Writing Challenge/Creativity Jumpstart!

[SleepingPhlox]

Hello good and creative people of the forum! If you are like me, and sometimes you would dearly love to flex your creative muscles, but there are times you just can't seem to come up with anything, I've come up with a little challenge! I say "challenge" but it's more like a little creative jumpstarter.

Below are three lists.  A and B are adjectives, and C is a setting.  Just choose ONE word from each list and build a story around the trio of words. (Example: Lazy, Abrasive, Party) That's it.  The rules are not hard and fast, you could challenge yourself to build a story using the words as a theme for the whole thing, or just to use the words somewhere in the story.  And it's up to you how you interpret the words. Abandoned could be a dusty old abandoned house, or someone feeling abandoned with nobody to take care of them.

You could dip in and out and just use the words that inspire you.  You could challenge yourself to try to write enough stories to use all the words.  Or, hey, you could go all in and ask people to send you three words of their choosing and then challenge yourself to write a story based on whatever words you get sent.

And remember, the lists are mix and match, you don't have to use them in order!

Looking forward to seeing if anyone uses these and if you do, what you come up with!

A	B	C
Abandoned	Abrasive	A play
Abnormal	Ashamed	Abandoned place
Belligerent	Boring	Airplane
Bizarre	Bewildered	Amusement Park
Calm	Classy	At the movies
Chilly	Careless	Beach
Daily	Delicate	Boat
Determined	Dashing	Bookstore
Eager	Exasperated	Bus
Early	Enchanting	Bus stop
Faded	Famous	Cafe
Feeble	Frustrating	Car
Glorious	Grateful	Castle
Grumpy	Grieving	City
Habitual	Hapless	Concert
Heavenly	Helpless	Dinner party
Ideal	Ill-fated	During a webchat
Impossible	Infamous	Friends house
Jumpy	Jaded	Gas Station
Kind	Knowing	Grocery Store
Languid	Likeable	Gym
Lazy	Lonely	Hiking
Majestic	Messy	Hotel
Measly	Moody	House
Necessary	Normal	Lake
Noiseless	Numerous	Library
Obnoxious	Observant	Lost
Old	Outgoing	Meeting at work
Painful	Pathetic	Museum
Penitent	Peaceful	On the phone (personal)
Quaint	Quirky	On the phone (work)
Quizzical	Questionable	On vacation
Rainy	Raspy	Outer Space
Sarcastic	Sassy	Park
Shaky	Stormy	Party
Tense	Thankful	Presentation
Tearful	Troubled	Restaurant
Unkempt	Uptight	Rural
Upbeat	Upset	Ski Resort
Vengeful	Voiceless	Sporting event
Vague	Victorious	Trade Show
Weak	Watery	Train
Worried	Wretched	Zoo

Edited August 13, 2023 by SleepingPhlox
Trying - unsuccessfully - to get rid of all that dang blank space at the bottom!

[LastCarpet]

Hmm....I've been mulling over ideas for a while and I think I can find a connection between some of these words
Let me see....

[Lady Blessington]

Thank you for your service 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[Mascha]

Okayy so I picked chilly, ashamed and museum:

Marcus and Mary have just been dating for a week, and she already asked him if he wanted to go to the museum with him. All day he didn't feel quite up for it, but it would have been worse to upset her by saying he doesn't feel well. He knew how her last boyfriend treated her and that she wouldn't know if he was telling her the truth. So he pushed himself and smoked his last cigarette before stepping out of the door. That wasn't the best decision, he thought, while noticing his scratchy throat and coughing from inhaling the smoke. But at least the sun felt nice on his head with a warm temperature which would be perfect, if the date was outside... With a look at his phone he saw that he was running out of time, and so he started sprinting. 

As he arrived he was out of breath and gasping for air, almost coughing and little sweatpearls forming on his forehead. He held his hand up to his head and it pulsed, slightly hurting. Next to the entrance he saw her, standing like she was waiting there for a while. Her read hair fell curly to her shoulders and the sun reflected in her green-ish eyes. He noticed, he already fell in love. A little shy he walked towards her and when she saw him, her face lit up.

"There you are", she said with a big grin on her face. "Sorry, I hope you didn't have to wait so long, I swear I tried to be on time..." 

"It's fine, just like ten minutes maybe. Are you okay though?" She asked, seemingly worried. He shrugged his shoulders and gave an unconcerned look. "Sure, why wouldn't I be. I am finally here and get to go to the museum with you." Now her face seemed so happy, that her eyes looked like they were laughing.

"You're too sweet. No, I just mean you sound a little congested like you have a cold or something." 

"Oh yeah I don't know what's up with that, it started this morning. But it's fine, no big deal." So they went on to the entrance and bought their tickets to a new art gallery project. Many people seemed to be interested in the gallery, and still it was a quiet museum. The walls were big and white and there was a hall whenever someone spoke or even walked. Suddenly he felt his throat tighten up and he tried to suppress a cough- which failed. So he coughed into his arm and his cough halled through the room. He noticed his face turning red.

"You sure you good?" Mary asked him and held his hand.

"Sorry. Yeah, sorry", he said uncomfortably. Marcus knew that she knew something was up with him but he didn't want to ruin the date just by him being dramatic. "Do you maybe have water though?"
"Sure." She gave him a bottle and he tried to drink it out of the air so he wouldn't get her sick. "Thank you." With a sudden urge he rubbed his nose and sniffled. "Oh this painting is great! Look at that Marcus!" They looked at a colorful circle that seemed to be somewhere in space, and a big woman meditating in the center of it. It was definitely aesthetically pleasing to look at. "Oh wow the use of color in here is beautiful",Marcus said astonished. "Yeah right, I feel like it is similar to the one in the other room, maybe they made a riddle for us to find out which paintings belong together"-

"Huh’RRESCHH.. His sneeze echoed and he felt so awkward. "God, sorry that was embarassing." Marcus laughed shylie and Mary grinned. "Bless you. We don't have to stay here, we can hurry and get back into the sun." That idea definitely sounded good, the museum was cold, which was not helping him not getting sick. "That sounds great. But no stress, first we have to see everything." 

"Okay fine then." 

As they smiled at each other he thought of just going to the toilet for a minute, just so he could fully get out that cough inside him. 

"Do you know if there is a toilet available?"

"Hmm yes I think so, I think if you go down the stairs and then to the left."

"Thank you, sorry I won't take long.."

As fast as he could he went to the toilets and let out his coughing fit until his eyes started watering. Then he drank a lot of water from the tap and blew his nose that got runny from all the coughing. 

"That really didn't take long", Mary smiled as she saw Marcus, but her smile faded as she noticed his red eyes and nose. "You really sure you good?"

"Yes I just think I'm about to catch a cold but I'm fine, really." She looked a little sceptical but forgot about it as she saw another painting with a golden touch and a shimmery pattern as if it's covered in snow. "Oh wow!"

Marcus rubbed his eyes and let out another sneeze in his arm crook. "Gosh. Sorry." 

"Bless you"

"Oh thank you." But it wasn't Mary who blessed him, it were two eldery women looking at the painting next to them. He felt so awkward like he was the first person to ever sneeze in a quiet museum. 

 

[Reader]

@Mascha They are adorable together! He’s so considerate and she’s so sweet. I love that he is honest and downplaying his cold and I look forward to the caretaking!

And if you post this story in the story section of the forum, more people will see it. You can just tag @SleepingPhlox and mention her idea but still post the story in the original fiction section. 

[LastCarpet]

Here's something I came up with. a SUPER short fantasy style story
The words I chose were feeble, lonely, and castle

In the Kingdom on Finealta, a thick gloomy purple fog filled the air. The people walked through it, sneezing and wheezing into their sleeves and handkerchiefs. Their eyes stung and watered, throats and noses itched terribly. The people of the kingdom were miserable

But there was no one more miserable than their princess, Spirea.

She sat up in her bed, in the tallest tower of her family's castle. Her bed surrounded by what appeared to be an enormous bubble. Her nose twitched and wriggled as a familiar sensation overcame her.

"Huh...Haaava.....HAPT-CHOOOAAA!"

Spirea's head snapped forward and splattered one side of her bubble with a thin, filmy layer of purple mucus. Spirea recoiled at the sight

"Ewwww" she groaned as she got out of bed and grabbed a cloth from her bedside table "Allergies" she grumbled as she began scrubbing the slime away

Her people had an extreme sensitivity to dark magic of ANY type. Spells, potions, components, anything with a natural proclivity to negative or harmful magical energies made her people ill. And she, for some reason, was born especially delicate.  Exposure to dark magic made her people ill, but if SHE was exposed to dark magic for too long....it could very well kill her.

Which is why she spent most of her time inside, behind a barrier. Normally she could at least go outside into the fresh air. But the air wasn't fresh at the moment. As sick as the fog was making her people, it was bound to do even worse to her.

Once the barrier was clean, she walked over to her window using the cloth to dab at her nose. She gazed through the barrier and looked outside longingly, watching her subjects ambling about in the distance. Walking though the fog, talking among each other. Aside from the maids and the King and Queen, she hadn't seen anyone outside the castle walls since the fog had appeared. Her parents insisted that she stay in the castle inside her barrier until the source of the fog had been found and cleared. 

"I might as well get used to this" she mumbled to herself sadly "There was never any point in going outside anyway, because I never have anyone else to talk to. I just wish I didn't need this stupid barrier. We already have one surrounding the tower so why do I need a personal one? It doesn't even....stop...st-stop me from....from...."

"HA-RESSHOOOORRR!"  

Spirea let loose a loud sneeze that sounding akin to a wounded animals roar, splattering her barrier again as well as sending her tumbling backwards. She groaned miserably as she picked herself back up, cleaned the spot on her barrier again, and hobbled back to her bed with her head down.

"I wish I had someone else to talk to" she thought as she lay her head on her pillow