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    Openings: Writing Prompts
    Openings: Writing Prompts
    Openings: Writing Prompts
    Ebook53 pages47 minutes

    Openings: Writing Prompts

    By Barbara G.Tarn

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    About this ebook

    These stories were born from an online workshop – writing prompts for openings of 3-400 words. I wrote three out of four stories.

    In 2015 I did the Depth workshop online. I had to write story openings according to a prompt. The last story opening was so well done, that the teacher said "Go write that story." So I did.

    The first prompt I couldn't rewrite or continue,in spite of the two attempts. But these are the other three – the first few paragraphs straight from the workshop (in one case completely rewritten, though) – and the stories that sprang out of it.

    Meeting in Kyoto (Bettie and her ex spouse)

    Wishing Parenthood (Ben finds a child)

    Christmas Gifts (Nancy in the snowstorm)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUnicorn Productions
    Release dateMar 26, 2016
    Openings: Writing Prompts
    Author

    Barbara G.Tarn

    Barbara G.Tarn had an intense life in the Middle Ages that stuck to her through the centuries. She prefers swords to guns, long gowns to mini-skirts, and even though she buried the warrior woman, she deplores the death of knights in shining chainmail. She likes to think her condo apartment is a medieval castle, unfortunately lacking a dungeon to throw noisy neighbors and naughty colleagues in. Also known as the Lady with the Unicorns, these days she prefers to add a touch of fantasy to all her stories, past and present – when she’s not wandering on her fantasy world of Silvery Earth or in her Star Minds futuristic universe. She’s a writer, sometimes artist, mostly a world-creator and story-teller. Two of her stories received an Honorable Mention at the Writers of the Future contest. She writes, draws, ignores her day job and blogs every other day.

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      Book preview

      Openings - Barbara G.Tarn

      Openings – Writing Prompts

      by Barbara G. Tarn

      ***

      Barbara G.Tarn copyright © 2016

      electronic edition by Unicorn Productions

      March 2016

      ***

      Openings – Writing Prompts

      These stories were born from an online workshop – writing prompts for openings of 300-400 words. I wrote three out of four stories.

      In 2015 I did the Depth workshop online. I had to write story openings according to a prompt. The last story opening was so well done, that the teacher said, Go write that story. So I did.

      The first prompt I couldn't rewrite or continue, in spite of the two attempts. But these are the other three and the stories that sprang out of them.

      Meeting in Kyoto (Bettie and her ex-spouse)

      Wishing Parenthood (Ben finds a child)

      Christmas Gifts (Nancy in the snowstorm)

      ***

      Dedicated to my writing guru, Dean Wesley Smith.

      ***

      Meeting in Kyoto

      Bettie thought the giant crab over the door was a little kitch, but it made Jennifer squeal in delight, while Peter was more interested in the stuffed crabs in the restaurant's window. Bettie exchanged a glance with her husband, Rob, as the children chattered and pointed at the various features of the famous crab restaurant Kani Doraku in Kyoto.

      The family of four was at the end of their Japanese vacation. After three nights in Tokyo and two in Takayama, they had now landed in Kyoto and their guide had mentioned the Kani Doraku served only crab dishes.

      Bettie had asked the hotel to book them a table and they'd taken a cab. The taxi driver, who spoke a very bad English, had left them half a block away since cars couldn't reach the restaurant.

      Bettie opened the sliding door to let in the children, eleven-year-old Jennifer – the sushi lover – and nine-year-old Peter – who only wanted to see his manga heroes. The waitress wore a kimono and asked them if they had a reservation. They had to take off their shoes to go to the first floor, where the actual restaurant was.

      The low table had some kind of hole underneath, so they could sit as if they were on chairs. Jennifer, in spite of her red hair and blue eyes, knelt like a true Japanese girl on the flat pillow. She was the most proficient at eating with chopsticks and the main reason they'd chosen to visit Japan.

      Bettie sat next to Jennifer and they glanced at the colorful menu, all written in Japanese, while Peter joked with his father Rob and looked around at the paintings of crabs on the walls. The various low tables were separated by blond-wood-and-paper walls to give some privacy.

      I like this place, Jennifer declared. She had loved all the Japanese-style restaurants they'd seen so far, but this one was special.

      Bettie agreed it was beautiful, with its paintings and low tables and flat pillows to sit upon in modernized traditional style.

      The waiter was male, but still wore some kind of kimono, with the upper vest sky-blue and the pants dark blue. He was tall and knelt at the side of the table, offering an iPad where Bettie could select the language – choosing between English, Chinese and some other language unreadable to her – so they'd know what they ordered. His English was good, and he said he'd be back when they had chosen.

      Bettie held the tablet with one hand and Rob helped her, so the children could both see the scrolling menu. Vinegared crab, crab sashimi, grilled crab, BBQ king crab, about ten different ways and easy to eat even with the provided sticks. Peter had to be helped to choose, but Jennifer pointed to exactly what she wanted and licked her lips in anticipation.

      They placed their order and soon enjoyed the taste of the crab – tender, juicy and tasty. Peter had fun torturing the pieces of crab

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