
DeleteCindi Summerlin: Thank you. The smaller portion continues to have health issues. Lots of health issues. He is away visiting a friend at the moment - which is a nice distraction for us both.
DeleteI didn't realize you had a teensy dark side. :)
DeleteGreat job!
Susan: Thank you. My dark side is large,deep and murky. I rarely let it out though.
DeletePerforming had always been a passion of hers, well as long as she could remember anyway. Her parents were her biggest supporters and it was the rare visitor to their home who walked away without the details of her most recent exploit, each and every detail dissected and recalled with forensic precision. They believed starring roles would be the optimum for showcasing her many talents, but understood some directors could be unyielding and dogmatic with their choices and expectations, and a secondary part was still a huge. They had told her that very thing so many times that she firmly understood there was no such thing as a little part.
ReplyDeleteSo it was with immense excitement that she waited for this one night only event. She was in her room waiting for the time to pass. She watched the second hand on the clock by her bed. It circled the numbers in what appeared to be a normal pattern, but the minutes felt like a bus stalled in traffic, running yet going nowhere. Would 6 o'clock ever come? Would she ever get out of this mental prison holding her suspended in a timeless state.
As always time did not stand still and soon it was time to go. She got to the theater, went backstage alone with the butterflies that were not fighting to get out of her stomach. After dressing and makeup and a few hellos and good natured jibs with the rest of the cast, she heard the call. "Places everyone" With a fluid motion she removed her shoes and tiptoed quietly on stage. With a huge smile on her face she joined the rest of the "forest". She would be the best singing Christmas tree Johnson Elementary had ever seen!
I like this, it brings back a few memories.
DeleteAnne in the kitchen: I am smiling a lot at this. We all need singing Christmas Trees.
DeleteYes...this is a lovely little story, one that does bring a welcome smile. :)
DeleteHey, we all have to start somewhere.
DeleteShe's being well trained, and i'll bet she was the best.
DeleteI really hope she was just a normal enthusiastic kid, who believed everything is possible, and had parents who encouraged her to do what she loved even though she was not the best of the best.
DeleteI broke into laughter. Loved the story and where it took us. Back to the elementary shows we all were part of at one time. Way to go Anne.
DeleteThis was great! What a surprise ending;)
Deleteloved! i was once a singing Christmas tree too!
DeleteI like these words, I felt my brain wake up right away. Let's see if I can keep it awake.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I hope you can. I really hope you can.
DeleteWith fluid optimism and excitement
ReplyDeleteI took a bus to the forensic forest.
I was crushed and sad to find out
it was closed on Tuesday,
especially since a rash of evidence
suggested it was in another time zone.
Next time take a pack of sandwiches and a flask of coffee with you, and wait! Well done! :)
DeleteMartin Kloess: Lee is right. Make a picnic of the day...
DeleteOptimism dashed.....how unfortunatel. I'd like to visit a forensic forest in the future.
DeleteHope you get there again when they are open and they make it worth the second trip!
DeleteGood job coming up with Forensic Forest. Always a place visited on CSI:-)
DeleteBelow is my effort for this week. Thank you for June's words and images, EC. They've been great.
ReplyDelete“You wouldn’t be so damned DOGMATIC if the SHOE was on the other foot!” She shouted at him with PASSION. “I’m fed-up with your stubborn arrogance. You keep this place locked up like a bloody PRISON. God help me if a VISITOR dared press the button at the front gates! Would you set the dogs on him?”
He stood at the window his back to her, calmly ignoring her outburst.
She has to make a THEATRE performance out of everything, he thought. Staring into the distance, across the hedge-fringed, manicured lawn to the lush, dense FOREST beyond, he wondered when the OPTIMUM moment would be to for him to carry out his plan; a plan that had quietly and secretly been in progress for a couple of months.
“Why do you have to be so over-bearing all the time?” She continued her diatribe. “You dictate my every move; my every breath! Hell! I can’t even take a BUS into the village without your permission! The only EXCITEMENT I have around this place is when the bloody ride-on mower backfires, or the cook drops a pot!”
With one FLUID movement she picked a leather-bound book from the shelf and forcefully tossed it towards him. Landing heavily on the window seat, the tome missed him by a mile.
“It’s a pity it didn’t hit you!” She cried, as she stormed from the room. “It would have made the job easy for the FORENSIC crew....”Death by Words!”
Wow...now I want to know what his plan was.
DeleteLee: Love this - and also want to know what his plan was. Despite being on her side.
DeleteI would love to - but can't take credit for the prompts this month. Margaret and her friends did us proud.
Even I don't know what the plan is.
DeleteAll I do know is he has nothing nasty up his sleeve. His plan is to be a very pleasant surprise. One that will stop her whingeing and nagging; one that please her immensely, and stop her from tossing any more thick books at him! lol
Good to hear he isn't planning anything nasty or her demise. Perhaps a new car of her own with a chauffeur/guardian so she can get out and about?
DeleteAnd perhaps he should also plan a trip to the marriage counselor? Well told, i could feel the antagonism.
DeleteThis is wonderful!
DeleteYou had me on the edge of my seat once again. Loved the thrown book and...Death by Words. LOL
DeleteLook at 'em go!! Love this exercise. :) Thanks for the kind words on my blog today. Have a wonderful rest of the week!
ReplyDeletemail4rosey: Thank you. The stories are flooding in - which is lovely.
DeleteOkay, I think I've got it.
ReplyDeleteHer movements on stage were flawlessly fluid. The lights in the old theatre shone on her brilliance. Her passion for the dance was obvious in every move. The excitement of the crowd grew as she made optimum use of the stage, interpreted every note. And then - her shoe came off. Everything stopped, the music, the movement, the appreciative gasps of the crowd, the plywood enchanted forest stopped in its journey across the stage....everything.....just....stoppppped. The silence beat in her ears with a pounding, hammering beat..............the dogmatic voice of Sheila the female prison guard cut into her daydream turned nightmare. "Shelly! #23! You have a visitor."
"Shelley," her mom sobbed softly into a sodden handkerchief, "Baby, the forensics work is back honey and they found your prints all over that bus. It's over honey. It's all over."
only slightly confused: You most definitely got it. Poor Shelley. I hope her dreams are enough to sustain her...
DeleteWell done, Delores! :)
DeletePoor Shelley, forgot to wear gloves. And it seems her mind is no longer fully her own anymore.
DeleteIt is most likely Shelley needs psychiatric help, not prison, and it is very unlikely she will get it, which is sad.
DeleteI love the way you used the words this week. I was mentally dancing with her them, bam, I was in jail. I especially love how the prompts speak so differently to everyone.
DeleteGood transition from lovely dance to horrible conclusion. Another good story Delores.
DeleteWell done Delores ...
DeleteAll the best Jan
Here is mine:
ReplyDeletehttp://jannghi.blogspot.com/2017/06/words-for-wednesday_27.html
Jamie Ghione: I thoroughly enjoyed your take on the prompts. As I always do.
DeleteI cannot think of a way to incorporate these words in a paragraph today, EC. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteMarie Smith: Not a problem. Sometimes the inspiration well is dry.
DeleteChild, the little ditty ee-i-ee-i-o came to mind. Silly, I know. Don't know where it came from.
ReplyDeletedonna baker: Old MacDonald had a farm? It is always amazing where the prompts can take us. And I at least rarely know where the ideas come from.
DeleteHer passion was acting in a live theatre, the dogmatic director had her repeating the same scene over and over again changing costumes each time up to and including her shoes. Little did she know that the director's visitor was fresh out of prison. The visitor stared at her feet for each retake of the scene; she would have sworn he had a shoe fetish.
ReplyDeleteLinda Starr: Eeeeuw. I am distrusting the director now. Is he playing to his friend's fetish? This is an excellent and creepy take on the prompts.
DeleteIt does sound like the director is setting her up for something, and it's not good.
DeleteThere's a lot of dancing in today's stories. I like it.
DeleteHa! Shoe fetish. Didn't see that one coming.
DeleteWell where did that come from Linda? Isn't it fun how the stories creep into our brains. Good one:-)
DeleteThank you for hosting, Elephant's Child! My story is here.
ReplyDeleteI like it, very well done.
Deletemessymimi: I was really impressed at how you wove the prompts into your story. I could hear them talking.
DeleteI posted my comment on your blog. I also want to know how you create your link to "My story is here".
DeleteAlways enjoy reading what the prompts inspire. Such interesting thoughts.
ReplyDeleteMason Canyon: Sometimes scary thoughts too...
DeleteMy story is scheduled for Friday.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I am really looking forward to it.
DeleteGood efforts. Well done.
ReplyDeleteTreey Stynes: Thank you. There are some great stories this week. As there are every week.
DeleteMy story is posted on my blog. Hope you will read what I wrote and the perfect ending Elephant's Child added to it. http://granan10.blogspot.com/2017/06/words-for-wednesday_28.html
ReplyDeleteGranny Annie: As you know I have already seen your story. And loved it. And am not surprised to hear it is true.
DeleteHave posted a comment on your blog
DeleteThis is my first story using the first set of words.
ReplyDeleteThis trip had been in the planning stages for nearly 2 year. I had dreamed about it for practically 10 years so when the day arrived for me to start this long adventure to see, live and study the orangutans in their natural home FOREST, the EXCITEMENT was nearly overwhelming.
Having flown nearly half way round the world I arrived in Malaysia and picked up the special BUS to take me to Danum Valley, Sabah. Surprisingly the bus offered OPTIMUM comfort with a captivating surround sound experience telling you more about the orangutans and there fight for survival.
Having done years of research into these wonderful animals I believed this area had arguably the best chance of seeing the 'old man of the jungle' in his natural environment.
Recent studies put the number of orangutans in the area at around 500, with as many as 17 resident living in the immediate vicinity of the Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
We hadn’t travelled far between we all were aware of a petrol smell and realised that a man had open a tin can at the front of the bus and the FLUID from the can was slowing travelling down the aisle of the bus. The driver stopped the bus immediately and told us all to get off and as the final people were disembarking, the man put a light to the FLUID and the whole bus went up in flames. Due to the blast, I and others were catapulted into the air and landed like confetti over the area.
Unfortunately a number of people died that day, I along with others suffered third degree burns and a variety of other injuries and of course FORENSIC Officers were drafted in to investigate what had happened. My long awaited dream had been truly extinguished. I never did get to see my beloved Orangutans but I still support the work and hope that through the Danum Valley Field Centre’s ongoing commitment and care of these wonderful animals, their survival will be assured.
Margaret Adamson: What a story. I was excited and happy, and then my hopes were dashed. And I do hope that the orangutans do survive...
DeleteI certainly did not see that coming. We need to know why the petrol guy did what he did. Was he a terrorist or was he protesting the help for orangutans? I pictured you and the others catapulted into the air, landing like confetti over the area. Exciting story Margaret.
DeleteWell done to everyone ...
ReplyDeleteI've made a mental note of the words - just got to get my brain around a story ...
All the best Jan
I can hear the wheels turning and a story is imminent
DeleteLowcarb team member~ Jan: I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Delete
ReplyDeletehttp://lettingthewordsescape.blogspot.com/2017/06/wednesdays-words_28.html
Cindi Summerlin: I have been, I have read, I have marvelled.
DeleteThis is my 2nd story using the 2nd set of words.
ReplyDeleteIt had been decided, well really it was the Governor of Strangeways PRISON in Manchcester who always had a great love for the THEATRE that had decided to invite Nicholas Hytner, a well known Director of stage and films to come and direct the inmates in a production of The PASSION Play for Easter time. Nick had been born in Manchester and had retired recently and was delighted to be asked.
The Governor did warn Nick that there would be possible problems if he came down too hard to the guys but he was a DOGMATIC individual who was quick to argue with anyone who challenged his opinion. After all he was a famous Director who had made his name and fortune directing Miss Saignon both in London in the 90’s and later in New York. He thought he could easily lick these guys into shape.
However the prisoners were not up for the idea of a production at all and he may have been a world renowned Director on the outside but to them he was a mere and unwanted VISITOR here.
The first rehearsal day came and as it turned out it was also the last. When Nick started barking order at the guys, one guy theN took off his left SHOE and threw it at him, jeering at him, then his right shoe and that was a signal for all of them to hurl their shoes at him. 62 shoes aimed directly at his head, had the guards running towards him to try and protect him.
Needless to say, he left that day, relieved to be alive but disappointed that this was his only failure to put on a play in his whole career.
Margaret Adamson: It is possibly wrong of me, but I do like to see arrogance retire defeated. Great story.
DeleteThis led me to research shoes for prisoners. Most are soft on top but all, even the sandals, have thick soles. 62 pair could do a lot of damage. They took that famous director down a peg. Loved the story. Loved the prompts you and Sue and Bill provided this month. Thanks a lot:-)
DeleteA good selection of words EC. I am in a bit of a rush today. Will try to join in later. We have company coming soon and all my energy is in getting ready :)
ReplyDeleteDenise inVA: When and if you are ready. Real life comes first.
DeleteHi EC - sorry flunked out of this one ... and the brain didn't immediately kick into gear with the words. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHilary Melton-Butcher: Not a problem. Sometimes the words sing to us, and sometimes they are silent.
DeleteThis is a great weekly exercise. I enjoy coming over to visit on Wednesday to see who I can get motivated! Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteRO: This meme is a lot of fun. I am so grateful to Delores for starting it.
DeleteGood luck to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.
WordsPoeticallyWorth: Welcome and thank you.
DeleteSometimes we can't see the forest for the trees, and all we need is a bit of encouragement.
ReplyDeleteBlue
Blue Grumpster: How right you are. Encouragement rarely goes amiss.
Delete