My Sister’s Keeper

Written as a response to the Muse on Monday prompt for May 4, 2026: Write a story that has to do with household chores My Sister’s Keeper I dip my hands into the scalding dishwater. As hot as you can stand it, my mother always said. “I’ve been taking care of her for my whole life. I…

Muse on Monday – May 4, 2026

You know what doesn’t normally make a good story? Doing the dishes. Or laundry. Or dusting or any of the other normal household chores we have to do. That’s because these are regular actions that probably don’t have much conflict involved. However, there are engaging stories everywhere so the fun is finding one. Story Prompt:…

History is in the Eye of the Beholder

Written as a response to the Muse on Monday prompt: Write a story based around a death or funeral History is in the Eye of the Beholder The king was dead, finally. The blessedly-late Kale XXVIII had white-knuckled onto life for 116 years until he had finally meandered away from his mortal coil. Now the…

Muse on Monday – April 27, 2026

Death is a major change event and not just for the person that just got ejected into the Great Beyond. It’s a huge adjustment for the people left behind. Beyond dealing with the grief and loss, there are financial issues like inheritance or losing money to creditors. If a leader dies, there might be huge…

Muse on Monday – April 20, 2026

What do you think of when you think of a first date? Maybe two people meeting nervously in a restaurant or coffee shop, maybe going to a movie. However, people meet and fall in love in all sorts of situations, ideal and otherwise. This week’s prompt is to think of one of those less-than-ideal situations….

Muse on Monday – April 13, 2026

I think everyone should travel to a foreign country where people don’t speak your language. If nothing else, it gives you a lot of empathy when working with people who are learning your language, but it can be a great learning experience as well. However, it is undeniably a stressful situation with lots of opportunities…

Muse on Monday – April 6, 2026

Different writing prompts bring different questions to mind, as a writer. For instance, if the story is about a murder, the overarching question is who did it and maybe how. For this prompt, the main question to answer is why. Story Prompt: April 6, 2026 Write a story about a character breaking into their own…

Muse on Monday – March 23, 2026

If you’ve ever lain in bed trying to get to sleep, you know the battle that this can be. It’s also a vicious cycle of not being asleep, then being frustrated you’re not asleep, which wakes you up more. On the other hand, there are times when you are fighting not to fall asleep (such…

Muse on Monday – March 16, 2026

Human interaction makes up a huge part of the conflict in stories. After all, as humans, we are the most interesting subject for our stories. This conflict could come from having different values, misunderstandings from language and culture, competition for resources or lots of other reasons. It’s hard enough to negotiate with someone in good…

Muse on Monday – March 9, 2026

I don’t know anyone who loves traffic, unless it’s your job to study traffic patterns. However, there are a lot of chances for conflict when you have hundreds of people driving vehicles in close proximity, each with their own emotions, personal situations and levels of distraction. That’s not including all the things that could happen…