This week’s writing prompt is:
Holidays
What does the word ‘holidays’ conjure up for you? The long, summer break when you were at school? Endless days to spend with friends, or for reading under a shady tree? Or perhaps it’s a special trip somewhere that comes to mind. One of my holidays didn’t go according to plan and was more farce than fantastic. But I’ve had fun making a story out of it. Maybe it’s the same for you.
You don’t have to share your work, but I’d love to see what you come up with if the prompt gives you inspiration. Last week’s prompt was LOST. Here are a couple of responses:
A lady of some years had an important appointment coming up and had forgotten where she put the CD disc of her recent MRI and the doctor’s report on it. She searched her home, her brother’s home, and back to her home again. She thought she remembered putting it in a safe place she was sure not to forget, yet her husband assured her that he had looked there.
Later on, she and her husband had to go back by their house to bring another load to her brother’s house, and she checked her safe place again…a plastic three drawer container she kept in the cabinet above their bed. Sure enough, after checking the bottom drawer of the three, she found all the necessary documents and the CD. “Bingo!!” she cried, and her husband asked where it was. “Right where you thought you’d checked, dear.” The lady smirked as she passed him on the way to the car.
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Ritu shared a story relating to the prompt on her blog:
A couple of weeks ago, the prompt was NOSTALGIA. Sharon Harvey sent a lovely piece in:
From an early age I started writing my stories. In those days it was pen and paper, not like now with iPads/iPhones/Laptops etc., so I would write my stories with a normal pen etc.
Before my late grandad passed away, he had bought all his kids a silver Parker pen to show his love and appreciation of them all. I was looking at my mum’s and was quite in awe of it which must have shown on my face as my mum suddenly said: “Would you like one as well, as I would like to buy you one too.”
My face was her answer and so we went to purchase the exact pen the next day. I felt very proud and honoured to have followed in the exact tradition that my grandad had set but my mum had done it instead. I felt very privileged to have this stunning pen to now write my stories with and it was certainly a pen to admire.
Sadly I have only used it once or twice. Initially I couldn’t use the pen. It was bought for me the month before she died and for some reason, it didn’t feel right using it, but my mum bought it for me, and she would want me to use it, especially in my writing since she was behind that 100% completely. But, like I said, I have used it once or twice since but I am also scared of using it and something going wrong with it, i.e. it breaking or the refill leaking and ruining it. That has happened with another pen similar to it and whilst it was sorted in the end I am scared of it happening to my special pen.
But I am going to start using it and remembering the story behind it. Ha ha, every pun intended!
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Esther Chilton 
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