DYI WRITING PROMPT
Reverse-Engineering Jay C Wells First 50 Stories
A Response To A Response
JF Danskin has recently published 100 writing prompts, and Jay C Wells took up the challenge by writing a ten-word story for each and every one of them (Check out part 1 here and part 2 here). I have tried a bit of a twist on that concept by “reverse-engineering” the first 50 of those ten-word stories, i.e. by asking myself: Here’s a ten-word story — what could the writing prompt have been?
Let’s see how this goes … Jay C Wells original short story is in italics, followed by my speculation about the accompanying prompt.
№1 — It slays the dragon, beheads the vampire, and unscrews bottles.
Brainstorming session for a new ad campaign at Excalibur, Inc.
№2 — Firewing rises on arthritic knees. Which minion misplaced the remote?
Come up with a new Warrior Cats OC!
№3 — Going back to the start: warrior bankrupted on Park Lane.
Urban Fantasy show pitches rejected by The CW.
№4 — Aemelda had enough of family tradition and became a writer.
She could have lived a quiet and comfortable life taking over her family’s cat figurine business. But …
№5 —The goblins institute the Goblin Union in Searching for Charity.
Wait … the “Goblin Union” isn’t even mentioned in this book!
№6 —Flying for the first time. Icarus wished for a parachute.
I knew I had forgotten something …
№7 —Catfolk are scared of humans crossing from left to right.
Name something that is true in the US but not in the UK.
№8 — The frantic beating of fleeing humans’ feet and clattering armour.
“What are you listening to on your iPod?”
№9 — Orcish battle drums look like children of pumpkins and bananas.
Surprising lore revealed in “The Rings Of Power”.
№10 — Mama Greschkluk’s Book of Soups! Now on sale at GobZon.
I have finally gone through every single horse ebook there is. What should I read next?
№11–Historian scratches his head and looks for the history book.
All I asked was how long the Six-Day-War lasted …
№12 —Alator swiped left. He was so fed up with Brigantia.
Last Friday night SUCKED!
№13 — Dungeonmaster misunderstands question: cyber soldier shows up at gaming table.
Last Friday night was AWESOME!
№14 —Pot, mug, bag, casket, trunk, sack, basket, glass, wheelbarrow, pan.
I wanted to make the perfect breakfast, so I bought …
№15 — Three coincidental fires formed a triangle of death that night.
This is why I decided to move.
№16 — “What happens in the shadows?” — “No idea. Forgot my flashlight.”
A conversation between two people who have never played “Shadow Of The Colossus”.
№17 — Right hook. Left hook. Uppercut. Winner: Man with the undercut.
I cancelled my subscription to Ring Magazine. Here’s why.
№18 — Yes. Yes. My Precious! Cough! Gollum. Gollum. Cough! My Precious!
Lines That Changed Movie History.
№19 — Speeddating event: triangles with triangles left, circles with circles right.
Party games inspired by Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You”
№20 — In the airy aerie, Lady Longfeather cawed, “off my branches!”
Rejected ideas for Hitchcock’s “The Birds”.
№21 —Bunch of old men with common economic interests band together.
My idea of “partying”.
№22 —Flocking around the Grandmaster, they … Hey! This isn’t a cult!
What happened later that night.
№23 — Too many rooms and socially detached people inside. Paparazzi outside.
Your idea of “partying”.
№24 — No judge. No jury. No attornies. But a man-eating dragon.
What finally got the party shut down.
№25 — Bonegnawer, the dragon, ruled like the wind — changing directions unforeseeably.
Rejected pitches for Season 2 of “House Of The Dragon”
№26 — “Now, look left and right. No carriages mean safe crossing.”
Horse ebooks, Road Safety edition
№27 — “Fury is the best!” — “Shut up and eat another sausage!”
A late night at the races.
№28 — “This ship’s so fast. I can’t see the lighthouse.” Sinks.
Why I made the switch to rowboats.
№29 —“Dfngll kskjndk pooijnfnj loojjg. Jmfhfjh jhkjhjkdf jkhd. Rtog öskf jfjhg.”
Three Cthulhus are guarding three doors. You can ask each them one question to determine who’s telling the truth and who’s lying. What are the three questions you ask?
№30 — Packed everything for shooting and stabby, guess we are ready.
Describe your first quest.
№31 — Meetings, meetings, meetings, and so many forms to fill out!
Being an all-powerful creature of the night is a lot less romantic than I imagined …
№32 — Always picks the offer “a lunch you would kill for.”
Describe yourself.
№33 — “Hey! How was your day?” — “This job is killing me.”
What do you want your final words to be?
№34 — The ogres are angry because “troll armies” stole the limelight.
It’s always something …
№35 — Ogre: “Magic people appear out of light!” — Mr. Spock: “Fascinating.”
Fanfiction has gone too far!
№36 —“This isn’t how I imagined writer’s block! Call a forklift!”
When you read too many #WritingCommunity tweets
№37 — Legolas and Gimli have a twilight picnic in the forest.
Describe the plot of your latest fanfiction.
№38–1000 miles to travel. Fight a dragon. Reach next level.
Describe the plot of your latest dream.
№39 — “That house is high!” — “Stone! Not stoned!” — “Eleven floors!” — “Oh!”
Dude … what?!
№40 — Tree. Tree. Bush. Tree. Gimli pours Legolas tea. Tree. Tree.
Notes for your latest fanfiction.
№41 — Four-week-old water and hard bread. Mountain Dew for Bradan Writes Stories
Describe your dream picnic.
№42 — Green potion. Blue potion. Yellow potion. Red potion. Bathing lotion.
This wizard has surprisingly smooth skin. Why?
№43 — “A spell to find them, …” — “The other socks are lost!”
Write some dialogue for “The Adventures Of Raven, The Relatable Wizard”
№44 —Master Wizard T. U. S. Day gathered herbs all week.
The importance of being prepared.
№45 — “What is the secret, master?!” — “A magical spell, of course!”
Write some dialogue for the later seasons of “The Adventures Of Raven, The Relatable Wizard”
№46 — Three Half-Orcs walk into a bar, searching for a half-pint.
I just wanted to have a relaxing night out. Then THIS happened!
№47 — A fart to start the joyful melody in the outhouse.
Disturb your audience in ten words.
№48 — Waves his wand. Chants his chant. But magic, he can’t.
Description of Raven from the pilot episode of “The Adventures of Raven, The Relatable Wizard”
№49 — She shakes her head. Why don’t they just eat cake?
A baker after receiving an order for 25 pies.
№50 — Having all the cake to himself, the Duke grins mischievously.
David Bowie ends his birthday party early and sends everybody home.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
If you would like to check out another one of my stories, here’s a recent one about a guy who gets reincarnated as a sentient chair:
And here are JF Danskin’s 100 prompts!
