Creative Writing Prompts

Recommendation: The Hunger Games

   In case you haven't yet read it, I seriously recommend the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It's the perfect combination of action, survival, and undeniable romance between two of the main characters that must battle to the death. I wouldn't want to give it all away, because this book is so suspenseful and the surprises stored in this fantastic book will leave you gaping and breathless- which is pretty embarrassing whether your in public or outside with your cat, who gets pretty freaked out when they see you making weird faces like that. But that's not the point; the point is, you must read the Hunger Games. And I mean the whole trilogy- but I shouldn't have to tell you that, because after reading the first book, you'll be dying to get your hands on the second book-and that will leave you wishing to have the third book because you are nearly insane after reading Catching Fire and The Hunger Games. Mockingjay is life changing...

  In terms of Catching Fire, I think I speak for everyone when I say Suzanne Collins has done that rare thing and written a sequel that improves upon the first book. I literally couldn't stop reading it, and I think others will find that they cannot put it down either. The above photo is an image of the three book logos, the trilogy title, and a quote from the almighty Effie Trinket- and in case you cannot read it, it says: "MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR".

  In conclusion, you've gotta read these books- I recommend buying the boxed set, like I have recently done.

Miniseries: Mysteries on Venus #1

  The year is 3014.

  Acid rain streamed down my window as I was researching the secret of alien-life, if it was possible- which it probably was. One terrifying year earlier, an enormous asteroid had wiped out earth entirely and the only survivors were those who hid in a special device that protected ourselves and our home. Unfortunately, there were just over about 500 survivors, including my family and I. We are currently living on planet Venus, while the only living scientists (about 60% of the population on Venus is scientists) search for another planet that is capable of supporting human life. We live off of the materials and supplies that still rain down from empty space after the blast. Under no circumstances can we go outside.

   I peered outside just in time as a laptop computer falls from the bright orange sky and smashes to pieces at the ground, quickly becoming dusty and covered in crumbling rocks. 

   But this laptop was not alone- crawling out from behind it was a creature about the size of a basketball with one beady black eye and 6 limbs. It was dull white in color and had six long limbs. The creature crawled up to my window and hissed at me, revealing hundreds of razor sharp teeth. At the ends of its legs were single sharp claws that allowed it to pierce the glass and cling to it. I was a little scared, for this creature had never been seen on Earth nor Venus before. 

   All of a sudden, this creature looked me in the eye and everything went black. All I could hear was a high pitched BEEP, and I was out like a light.

Shortest Horror Story EVER

   The year is 3014. There are no living things left on earth, it is only freezing rock, due to the relocation of the once-beautiful planet far from any star; let alone our sun, which died out mysteriously early. There is a room, at the very bottom of the earth, AKA the South Pole. It sits on a piece of frozen magma. Just one remains; the last woman. She is only minutes from dying of starvation and hypothermia.. 

   Suddenly, there is a rumbling outside and the earth shakes; as if it is shivering, because it is so cold. She stares at the door, predicting the distant future: there is a knock. Seconds later, the room erupts in flames and she screams at the dark figure standing before her. So alien life is real...

A Short Story

   It was a warm Summer day, a cool breeze silently pushing the tight ruffles of my baby-blue wedding gown. I lay down in the soft, green grass and stared at the pictures in the clouds floating across the sky. Suddenly, an asteroid came hurtling down from space, its flames like a bright red tail. I could hear screams coming from the small cabin, only a couple hundred yards away, telling me to move. I jumped to my feet and began to race towards my friends and family calling to me. But it was too late; the impact that the asteroid made with the ground seemed to shake the entire earth. A door opened, and I saw two eyes peek out from the inside. I then collapsed in fear. 

                                                    __________

   

   I awoke the next morning in a lush, white bed wearing a pair of royal blue silk pajamas, my friends and family standing all around me. They had such fearful and sad looks on their faces, you'd think they were at a funeral. I did not recognize the room I was in, but it was full of renaissance-like furniture that made me shiver, despite the warm sunlight being filtered in through the rather large, dusty windows. My mother breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of my opened eyes and knelt by my bed, clutching my small, delicate hand tightly.

     "Dear, we thought you had died..", she began. "I suppose we'll have to reschedule your wedding day.", she chuckled, and a warm smile spread across her pale yet perfect face. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks and she gave me a light kiss on my own cheek before disappearing into the dark hallway. My aunt Clarisse touched her gloved hand to her heart, then left with everyone else. Only my fiance remained, so he smiled at me, blew me a kiss, and left. I was all alone.

   I showered, changed into a bright red sundress, and headed outside. But as I eased into a small wooden chair under an umbrella, I saw a group of about ten people limp out from behind the cabin, moaning in distress. They looked like my family, but their skin was a pale-green color and they were dripping blood all over. I looked toward the asteroid and saw many more people just like them. Except that they weren't people- they were ZOMBIES. Zombies that were out to get the last one left- me, because my family had already been bitten and I had nowhere to hide.

   Suddenly, as if it were a light bulb, the sun went out and all was dark. I could only see the distant glowing light of other stars in the universe. I had one last thought, a thought of love for my family, when I felt a pinch in my neck- then everything really went black. 

  

COMING SOON!

Coming soon is my new story, THE GOLDEN 
 ARROW! Follow this blog to read The Golden Arrow in March, or maybe even sooner! STAY TUNED!

BOOK RECOMENDATION

I highly recommend the Dead Is series by Marlene Perez! Her books are awesome, I read the entire series in a little more than a month, and there are 8 books that I know of!

A White House Mystery

 A White House Mystery

     Rain pounded down on the thick glass windows as I stood silently in the White House Grand Hall, in the very depth of the night- on a full moon. I had recently gotten a job as a White House guard, and was taking the night shift; but unfortunately, was about to pass out, due to my lack of a mocha espresso. Suddenly, as I sank to the cold, tiled floor, I watched as a dark figure darted across the room about six feet in front of me.

     "Hello? We're not open for tours anymore!", I called out into blank space. I stood up and sprinted over to the corner the figure disappeared around. I looked for it, but it had mysteriously vanished without making a sound. 

     Suddenly, right behind me, I heard a young girl's laughter. "This has to be a joke, right?", I secretly thought to myself. A chill ran up my spine and goosebumps sprouted on my arms. I thought I felt a cool breeze, but that was impossible, because no windows were open- I closed them all.

     Even though the heat was turned up to seventy degrees, due to the freezing December weather, I was shivering.

     Then, as quickly as it had vanished, the figure manifested again. This time, it was clear that the person was wearing a white dress. I knew I was in desperate need of sleep, and I must have been imagining things, and I collapsed in exhaustion on the floor. 

__________

The next morning, I was awoken at precisely 6:00AM by my coworker and friend, Anthony. He shook me and screamed, "Georgia, get up!! I saw what happened last night on the security cameras; this place is totally haunted. It's time for my morning shift, now go get some coffee!", and he helped me to my feet.

     I went straight for the nearest Starbucks to pick up some coffee and donuts, then headed to the security office. I looked at the footage for December 13, 2013, 2:09AM- and confirmed everything that had happened the previous night. But what really surprised me was what happened after I fell asleep: just seconds after I fell, a black foggy mist entered my body and disappeared from sight!

     I gaped in horror at what I saw on the screen, thinking that Anthony must have done some visual editing to scare me.  But that wasn't something Anthony would do- he wasn't one to scare others. He loved pranks, but would never- under no circumstances- mess with the White House security footage. Something was going on, something supernatural, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

     I spent the rest of my 30-minute break sipping coffee and munching on donuts, while listening to the Black Eyed Peas on my iPod. That is, until Gabe, my boss, called me to the second floor gallery because he heard footsteps upstairs when the above room was off-limits.

     When I got to the gallery, a room I'd never been inside of before, I could not stop staring at the gorgeous works of art- all sorts of landscapes, portraits, and a picture of George Washington who's eyes followed you everywhere- very creepy!

    

     After a few minutes of staring, thinking, and just being bored, I finally heard the footsteps Gabe was talking about. Thinking it was just him, I ignored them. Suddenly, I heard a drilling sound overhead, and sawdust sprinkled down into my long blonde hair. I looked up to see a rope coming down, and then someone sliding down onto the hardwood floor. The only thing I could do was run up and push him against a wall, so I did- and succeeded.

     His face was definitely familiar, and it didn't take long for me to recognize him a Odis Duncan- a fellow freshman at my high school. Odis was friends with Anthony, so why would he be breaking in? Or was that the reason he was breaking in? I tried to clear my mind, for it was clouded with thoughts and questions. 

     "Odis!!", I shouted at him. "What are you doing? Why are you breaking in? How could you be such a criminal?!". Odis looked very panicked, and terrified. My face softened, but I still frowned at him. "Just wait till Anthony finds out..", I thought to myself. I remembered a roll of super strong, black Gorilla duct tape I keep in my backpack and I took that out. I then cut off a few pieces and taped his wrists to the wall. 

     I stood back and crossed my arms, waiting for an explanation. Odis struggled for a while, until we both heard the same child's laughter as I had heard the night before. We both stared, alarmed, in the direction it had come from- which was a corner where an Abraham Lincoln statue stood. The lights went out, and the room suddenly became so cold, I was shivering and my teeth were chattering.

     Then, something unbelievable happened. A white mist in the shape of a girl, the same girl I had seen the previous night wearing the white dress, began to slowly float towards us. Odis and I screamed, and I struggled to rip the tape from his wrists. The "ghost" was blocking the door and because we refused to go nowhere near her, we ended up running and scrambling for the air vent. We then crawled inside and inched our way through as fast as possible. 

     Finally, we stopped, sweating and out of breath. I took out a flashlight and turned it on, illuminating the dark tunnel with a bright white light. As soon as her caught his breath, Odis fessed up. 

     "Okay, this wasn't totally my idea.", he started. "Actually, Colby and Jaden dared me to do it, and I only agreed to do it because I heard a rumor that the president had been kidnapped, so... Well, basically, I wanted to see if it was true, and if it was, I'd rescue him!", which I fully believed, considering Odis listens to just about every single rumor he hears. Of course, I never thought he'd go as far as breaking into the White House!

     We caught our breath and continued forward, until the vent produced an unusual moaning sound, so we stopped. It shifted, and the next think I knew, I was falling 15 feet onto a read leather loveseat; one that probably hadn't been sat in in years, because it was so uncomfortable. 

     I got up and looked around yet another room I'd never been in before. To the right, a set of grand French doors led into a dark hallway; to the left, light flooded in through beautiful stained glass windows, sending colorful beams of light everywhere. A shiny oak china cabinet stood in the corner filled with dazzling golden platters and crystal wine glasses. "It certainly is amazing.", I thought to myself.

     I heard a strange squeaking sound coming from overhead and looked up to see a diamond chandelier swinging back and forth causing that sound, and a spreading crack on the ceiling. Suddenly, the chandelier dropped, and fell through the surprisingly thin floor. Odis and I stared speechless and wondering what to do, as well. We stared into the large hole, and saw something so impossible, we wondered whether or not if it was real. At the bottom, it was foggy; literally foggy, despite the fact that we were inside. The sight confirmed our suspicions of the White House being haunted, and we were curious of what else we could find. 

     I took a rope out of my backpack, hoping it was long enough to get us all the way down, for the hole was extremely deep. I duct taped the one end firmly to the floor, and the other end down. Fortunately, it was long enough, so we slid down into the foggy abyss. 

     At the bottom the floor was made of concrete and it was cold and damp. An unusually sour smell lingered, and I didn't feel safe. Odis was shivering, and my teeth chattered. I took out my flashlight and when I turned it on, I realized we stood in the one and only White House basement- only a myth to us security guards. 

     We explored  the elaborate basement for a while, until we began to here familiar but angry voices. I was surprised, and no matter how close I listened, I could not decipher them. Curiosity got the better of me, and I began to follow them, Odis at my side. Finally, we found out where the voices were coming from and hid behind a corner so they wouldn't see us. The scene was unbelievable. 

     The president was tied to chair and a bright light was being shone in his face, causing him to squint at the criminal who was holding him hostage. I recognized the voice, and so did Odis- it was Justin Steiner, yet another freshman who also went to my high school. By now, I was beginning to wonder whether or not I was attending the School for the Criminally Gifted...

     Odis ran over to Justin and exclaimed, "Justin!!! Are you insane?! How could you?!", as I began to dial 911. I told them I was a White House guard and they needed to report to the white house basement immediately. I also called Anthony to let him know they were coming, and Gabe, too. I listened as Justin carefully answered all of Odis's questions, and he finally noticed me when the screen of my iPhone lit up my face. "The police had better get here quick,", I thought.

     "Georgia!!", he said. "You must have come with Odis? I know you'd love to join me on my genius plan to take over the country. Odis said no, so I'll let you be vice president!", and I knew this guy had to be insane. How could he possibly think I was so cold hearted as to help him overrule the country?

    "Are you kidding me?! You've got to be seriously mental, because the day I work with you is the day pigs fly!!", I screamed at Justin. I think I may have been holding a bit of anger against him. Odis must have known what I was thinking, because he ran right up to Justin and pushed him against a wall, signaling me to save the president. 

     I untied the president in only about 30 seconds, because apparently, Justin wasn't very good at tying knots. I looked at Odis, who was standing over an unconscious Justin. I watched as a fat little tear dripped from his big brown eyes, for he had lost a friend; I knew the feeling. We all ran for the old elevator and pushed the first floor button. In the rush we were in, it seemed as if it took years to get all the way up, when in reality it was just over thirty seconds. We made it up just in time to see the police storm in through the door and into the elevator.

______________

     

     The following month, Odis and I got news that Justin had been beheaded. Of curse, we knew he was a bad guy and needed to be arrested, but we never meant for it to go this far. Odis took it especially hard, and didn't talk to anyone for days. 

     In conclusion, Odis, Anthony, and I finished High School and got accepted to great colleges. I finished college and went to law school in hopes of someday leading our country. As the first female president.