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!
Coping
Team 1
“So this is what drowning feels like.”
“You’re not drowning.”
The voice is distant, muted. Pushing against my mind and thoughts like a hazy kind of pressure.
A trick.
A lie.
A desperate hope.
Two things I know about that voice for sure: it’s not real. And it’s wrong.
Wrong because I my lungs are burning, burning, trying to hold tight to air that has been gone so long I can’t remember the taste of it.
Wrong because I feel the crushing pressure of the water all around me, pushing and pushing and pushing against my bones.
Because the dark is all around me, tunneling through me, blocking out any escape, any hope.
Because the panic is clawing at me with hooked talons, scraping down, ripping through my chest, my belly, my groin.
“You’re okay. It will all be okay. Just try to take a breath.”
Take a breath. Take a breath? If I take a breath, that will be the end. A watery grave, deep beneath the surface. Will they ever find me? Will they spend the rest of their lives wondering what happened to me?
Will they…
I…don’t know who they are.
I’m shaking, afraid my body is going to tear apart from the inside out. I can’t remember. Someone is looking for me, someone is wondering. But I…I don’t know…
“It’s not real.”
The voice sounds so cool and calm, so sure and certain and confident, and rage floods through me because who is this voice? What does it know? Deep in the water, about to give in, about to die, because I can’t hold on any longer, can’t hold my breath for another…
“Trust me.”
And I shake my head. I can’t.
“Breathe.”
I feel my mouth open, water rushing in, ice cold and greedy. My throat wants to open, wants to suck at the air I can’t find. I clamp my jaw closed again. I’m crying, tears hot on my cheeks. Can you cry under water?
I know what comes next.
They say drwing is a peaceful way to die.
But it’s not. It’s a violent thing, a writhing, terrifying beast of shadows and liquid fear.
Here’s how it goes.
You give in, because you can’t fight anymore.
You take the breath.
And there’s no breath.
There’s only water, pouring in, filling, consuming, pressing out who you are until you aren’t anymore. It hits your lungs and it burns, oh, it burns.
Your body rejects it, spasming, trying to force the water out. It jerks and shakes as you try to cough, only to gasp another inhale.
And then it’s over.
This is what drowing feels like.
“Trust me.”
And there’s something in the voice that pulls at me, and my mind whispers, “yes,” and it doesn’t matter because here at the end, I can’t wait any longer.
I take the breath.
And bolt up, gasping, air searing through my lungs in great gulps.
I’m…not in the water.
Not drowning.
Just like…I look to the side.
He’s sitting there, watching me quietly. His expression calm but…sad. I know him.
Slowly, the room comes into focus. My mind starts to settle, the edges crystallizing with understanding.
“Dr. Bridges?”
He nods. “You’re okay, Otto.”
I know him. My therapist. He’s been helping me…
“I’m okay?”
“You’re okay.”
Ever since the accident. Since that day in the water…
“I’m not drowning?”
“You’re not drowning.”
I…hadn’t handled it well. I needed help. Needed to learn to cope…
“I’m not dead?”
He’s quiet.
I look at him again, and the sadness is deeper.
And it flows in like a breath of water. The memories. The understanding.
I’m not drowning.
Not now.
Now I’m sitting in Dr. Bridges’s office: the only supernatural therapist in California. He’s just started taking on ghosts as clients.
I’m not drowning.
But I know what it feels like to drown.
Wait so if we like accidentally post our stories as a comment here, will it count or be ignored?