Don’t you just love the word “why”? It can be one of the most difficult questions to answer but the answers to it can also drive a story. Sure, we want to see who the murderer is, but also why they did it. If you see a person crying at a table in a restaurant, there is a whole story behind why they are there and crying (not that the story is any of our business, of course).

Today’s prompt is the first line of a story.

A hush of horror fell over the class.

This doesn’t give us any answers about what is going on, although it’s apparently in a school. The main question now is why. Why is everyone horrified?

The challenge of this story is to answer that question.

If you do write a story and would be willing to share it with me, you can email me at info@greenwalledtreehouse.com. I’d love to read it. You can also submit it at this link for a chance of getting it published with next week’s prompt. If you post it on your own site, send me the link.

Be thankful and have a good week.