Introduced to Writing Prompts

I have always been interested in creative writing since my English tutor implanted the bug in me in 8th grade. Weaving stories in my mind was something I did since toddler years, but my stories are often too long to pen down. I get lazy after writing a couple of scenes and it remains untouched, until maybe a month later when I discover it in my Laptop documents folder, and jot down another scene. So, while my original script plays in the back of my mind, almost all the time, I don't give words to it very often.

So, anyway my brief stint with poetry was met with what I call a 'motamuti' response. I did bag the first prize in poetry writing in school twice, but to me the quality of my poems were, to be honest, not up to the standard. But I've always liked my prose writing capabilities.
Recently, I have been trying to hone my skills further in this department, since I aspire to become a part time contributor in a magazine, paper or a blog that reaches a lot of people. And although I may like my style, I still need to improve on it. hence, I have been on the hunt ever since to look for ideas which I could use to write as a hobby.
And I have found a handful of helpful websites that offer what are called 'writing prompts' to encourage budding writers. A writing prompt is just what it means. It could be a starting sentence, a group of words you'd have to incorporate into your writing, a single word as the inspiration, a specific plot with a specific character or even something as simple as an idea. I am finding it quite helpful.
My favorites from the list are:-
1. Oneword- Offers one word everyday, and 60 seconds to write about it. Helps to learn spontaneity.
2.Fifteen Minutes of Fiction- Offers a grab bag section where you can choose any number of words that are randomly generated, and must then be used to write something. Helps to learn adaptability.
3.Creative Writing Prompts- Has over 300 prompts of various kinds. Helps to learn versatility.

Here are two examples of my writing in response to prompts.

1. A grab bag note written using the words: Drive, dizziness and bulletproof.

Bristol sped her car on the highway, in the dark rainy night. It wasn't that late but since she lived in a town of only 2000 people, the road was almost deserted. She stared straight out into the darkness, looking out into the oblivion. She kept staring like that, who knows for how long, when the sudden horn of an approaching truck startled her. She rearranged herself on the driver's seat. She reached into the a small pocket of her canvas bag kept on the adjacent seat, and pulled out a packet of smokes (a week old), empty for the exception of one cigarette. "To heck with cleansing", Bristol thought aloud. She also pulled out a lighter and lit the joint, and let out a puff of smoke...shortly followed by a sigh. She couldn't stand the noise the car made on the slippery highway. The drone of the engine, was already getting on her nerves. The dizziness would engulf her completely unless she could get a stressbuster.Reluctantly, Bristol turned on the radio. "I love the way you lie" was playing on the station. Talk about poetic justice, this shit is musical justice... she thought. Anyway, it would make the drive more tolerable.Bristol had been up at Coby's that evening. It was not her birthday, or his or their anniversary either. She'd just got an idea out of the blue to go and surprise him at his apartment! Bristol looked after her family business in the small town, while Coby lived in the city where he worked as a contemporary artist. That's what made her fall for him. Silly me, she thought. "Fuck the silly me!"So when she'd rang his bell, she'd hoped for him to come all dreary-eyed and open the door, then look at her with his big eyes, not once showing shock or disbelief, and then let the show end when his lips gave into a big smile that said, "you'd never learn!"Yes, She'd never learn. As it would turn out, she rang the bell and waited for a good 3 minutes before a lanky girl (what the heck, she'd just be twenty) in a camisole and panties opened the door, waited for a second and said, "Sucks ass. I thought 'twas the pizza guy." The string of events that followed are best not mentioned, but it is sufficient to know that things escalated pretty quickly and she was on the highway in half an hour. Bristol had almost reached the corner of the avenue that was just two blocks away from her home. The radio was still on. She listened to Taylor Swift singing, "you might think I'm bulletproof, but I'm not."

2. Describe what you feel using your sense of smell.

It reeks of sweat. The acrid stinging odour is filling my senses. It is sometimes sweet, sometimes pungent and sometimes earthy. I can smell something smoky. Choking and burnt like hot air coming out of a vent. There is also the stink of open drains- acidic, putrefied and organic. But then there is the occasional fragrance of yellow flowers in bloom…rejuvenating and addictive. And then, somewhere in the corner there is a savory aroma that reminds me of home.

Well, that's about it. I guess. See you next time.

-Aamen.