Short Form Writing Prompts Gone Wrong

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

AJ listed these 25 short-form writing prompts last December. I found them on Google when I was looking for a way to get my brain to engage today. My responses are in bold below. That’s all my brain is willing to come up with for today. #sorrynotsorry #retired

1. Think of a problem you currently experience on your phone. Can you figure out how to solve it? If not, who should you contact in order to solve it? I bought an idiot-proof phone aka Jitterbug. There is no screwing this one up.
2. Think of a quick 6-or-less ingredient recipe. How do you do it? Open the box. Open the wrapper. Place the pop tart in the toaster. Push button down. Once the pop tart pops up, eat with glee. Clean up behind yourself.
3. Think about the last book you read. Why would you recommend it? Why wouldn’t you recommend it? I can’t even remember the last time I read a book since all I do, sadly enough, is read on Medium.
4. What’s a feature you wish social media had but doesn’t? What’s a feature one social media app has that the other one doesn’t? How could they implement it better? YouTube allows you to sort videos in a channel from oldest to newest. I wish we could do that here.
5. What’s the proper etiquette for addressing a person’s pets/children? Don’t.
6. Describe the sunset from outside your house. What do you see? A sunsetting. Probably the same thing everybody else sees when they watch a sunset.
7. What’s something you remember about this year that everyone seems to have forgotten about? Does it need to be addressed in the future? People hoarding and fist fighting over toilet paper of all things. Yeah, don’t do it.
8. What is something from this year you hope is taught in history classes in the future? Prepare for the next calamity because there will be a next one. There always is. Then hoarding and price gouging won’t happen.
9. How do you approach someone you disagree with in person? How do you handle the situation if they’re a stranger, family, or friend? Why would I be approaching a stranger and if they’re a stranger who do I know that we disagree on anything? Family and friends-we all know where we stand and we are civil but don’t go “there”.
10. What’s something that is boring to you, that others might find interesting? This prompt.
11. What is something you learned after the fact that you now regret? What can you regret about knowing or learning anything?
12. How would you teach an older person how to use technology? For example, how to use Facebook or other social media? I wouldn’t. I’d hire someone else to do it.
13. If you used to work in a restaurant or fast-food chain, explain a recipe on how to do it at home. Dump tortilla chips in a basket. Dump salsa in a bowl. Serve.
14. Write your own experience about 2020 that doesn’t relate to the pandemic or the election. It was just another calendar that got filed away on Jan 1, 2021.
15. What is proper etiquette when you meet a new neighbor? Leave them the FK alone. If you somehow manage to bump into them throw a “leave me the FK alone” wave and smile and keep walking.
16. What’s a TV show you wish you could watch but can’t find on any streaming services currently available? I’m coming up empty on this one. I Wouldn’t mind being able to view my brain candy (Bravo) but I’m just not willing to pay for the “privilege”.
17. What is one place in your city or area you would recommend as a place for others to get engaged or married? I live near the ocean so the tried and true sandy wedding it is.
18. Many people when traveling look for touristy locations. What locations are available in your area you’ve never thought of going to? Anyplace I want to go to around here I’ve been.
19. What New Year’s Resolutions would you recommend that are also realistic? I don’t believe in NYRs. Corrective action needs to be done in the moment. Not some tradition that everyone is over with making the attempt by mid-January.
20. What do you wish you could do with your phone but the technology doesn’t exist yet? I wish I could get it to stop ringing with people I don’t want to talk to.
21. Think about a place you have already traveled to, whether within the country or abroad. What would be the first place you’d recommend to visit? What is so special about that place? The Gulf of Mexico. Swimming with dolphins in Pensacola.
22. What’s your and your friends’ favorite hangout? Why would you recommend it? I can’t speak for them but for me, it’s my bedroom. I’ve got a 32 inch Sanyo Roku TV in here as well as a table lamp with crystals, books, snacks, a coffee bar, and a water feature being delivered any time now.
23. In order to move away from using Amazon, what is one website you’d recommend where people could shop for certain goods? Other demigods such as Walmart and eBay. Etsy if you’re into that sort of thing.
24. What problem do you hope can be solved in the year 2030? How would you recommend current STEM majors to look into solving it? Stupidity by STEMs are part of the problem.
25. What is a makeshift solution to a problem you’d recommend (e.g. flat tire) when in an emergency? I couldn’t reach a jar of coffee on a top shelf at the grocery store so I used the handle of my cane as a hook and yanked it forward. Call me McGyver.