Alternate Realities

No new original fiction, this week. Instead, an older 100-word post I did on my own, for my Songbirds.

“Alternate Realities”

Armed with an arsenal of books, pamphlets, and websites, Larry thought himself ready for anything Katie might throw at him: from the logistics of gender possibilities and a tidy explanation of where babies come from, to gentle assurances that nothing or no one could ever usurp the love and devotion he and Sally felt for their soon-to-be elder child.

Throughout his entire rambling explanation, Katie sat quietly in his lap, until he paused, smiled, and asked, “Do you have any questions, about the new baby?”

To which his daughter thought, and blinked, and said, “Can I have a puppy, instead?”

By Sam, Photos8.com [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

I adore the relationship between parents Larry and Sally…but I also really enjoy examining the relationship between their girls, Katie and Billie. I think because the Nightingale family gives me an opportunity to reflect on and remember my own life, while still keeping a touch of fantastic silliness and adventure so integral to their universe.

I’ve been lax with picking up prompts these last few weeks. I think they must be designed more for writers who want to write but don’t necessarily have any larger projects on which they need to concentrate. But, I’ve got two Works in Progress which I want to complete/edit/perfect. I don’t necessarily feel bad neglecting the prompts to work on my larger projects, but I do want to keep some semblance of regularity to this blog.

So, for any of you out there looking for a writing challenge, below are a few good ones I follow. I’m sure there are more out there, too, if you just poke around a bit.

Julia’s Place 100 Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (runs Monday-Sunday; this week’s prompt is “…despite the pounding in my head…”).
Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction (runs Thursday-Wednesday; this week’s prompt is “PARADISE“).
Kellie Elmore’s Free Write Friday (starts on Fridays; runs for a week. This week’s prompt is Writing Wrongs.)

And, for those of you busy concentrating on your own long projects, here’s to a good wordy weekend!

9 Comments

4amWriter on March 16, 2013 at 13:22

I like this because it makes me think of the differences between an adult’s perspective and a child’s perspective. Adults tend to prepare themselves more for what they deem to be “big” questions, and a child often surprises us by their simple, sweet views. Nice job.

Mormor on March 16, 2013 at 13:25

I agree.
Nice job. .

Mayumi-H on March 17, 2013 at 07:41

Thanks, Kate. We adults could take a lesson from that simplicity, sometimes, I think.

Thanks for commenting. 🙂

jmmcdowell on March 17, 2013 at 11:30

That is a great observation on our adult perceptions vs. a child’s. I can’t remember now if it was a joke or someone’s analogy for this type of conversation, but I remember the following example. A child asks his mother where he came from. She gives a basic discussion of “the birds and the bees.” The child responds with something like, “Oh. Billy said he’s from Cleveland, and I wondered where I was from.”

The puppy photo is a perfect finale. 🙂

Mayumi-H on March 17, 2013 at 16:37

Thanks, JM. I remember that joke, too – it’s one I think of a lot when conversations like this arise! 🙂

Kellie Elmore on March 18, 2013 at 12:08

Thanks for the mention! xox

Mayumi-H on March 18, 2013 at 14:29

Gladly, Kellie! It’s a very fun and freeing challenge series. I just wish I could participate more regularly. 🙂

shadetheraven on April 4, 2013 at 14:44

Now that is just adorable,and a wonderful look into the imaginatively simple world of a child. If only it could really work that way sometimes.
Great work, Mayumi!

Mayumi-H on April 5, 2013 at 10:06

This one was taken nearly verbatim from a real conversation. I love when I get to do that, in stories, because it’s so rare.

Thanks for stopping by, Shade! It’s always good to hear from you. 🙂

4amWriter on March 16, 2013 at 13:22

I like this because it makes me think of the differences between an adult’s perspective and a child’s perspective. Adults tend to prepare themselves more for what they deem to be “big” questions, and a child often surprises us by their simple, sweet views. Nice job.
Mormor on March 16, 2013 at 13:25

I agree.
Nice job. .
Mayumi-H on March 17, 2013 at 07:41

Thanks, Kate. We adults could take a lesson from that simplicity, sometimes, I think.

Thanks for commenting. 🙂
jmmcdowell on March 17, 2013 at 11:30

That is a great observation on our adult perceptions vs. a child’s. I can’t remember now if it was a joke or someone’s analogy for this type of conversation, but I remember the following example. A child asks his mother where he came from. She gives a basic discussion of “the birds and the bees.” The child responds with something like, “Oh. Billy said he’s from Cleveland, and I wondered where I was from.”

The puppy photo is a perfect finale. 🙂
Mayumi-H on March 17, 2013 at 16:37

Thanks, JM. I remember that joke, too – it’s one I think of a lot when conversations like this arise! 🙂
Kellie Elmore on March 18, 2013 at 12:08

Thanks for the mention! xox
Mayumi-H on March 18, 2013 at 14:29

Gladly, Kellie! It’s a very fun and freeing challenge series. I just wish I could participate more regularly. 🙂
shadetheraven on April 4, 2013 at 14:44

Now that is just adorable,and a wonderful look into the imaginatively simple world of a child. If only it could really work that way sometimes.
Great work, Mayumi!
Mayumi-H on April 5, 2013 at 10:06

This one was taken nearly verbatim from a real conversation. I love when I get to do that, in stories, because it’s so rare.

Thanks for stopping by, Shade! It’s always good to hear from you. 🙂

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