Happy Monday!

It’s the beginning of the work week and in the spirit of this, I thought I would go ahead and give you all more work to do. Don’t thank me all at once. I do like small gifts like tacos or shiny things, like bits of crumpled aluminum, so if you do feel like being gracious, keep that in mind. Better yet, tacos wrapped in aluminum. Double gift.

So here’s the work. I figure that if I have to write (no, I’m not being forced, but if I don’t do it, crazy-making happens) then you all have to write as well. Mondays are now WRITING PROMPT DAY!! Yes! I know! It is exciting! Calm yourselves for a moment and let me explain.

We all remember writing prompts from school. Whether we liked putting words to paper or not, we got assignments that asked us to detail what we did over Christmas vacation or project aspirations on our future careers (no one ever said they wanted to be a fry cook, yet, look at all the fry cooks…). Loving or hating the prompts never really mattered. They got the juicy juice around the cerebrum sloshing about. They work for me. And honestly, doling out a writing prompt each Monday will get me into a routine for just a bit more writing each week. How will it force me to maintain routine, you ask? Because I can’t possibly shirk my writing duties if it means not giving people who didn’t ask for more work to do more work to do.

So here’s the writing prompt. It’s nostalgic and sensory and sad. You’re going to dig it. Oh, and if you come up with something you’d like to share, please add it as a comment to this post. I’d love to see what you’ve written. It’s only fitting that I should care about your productivity and output if I’m making you work. I’m grinning right now.

Writing Prompt #1 – Childhood Toys

Describe, in detail, one of your favorite toys from childhood (you might have toys now, but really, I don’t care). How old were you when you got the toy? Was it a gift or did you save up allowance to buy it for yourself? Why was it your favorite? How did it feel on your skin? Did it give off a smell? Would you have ever let a friend borrow this toy? Describe!

Now, once you’re done describing the toy, relate what happened to it. Really dig deep and figure out where that toy might be at this moment. Do you still have it or not? And if you don’t have it, why not (you may have commitment issues or don’t like fun anymore…)? And if you have no idea where the toy is, make up a reality for it. Is it on some other child’s bookshelf somewhere? Is it under seventeen tons of landfill? Or is it in an alternate reality, leading other toys of its ilk on a jihad against sprites or fuzzy slippers?

Oh, this is Nugget. He’s stellar and I still love him. If you tell me your stories, I’ll tell you his.