My Storytelling Mind

"Aw, come on, Sean," Jesse whined after squinting at the camera in Charlie's hand. Tim and Pat looked at Sean, but ended up looking at each other. They glanced back at Jesse, shrugging. "How does he expect me to get any good summer pictures if he keeps phasing out?" Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: Brent Rivera, Instagram

He hung from the air vent, unprotected and entirely exposed. The finely embroidered rug, one of the headmaster's prized possessions, swayed at least three feet below his shoes. Glancing around, he tried to spy some cover; his landing would cause a notable thump, regardless of how carefully he fell. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: Jamie Isaia for Keller NY

That a fantasy series could capture the reality of magic so accurately nearly frightened her, but she also found it strangely funny. She wouldn't be a bit surprised if the author was magically inclined too. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: missing source

"Don't you ever think of hanging upside-down?" he asked, using the door to climb up onto the bar. Marty shrugged. "It's a good way to change your perspective." "I'll keep that in mind," Marty replied and glanced around. "Stop fidgeting," Adam ordered, gazing slowly around the room. "You're making me nervous." "Me? I'm not the one searching for something by hanging off the ceiling," Marty replied as he scoffed and crossed his arms. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: MirkoStoedter, DeviantArt

"Margot," he called, through the swirling snow. She glanced back only once, meeting his gaze for a split second, her lips parting just so, and then continued on to the house. He shook the gate in frustration, tossed his hat to the ground, and swore. He saw it in her hand, she had held it right in front of his eyes, and she remained innocently ignorant. "Margot," he muttered to himself, picking up his hat and brushing off the snow. Find this blurb on Pinterest !

She adjusted the mirror on the tree trunk almost as soon as she had appeared. From his spot behind another tree, he could see her adjusting something on the bark behind the mirror. As she set the mirror back again, it swung just enough to the left to catch his fascinated face in the reflection. Her eyes widened but she smiled, and he found himself weak in the knees before he could find the courage to step out from behind the tree. Find this blurb on Pinterest !

Her skirts tossed up behind her as the wind blew up around the field. He watched her as he came up the lane, resisting the urge to run up to her. Her father was watching from the front lawn but it was clear from her smile that she'd forgotten her father ever existed or that he had serious objections to their relationship. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: Svetlana Ray by Tatyana Zarubina, DeviantArt

The wolves stopped in their activities, watching her intently as she picked her way through the overgrown grass. They had seen her before, become accustomed to her scent; she had earned safe passage through their territory. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: Daniel Parent, Omega Park

She'd never seriously thought about the story book by her grandfather's favorite window. It was a model village, nothing more, despite what her grandfather had told her on so many nights of her childhood. Now that he was gone, she couldn't bring herself to start dismantling it. It didn't help that things in the little village kept moving, as if someone were playing a cruel joke. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: The Diary (c) Jeannette Woitzik

He'd fallen asleep again. It was the sixth time that month that she'd found him there, candles still burning and face pressed against the printed pages. She began to close the books spread around him, tucking loose pages away, and folding up the opened charts and maps. She reached a certain chart and paused; usually, she didn't know most of what he researched, but this was different. This was something she recognized. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: (c) Supernatural, CW.

She sat still, staring at the same sentence on the same page of the book on her lap, ignoring the other passengers in the train car. It had been so long since she last made this journey. Perhaps, this time, she wouldn't be so miserable. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: (c) The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec.

"Warning... Warning... Warning..."  The boy tugged on his mother's skirt, using his other hand to cover one of his ears. "Mommy, what's my label going to say?" he asked. His mother shrugged, uncomfortable herself with the high volume of the label system.  As they neared the main door, she knelt down and fixed his shirt. "You be brave for Mommy, darling. It’s going to be very loud, but I promise it won’t hurt. Just stay extra still, alright? Can you do that for Mommy?" she said. The boy nodded. She stood again, adjusting her blouse; they were now second in line.  "What's your label say, Mommy?" he asked. She sighed and glanced at her label for the twentieth time that morning.  "My label warns people about my poor balance.”  He nodded, watching the boy in front of him part from his father and step onto the conveyor belt. “How does the machine know what to put on your label?” the boy asked.  “Well, it – I don’t know, darlin...

He stood on the sidewalk outside the gate, hands in his pockets, looking through the bars intently. His gaze was on his favorite window, in which was the light he watched flicker off every Thursday evening and the faded curtains he watched give him a small wave in the dark. He had only seen the other boy once.  Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Prompt: Promptuarium.

There was no sign of him at the old Morgan House, and there had been no sign of him at the abandoned railway station where they played as children. She had convinced herself that they had just missed each other each time, despite having slept in each lonely building for a night. Just one more time, but one more might be one too many. She hesitated in front of the boarded-up theater, hand clutching the key in the lock. Was it worth going in only to be alone again? Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: Prompt from Mandy Wallace.

The tree shrunk down beneath the canopy, its bark peeling away to reveal a young woman, the tree's flowers grouped in her long hair. She smiled but, after a short gaze around, that smile trembled on her lips.  Find this blurb on Pinterest !

"Save her, redeem her."  "She doesn't need redemption. She needs our help." Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: High Tide. (c) Kiara Rose, Flickr.

Abandoned places have their own stories, buried under years of dust, decay, and possible overgrown plantlife. As prompts, abandoned buildings provide valuable exercise: your writing must be the shovel to uncover those old, forgotten stories. For exercise this weekend, and to get into that creepy Halloween mood, try some of these photo prompts: A House and Its Car via Content in a Cottage An old house with an old car doesn't seem so unusual on its own until you consider the fact that most people take their cars with them when leaving their home. Even in emergencies, people tend to use their cars as fast transportation, as opposed to the slower transportation of their feet. The Old Fortune-Teller via mrscaptainmonkeypants , Flickr. Was it a machine? A person? Who sits behind the glass waiting to answer your questions about life, the universe, and everything? More importantly, what would happen if you slipped a few dollar bills through the pay slot? Even now, wit...

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: love letters (c)  Siréliss .

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Quote: Regina Spektor.

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest !