Author commentary on stories featured on my Freely Written podcast in June 2024: Never Say Never and Think Tank.
At the end of each month, I’ll shed some light on my writing adventures.
If you’re new to Freely Written, this podcast offers very short stories written from a chosen prompt with no planning and very little editing. These stories are an exercise in letting go of perfection and embracing spontaneous creativity. You may even be inspired to write a story of your own!
Episodes are released every other Tuesday and are around 10 minutes long. Listen with your favorite podcast app or from the links below!
Ep. 117 – Never Say Never – June 12, 2024
Listen first to avoid spoilers! Find the story here: Never Say Never
While I like using common expressions as writing prompts, this one came to me in a roundabout way. As I explained in the intro for this episode, I was looking for a writing prompt when I glanced toward my bookshelf and saw a book by Karen Hallion called Never, Never Quit. This is one of those children’s books that has a great message for adults as well. (If you don’t know Karen Hallion, definitely check out all of her art!)
But my writing prompt–Never Say Never–and the story it inspired have nothing to do with Karen Hallion’s book. Outside of both using two nevers in their titles. If anything, when I hear the phrase never say never, I think of An American Tail when Fievel and Henri sing on top of the Statue of Liberty. And that also has nothing to do with the story I wrote.
Though Henri uses the phrase to boost Fievel’s hope, I’m not a big fan of never say never. Simply because, after a people pleasing upbringing, I’m moved firmly into the no is a complete sentence mentality. I think it’s perfectly fine to say never to some things without it reflecting poorly on your character. Sometimes you know what you don’t want to do and that’s okay. Those themes definitely came up when I centered the story around a couple writing their wedding vows, and I like the way they talked through their feelings together.
Ep. 118 – Think Tank – June 26, 2024
Listen first to avoid spoilers! Find the story here: Think Tank
Sometimes, writing prompts come up when I’m not looking for them. (I love when that happens!) Peter and I were lounging around talking one day, and I started telling him how my mom used to say I should be put in a think tank someday. To a kid, that sounded really weird! I told Peter how I imagined people in a lab with their thoughts being syphoned out, like cows being milked on a farm. He laughed and said, there’s your next writing prompt!
Because I already had that childhood image in my head, I started down the path of workers in a think tank, but I wanted to go outside that weird image of thought sucking devices. So I began describing the literal space where this group worked. I included the obvious, like desks and whiteboards, then added some extras like an attached kitchen and a room for naps. Comforts that would support long work sessions while working out big ideas. But what were the big ideas in this think tank?
As I described the room, I stumbled into the idea of a sign that says: Thinking today for a thoughtful tomorrow. And that became the crux of my story. What would happen if a group of very intelligent, well-educated people were put together with that vague direction? How might they they interpret a “thoughtful tomorrow”? And the obvious next questions: who put this group together and why?
There aren’t answers in this story. Yet, I like the questions it raises. Maybe it’s something I’ll come back to another day. Or maybe its vague mystery is too close to Severance, so I’ll let it be. Only time will tell.
Have a suggestion for a future writing prompt? Let me know! If your prompt is chosen, I will give you credit in the episode.
Until next time, try a little free writing of your own. Let go of any planning and see where your imagination takes you!