Friday, May 17th, 2013

Writing Prompt – Unexpected Discoveries

So the Husband-of-Awesome™ and I set about to grill chicken for dinner the other night.

Mr. Awesome went out to the grill and opened it up to find this:

Five Little Birdies in the Grill

Here’s a close-up. Turns out there were five little birdies plus mama nesting in the grill.

Five Little Birdies in the Grill

The really fortunate thing about the matter is that Mr. Awesome broke with habit when he found the birds. Usually, he fires up the grill willy-nilly without peeking inside, so that it’s pleasantly pre-heated before we cook.

(Don’t blame him, I do it, too.)

Imagine if he hadn’t broken his normal habit. Those birds don’t know how lucky they had it.

And us, too.

And so this unexpected discovery put paid to the grilling endeavor, not just for Wednesday night, but until the little guys decide to vacate the grill.

Here’s Your Prompt

  • Write a scene in which either your protagonist or antagonist is unexpectedly surprised by something nice and cheerful which messes up their plans. Note: it’s got to cause your characters some consternation, because a story isn’t a good story without some drama!
     
  • It could be argued that Mr. Awesome’s break with habit was due to ‘divine intervention’ of some sort*. Write a scene in which a similar serendipitous event wreaks havoc with your characters’ plans.
     
  • Journal about a time when something strange happened (divine intervention?) — in the nick of time — to save you or a family member from peril.
     

Good Luck!

 
 
* Or maybe he just saw some straw sticking out of the bottom of the grill.

3 comments to Writing Prompt – Unexpected Discoveries

  • Kelly, do you know what kind of birds those are? I’m no expert, but by their coloration, they might be Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus). They’re not known for how good they taste on a dinner plate, even with barbeque sauce. More of an appetizer, really.
    Awful nice of you to offer them the continued use of your grill, though.

  • Hi Steve!

    Thank you for identifying my birds! I surmised they were wrens, but did some searching for “Carolina Wrens” and I believe that’s what these fellows are. The clincher was the bird call (teakettle-teakettle-teakettle) according to one site that makes me think you’re spot on.

    I’m not a fan of wren–even with BBQ sauce. So, we’ll be passing on the appetizers.

    Incidentally, I believe they’ve flown the coop. I haven’t seen the birds in the grill for a few days, so we’ll probably clean it up and grill this weekend…

  • Apparently they left because you didn’t bring them the teakettle they ordered. They’ve been asking for it quite plainly.

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