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 Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:07 am
Do you have writer's block?
Need a bit of inspiration?
I have the answer!
It's simple:
I've come up with a list of 3-word sets. Pick one of the sets, and write a story with each "element" in it.
Rules:
1. Follow all guild rules/Gaia TOS.
2. It's fine if you use one of your RP characters!
3. Must be between 200 and 2,000 words.
(I'm not a huge stickler for this, but I probably won't read it if it's super long!)
4. No mixing and matching sets.
5. It's fine if you use the same set as someone else! The possibilities are nearly infinite.
6. Post your story here!
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:10 am
Pick any of the following sets to include in your story!
-The object can be as unimportant or as crucial as you like; it can simply sit in the background, or be a major part of the plot!
1. A chess set, a quilt, an envelope.
2.A mysterious text message, an octopus, a stapler.
3. A GPS, a cowboy hat, a lucky penny.
4. A pregnancy test, a bag of trash, some magic markers.
5. A stolen shopping bag, sunflower seeds, a bottle of wine.
6. Confetti, a gun, an opera singer.
7. A stage, a bad smell, some sand.
8. A voodoo doll, a painting, a neon sign.
9. A romantic dinner, a phone call, a pillow.
10. An alien, ice, binoculars.
11. A castle, a calender, a dog.
12. A needle, a napkin, blue ink.
13. A pair of jeans, a knock on a door, a dreamcatcher.
14. Noodles, a guitar, a swing.
15. A phone charm, a photobooth, a mirror.
16. An eviction notice, an umbrella, a snake.
17. An old hotel, a key, a foreign country.
18. A tree house, a wig, a holiday.
19. Blood, glue, a desk drawer.
20. A trapdoor, a leather jacket, a goldfish.
21. A ripped up photo, a field, peach tea.
22. The ocean, a fairy, a knife.
23. A kiss, an airplane, an important announcement.
24. A tattoo, a piano, a promise.
25. A church, a bug, rain.
26. A campfire, a dance, a sinister stranger.
27. A divorce, a garage sale, a teapot.
28. A thief, a library, beads.
29. Someone who's beliefs differ greatly from yours, lemonade, a uniform.
30. An imaginary friend, a handprint, a babysitter.
31. A webcam, a warning, a haircut.
32. A prank gone wrong, a statue, a classroom.
33. Nighttime, a scar, a rite of passage.
34. A cult, a tetrachromat (look it up! biggrin ), headphones.
35. A swivel chair, a crack, a class reunion.
36. A nightclub, a secret code, a ponytail.
37. Poison, an archaeological dig, a backpack.
38. Glitter, a spill, a wish.
39. A blind date, turquoise, dreadlocks.
40. A lantern, time travel, a storm.
41. Identical twins, bubbles, ribbon.
42. A secret identity, acorns, a favor.
43. A hunter, something burning, a test.
44. An illegal activity, an elephant, root beer.
45. A fur coat, incense, a lost diary.
46. Gingerbread, a cremation, a riddle.
47. Someone who is colorblind, an experiment, a TV.
48. A trade, a turban, a sewing machine.
49. An addiction, a long nap, a box of chocolates.
50. A dragon, a candle, a farmer.
51. A palm tree, a convertible, a lava lamp.
52. A first aid kit, clouds, a loaf of bread.
53. A cat, a mountain, a scarecrow.
54. A jigsaw puzzle, a tower, a diamond ring.
55. A ballerina, sushi, winter.
56. Wallpaper, a door-to-door salesperson, a deal with the devil.
57. A matchbox, a crow, stained glass.
58. Marbles, a sweater, a party.
59. A bow and arrow, a flask, a crow.
60. A hospital, coffee, lipstick.
61. A new apartment, a seance, frozen yogurt.
62. A wedding dress, a superstition, a swan.
63. Dirt, claustrophobia, a full moon.
64. A dare, a basketball hoop, chalk.
65. A scavenger hunt, a hex, a spoon.
66. Metal, an inventor, a blimp.
67. An apple, a tornado, a saloon.
68. A New Year's resolution, a murder, a seashell.
69. Outer space, a cape, a black market.
70. A pile of leaves, a ghost, a ball of yarn.
71. A staircase, a face from the past, a gift.
72. A road trip, a scorpion, an amulet.
73. A secret crush, bubblegum, zombies.
74. A wallet, a portal, a gladiator.
75. Chopsticks, flying, a lake.
76. A past life, a dream, a train.
77. A garden, a love letter. a fever.
78. A deck of cards, a trap, a locker room.
79. A soda can, a dying wish, a chinchilla.
80. A glass eye, a new experience, an earring.
81. Shoes that don't fit, a homeless person, icicles.
82. A ballpoint pen, a beard, a proposal.
83. A broken watch, a kangaroo, an outlaw.
84. A Swiss army knife, a camel, a cigar.
85. Shoelaces, a pawn shop, a silver dollar.
86. A pastry, a shubbery, duct tape.
87. A cactus, a prophecy, a basket.
88. A revelation, a disease, fried eggs.
89. A chance encounter, a servant, a stick.
90. A robot, a conspiracy, pizza.
91. A dragonfly, teleportation, a thesaurus.
92. A colony, a boot, a spidermonkey.
93. A private school, a role playing game, a monocle.
94. A paintbrush, radiation, a small town.
95. A radio, vaudeville, a tear.
96. A horse, a guillotine, a bite.
97. A horoscope, a loud laugh, a frog.
98. A library, a beret, a wheelchair.
99. A beloved pet, a broomstick, a hairbrush.
100. Breaking news, a school bus, a recipe.
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:11 am
**BONUS CHALLENGE**
For an extra challenge, pick a number between 1-100 at random, and do the set that corresponds to that number. You can also use the random number function on Gaia's posting if you know how 3nodding
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:11 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:12 pm
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 5:21 am
**Note: I kind of cheated on this one! I had an assignment in my Social Problems class, where we had to answer a bunch of questions as if we were giving aliens a tour around the world. We fly over a football field, and they ask a bunch of questions. I decided to get a little creative and turn mine into a story. Then I jammed some ice and binoculars in it to make it work. I also wrote this at about 5AM after a night of staying up, so I apologize if there are typos.
#10. An alien, ice, binoculars
I didn't know how I got into this situation, but I was stuck. I had denied (it must be a dream!) and bargained (please let me go home?) and been angry about it all I wanted, but it hadn't changed a thing. So now I accepted the situation I was in. It was my fourth day aboard the strange aircraft with the two creatures, and now that I had gotten them to understand the basic human functions of “food” and “sleep”, things were going much better. They allowed me 6 hours of rest, and managed to cook me up some strange alien grub a couple of times a day. It looked like a horrendous purple and green blob with little chunks of ice imbedded in it, and no telling how many toxins were in it, but it tasted like delicious beef jerky, so I couldn't complain. When I was done, they disposed the rest of it down an waste hatch in the back of the ship.
I was showing them around the world. Apparently, they were not intelligence from another galaxy seeking to gather information. No, that had already been done long, long, ago. They were on vacation. And apparently, they wanted their experience to be as “authentic” as possible. That's what I was abducted, starved, and ordered to explain my world to them. Because they needed a freaking tour guide. And this wasn't the first time it had happened. Their race had randomly been abducting and traumatizing humans for as long as we'd been here, all for a cheap thrill.
We had already been to Washington DC, where I had to wrack my brain for all the government information Mr. Willis had tried to teach me in 12th grade. If I didn't know the answer, they got angry and delivered small, painful shocks to the electrodes hooked up to my brain and spine.
It made me wish I had paid a lot more attention in school.
Now, it was sunset, and we were floating above a large stadium crowded with football fans.
Great.
I had been a fatty all my life, much more naturally inclined to reading and surfing online than doing anything related to sports. Frankly, I didn't get all the hype and had never been to a game in my life.
“HUMAN. W?HAT. IS. THIS.>”
I tried to do my best.
“It's...it's a stadium. A big place where a bunch of people gather to watch other people play a sports game.”
“WHAT?.IS.GAME.>”
“A game is like...an organized activity with rules, that is supposed to entertain people.”
“WHAT.IS.ENTERTAIN.>”
“Something fun, leisurely...something to do for pleasure, and for no other reason.”
“WHAT?.GAME.THIS>”
“It's...football.” Oh god, I had to explain football to someone who barely had a grasp on the English language. This had to be a nightmare.
“There are two teams...”
Before I could continue...
“WHAT?.IS.TEAM.>?”
“A group of people working together for the same goal. Anyway, the goal is to get the ball, the little brown inflated thing, to the other side of the field. The other team tries to block them.”
This was seriously the extent of my knowledge of the game. I hoped they didn't ask anything else. Their silver eyes lit up. They were doing a quick scan of the field, like they had built in binoculars and x-ray vision. They probably did.
“WHY?.PEOPLE.WATCH.>”
I didn't really understand the question, but I guessed they meant why were people so excited to watch some other people play a game. It was something I had been trying to figure out for years. I couldn't say that though, unless I wanted to be paralyzed with pain for five minutes.
“Umm... people like to take a side. When their team wins, they feel as if they themselves have accomplished something and gain a temporary surge of happiness. It's also nice, because when you find someone else that likes the same team as you, you have something in common. It's always good to have something in common with other people.” I hoped this explanation would suffice. Apparently, it did.
“WHY?. NO. FEMALE. ON. TEAM.>”
As a firm believer in equality for all, this was also a question I had pondered for a long time.
“Honestly, I'm not sure...” I braced for the pain, but it didn't come, so I continued. “As a feminist, I believe that every human should have equal opportunity to do anything they want. The best explanation that I can think of, though, is that it is traditional, and so it is part of the rules.”
“WHAT.> IS. FEMINIST?>”
“It means that I believe that female humans and male humans are equal and should have completely equal rights.”
They seemed to get bored, accepted my answer, and moved on.
“WHY?. CAN'T. CROWD. JOIN. GAME?”
I sighed, not quite knowing what to say again.
“Again, it is part of the rules. Right now, everything is organized. If everyone in the stands ran down onto the field, everything would become chaos.”
“WHAT.? IS. CHAOS.>”
“It's..” Wow, how do you even explain chaos?? “It's like, a complete absence of rules. Everything is out of order, and nothing makes any sense, so there is no point to anything.”
Thankfully, they seemed to understand, and left me alone for a bit, turning their attention to the game.
“WOW. RED. TEAM. JUST. MOVED. BALL. TO. OTHER. SIDE.!>”
“So that means they scored.”
“I. LIKE. RED. TEAM. SCOOOOOORE!>” Buzzed one of the aliens happily.
“NO>! I LIKE. YELLOW. TEAM.” The other alien countered.
They glared at each other with a look I can only describe as pure hatred.
I took this opportunity to quietly sneak to the back of the ship.
“RED. TEAM. WINNING!!” The first alien was delighted, and neither were paying attention to me.
So, bracing myself, I yanked the attached electrodes out of my skull, hoping I didn't permanently paralyze myself. They still didn't notice. The electrodes didn't hurt as much as I thought they would, so I quietly knelt down next to the waste hatch, ignoring the pulsing pain in my spine. I had memorized the sequence they had entered on the pad next to it every time they had gotten rid of my leftover food.
I pressed all the strange buttons, the hatch opened up, and I jumped to safety.
And that was the story of how football saved my life.
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