Second Campaigner Challenge – Nursery Nightmares
March 10, 2012

Surprise, surprise, I'm right up against the deadline for Rachael Harrie’s Second Campaigner Challenge.  Again.  Ahhh, procrastination – how I embrace you. Anyway, Rachael's made it extra tough this time with five different prompts and five different ways to use those prompts.

Prompt 1:

Two people are sitting together under the remains of a concrete bridge. Their backs are against a rusted bridge support. One person’s leg is cut. The other person has wet hair. 

Prompt 2:

(Source)

Prompt 3:

(Source)

Prompt 4:

(Source)

Prompt 5:

(Source)

 

Second Campaigner Challenge

Do one or more of the following:

  1. Write a pitch/logline for a book based on the prompts (less than 100 words)
  2. Write a short story/flash fiction piece of less than 200 words based on the prompts
  3. Write a poem with a twist using the prompts as inspiration (in less than 200 words)
  4. Write a story/poem in five sentences, each sentence based on one of the prompts
  5. Write a poem/flash fiction piece (in less than 200 words) about the water pear *without* using the words “pear”, “spoon”, or “droplet”.

For added difficulty/challenge:

  • Complete at least three of the above activities and tie them all together with a common theme (feel free to either state the theme in your post or leave us to guess what it might be)
  • Write in a genre that is not your own

I completed three of the activities, and I think my title gives away my unifying theme. All three take place in a dystopian world, which is not my usual genre,

Nursery Nightmares

First up is option one – write a book pitch, and I've incorporated items from all five prompts. According to Word, it's exactly 100 words.

In a world where London Bridge still stands, nothing is the same: Red Rover refuses to come over, the Spoon cheats on the Dish with a pear, Jack and Jill’s hill is actually a garbage dump, and instead of twinkling, the Little Star exploded.  But from amongst the chaos, a special girl emerges: songs dance through Mary’s head and narrate how things are supposed to be.  She’s always been quite contrary, so she sets out to put things right.  She’ll need all her courage (plus all the dynamite she can find) because whatever it takes – London Bridge is falling down.
 
 
Next up, I tackled option three – a poem with a twist, which I've based solely on prompt 1.
 
Jack Sprat and his hefty wife,
Were living a life full of strife.
 
They tried their best to keep food on their plate,
But who could guess the last time they’d ate.
 
The apocalypse had come
Without leaving a crumb;
 
So they spent all their days
Trying not to feel crazed, 
 
As they looked far and wide
For something that could be fried.
 
But after miles without finding even an egg,
Mrs. Sprat got a nasty slice on her leg.
 
Her husband did his best to carry her back,
But her solid frame was too much for Jack.
 
He set her down against a crumbling bridge,
While she rambled on about their old fridge.
 
He flopped beside her, his hair dripping with sweat,
“I love you,” he said, his voice full of regret.
 
“I love you too, so accept my last gift.”
And she stabbed herself in a motion quite swift.
 
Jack gasped, screamed, and then finally cried.
“You’ll have plenty to eat,” she said as she died.
 
But he wasted away, ‘cause it wasn’t as simple as that,
For as everyone knows Jack Sprat could eat no fat. 
 
 
And for my third and final piece, I went with option four – write a story with five sentences where each sentence is based on one of the prompts.
 
A star exploded sending radioactive particles to a planet called Earth.  The particles bombarded a mischievous child in red who usually spent all his time in a corner, and they morphed him into a monstrous creature who destroyed cities while shouting, “What a good boy am I,” as he demanded children be sent to him as playmates (and sometimes snacks).  One brave family searched for a magical wooden weapon with the power to liquefy solid objects, since that was the only way to defeat the rampaging beast.  The monster had destroyed the only bridge leading to the weapon, so the family swam across the river; and when the father sliced his leg on a submerged rock, the mom stayed to tend his wound while the two kids hurried toward their goal.  The weapon’s unlikely hiding place was a landfill long abandoned, and the brother and sister searched for hours until they found it; and then they pretended to be the creature's next tributes to gain access to him, aimed the weapon, and the monster dissolved into water that swept across the land, cleansing it of the rubble he'd created.
 
 
Whew, I think I got sillier as I went.  Some of the sentences in that last one are real doozies!  If you thought my entry was worthy, you can go here and 'like' it – it's entry #108.
 
So did you tackle Rachael's prompt-apalooza?  If so, let me know where to find your entry so I can read it.  And let me know what you thought of my efforts in the comments.

Surprise, surprise, I'm right up against the deadline for Rachael Harrie’s Second Campaigner Challenge.  Again.  Ahhh, procrastination – how I embrace you. Anyway, Rachael's made it extra tough this time with five different prompts and five different ways to use those prompts.

Prompt 1:

Two people are sitting together under the remains of a concrete bridge. Their backs are against a rusted bridge support. One person’s leg is cut. The other person has wet hair. 

Prompt 2:

(Source)

Prompt 3:

(Source)

Prompt 4:

(Source)

Prompt 5:

(Source)

 

Second Campaigner Challenge

Do one or more of the following:

  1. Write a pitch/logline for a book based on the prompts (less than 100 words)
  2. Write a short story/flash fiction piece of less than 200 words based on the prompts
  3. Write a poem with a twist using the prompts as inspiration (in less than 200 words)
  4. Write a story/poem in five sentences, each sentence based on one of the prompts
  5. Write a poem/flash fiction piece (in less than 200 words) about the water pear *without* using the words “pear”, “spoon”, or “droplet”.

For added difficulty/challenge:

  • Complete at least three of the above activities and tie them all together with a common theme (feel free to either state the theme in your post or leave us to guess what it might be)
  • Write in a genre that is not your own

I completed three of the activities, and I think my title gives away my unifying theme. All three take place in a dystopian world, which is not my usual genre,

Nursery Nightmares

First up is option one – write a book pitch, and I've incorporated items from all five prompts. According to Word, it's exactly 100 words.

In a world where London Bridge still stands, nothing is the same: Red Rover refuses to come over, the Spoon cheats on the Dish with a pear, Jack and Jill’s hill is actually a garbage dump, and instead of twinkling, the Little Star exploded.  But from amongst the chaos, a special girl emerges: songs dance through Mary’s head and narrate how things are supposed to be.  She’s always been quite contrary, so she sets out to put things right.  She’ll need all her courage (plus all the dynamite she can find) because whatever it takes – London Bridge is falling down.
 
 
Next up, I tackled option three – a poem with a twist, which I've based solely on prompt 1.
 
Jack Sprat and his hefty wife,
Were living a life full of strife.
 
They tried their best to keep food on their plate,
But who could guess the last time they’d ate.
 
The apocalypse had come
Without leaving a crumb;
 
So they spent all their days
Trying not to feel crazed, 
 
As they looked far and wide
For something that could be fried.
 
But after miles without finding even an egg,
Mrs. Sprat got a nasty slice on her leg.
 
Her husband did his best to carry her back,
But her solid frame was too much for Jack.
 
He set her down against a crumbling bridge,
While she rambled on about their old fridge.
 
He flopped beside her, his hair dripping with sweat,
“I love you,” he said, his voice full of regret.
 
“I love you too, so accept my last gift.”
And she stabbed herself in a motion quite swift.
 
Jack gasped, screamed, and then finally cried.
“You’ll have plenty to eat,” she said as she died.
 
But he wasted away, ‘cause it wasn’t as simple as that,
For as everyone knows Jack Sprat could eat no fat. 
 
 
And for my third and final piece, I went with option four – write a story with five sentences where each sentence is based on one of the prompts.
 
A star exploded sending radioactive particles to a planet called Earth.  The particles bombarded a mischievous child in red who usually spent all his time in a corner, and they morphed him into a monstrous creature who destroyed cities while shouting, “What a good boy am I,” as he demanded children be sent to him as playmates (and sometimes snacks).  One brave family searched for a magical wooden weapon with the power to liquefy solid objects, since that was the only way to defeat the rampaging beast.  The monster had destroyed the only bridge leading to the weapon, so the family swam across the river; and when the father sliced his leg on a submerged rock, the mom stayed to tend his wound while the two kids hurried toward their goal.  The weapon’s unlikely hiding place was a landfill long abandoned, and the brother and sister searched for hours until they found it; and then they pretended to be the creature's next tributes to gain access to him, aimed the weapon, and the monster dissolved into water that swept across the land, cleansing it of the rubble he'd created.
 
 
Whew, I think I got sillier as I went.  Some of the sentences in that last one are real doozies!  If you thought my entry was worthy, you can go here and 'like' it – it's entry #108.
 
So did you tackle Rachael's prompt-apalooza?  If so, let me know where to find your entry so I can read it.  And let me know what you thought of my efforts in the comments.

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who never imagined her cheeky sense of humor would lead to a book about animal butts. When she's not researching fanny facts, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, short films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her booty-ful dogs.