Today’s writing prompt will encourage you to get more creative with a familiar phrase, “taking time off.” Keep reading to see the full writing prompt and my completed version of it.
Today’s Writing Prompt: Taking Time Off
Today, be creative with the familiar. Use the phrase “taking time off” at some point in your writing but apply any meaning to it that you want, as long as it’s applicable to the scene you’re depicting in your writing. For example, your writing can include characters taking time off work, a relationship, a creative project, etc.
Completed Version of Today’s Writing Prompt
A New Perspective, by K.E. Creighton
Olive decided to take time off from creating her masterpiece to clear her head. She was stuck and she knew it and she wished she could avoid it. All words were starting to fade into one meaning and all of the metaphorical colors she had been using were starting to blur together, and not in a pretty or lucid way. She needed to step away to think, to get a better perspective.
As she walked through the open accordion sliding glass doors at Lakeside Library to venture down toward the water, she heard faint laughter coming from the main house. Her family was in the other room eating breakfast together. But she couldn’t join them until her masterpiece was complete. Because she was so close to finishing it. She couldn’t step away from working on it now.
If only the right ideas were striking her at the right time, she’d be done already. But the more she thought about it, the more her mind went blank or twisted into incoherent thoughts and visions.
When she rounded the corner and walked past the dining room windows, she saw her youngest’s eyeballs peeking out over the sill. He was three and curious and incredibly mobile. Although she couldn’t see his mouth, she saw his eyes widen and light up when he saw her walking by the window. When he saw her, he lifted his chubby little arm above his head to wave at her. She waved back.
And then the perspective she had been waiting for arrived.
[All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton and Creighton’s Compositions LLC. The above work is a piece of fiction. All names and locations referred to are the product of the author’s imagination and are used entirely for fictional purposes. Any similarities to real-life persons or places are purely coincidental.]
Notes on Completing this Writing Prompt
My version of today’s writing prompt was inspired by– and is a bit of a continuation of– what I wrote for My Ideal Personal Library and A Writer’s Retreat.
Seeing her son wave to her so sweetly and innocently set her creative juices flowing. All the themes, twists, and potential directions her thesis could have taken suddenly congealed into a terrific idea. Her family history was the perfect conclusion!
It only took her another 30 minutes to complete the last two pages. She didn’t even need any references, given this was just her memories from elementary school. However, it wrapped up the entire thesis paper nicely. She took the rest of the day and joined her son and her family for a terrific time.
She entered her professor’s office the next day. She handed the thesis to Professor Hanley, and left her cell phone number. She told her she would be at a local park/zoo with her son and brother when the review board was ready.
The call came 4 hours later. She walked into the interview room, and Professor Hanley motioned her to the chair. It was time to face the tribunal, and the future of both her and her son was on the line.
The standard questions about her sources began. She was able to recall the page and paragraph of each notation easily. Next, the overall theme was discussed, and no trace of stealing from other candidates were found. Finally, Professor Hanley looked her in the eye, and asked about the last two pages.
Taking a deep breath, she explained that a thesis on the impact of foster care on children’s education would not be complete unless someone had experienced it personally. The last two pages were dedicated to her childhood, when she was finally adopted at the age of five and moved to a loving home.
The entire review board was silent, until the psychology department head asked about what was meant by the last two paragraphs. I simply replied that the child referred to as coming from the foster care into her life was her adopted son. He thesis was approved, and the next commencement in May would see her hooded.
The congratulations came quickly, and Professor Hanley told her how proud he was of her. The psychology professor stated “Very few candidates for a Masters in Child Development are approved unless there is something in their theses regarding themselves. You covered both generations.”