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.
The prompts will be here this month.
This week's prompts are:
- peel
- justify
- wall
- employee
- temperature
- roll
And/or
- volume
- revenge
- fraud
- explain
- weak
- vague
Have fun.
Hi EC - the first set:
ReplyDeleteThe heat was unbearable … the temperature rose and rose … the employee had to do something … anything to justify why she needed to peel off her clothes. She leant against the wall, and slowly rolled her body along its coolness, backwards and forwards … cool bliss.
Cheers Hilary
I like this!
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Oh, dear! Sounds like she needed to walk into a big restaurant refrigerator. Fun story!
DeleteVery good!
DeleteI can remember days like that in Florida!
DeletePhew, I feel hot rigth now, even though it's late Autmn here. ;)
DeleteHilary Melton-Butcher: I love this, and can feel that cool relief.
DeleteHmmm, sounds kinda like menopause, doesn't it? :)
DeleteHis voice rose in volume as he plotted his revenge. "Fraud," he cried. "Let me explain why." But the explanation, weak and vague, fell on deaf ears.
ReplyDeleteGood one!
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This is really succinct - clever ... cheers Hilary
DeleteWell done!
DeleteExcellent Sandra!
Deleteshort and sweet, and nicely done!
DeleteAll 6 in one sentence. Nice!
DeleteSandra Cox: I hope he does get his revenge, but somehow doubt it...
DeleteNice job!
DeleteI had always prided myself on being the only employee to have my paperwork up-to-date so with an audit looming, I found myself trying to justify the break I was taking. I had been on a roll, printing out one report after another. As I began to peel the orange, I glanced at the clock on the wall. Only two hours left. My temperature began to rise as stress set in. I put the orange down and went back to work.
ReplyDeleteAh another employee story. Well done.
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Ah, deadlines. Hope it all got done in time.
DeleteExcellent Mary!
Deletework work work well written!
DeleteWith a deadline looming here too, I sympatzie with that employee. You're my orange.
Deletemxtodis123: I really like this. And hope that she did meet that deadline.
DeleteI couldn't help but think her vague words spoke a volume of the fraud she had committed against her family. The more she said I saw that she was actually very weak. I decided to bide my time as cosmic revenge would surely find her in the end.
ReplyDeleteLOL
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Hi Linda - that's great ... she will be found out ... cheers Hilary
DeleteWhat goes around comes around. Good story.
Deletekarma gets everyone!
DeleteNemesis!
DeleteLinda Starr: Karma is sometimes slow, but has very sharp teeth. Loved this.
DeleteHe was the employee of the month once again. He had learned to peel the fruit with skill and to keep the temperature just right to make the perfect orange marmalade. With a smile he recalled each night when no one was around how he'd roll the fruit against the wall. Although he thought if he ever got caught he wasn't sure he could adequately justify his prankish behavior.
ReplyDeleteTwice. Rolling fruit against a wall. squishy marmalade.
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Oh, dear. There's a trick to getting the fruit to peel just right, i wish he could use a clean table instead, though.
Deletelol. sneaky of him!
DeleteJust never get caught. Good orange marmalade is heaven.
DeleteLinda Starr: Mmmmm, orange marmelade. And if the rolling works - do it.
DeleteMy sentence arrives for co-workers that get upset if forgets to turn off their walkie while on break. I peel back my forgiveness mode to justify my silly reasons for exposing this story I'm not hiding behind a wall here where we employees eat (especially when the temperature outside is as hot as butter melting on a homemade roll) but some folks feel extremely bothered when volumes on our walkies are too loud, you see some enjoy sweet revenge or fraudulently explain weakly and in no vague terms the reason they never shut them off during lunch is to be annoying! All words used in one looooong sentence!
ReplyDeleteWell done :)
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Wow!
Deletevery well done!
DeleteNoisy co-workes are a pest. Your text is not ;)
DeleteKaren S.: I suspect I would be turning those walkies off. Perhaps by dropping them in a sinkful of water. Great use of the prompts.
DeleteI (and quite a few others totally agree!
DeleteHe considered the investors weak minded. However, his vague effort to explain how the volume of trade yielded such a poor return, made her realize it was fraud and she plotted her revenge.
ReplyDeleteWell done.
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A tale too often told, i hope he gets what he deserves.
Deletewatch out now! she'll get him.
DeleteFraudy investors are 13 to a dozen. Good plot.
DeleteMarie Smith: Too many of them consider their investors weak minded. I too hope he gets what he deserves. And a lot of it.
DeleteDon't Wednesdays come round quickly!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the words.
All the best Jan
Lowcarb team member ~Jan: They do come round quickly. Very quickly indeed.
Delete"Catherine’s curiosity was its highest as she began to PEEL back the seal on the large brown envelope.
ReplyDeleteShe wasn’t sure if it was the summer TEMPERATURE that caused her to perspire profusely or her nerves. Perhaps it was a combination of both.
Catherine had felt WEAK at the knees when she’d pulled the long-hidden, dusty, cob-web covered cache from behind the WALL of the old building.
In the back of her mind was a VAGUE recollection she had been in the large, dark, dank room sometime in her past, but when that was, she had no clue. She couldn’t EXPLAIN her overwhelming feeling of déjà vu
The security guard of the old building who once had been an EMPLOYEE of her late grandfather watched on in silence, a look of distaste on his weathered face.
Catherine felt no need to JUSTIFY her search to him, or to anyone else, for that matter.
In the secret area behind the wall, along with the large envelope, had been a ROLL of faded newspapers of years long gone by, as well as VOLUME upon volume of handwritten sheets of discoloured, frayed paper tied together in bundles with sturdy leather straps.
Had her grandfather been a FRAUD after all? Would the proof be there in what Catherine found to give an explanation, finally, why her father had acted in REVENGE all those years ago?
Maybe now, after years and years of wondering, the truth would be revealed, once and for all."
Ah the suspense, never to be relieved.
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Hi Lee - this would make a lovely mystery, even murder mystery ... great entry - cheers Hilary
DeleteA well set up mystery, you make me want to know more!
DeleteI'm intrigued!
DeleteHey, you can't stop there! Well written.
DeleteLee: I agree with everyone else. I would like to know more. Lots more.
DeleteSorry everyone. Infected sinuses have me feeling woeful. Hopefully I will surface again to read, write and applaud in a day or two.
ReplyDeleteBe well, rest up. Recharge.
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Hope you feel easier soon - sinuses when wrong are searingly painful - take care - H xo
DeleteEC please take care of yourself!! Sending Big Healing Hugs!
DeleteHope that you feel better soon, the crud is going around again here as well.
DeleteSincere commiserations. Be well again soon. I hope I did not infect you via my blog, as I had that bugger last weekend.
DeleteTake care, EC....don't worry about us.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a bit of a challenge this week. Tune in on Friday.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I will be over to read your tale shortly.
DeleteYou've piqued my curiosity Lee, what will the letters reveal?
ReplyDeleteStuffed if I know, River! lol
DeleteThis sounds fun. I'll give it a try next time
ReplyDeleteKB: I look forward to you joining us. Definitely the more the merrier.
DeletePosted a story at my blog.
ReplyDeletehttps://wisewebwoman.blogspot.com/2018/11/words-for-wednesday.html
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I wonder what will be her revenge?
DeleteWisewebwoman: I love it. And, like Uglemor, wonder what form her revenge will take.
DeleteA new bit of magical me is ready ;)
ReplyDeleteI'll return tomorrow and avidly read all the stories.
Uglemor: I love your continuing tale (and continue to be really impressed that you use the words in the order they are presented.
DeleteCarl wiped his brow as the temperature rose. But he had to justify being late and that was when the excrement hit the wall. Even though he was an excellent "employee", Carl huffed as he was assigned to a menial job of peeling potatoes and emptying packages of rolls. He thought: Man. Marian doesn't accept errors. I shoulda known that when we got married.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear! Hope things cool down between them.
DeleteSusan Kane: One of my brothers ran away from home after being asked to peel the potatoes once too often. I hope that Carl and Marian come to a compromise. Or Carl mends his ways.
DeleteEC, i hope you get to feeling better quickly.
ReplyDeleteToday's words led me to a workplace, also.
Aww, shark eats shar. Bad boy story that one.
Deletemessymimi: I loved your story and have seen variations of it play out often...
DeleteAll have kept me reading for awhile.
ReplyDeleteHope you soon feel much improved..
Margaret-whiteangel: They are keeping me reading too. Sadly I am worse not better. Back to the doctor later today.
DeleteIt was fun to read the comments for this one.
ReplyDeleteMary Kirkland: It is, isn't it?
DeleteWell done everyone!
ReplyDeleteEC, I hope you are ok?? I'm so sorry you are sick!
Big Hugs!
Magic Love Crow: Thank you. Back to the doctor later today.
DeleteSorry about that!
DeleteMagic Love Crow: Three visits to the doctor later, and two courses of antibiotics I am at last starting to feel human again. Hugs.
DeleteMine is posted here revenge
ReplyDeleteI love how yo make the words fit into you r ongoing story. As I'm trying to do the same and often feel the words pushing me in un-thought-of directions, I'd like to ask if the same happens for you?
DeleteCindi Summerlin: I am constantly blown away by those who can continue their stories week after week. And want to know more.
Delete@Uglemor, yes, they do frequently change what I thought was the direction of the story, and sometimes give me ideas for future story lines. When I was writing my books, Trooper's Run & Eagle Visions, I would often have an idea of the direction I wanted a chapter to go. Four hours later I would look back over what I had written and realize it was nothing like I thought it would be. It felt sometimes like an invisible muse would take over my fingers and write the books for me.
DeleteThank you for answering. I felt the same, and did not know if this was a general thing, or I was the only one. ;) When you read interviews with writers (J.K. Rowling comes to my mind), they seem to make a plan and stick to it. And yes I'm quite alone in this corner of my world.
DeleteI don't know if this is allowed. And I don't even know if you all read this already. But if you should have time to read only one blog post this week this one should be it: https://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2018/11/lev-grossman.html
ReplyDeletePS: E.C. if this is no OK, feel free to delete - no hard feelings. I just felt that this post hits a bull's eye.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAnd a clickable LINK
DeleteUglemor: That is a really interesting article. My favourite fiction refuses to be defined by genre. As life does.
Delete
ReplyDeleteHe turned the volume up on the radio. He had a vague recollection of driving through the back trails of the poorly lit wooded path. The one he used to take as teenager when he was escaping the man who was now bound in his backseat. His therapist said revenge was not the road to take. No matter how many times he explained the hurt this man had caused, the fraud and deceit he represented, the therapist insisted he not harm him. The therapist told him that he would have to call the police. So, he snatched him too. Now he had both men. Bound. Tied. As the music blared from the car speakers and the car made it's way off the edge of the cliff.
Elsie
Uh, Oh ... all that revenge and anger.
DeleteElsie Amata: All that pain. I am sad that the conclusion takes up both the perpertrator AND the victim though.
Deleteoh my, revenge can be sweet, but never good.
DeleteHere's mine, a bit boring but it is all I could come up with.
ReplyDeleteTaking the peel off, she was looking forward to the orange as she had not had one in a while. As busy as they were at the office, she took time for a ten minute break and did not feel the need to justify. She needed sustenance to do a good job. Her employee agreed. She looked at the wall and saw that the temperature was too low. It was cold and it was time to roll up the heat a notch.
Denise inVA: Not boring at all. I am glad you could join us. And a perfect orange is a thing of joy and beauty.
DeleteI love oranges at work, and the scent of them brightens the day so much!
DeleteWow, I liked reading through everyone's use of these words! So creative!
ReplyDeleteNas: Me too.
DeleteSadly this is a true tale.
ReplyDeleteIt is probably just as well I am not longer a paid employee. I have hit the wall. I am running a temperature and my face has blown up like a barrage balloon. One side of my face anyway. Opening my mouth or my left eye is difficult. Part of me worries that if it swells anymore my face will simply split and peel away.
I tried to explain to the first doctor just how bad I was feeling. I didn't raise the volume of my complaints but simply put my case. My presentation was obviously weak. Or vague. Or the doctor is a fraud.
The antibiotics are nearly finished. Neurofen (as I told him) doesn't even touch the sides of the pain. So this morning I have made an appointment with a different practice. I am not even going to attempt to justify my decision. My revenge is simple. I am not going back to the first practice. I am hopeful that this time I will be listened to, heard and that I will get some relief.
Argggh, you're having it bad. I hope your new doctor will hit the microbes with a barrage of good stuff and make you healthy again. I am sorry that I cannot swish my magic wand halfway around the world. To be listened to by your doctor is a service much sought after. Good luck.
DeleteIt is frustrating and disheartening not to be taken seriously by a medical professional. And yet we need them to write the prescriptions . . . I hope the new doctor will be better. Hugs, EC.
DeleteMay relief come! xx
DeleteYou used the words well, but I'm really sorry your tale is based on facts. Get well soon!
Deleteso very sorry to read this true tale, but such a good use of the words. I hope that you are feeling better sooner rather than later.
DeleteI so wish that wasn't nonfiction. The frustrations of dealing with medical professionals can cause as much pain as the disease/disorder itself. Sigh. Hugs and love.
DeleteHi EC:)
ReplyDeleteWaving back wildly, too, and so glad to see that Words for Wednesday is still firing along on all cylinders!
Mark Koopmans: It is lovely to see you back in the blogosphere. You have been missed.
DeletePeel away the layers of excuses and justify why you wrote that on the wall. I'd always thought of you as a loyal employee,
ReplyDeletebut now you've certainly raised the temperature in the factory: discontent is on a roll...;)) lol
Have a great weekend!
Ygraine: Love your take on the prompt. And hope that your health is on an upward trajectory. Hugs.
Deletewonderful!
DeleteI've enjoyed reading everyone's posts.
ReplyDeleteI've not enjoyed reading that you are not feeling too good.
I sincerely hope the new Doctor will be better.
Sending healing thoughts and good wishes.
All the best Jan
Lowcarb team member ~Jan: Thank you. This too will pass.
DeleteI like to support the others!
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Thank you. Support is always appreciated.
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