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!
So, this is what drowning feels like, Nila thought. Just moments before, she’d been floating through the emerald sea, with three other mermaids; they flanked the bride, her younger sister Nondra. Four mermen flanked the groom. The small aquatic party hovered and bobbed like seahorses. Even fifty merman lengths below the waterless realm, Nila heard a deep thrumming sound.
As the groom proclaimed his undying love for his bride, a school of languid Bluefish had stopped to watch the ceremony. Nondra’s dark hair floated around her face like tendrils. Pearls and shells glinted in the phosphorescent light. The sound grew louder. No one remarked, but the groom became more enthusiastic reciting his vows.
A mackerel tumbled down in front of Nila’s face, followed by a strong odor of copper. A few more lifeless fish drifted through their midst. Nila looked at the bridesmaid behind her. She was looking up. The Bluefish suddenly scattered in every direction.
“Shark!” they squealed.
Nila saw it first. The open wreath of teeth belonging to a great white, coming up behind the groom.
“Flee for your lives!” Nila cried. She turned on a fin and sped away from the wedding party through the sea like a harpoon. Some distance ahead stood a coral cave. At this speed, she’d probably make it. Nila looked to see who was following.
No one. The copper smell of blood intensified.
Should I return or continue on? She started back, felt intense dread and paused. What about Nondra? Pieces of dead fish landed on her hair and shoulders. She brushed them off. Looking up Nila saw a shower of debris slowly falling through the water. Nila quickly put together the humming and dead fish were from The Finless Ones hunting shark. It was only a matter of time until sharks swarmed the area. While watching behind her, she swam toward the cave. She felt the invisible threads of a net closing around her. The more she struggled to escape the more entangled she became. Trapped!
“HELP!” Nila screamed.
Immediately she felt herself being pulled up from the deep, higher and higher. The change in pressure made her dizzy. The water around her became brighter and it hurt her eyes. Ohno! Not topside! The place she had been warned against her whole life. The Finless Ones pulled steadily, quickly until Nila broke the surface of the sea. Blinded by a great light, she gasped for water.
All her life she’d been told that merpeople could not live in the waterless realm of The Finless Ones. She thrashed against the net then landed with a thump on a wet wooden deck. Opening and closing her mouth, drowning in the air, she thought her heart would burst. “I’m dying,” she thought. Her energy faded and everything went white.
Sometime later, Nila came to, shallowly breathing the fetid air of captivity. Breathing? How is this possible? She didn’t move, but half lifted her eyelids. In this light, her skin looked pale and greenish. She wanted to move but everything felt so heavy.
A group of Finless Ones stood about her with little flat boxes that seemed to spark. Then they gazed at the boxes and smiled. Some turned the box toward her and flashed a light. Some of them slapped each other’s hands and pointed at her. When she tried to speak, it came out as clicking and high-pitched chirping, much like the dolphin language. It made the Finless Ones back away covering their ears with their hands. They made noises to each other, but she didn’t understand them.
Just out of her view some were shouting. The Finless Ones ran toward the ruckus, one carried a harpoon. A chill went through Nila. At least they hadn’t used that on her.
After a time, she watched Finless ones carry spinners and heavy sticks, dragging a massive shark past her. Blood ran from a wound in his back. His eyes were frozen open. The excitement didn’t die down. A tank of live fish stood against the cabin wall, near Nila’s head. One spoke.
“They always hang their catch on a measuring pole at the end of the pier for pictures,” the fish said. “If you’re alive by then, last chance to escape.”
Nila wasn’t sure she would be alive. She’d never breathed air and didn’t know how long she could. The Finless Ones became loud again. Nila heard a familiar gasping sound. They dragged a full net toward her and she closed her eyes pretending to be dead. They slid the new catch so close to her, they were touching. It was another being, dead or alive she couldn’t be sure. Nila waited until footsteps faded away. The being next to her coughed and turned over.
“Nondra?” she whispered.
“Nila?”
“What happened?”
“Everyone separated when the sharks came. I lost sight of my new husband when…” Nondra tailed off. “What happens to us now?”
“One of the fish gave me an idea. Let me tell you my plan.”
Nila and Nondra barely breathed as The Finless Ones sailed their boat toward the weighing pier. The larger catches were carried from the boat to a tarp laid out on weathered boards. The biggest being the shark with a rope around his tail. They hooked the rope and hoisted it head down to weigh and measure. Several Finless Ones stood near, smiling, lights flashing. Meanwhile, Finless Ones removed nets from the mermaids, who pretended to be dead. Each mermaid tensed her tail muscles while loops encircled their tails. They were carefully hoisted up. A hush fell over the crowd. The Finless Ones stood near their trophies for photos. Nila and Nondra began screaming. Quickly, they each grabbed the arms of one man covering his ears. Swinging him left toward the pier then right over the sea. They relaxed their tail muscles and slipped out of their ropes, screaming all the while. Four fell into the ocean. Only two returned.
Woops! Forgot to add Team Herbert!
Poor mermaids! And during a wedding, too! Thanks for sharing your work.
Wait so if we like accidentally post our stories as a comment here, will it count or be ignored?