Beyond Cupid’s Arrow
Leap into your imagination
Once again, the writers at the Challenged have outdone themselves. To all of the writers who turned in prompts … thank you!
We’ve had a crazy month with many of you also playing in the Drabble sandbox over at Fiction Shorts. The craziness over there hasn’t allowed me as much time to answer the Challenged’s prompts, but I did a few.
Karen Schwartz’s This or That’s are always fun for me to play with, usually striking my fancy late at night. (Apologies in advance.) She usually throws that in around the 10th of the month.
Some stats
In the last 30 days, we have had 278 people stop by our little pub, and they spent 230 hours and 50 minutes reading your work. Whew! That’s a lot of time!!
Without further ado, here are this month’s prompts:
- Don’t you love Bruce Coulter? Me too! Maybe not so much after this prompt. LOL Where is the craziest place you got lucky? (Not a Valentine’s story). (I see Suzanne making a guest appearance.)
- Karen Schwartz: In a perfect world, I’d be …
- Harry Hogg (I’ve had to change this one a bit since I missed it in January) January 2024 was a new start, what kind of letter will you send to December 2024 telling it how you got there?
- Call me crazy, but damn, if I didn’t …
- Emma Vincent: Tell us about a call that changed your life, or the call you hoped for, but never came.
- Adrienne Beaumont: Do you believe in love at first sight? Has it happened to you? Did it last?
- Erie Astin: Write about someone (or something) you loved that you shouldn’t have.
- You get to sit down with Tony Stubblebine. Whatcha gonna talk about?
- Randy Pulley: Is life supposed to be comfortable?
- Lynn L. Alexander: Describe Yourself to a stranger.
- Brandon Ellrich: February 10 starts the Chinese New Year. 2024 is the year of the Emerald Green Wood Dragon (and the Dragon happens to be my zodiac animal). Golden yellow and rich red are other lucky colors according to Feng shui. Incorporate at least one of these elements into a poem or story.
- Share your favorite dining experience.
- Emma: In a film directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Afterlife), before entering heaven the deceased must choose one defining moment of their life to relive … what moment in your life would you be happy to stay in for eternity?
- Karen Hoffman: Share about your favorite childhood group game — or one that might not be socially acceptable today (like Leap Frog or Dodge Ball where some type of bullying could be involved).
- Tired of love? If you could invent a new holiday, what would it celebrate and what would people do on that day?
- What fictional world would you most like to live in, and why?
- Adrienne: (I see a visit from Suzanne in the future!) Do you have to be in love to have sex?
- You get to create your very own emoji to represent … you!
- Emma: New beginnings. What drives/influences/inspires you to start/restart?
- Karen Schwartz wants your best rant.
- What’s the most ridiculous food combination you like?
- If you could paint your emotions, what colors would dominate the canvas?
- Lynn: Recommend a book, television show, and a movie.
- Karen Hoffman: If you had an extra day each week, what are the ways you’d like to fill it — and for a bonus, compare that to how you most likely would fill it.
- Emma: What do you like or dislike about your current age?
- If you could spend a few hours with an athlete, who and why?
- The lights go out around the world.
- Karen Hoffman: “She leaped into the future and was surprised most of all when she discovered…”
- Karen Hoffman for the Leap Year win! Write about a time you leaped without doing the due diligence you probably would have done, in hindsight.
Thanks to the writers, and to a little AI support to fill in. (Adapted by me of course.)
I’ve got a few faves in here … what do you think? You ready to rock?!?
I’m tagging the writers for the publication. If you don’t want to be tagged, please let me know. (I also know I don’t have all of the new writers. If you’re not on the list, please let me know.)
Emma Vincent, Erie Astin, JennyOhh, Pamela Oglesby, Ray Day, Teja Bangiev, Aaron Paulson, Amy Frances, Ana Michelle, Adrienne Beaumont, Anish Bhattacharyya, Anisha Shah, Ashllyn T., Alan AJ, Amanda Weir-Gertzog, Andie Adams, Bernadette E Wallace, Becca CO 🌵, Belle du Journey, Bernie Pullen, Lauren Alida, Bob Mildenhall, Bonnie L. Boucek, Bruce Coulter, Mariana Busarova, Busy Mama, C.A. Jaymes, Carmen Ballesteros, Carole Olsen, Adrian CDTPPW, Chantell, Cheree’ Means, The Uplifting Essayist: I Seek to Uplift Your Life, Daniel Marie, Delaney Patterson, Denise Kendig, Dixie Dodd, Ellen Baker, Brandon Ellrich, Emily Porter, Frances A. Chiu, Luis Rosa, Paul Gardner, Harry Hogg, Henry India Holden💖, Inu Etc, Janice Harayda, Jason Moore, Jen Mullane | Build & Thrive in Public, Jennifer Dunne, Jennifer Marla Pike, Jenny Gargarello, Jerry Dwyer, Jessica Montes, John Welford, Jo Knows, John Hansen, Julia A. Keirns, Julie KingGood, Karen Hoffman, Karen Schwartz, Kathy J Anderson, Katie Michaelson, Katy Lin, Kelley Murphy, Kerin, Kiara (pronounced key-air-uh), Leigh-Anne Dennison, Cara LovesAnimals, Anik Thakur, Luke Warburton, Lynn L. Alexander, Mario Duff, Marlene Samuels, Michael Zwierzanski, Misty Rae, Michelle Jimerson Morris, Mystical Aries, Expedition Nomadic Adventures, Sharon Jessen, Nevena Pascaleva, Niki Tisza, David Watson, Nicole Peery 🌄, Pat Romito LaPointe, Patricia Pixie❤, HAPPINESS + WEALTH ⭐, Patricia Timmermans, Books Planet, Pluto Wolnosci 🟣, Paula Shablo, Premmody, Rachella Angel Page, Rachel Thomas, Raghav prasanna, Rampath, Michael Rhodes, Rikki Doppler, Joan Didak, Sarah D, Shahzeb Khan, Nikolaos Skordilis, S.K. Shandlin, Smriddhi, Sophia Tell- Stories 2 inspire, inform & entertain, Susie Winfield, A man leading a simple life, Tina, Tori Hall Sudduth, Trisha Faye, Brett Jenae Tomlin, Nathan Chen, Lisa Guard, Dr. Tracy Davis, Trudy Van Buskirk, Vibrant Jellyfilsh, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Vincent Pisano, Worrickjk, Tanya Jain, Amir Bibi, Bruno T., Ritu, Teja Bangiev, Vera-Marie Landi, Lemillion, Jody Wright, Block Wife, June Christina Thomas, Michele Bardsley, Jenny Alexander, Preethi R, Tara Zoë Roshe, Her Thoughts, Asian Scribe, Kelly Corinne Elliott, Sanghita Pal, Galaxy Pungyambam, Biswajit Sarkar, TzeLin Sam, A Different Light Path, Joe Wade, La Verite, Nikita Joshi, Sam Letterwood, Carolyn F. Chryst, Ph.D., Brandy Lee, Marcus, JS O’Keefe, Talking Bit To Stars, Every Day Life Improvement, Mary Papas, Shoaib Shahid, Jules Mulcahy, Ana Sousa, Donna Garrison, Steve Vernon, Ishika Singh, Holding the Middle Ground, Areebah M. Javed, & her ocean, Jaclyn Weber, Shyamashree Acharya, Sumaya, Brian Dickens Barrabee, Libby Shively McAvoy, Holly Emery, Maria Rattray / Ludiane de Brocéliande / Jason Edmunds / Matthew Bamberg /