Writing Prompt
Writings
Writings
STORY STARTER
Write a story about a character who has a melody stuck in their head constantly.
Is this just the result of a catchy tune, is there something deeper going on, or is it a sign of something they don't understand yet?
Writings
(Draft 63, thanks Delilahš„ for suggesting this one.)
A girl walks on the city sidewalk. People of all ages and races and backgrounds pass her by. Thereās so many people. She kicks away a plastic bottle, and rolls her eyes at the honking cars. Finally she makes it to the bus stop. She sits down and waits for the bus.
Thereās a song stuck in her head. One without a beat nor a melody. A simple tune.
She isnāt aware of it, not consciously. But itās always there. A presence in her life, looming over everything. Some call it a thought, an ideation, a nightmare.
If she were asked, forced to acknowledge it, she would call it a song.
Not pop nor rock nor hip hop. Not blues or jazz or folk. Not country, not alternative. Just, music. She wouldnāt be able to describe it better.
Sometimes, it gets stuck in her head, and she canāt get it out with only her head. She knows a better way though. She can just wash it away. As easy as that.
Until it builds up to that point, she ignores it.
Why?
Because if she acknowledges that itās real, then suddenly, it is.
(Thx for reading. Sry this is kinda short, Iāve been having trouble finding motivation to write.)
Iāve been hearing you, Dad. I know you are somewhere close. I just need to find you.
I keep hearing a tune that you used to whistle every morning. I hear it in my dreams at night and even when I am in the pick up line at school. š¤
It reminds me of the song you used to sing us right before sleep. Something about Cupid? It twas like, āCupid, lend me your bow before a tantrum I throw.ā š
OKā¦ Thereās no way those were the lyrics, but I was always extremely sleepy. Itās a really pretty melody. I just need to find out where itās coming from.
āHappy birthday to youuā ChA cHa ChA
Cheery voices sing happily Trying hopelessly to harmonize
āHappy birthday to youā
cHa ChA cHa
All eyes on me Me and my desperate attempt to be happy
Happy birthday dear Camilah Happy birthday to you
I force a smile and tell myself āItās not there fault, they donāt knowā
AnD mAnY mOoRe That one guy belts in the back
I blow out my candles 12, 13ā¦and 14 Fourteen candles, thatās all thereāll ever be
(A/N: donāt really know what I was doing lolš„²but itās my bday todayā¦woo hoo š« )
The song never left me. You Spin Me Right Round, baby Right around, like a record baby. Round and round in my head it went, on a loop. Just the chorus. The rest of the song was lost to be burbles and murmurs. Right round baby right roundā¦sometimes I would dunk my head under the water in the bathtub just to stop it. The chorus just would not let me alone, like a fever dream at night when I tried to sleep. Iād be about to drop off and suddenly it would pop into my head and round and round it would go. Iād bury my face in my pillow willing it to stop, but still it went. Right round baby, right round, like a record baby right round. Full circle. All the way around and back again. Starting from the beginning, spinning out of control. Like a record baby. I felt dizzy and then dizzier still. Right round, round round. And then again, back it came. I remembered what I had learned from X about the Samsaric wheel. You just canāt get off it. Itās like a merry go round that you canāt escape from. You want out but thereās no escapeā¦you just keep going around making the same mistakes recreating the same
Swinging
Up And Down The playground Is My Home.
āSo youāre still thinking of me, just like I know you shouldā¦ā
I wonder if Sheās Thinking Of me
The air rushing Into my Face
āI cannot give you everything, you know I wish I could.ā
I imagine her eyes I want to give her Everything, She deserves it all.
The swing comes up āIām so high at the moment,ā Then down
āIām so caught up in thisā¦ā The way she smiles Sheās perfect Wait no, sheās not actually, lemme explain Youāre not gonna believe this, But the more flaws she has, The more perfect she is. The more special she is.
āYeah weāre just young,ā I remember meeting her At preschool
āDumbā I remember laughing with her Singing so loud we could barely breathe In the car
āAnd broke,ā I remember shopping with her At this candy store We wasted a ton of money For some chocolates. It was worth it.
āBut we still got love to give,ā I remember hugging her tightly Iām never going to let go again. I promised it that day.
āWhile weāre young, dumb, young, young, dumb, and broke. Young dumb, young, young, dumb, and brokeā¦ā
The words fade away as I walk home, But one lyric Sticks out
āYoung, dumb, broke high school kids.ā
Thatās us.
You donāt tell your heart to beat. You donāt need to think to blink. I donāt have to reach inside, these words - they just come out of me.
My mind is a symphony, I think in a melody, I fail to hear the sound of me, But I still call it harmony.
I swear I donāt write poetry, Most my pieces are like silent music. These words just sorta come to me, a muse I find truly amusing.
Letās speed this up.
Dammit.
Not again!
āBabe! Have you seen my wrench?ā
āWhat!?!ā
āMy wrench!!!ā
āDid you even look for it!?!ā
āUhā¦ Yeah!!!ā
āCheck your pockets!!!ā
āYeah? I got it!!!ā
Letās overclock the metronome, I hope youāre ready. Here we go!
Waking up all through the night, I try and try to keep it quiet, My mind wonāt let me fall asleep, Unless I write the sounds itās writing.
I have music in my dreams. Itās a chorus of shrill screams. Tearing canvas at the seams. Maybe tell me what it means?
Sonnet of my pain, you think? The notes have pushed me to the brink. These lyrics, to my soul, do sink. Iāll probably send this to my shrink. Perhaps heāll see the missing link. Or send it back - just with a wink, āI think itās just the sounds of ink.ā
You donāt wanna read my writing - I swear it stinks.
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