20-Minute Prompt (March 5, 2026)

Prompt: The Face of Tomorrow

It wasn’t long ago that I had my own warm bed. I had my own family and my own home. And food that I should have been more grateful for. And now this. I always thought that there would be so much hope for my future … and now, this is my future. The camp. For “re-education” they said. For the Party. For freedom. What the hell happened? How did our world get to this point?

I frantically looked for the spoon I knew I left here somewhere, when a moan came from the wooden planks to my left. From the darkness of the room. I turned to the place from which the sound came. No one was supposed to be here.

“Cathy?” I whispered.

“Ohhhh.” A groan came forth.

“Are you ok?”

“I don’t feel so well.”

“We’re going to be called for check-in soon. And you know you can’t miss that. We’ll all be in trouble if you do.”

“I know. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Can help you? Can I get you anything?” As if I could get her anything, I thought to myself.

“No, just … just … could you just hold my hand for a bit?”

I came over. The smell almost made me gag. But everything smelled putrid these days. I slowly raised her hand in mine. It was cold. Almost clammy cold.

I suddenly froze. I knew what was about to happen.

“Meg, could you talk to me a bit? Tell me about life before?”

I breathed deep. How do I handle this? “Cathy, remember back to the days before. Remember your warm bed? To the hug of your mom? To when we could go to the mall, and our greatest worry was if Joey would look at us or not?” I thought back to my days before. How I longed for them! How I wished things would be different! But they weren’t.

Cathy’s breathing had begun to slow.

“Remember the sunshine and the rainbows after a soft rain? How everything smelled fresh and new? Cathy, you will soon be there again.” I felt the clutch in my stomach. “I know you are going to find a warm space again. A place that smells like fresh flowers, and you’ll be able to smell the beauty all around you again. Cedar trees. The earthy smell of the ground beneath you.” I took a breath myself.

I felt Cathy’s hand go limp. A final exhale.

She was looking into the face of tomorrow today. But I was still here. I was not there yet. 

20-Min Prompt (Aug 10, 2025)

 Prompt: Set your story before dawn or after midnight. Your character is awake for a reason. 

Meg lay in bed. Around her were rustlings and people shifting in their bed. Every so often there was a groan or someone would mumble in their sleep. Meg could not sleep. The day was beyond anything she had ever experienced, and this seemed to be the only time she could reflect back without interruptions. 

The world had turned upside down in the last 24-hours. What started like every other day, school and classes, teasing and worries about the upcoming exams, have all been blown to pieces. She had no idea where her father was, where her brother was, where her mom and her mom's husband are. She tried to call them on her cell but there was nothing. She tried to connect to the internet, but the lines remained unconnected. 

Meg lay in bed and went over the gathering. What they said didn't make sense - a coup, an overthrow. The man was in a military uniform, but it was obvious that he was not the leader. He was one of the generals. The leader seemed to be the prime minister. 

PM Johnson came on the screen in the auditorium. 

"There is a national emergency. We have had to stop the threat of a military coup. The leader of the opposition and his henchmen have been captured and will be taken care of. When I was elected, I made it clear that your safety against the rising fascist contingent would be my primary concern. So long as you support our leadership, you have nothing to fear. 

Over the next few weeks, there will be many changes in our nation. We have been preparing for this for a while, so everything will go smoothly. It will be imperative that each of you become mentally and physically ready for the New World. There is much to be excited for. No longer will there be opposition. No longer will we be afraid that climate change will be our destruction. No longer will there be discrimination or hate. You can embrace absolute joy and indulge in whatever you wish. All conflict is behind us!" 

The auditorium sat in stunned silence. Slowly a few people started to clap and cheer. Soon all the young people were caught up in the exuberance. Freedom! Does this mean no more school? Does this mean no more worries about their future or getting a job or buying a home? What does this really mean? But for now - it was exciting! 

After the speech, they all reconvened in a space where food was given to them. It was like a big picnic! 

Meg sat off to the side with Natalie and ___. "What do you think about all of this?" she said to her friends. 

Natalie said, "How can this be bad? For so long, there was only fear about the horrible things in our world, and now PM Johnson seems to have everything under control. Didn't he say he would do that when he was being elected?" 

"Yes, but ..." Meg's voice trailed off. She was remembering the concerns her father had. 

And now, as she lay in bed, going over the events of the day, and remembering her father's obstinate beliefs on the dangers ahead, she had a hard time believing him. Everything did seem to be going in a good direction, wasn't it? And, if PM Johnston had everything under control, then they had nothing to fear. Her father always seemed to be a little off the rails with his conspiracy theories. But she did wonder where he was tonight, 

20-Min Prompt (Aug 4, 2025)

 Prompt: "Create a scene of chaos."

Meg watched out the windows as the bus drove through the town. People were running down the street, with what seemed to be blankets or clothing in their grasp. Some with children in their arms, a suitcase or bag in their hands. Others with boxes of things she couldn't make out. And she saw people in uniforms. With guns. What was going on?

Mere minutes ago, she was sitting in her math class, when the alarm went off. Everyone was startled, even Mrs. Evans, the teacher. And then they gathered in the gym, to be told it was an emergency, and that they had to leave the building. No one seemed to know what was going on. Even on the bus, everyone was clue-less. 

The bus eased through a wire fence. When were there wire fences in Malton? The fence entry was heavily guarded with military. Maybe there was an uprising? A war? No one seemed to know. 

The door slid open and a tall man in uniform came on the bus and stood at the front. 

"Students of Malton High, can I please have your attention," he said in a firm voice. The bus went silent. "We need you to disembark and go orderly into the white building ahead of you. Once you enter, please go to your left into the main auditorium. You will be instructed from there. Are there any questions?" 

Several hands went up.

"Yes?" 

"What's going on?" Jordan asked. He was the star basketball player and it was obvious that he was concerned. 

"You will find out in due time," the man said. 

"When will we be going home?" Sandy, a grade 12 student and the school president, asked. 

"You will find that out in due time as well," the man said. 

Meg wondered, What good was asking if there are questions when the answer is the same thing? And, where is everyone else? Have all the students been brought here? She looked behind, and it seemed there were no other busses behind them. 

The students were muttering among themselves as they disembarked from the bus. Meg heard words of 'government' and 'war' and 'coup' and 'chaos' but no one knew any more than anyone else. As she looked around, she realized there were no teachers with them. Only students from Grade 11 and 12. Odd. 

Once they were all in the auditorium, they found rows and rows of seats, and many other young adults already in the seats. They all looked to be the same age. 

"Please find a seat in this area," a young man in uniform motioned to a section central left to the main stage. There was a flag on the stage, but not one Meg had ever seen before. And there were three seats, two were already occupied with men in what seemed to be battle fatigues. And the chair in the centre was empty. Meg's classmates sat where indicated and as the room filled up, the chatter also began to die down. A sense of expectancy was building. 

"What do you think this is all about?" Katie, Meg's best friend, whispered to her.

"I have no clue. Have you heard anything on any of the socials?" Meg whispered back. 

Suddenly, Jordan, who was sitting in front of them turned around. "Something has been building," he said. "My father works for the city, and he mentioned to my mother the other day to get ready. I didn't know what he was talking about, but it was obviously this."

"Ready? Ready for what?" Katie asked. 

"Well, you know there's been a building of tension and anger," he started. "So many ..." 

He was cut off when a man in formal military attire took centre stage and raised his hands. The room hushed to silence. 

(From: https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/creative-writing-prompts-for-writers) 

Day 28

 

This comes from the Gr. 6 class I subbed in today. 

Prompt: I walked down the dry dirt path, the dead bushes still burning. Near the horizon, I saw a blinding, glowing, red, diamond-shaped thing. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

My ears were ringing from the explosion that happened only moments before. The ground was still shaking, and the air filled with an acidic smell. Outside, screams and cries for help began to swell in volume. What just happened? I felt the building around me begin to shudder. Get out! One thought flashed through my mind - get out! 

I stumbled outside. The air was filled with smoke and ash; in the distance, there were flames shooting out of a nearby building. What had just happened? Where did this come from? There was no warning, no alarm that said something was coming. Why didn’t the city sound an alarm? What was this? 

A man appeared in front of me, covered in soot. He almost didn’t look like a man. He looked like a ghost. With just his black eyes glazed and staring.

“Adam? Adam, is that you?” I called out. 

“Marcus? What just happened? What’s going on?” 

“I have no idea. Was this a bomb? Was this the beginning of an invasion? Was it something else?” 

“My house is gone,” he wept. 

“Come, let’s get out of here. If there is another bomb, another something, we need to get out of here. The city’s on fire,” I called. 

I grabbed his arm. 

“I can’t, Marcus. It hurts so much,” he pulled back. 

It was then that I realized there was a massive gash in his head. The side of his face was almost gone, caked over with the soot. His clothing was soaked in blood, and coated with the ghostly dusting of the building remains from around us, still floating to the ground. Like snow, but not. 

I couldn’t wait, I turned and ran. I didn’t know where, but I had to get out of there. 

~ * ~ * ~ 

I don’t know how long I ran, but eventually, the hazy skyline was behind me. Along the road, I saw cars in the ditch - some were overturned and burning, others were piled together in a mangled, metal mass of chaos. I didn’t want to look too closely, to see if anyone was still inside. I know I should, especially if someone was still alive, but I couldn’t stomach seeing what else I might find in a vehicle. All down the highway, bushes were still burning. Did the explosion reach this far out of the city? What happened? 

In the distance, I noticed a glow in the sky. Different than the ashy smoke over the city - red and gold. A fire? Or something else? I decided to head towards it. Maybe I could figure out what happened. Maybe I could make sense of this.

The closer I got, the more the amber glow filled the sky. Soon, I could start to make out a blinding, glowing, red, diamond-shaped thing. A huge thing. Not a saucer, not a tank, not a building … a thing. That’s the only way I can describe it. And I couldn’t even tell if it was human or not. 

Day 7

 Prompt: Eye Contact - two people seeing each other for the first time. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

Maggie didn’t know what she was doing here. A blind date. Online dating. How had our world got to this point? Where people no longer meet in ‘normal’ places like community events or church gatherings? Well, I guess that this was the new ‘normal place’. MatchDate.com. Maybe there weren’t many community events anymore and who really went to church, anyway? 

She had met Nick on the site about a month ago. They had both starred each other and that led to the opportunity to exchange messages. He seemed like a nice guy. Divorced, no kids, a rescue dog. He owned his own home and had a decent job in the IT industry. Some form of stability was important for her. The messages they had exchanged were light and fun, no sexual overtones, just two people trying to figure out if they had something in common. This was the next step.

The door to the coffee shop opened. Maggie looked up to see a young child and what looked like her mother coming in. Nope, that wasn’t him. His photos were pleasant to look at, and when she talked with him on the phone, his voice matched the pictures. Though they had not video-chatted, she was ok with this. A bit nervous, but ok. She just hoped he was a person of integrity and would, soon, come through that door. Being stood up was not fun. 

The door opened again. This time, a ‘normal-looking’ man entered. He looked around, and this time she was sure it was him. Their eyes connected, and he smiled briefly. She smiled and waved back. This was him. 

As he made his way around the tables, she examined his appearance. Nice jeans, no rips. Nice lace-up shoes, black leather. A T-shirt and a casual jacket. His hair was light with small flashes of silver on his temples, and a small scruff of facial hair. And glasses. He looked up as he came closer. Their eyes locked. 

Maggie was not sure if there was anything to the expression ‘love at first sight’, for it had never happened to her before. But this time, to look into those chocolate brown eyes, a jolt of something new surged through her. Never before had she seen eyes with that depth. To get ‘lost in his eyes’ was no longer a colloquial expression but a real experience. The world stopped. 

“Maggie?” He asked. His voice was almost as rich as his eyes. Why had she not noticed that before? 

She stuttered for a second. “Yes, I’m Maggie,” she managed to get out. “Nick, I presume?”

“That’s me! Nice to finally meet you,” he smiled and reached his hand across the table to shake hers. 

She stood and took his hand. Firm and warm. She noticed that his teeth were white and his smile was warm and encouraging. As she sat down, she closed her eyes. Needing to get a bearing on the situation, no use getting all twitter-pated over this first meeting. After all, she wasn’t a schoolgirl anymore. 

She looked up and their eyes met again. There is something about looking into the eyes of another human being that always caused her to pause. Behind those eyes was always a real person - with dreams and goals, with stories and experiences. Therein was humanity at its core, its essence. 

“Thank you for meeting me today,” Maggie said softly. “It’s nice to meet you, too, after this last month. I hope this place is ok?” 

“It’s great. I often stop here for a coffee and sometimes even get through a few more chapters of whatever book I’m currently reading. Those chairs over there are my go-to,” he said, pointing to two over-stuffed chairs by a fake fire. 

“Oh? You enjoy reading?”

“A favourite pastime of mine!” 

“If you want, we could relocate there? They do look comfy!” She smiled with a pleasant rush of excitement. 

With that, they left the table and claimed the chairs that seemed to be made for first meetings and fell into an easy conversation on books, movies, and other topics of common interest. The time flew and coffee flowed with a comfortable rhythm.

Day 6

 Prompt: "An immobile time not marked on clocks." 

(C. Baudelaire)

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

She knew that nothing would be the same after this moment. The world froze and time stopped. 

Rumours had been swirling for months, she could even remember instances when news reports had said something that made her wonder what were they really talking about. But nothing was ever certain. Nothing was ever said to the people. Everything was done behind closed doors. People who had power knew; no one else did. 

She looked out the window. All the cars had pulled over, and there was no movement in the streets. Even the people had stopped walking and were looking around with faces mixed between curiosity and horror. 

Inside the school, everyone was looking towards the PA system on the wall above the whiteboard. Even the teacher had frozen with the textbook in hand. Josie's pen was held midair as she was in between writing another word in her notebook - that wouldn't matter anymore. Marco's head had popped up from his routine nap in this class, and he wasn't napping anymore either. 

This moment, frozen in time, would be the moment that everyone would remember as years and decades pass. This moment marked the time before and the time after. 

After about three full minutes of the siren wailing, it stopped. The silence was deafening - even the ticking that once marked time was silent, too. We all held our breath. What would come next? 

"Good afternoon, Markham High," the principal's voice came on. She couldn't tell what emotion was in his voice. It certainly was like nothing she had heard before. "Please give us your full attention. There will be an announcement coming in a minute for our information." 

The room broke into a soft buzz. She could hear whisperings of "What's going on?" and "What's happened?" and "Are we being attacked?" Ms Johnson had sat down at her desk, set the book down, and had a look of uncertainty about her. She was obviously as puzzled as we were. 

Then the announcement came. It was the voice of our prime minister. This was not coming from the interior of the school, but being broadcast throughout the nation. 

"Fellow Canadians. We have reached a momentous event in our nation's history. Our world history. This has been many years in the making and at last, the time has come. As you know, we have been slowly setting the direction for a greener world, a more sustainable world. We have been on a path of destruction for many decades. As our society has continued to use up the earth's resources, we have been putting into motion research and plans to make the transfer to a completely green and self-contained living experience. This has not only happened in Canada but throughout the globe. 

You will have 24 hours to gather your most valued possessions and will be given a location to meet for transportation to our new lives. Your personal technology will receive a message of where you are to go."

This is the first time he has spoken with coherence, she thought. Is this really our PM? or a deep fake or some sort of AI cover? She was unsure. But what she was sure of was the rising sickness inside her. 

"Do not be concerned. Everything has been planned in detail and once we are settled in our new lives, things will return to normal. I promise you - this is for the good of our planet, for the good of our nation, and the good of our people. We are one." 

And the message ended. 

Day 5

 

Prompt: She was a redheaded woman.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

The music of today is sad. Really sad. I can't believe that the music of my day has become what is on the radio now. And it's not about sex. Sex has been in music since the days of Elvis. No, what is on the airwaves (or streaming services) is quite pathetic. 

Elvis started it all with his bold sensuality that he probably didn't realize at first he had. But, as the time was right (and ripe), he tapped into something that made women go crazy. From there, it was a straight path through the ages. But here's the thing: sex was taboo for the longest time, so the music had to be subtle in how they included references to the dirty deed. The thing is ... it was there. And as music found ways to 'dance' around this, so did the music become fun and energetic, too. 

Today - there is no subtly. It's blatant and disgusting. I can't see how people can enjoy rap with the vulgar violence and sex, pain and anger. Words like: Bang-bang into the room (I know you want it) Bang-bang all over you (I'll let you have it) / Just wait a minute, let me take you there (ah) /And wait a minute 'til you (ah, hey!). This is what is popular now? Oh man ... where is the fantastic music of days gone by? 

Then - Bruce Springsteen... heartland rock music, combining mainstream rock with poetic and socially conscious lyrics that feature narratives concerning working-class American life ... or Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Journey, Van Halen, Sting, Def Leppard ... and into the party music of KISS, who said it doesn't matter what you look like, but to rock'n roll all night and party every day.  What's happened? 

This prompt made me think of music because of a song by Bruce Springsteen, called "Redheaded Woman". What a wonderful song! As I said, yes - there's sex in it. But, it's solid, well-written music, for a fun time. You can't sit still when you listen to it, you feel good when you do. How would you explain - there's sex in the song but it's not sexy or provocative - it's fun, it's vibrant, it's unifying and full of joy. There are references to hard times, to struggle, to perseverance ... but there's little to no vulgarity in it. 

Music has changed, and I have to say I am grateful I grew up in days of good music - solid music with good messages and strong anthems for the everyman. Music unified people when I was growing up, it celebrated the everyman, the human struggle, beauty in the midst of difficulty. It spoke against world problems (music of the 60s and 70s), it got the feet tapping (music of the 80s), it allowed us to enter into times of struggle and know we weren't alone (the 90s) ... and from there, something began to happen. I don't know. I wish there were still groups like those of my time. 

Sometimes I will still come across a group that reminds me of those days, but there aren't many. It's like a piano or guitar riff, slowly fading into the distance. And, soon, it will fade to silence. 

This is not to say that everything was honky-dory and peachy-keen in my day. No, they weren't. There were many problems from drugs to alcohol to destructive life choices. But the music of my day mostly made all the shit that was life manageable. Now, it seems that the music of today only adds to the shit of life. The world we are living in, we have created.