Welcome to the final week of the Spring Writing Challenge!
It’s the final week! This has been such a fun challenge. You’ve all done so well with your stories. There are so many interesting and unique ways you have taken the prompt. It’s now time for the final week, so let’s do this one last time! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
So, without further ado, here’s your final prompt!
Week Six Prompt – The Character Prompt
Write a story about a character that experiences a rebirth
Wait…what’s a character prompt?
A character prompt is a prompt that’s about a specific character. It doesn’t matter where your story takes place or what’s said. What matters is that your story must be about a character who experiences a rebirth.
Before you start writing, we have some important rules for you to follow.
Writing Rules
1. Please keep the content of the stories you post to a PG rating. Please avoid real curse words. Violence/fighting should be limited and purposeful. Please do not include any spice.
2. Your story must be 1,000 words or less, and must contain the prompt to be counted for the challenge. You’re not required to post it in order to “win” the challenge, but if you want it to count for your team, your story must be posted by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET, and you must include your team name.
Remember to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and post your story as an “answer” to this question, not a “comment”. 🙂 You’re all doing such a great job! I’m so proud of all the stories you’ve posted.
Happy Writing!
We’re so glad that you participated Juli! 🙂
Team 1 — Reepicheep
At Great Cost
Three weeks at sea make a man start to see things.
No, it’s not the being at sea that makes a man see things, although the monotonous horizon certainly doesn’t help. It’s living on one-third food and water rations and trying to convince a three-quarter mad captain to turn back, all the while knowing that a mutiny will only lead to everyone’s dying. That makes a man see things.
So, it came as no surprise when Edward Gallson did not cast a second thought upon the flying island.
No, the finest eye in the crow’s nest was not about to admit to being insane. He had seen what the crewmembers did to the crazies who were eating up the rations—rations that belonged exclusively to beneficial seamen. He shivered just a little. Not because of the air, although this was the coldest voyage he had ever been on; the chilling memory made Gallson tremble.
Gallson refused to dwell on dark thoughts of murder—murder he had participated in—he looked around the horizon; left to right, right to left. Each time, he caught sight of that flying island. Briefly considering saying nothing, Gallson finally let out a bellowing “Land ho!” and covered his head.
The commotion below sealed his fate. Most men came climbing up from where they had been hiding in their cabins, but a few were already at the railing. Those that had already been searching the horizon looked up to the crow’s nest for Gallson to point to the land.
Gallson raised a trembling hand and pointed straight ahead to where their ship was heading. Perhaps it might even be truly there.
No such luck.
Angry yelling started with the men closest to the front—those that should have been able to see the land—and quickly carried to right below Gallson’s vantage point.
Gallson could easily ignore the hurled insults, he knew he wasn’t a blind, three-legged pig, but he would not ignore the threats. They had been carried out on two crow’s nest watchers already.
He quickly jumped from the bucket he’d been crammed into and landed deftly on the rigging’s long beam that held the sail up.
“Please no.” Gallson begged any deity that would listen. “I promise. If I don’t die today, I’ll go to the first temple I see when I get home.” Gallson continued to slide back along the sail’s support beam.
It was no use; the first sailor had reached the top of the crow’s nest and drew a long knife. “You lied to us.” The man’s knife bobbed up and down, left, and right, as his anger tried to escape through his arm’s movements.
“No!” Gallson felt his hand come to the end of the wooden beam. “Look!” He pointed towards the floating island. But, when his eyes worked up the courage to follow his hand, a cloud had covered his precious sight.
“I see it.” A wave of relief washed over Gallson as the man rested both hands on the crow’s nest’s edge. “I see an empty horizon and,” The angry man swung his gaze hard on Gallson. “I see a lying, useless, ration-eating, blind, one-legged chicken hiding up in the crow’s nest.”
The furious seaman vaulted onto the wooden beam Gallson trembled on.
But before the mariner could swing his knife, a piercing screech split the open sea-air.
All heads turned towards the sound, straight ahead.
“What was—” The sailor that had been so close to killing Gallson started to ask, but another deafening cry silenced him.
This time, a sight came with the sound. A gloriously bright, orange, yellow, and red bird with streaks of black and gray, dove down from a cloud and into view.
It took Gallson a moment to reorient himself, he had momentarily thought that the sun had simply moved its position, the bird was so brilliant.
The bird spread its massive wings and arrested its dive so that it flew parallel to the great ship. Its wingspan easily fifty feet, perhaps sixty. Either way, enough to feed all the crew as they made their way back to port.
The half-starved sailors scrambled back below deck and came back up with their harpoons.
“Hold!” Cried the captain, raising a hand. When all the men had their spears at the ready, arms in position to throw, the captain dropped his hand and hollered, “release!”
Dozens of harpoons embedded into the massive bird’s body. But, as quickly as the projectiles landed, a fire erupted from the bird’s blood and singed the ropes attached to the seaman’s weapons.
Another, terrifying shriek rushed from the fowl’s beak. The bird flapped its mighty wings once, then twice, slowly gaining altitude despite the continued assault from the men below.
Then a well sighted spear struck the mighty creature’s wing, and it fell directly on top of the giant boat.
Cries of triumph quickly died on the seafarers’ lips. The very boards that the phoenix landed on were now a harsh inferno.
The majestic bird raised its head once, let out a final cry, and then rested in its new bed of flames.
Brave sailors grabbed buckets and ran through the flames in desperate attempts to douse the source of the fire.
Slowly, the ship tipped as the right side was burned away, and the ocean poured into the compartments below.
Gallson clung to the mast, completely forgetting about his fellow sailor who had tried to kill him moments before. And beheld a wonder.
There, amongst the starvation, amongst the murder, amongst the burning, arose the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
Right before the ship tossed violently to the side and he lost his grip, Gallson saw a new Pheonix spread its wings and fly.
Really cool story here! It moves well and the prose feels hearty. Great one!
When the new prompt arrive, my first thought is, Oh no! What am I going to write to make that work? But the Holy Spirit ALWAYS shows up and I get an idea every time. It amazes me. Thanks for a thought provoking six weeks.