Introduction: I am going to start practising writing by using a random prompt generator and having to write a short story in 10-15 minutes. The point of Quick Writes are to help me become more flexible and comfortable with writing. Some may be bad, some may be weird, but discovering what works and what doesn’t is an important part of getting comfortable with your craft.
With that, let us begin my first Quick Write piece.
Generated writing prompt: Amongst her mother's possessions, she found
Characters: Holly (child), Elena (mother)
Holly reaches for a box labelled “Elena’s Stuff”. It’s quite difficult, standing atop a ladder into the small attic of their family home. She struggles with the box, eventually getting it close.
My mother really had a lot of stuff…
She lowers the box through the opening in the ceiling, and hands it to her brother below.
“Wow, this is pretty heavy! Could’ve given me some warning” he says.
She climbs down the ladder, it giving a creak with each step down the rungs. The box, now being on the floor, is the intrigue of both the kids. Lifting one flap of the box, she peers in, her brother watching close behind.
Another flap of the box…
A bunch of rocks.
A collective groan is earned. This isn’t what I expected for such a heavy box! I thought there would be something much more interesting in this box.
“Maybe you should go through it, sis. Just to make sure there’s nothing else.” the brother says.
She digs around among the rocks, and finds an envelope. She pulls it out, holds it up in one hand, and gives a “this might be interesting?” look to him.
He grabs the envelope, and starts to read it aloud.
“Dear future me,
I have enjoyed picking up all these rocks. People think me picking up all these rocks is silly. But it fills me with happiness. Someday I want to study them all.
My teacher told me to look at earth sciences. Someday I can get paid to look at rocks. I would love that.
Past me, Elena, 7 years old”
Holly and her brother look at each other.
Maybe a box of rocks can be important after all.