Welcome to Week Three! Can you believe we’re at the halfway mark for the challenge?
You all did so well with your stories last week! There were so many interesting and unique ways you interpreted the prompt. It’s now the third week, so it’s time to do it again! Will your story have aliens? Zombies? Maybe it’ll have a dragon in it! Whatever you decide, we can’t wait to see what you come up with.
So, without further ado, here’s your next prompt!
Week Three Prompt – The Starting Sentence Prompt
Write a story that starts with the
following sentence: So this is what drowning feels like.
Wait…what’s a “Starting Sentence” prompt?
A sentence prompt is a prompt that uses a particular sentence. It doesn’t matter where your story takes place, who’s in it, or what’s said. The only thing that matters is that your story must start with this sentence: So this is what drowning feels like.
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!
Will you notice if someone is like 1-25 words over the 1000 word limit (asking for a friend hahaha)
what if i accidently posted my story as a comment last week lol? does it still count?
Hey Izzy and Ava,
If you accidentally post your story as a comment instead of an answer, you should get an email to alert you! It will still count for points for your team, but no one will be able to vote for it.
And, to answer your question for your friend 😉 As far as word count, for your story to count for the challenge, it does need to be 1,000 words or under. Great questions!
Title: The Great Deep
Team A: Herbert
So This Is What Drowning Feels Like
I have to drown in order to become who I really am.
At least, that’s what my mentors said.
I flail my arms, reaching for a rope that isn’t there, but the weight on my shoulders drags me down like boulders I can’t shake off. The currents pull me under, calling me back to where it all began. Back to where I belong.
My nostrils burn with a sensation I’ve never known, longing for a breeze but instead filled with cold, raging water that seeps into every crevice.
I try to kick, but my movements are clumsy—unfamiliar.
They said they prepared me for this. But nothing could have readied me for this fear… this despair… this desperation and—
I look up. Sunlight refracts through dancing waves as I surrender the fight.
Bubbles from my final breath drift upward, leaving me behind.
I used to believe I belonged to the sky—where clouds drift freely and stars could be reached when the world turned black. I dreamed of being like a bird, wings wide, swooping down to catch its prey—a creature chosen by the skies.
I wanted to stay on the surface. To bury myself in the sun-warmed sand, shifting to cradle me. I wanted to listen to the waves ebb and flow, their foam and seaweed washing away my worries.
But even life on the surface wasn’t always gentle. Storms would come, stirring the waves into chaos. They’d race toward us, crashing on the shore with a fury we couldn’t tame.
I was always fascinated by how the moon could change the tide. One day, dry as a withered palm leaf. The next, submerged in a cold, rising blanket.
I was raised on a secluded island. We were told to avoid outsiders—even the harmless-seeming ones like the birds I once admired. Sometimes wild sea creatures would wander near, but when they caught sight of our mentors—hidden in the far eastern cove—they’d flap away, shrieking in discordant tones.
Sea creatures really should learn to carry a tune.
But that hardly matters now, as I near the bottom of this reef.
I was never a strong swimmer. Always the last one out. The idea of letting go, of losing control, always terrified me—like being swallowed whole by the sea.
Still, our mentors taught us one thing above all: Trust the Great Deep.
It knows where we must go. It tells us what to do. Like the navigation tools they brought back from their travels, we are to follow its guidance.
What did they say to do?
Ah.
Release your fears.
Let go of past failures and expectations.
Lay them down before the Great Deep.
My heart beats to the heavy rhythm of the ocean.
Then—stillness.
No sound. No sight. No taste or touch. Not even breath.
Only the weight of pressure, wrapping me in a cocoon.
It feels like I’ve entered a secret place. Again.
Breathe.
What was that?
Eyes closed, head bowed, I feel it again.
Breathe.
A flicker of awareness stirs inside me.
Breathe.
Born from the quiet: a trust I never thought possible.
I hear it. I hear Him.
The Great Deep is speaking to me.
And I know—I must follow.
I inhale slowly.
Not air, but water. Liquid flows into my lungs—smooth and fresh. It doesn’t burn. It invigorates.
I take another breath. Deeper this time.
I’m alive.
Move.
I kick, strong and steady, rising through the water I once feared. The light above glows faintly, calling to me.
Follow the light.
My heart races—not from fear, but from awe.
I stretch out my hands, reaching for the surface. For the world waiting above. It feels like flying.
The weight that once drowned me—the fear, the doubt, the failure—falls away into the depths.
With one final push, I burst through the surface.
And now I understand.
I had to drown. I had to let go.
Only then could I become who I truly am.
I am a mermaid, born to swim in the oceans of the Great Deep.
Thanks for sharing your work this week. Mermaids are a cool concept to go with for this prompt!
Nice work! I love the character arc and your descriptions.
Wait so if we like accidentally post our stories as a comment here, will it count or be ignored?