The happy-ending machine.** The Happy Ending Machine Once upon a time there was a little girl named Stella. Stella was happy, bright, and loved making things. One Friday at school, her best friend, Gina, told her that her parents were getting divorced and was very sad. As Stella had a big heart, she decided that she was going to make
Read moreWould the last person to leave please turn off the lights?** The Next Chapter The house is finished. After six months of painting, shifting furniture, and fixing things, my house is finally complete. To celebrate and say thank you to all of the tradies who helped me, I invited them over for dinner. I made a toast to them for
Read moreWrite a piece from the point of view of someone who is only half human.** Ally I have very few friends in the magical community, Zoey Martin is definitely one of them, Jesinta Wallis is not. I have very few friends for two reasons – I’m half-human (so I can’t entirely relate to the human experience or human emotions) and
Read more‘All beauty is transient.’ Write a story where the poignancy of this observation is illustrated.** Renovations: I’ve lived in this apartment complex for ten years. I moved here when I was 18, fresh out of school, new to an entry-level, minimum wage job, as well as adulthood. My initial goal was to save money to buy my own luxury house,
Read moreWrite a piece set in the future, incorporating one major change from today’s world (show us the change: don’t tell us what it is).** #This story is the sequel to my 2016 novelette, How We Got Here. How We Got Here is the story of Lorraine and her ten children (who are now adults). Lorraine is about to marry her
Read moreYou come home and find the house is empty; your parents appear to have moved away, and taken everything with them. You don’t trust your neighbours, so you don’t want to go to them…** Lost and Found The sound of the thunder above me only added to my bad day. The rain hadn’t started but I knew it would show
Read moreA wild animal from your dreams becomes ‘real’ – can you tame it?** In July 2020, the Australian Writers’ Centre encouraged writers to submit a 23-word story inspired by the image above. More than a year later (due to falling behind with my writing projects), I’ve finally written my 23-word story, which can be found below. *** Elephant in the
Read moreAwakening to the terror of the same old day (Harvey Pekar)** 19 Words on COVID-19 Wake up, eat up, sit up, sit down, keep busy, keep writing, keep quarantining, repeat…for God knows how long. **Reference: Marsden J 1998, Everything I Know About Writing, Pan Macmillan, Australia.
Read moreWrite a conversation in which someone intends to ring their doctor but dials the butcher by mistake.** This story was written based on the picture above and prompts provided by the Australian Writers’ Centre. *** Personal Call I managed to hobble my way into the phone box on the bank, of all the times to hurt my ankle, why did
Read moreWrite about a school for bad boys and girls. A good boy or girl goes there, and won’t conform. What happens to him or her? Does he/she get expelled?** New Girl Three. Three years I’m going to be stuck at this school, the Haywood Academy for Unruly Students. I was recruited by my previous principal, Ms. Clarke, to enrol and
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Loveday Writing 