Friday, May 15, 2026

Friday Writings #227: As You Wish

 


Hello, Word Artists and Admirers! Many of you probably have one (or a few) movies that you could easily identify just by hearing a quote from it. For me, Princess Bride is one of those movies. The thing about that movie is there are so many quotable lines!


So for this week's optional prompt I'm asking you to draw some inspiration from one of these four (or any) quotes:

1. “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” 

2. “Mostly dead is slightly alive.” 

3. “We are men of action, lies do not become us.” 

4. “True love is the greatest thing in the world... except for a nice MLT—mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe.” 

I'll accept poetry or prose, fiction or non-fiction. Just be sure to keep your pieces to 369 words or fewer, and one entry per person please.

Next week, we'll ask you to be inspired by a dead tree—whether it's one you've seen, seen pictured, or imagined.

Friday, May 8, 2026

Friday Writings #226: Inappropriate Laughter


Greetings, my dear poets and storytellers! 

How is life treating you in your bit of the universe? I hope things are as wonderful as they are for me in some ways (my immune system isn’t trying to kill me at the moment), and not even close to as horrible as they’ve been in other ways (I need more surgeries than prognosticated). It’s all about balance, right? And, if we’re lucky, also about a wee bit of decorum. I haven’t been all that fortunate in the decorum part. 

My latest bit of indignity involved puking all over a surgeon and then bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Which, of course, brought to mind today’s optional prompt: I invite you to write poetry or prose inspired by a moment of inappropriate laughter. Need an example? Here are 3: Raucous laughter at a funeral, giggling during a root canal, explosive cackles when a priest uses the phrase “friendly intercourse with your classmates might help”. 

Please add the direct link to your response to Mister Linky. One post per participant. 369 words maximum (excluding title). Let your poetry or prose be old or new, inspired by the prompt or by a topic of your choosing. Visit other contributors. Read their writings… and comment. 

next week, we’ll invite you to be inspired by one of the following quotes (or any quote) from The Princess Bride: 1. “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” 2. “Mostly dead is slightly alive.” 3. “We are men of action, lies do not become us.” 4. “True love is the greatest thing in the world... except for a nice MLT—mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe.”