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, which includes cheering on the other participants. If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.
Last month the Delores provided us with some excellent prompts and challenges. This month the prompts will be posted here.
This week's prompts are:
- ghoul
- ambiguous
- forgery
- benefit
- affair
- parade
And/or
- delight
- whisper
- bottle
- homicidal
- sawdust
- circle
Have fun.
Mary leaned down and whispered in Stella's ear, "This is such a delight! One like we've never seen before. Remember, my precious child, never look him in the eyes, and never ever step outside the circle."
ReplyDeleteShe took Stella's clammy hand and led her through the dark and dank farmhouse. The smell of sawdust wafted up to her nose. She heard Stella sniffle. "Shoosh!" Stella muffled her whimpers.
Mary placed Stella into the center of the circle and waited for their Leader to appear. Her heart beating wildly in her chest. This would make her third in line. A rivaled position.
The grey-haired man appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and yanked Stella from circle, and then pushed Mary into middle. His eyes were homicidal as he forced Mary to drink the sacrificial blood. As her life dimmed, she saw Stella grab their Leader's hand and vanish back into the night.
Elsie
Elsie Amata: Dark, dangerous and very clever. Mary overstepped the mark, and paid the price.
DeleteWhooohooooo! Nightmare on Elm Street Part Four!
DeleteWell done! :)
Scary. Never trust anyone on the dark side.
DeleteThis is good! Scary, but good!!
DeleteDangerous and exciting. Well done with such few words! You really created a scene.
Delete~Jess
Wow,,...what a collection. You've been taking a walk on the dark side.
ReplyDeleteonly slightly confused: Until your comment I hadn't realised just how dark many of the words could be...
DeleteOkay, I have mine up now.
DeleteAn intriguing mix this week EC. I like what Elsie Amata wrote with them. I'll get my thinking cap on.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
DeleteThe slogan on her truck read WE FACE IT SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
ReplyDeleteKim's business was expanding, and she advertised for a working partner to take it to the next level. Sadly most of the applicants' positive attitudes were a forgery. Voyeurs into affairs which attracted the media and those seeking a quick buck with no idea of the work involved. And no, generous handfuls of sawdust didn't cut it.
People's reaction to her work was ambiguous at best. Those who had the benefit of her services were filled with delight. Others whispered that she had to be a ghoul or she couldn't do it.
She didn't care. There would never be a ticker tape parade for her but she provided a necessary service. Domestic cleaners were a dime a dozen. Those who were prepared to do the same job after a homicidal event were rarer. Much rarer.
Her circle was small. Most people didn't have the bottle to do her job. She smiled wryly. Ten years ago it would have been unthinkable for her too. Who knew that her father killing her mother and then himself would start her on the road to a profitable career?
Wow...a necessary service indeed but one hopes there wouldn't be TOO much business.
Delete"Sunshine Cleaning" is back in business! (That's the name of a movie based on a similar business)!
DeleteGreat use of the worlds, EC. :)
It is a difficult business. You have to have a very strong stomach. Some of my clients have been hoarders, and that's hard to deal with, too.
DeleteI've seen such cleaners on tv shows and wondered if it was something I would be able to do. I like to think I'd be strong enough, but I think the smells would do me in. I am glad there are people who CAN do the necessary clean up. Great story EC.
DeleteRiver: Thank you. I really don't know whether it is a job I could do or not.
DeleteHmmm, I think you could turn this into a book if you so desired, EC.
DeleteExcellent! I agree with Sandra, you could turn this into a book!
Delete"When we were kids we always took newspapers that had seen their day and empty soft drink bottles back to the corner store and/or to the butcher shop in exchange for pennies, sixpences or shilling pieces, depending on the quantity of our trade.
ReplyDeleteMuch to our DELIGHT the butcher, always with a HOMICIDAL glint in his eyes, would entertain us one way and the other. He often would PARADE around in an ever-expanding CIRCLE in the SAWDUST on his shop’s floor, while waving his meat cleaver in his hand just for our BENEFIT. His acting like a GHOUL always made us laugh.
Our friendly butcher’s actions were never AMBIGUOUS. We knew there was only innocent, harmless, childish mischief behind his game-playing.
Every time we entered the butcher shop, with our bundle of papers under our arms, my brother and I would WHISPER to each other, “Let’s hope Mr. Lane acts silly again today. He’s always lots of fun!”
One memorable visit turned out to be quite an AFFAIR, one that has always remained vivid in my memory.
My brother and I dumped our load on the counter of Mr. Lane’s shop, and eagerly waited for our reward.
The corner store next door was, as always, our next port of call. In there, jars filled with colourful lollies were waiting for us to pick and choose which ones we wanted.
This particular day our faces lit up in surprise when Mr. Lane leapt out from behind the cold room.
In his hand was a five pound note!
With a wide smile on his face, he waved it at us.
Our excitement was short-lived, though. No such luck! We soon realised it was a FORGERY!
We laughed along with the butcher as he handed us a shiny silver shilling each.
A shilling apiece was worthy payment.
It meant we could buy a BOTTLE of soft drink each, as well as a packet of lollies, and still have some money left over for our piggy banks."
A shilling was almost unheard of riches...
DeleteSuch lovely times.
DeleteI remember when a shilling was a lot of money too, the amount of lollies available for that shilling would keep a child going for a week if she chose carefully from the boxes that sold 'six for a penny' or 'eight for a penny'
DeleteI remember cashing in soft drink bottles too. Thank you Lee for the memory.
You're welcome,River. Days of innocence and fun. :)
DeleteThanks to you for your comment, and to EC and messymimi, too.
An ambiguous soul was recently arrested for forgery. He said it wasn't for his own benefit but rather to fund the parade marking the seventh anniversary of the Lambert Ghoul Affair.
ReplyDeletemshatch: And now I want to know more about the Lambert Ghoul Affair. A lot more. Wonderful (and very economical) use of the prompts.
DeleteYou put a great deal into a few words.
DeleteThe Lambert Ghoul Affair - fact or fiction? It sounds like something I'd like to be at, or at least watch from the sidelines.
DeleteCan we do both? :) This is the time of year I get bombarded by dumbfuckery at work, so it could be cathartic.
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty: Of course. Take your catharsis any way you can.
DeleteTo my delight the A-Z challenge has come around again ... I dared not whisper it to my other half ... but I'm going to ... as he'll go off and find a bottle, or two - the sawdust on the pub floor could get rather foul ... and perhaps that detective will need to be brought in ... to see who is rendered helpless laughing at her luck in that circle of light - it's nearly the end of April and she'll be free then - perhaps look for another hapless man in 2019 ... ?
ReplyDeleteCheers to one and all and particularly you EC - Hilary
Hilary Melton-Butcher: I have been learning from and loving your A-Z posts and am awed that you found time to drop in and create a great tale from the prompts. Thank you.
DeleteSometimes we have to do what we need to do and let others work around it as they may.
DeleteThumbs up, Hilary.
DeleteHe was a Homicidal maniac at times especially if he had a Bottle of whisky to drink.
ReplyDeleteOne day I watched him with Bottle in hand going around in Circles in the Sawdust, he made me laugh so much that I could only Whisper when telling a friend. He was a Delight to see.
Margaret-Whiteangel: I love your story - and am so glad you were able to join us this week.
DeleteI am also having computer issues, but I'll be back. I love these challenges.
ReplyDeleteJono: I hope your computer issues are quickly dealt with - and really looking forward to seeing where the prompts take you.
DeleteThat ghoul is a fool, whatever he says
ReplyDeleteis ambiguous and all shades of grey
isn't he the one who got the forgery done?
a pathetic try - benefits no-one
the whole charade is a shoddy affair
so why is he here? quick, get him downstairs.
:)
Nilanjana Bose: I had never considered a foolish ghoul. Much less a foolish Ghoul who was a forger. My mind is spinning - thank you.
DeleteA fun take on the words!
DeleteHank breathed a sign of relief and smiled in delight that the whisper coming from the bottle had left. It had been causing him to have homicidal thoughts and he didn't want that anymore. But when he looked down, he saw blood in the sawdust on the floor. As he made a circle around the room, he saw what the voice had lead him to do once again.
ReplyDeleteThis bodes no good for him or others. Very dark.
DeleteMason Canyon: Poor Hank. Poor, poor Hank.
DeleteThese were fun words to use!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't sleep, so got up and started writing. My story is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday 13th.
ReplyDeleteRiver: You really couldn't sleep could you.
DeleteI haven't done Words for Wednesday in a while, but this time, the story just popped out of me. Only one set of words though.
ReplyDeleteThe BOTTLE wobbled inside the SAWDUST CIRCLE. Blue smoke rose slowly out of its long curved neck, condensed into a shapeless cloud, then molded into a strange shape. Long ears. A quivering nose. A rabbit? Her genie was a rabbit? The apparition wavered above the bottle. Its phantom mouth didn’t move, but a WHISPER thundered in her ears. “It’s a DELIGHT to serve you, mistress. I can give you three wishes. Carrots. Cabbages. Clover. Which do you want first?”
“Clover?” she said, flabbergasted. “I need money.”
The cloudy rabbit bobbed up and down. “Can’t. I’m a garden genie.”
HOMICIDAL thoughts assaulted her mind. She had paid so much, all her savings, to that rat Brian for the genie, and it only granted carrots? Her cheating, stinking ex had lied to her. Again. She would kill him, strangle him with her bare hands. Bury him alive in sand.
Suddenly she grinned. Maybe she could bury him alive in carrots? “How many carrots could you deliver in one wish?” she asked.
The rabbit puffed up, expanding and thinning simultaneously. “As many as you wish.”
“A couple tons?”
The rabbit genie oscillated. “Yes. Now?”
“No. I’ll show you.” She turned on her phone, found Brian’s selfie on his Facebook page, and showed it to the genie. “I want you to pile two, no three tons of carrots on top of this man. Bury him in carrots. Now.”
“Done!” said the genie and whooshed back inside the bottle.
Amanda stoppered the bottle and headed for the door. Brian should’ve been home this evening, watching a ball game. If he died under the carrots, she would get back her house. Their divorce wasn’t finalized yet. She would inherit all his money too.
Oh, revenge was so sweet!
Olga Godim: I LOVE this. I have had a difficult and stressful day and your story is making me smile from ear to ear. Thank you so much.
DeleteSorry - No words this week.. Several things have cropped up for attention; such as the Auto garage door malfunction( age related) the gardener coming earlier: hedge cutting mowing and spraying grass.. My carer son busy on voluntary work at Camp Breakaway. and myself having a fall in the garden and injured my Right leg ( a large chunk being removed) requiring a minor operation; pain killers lots of stitches and tetanus shots and the loss of half a legfull of blood. so that is about all, apart from I am recovering well. see you next week.
ReplyDeleteVest: I am really sorry to hear this and hope you are recovering.
DeleteGreat post!!!! Love reading the entries!! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteMagic Love Crow: Thank you so much for your support and kind words.
DeleteThis writing prompt is so creative. I wrote a story with all the words - and it was much too long to post in the comments like some clever people have done. I wonder if its too late to post on my blog?
ReplyDeleteKalpanaa M: Of course it is mot too late. I would love to read your take on the prompts.
Delete