Home » Writing prompts (Page 7)

Category Archives: Writing prompts

BITTER BANANAS

Posted on by | Leave a comment

WEDNESDAY 5th AUGUST 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

August writing prompts

BITTER BANANAS 

by John Yeo

Pedro and Miguel entered the bar sensing the drama

That had taken place in this Cabana that morning,

A fight had broken out over the bitter taste of bananas.

~

They ordered two banana smoothies and two Americanos,

Pedro grabbed the barman’s collar and issued a warning,

Both men wore multicoloured identity shielding bandanas.

~

Miguel placed a hand on the polished bar in Havana,

A hand of juicy yellow bananas without any forewarning,

‘Use these for our smoothies, not your green bitter bananas.’

~

Miguel and Pedro entered the bar with a hand of bananas,

The barman grabbed them and soon the juicer was forming

Two perfect smoothies, accompanying two Americanos.

~

Pedro and Miguel paid the bill and headed for the savannahs, 

The barman then waited to juice his bananas, confirming

He never had trouble again, from serving bitter bananas.

© Written by John Yeo

IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

Posted on by | Leave a comment

TUESDAY 4th AUGUST 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

August writing prompts

IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

by John Yeo

    Brains was in the process of constructing a hoax, in the form of a practical joke. He put a secondary hidden wire behind a simple light switch leading to a surprise destination. Brains was top of the class in Science and he felt he had to justify his position. He was acting as if he was new to the subject after a new assistant teacher arrived. 

  Mr Tweed, a bumptious upstart bully who delighted in showing up the students had picked on him in front of the whole class. To the surprise of everyone in the class Brains was asking questions on the simplest of subjects. 

   ‘Excuse me Sir, can you detail the constitution of electricity.’

   ‘What do you mean by that you idiotic moron, everyone knows. Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter, borne by particles.’ 

  ‘How do you switch on an electric light or a lamp, to convey the electricity to the bulb?’ asked Brains.

  ‘Are you kidding me, you impudent misbegotten escapee from the planet of the apes?’

  There was dead silence in the class as the students held their breath, waiting for a response to this obvious insult.

  ‘No Sir, I leave all that to the butler and the maid at home, my Father says I don’t have to worry.’

   ‘Look here! It’s not rocket science. Just screw in the bulb and flip the switch.’

With that the teacher flipped the room light switch and received a nasty electric shock. There was pandemonium as the lights fused and the matron was called. Mr Tweed was whisked off to the infirmary.

  Meanwhile Brains removed all signs of his electrical trap.

  A week later Mr Tweed returned to the class, he warily treated Brains with a new respect, having realised the embarrassing truth. 

© Written by John Yeo

BFF – BUCKET FILLING FRIEND

Posted on by | Leave a comment

 MONDAY 3rd AUGUST 2020 

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

August writing prompts

BFF – BUCKET FILLING FRIEND

by John Yeo

  ‘Hey Grandad and Grandma! Why have you got a wishing well on your allotment?’ 

   The grandchildren were on holiday and there were five children to be entertained. Four boys and a lively baby girl were exploring and helping out on the allotment. The sun was shining, the children were constantly under supervision and Grandma had her hands full. Grandad pushed his battered trilby hat to the back of his head and smiled.

    ‘Well, sit down for a minute and I’ll explain about a precious part of gardening, while Grandma sorts out the picnic. Water is special to help the garden plants grow, but our well is really special. This well is extremely deep, the bucket is attached to a long rope. We have a magical friend at the bottom of the well, Wally Wishbone lives there and every time we lower the bucket he fills it to the brim with crystal clear, life giving water. We then quench the thirst of our vegetables and they grow extra strong, large and tasty.’

   ‘Hey Grandad, does Wally Wishbone make wishes come true?’ asked Finley.

    ‘Of course, but you have to throw a coin in.’

 Bradley, who had been listening closely, frowned and said, ‘We haven’t got any coins Grandad. How can we make a wish.’

     ‘It just so happens, I’ve got five coins in my pocket, you three bigger boys will have to throw Maya’s and Archer’s coins in as they are both too small.’

     OK! Grandad chorused the three eldest boys.

Ronny at ten years old, was the eldest, a thoughtful sort of a lad said,

    ‘Grandad what happens if we throw the money in and our wishes don’t come true? How do we know Wally Wishbone won’t just keep the money?’

Grandad straightened his trilby, grinned and replied, ‘We don’t know anything for sure Ronny, except we have some excellent sandwiches prepared by Grandma from our fresh home grown vegetables. Wally Wishbone fills buckets full of crystal clear water making our wishes come true every day.’

Grandma Margaret working  exceptionally hard.

© Written by John Yeo

DELIGHTS AND DELICIOUSNESS

Posted on by | 2 Comments


SUNDAY 2nd AUGUST 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

August writing prompts

DELIGHTS AND DELICIOUSNESS

by John Yeo

    ‘Hey what are we going to do today? We can’t go far as we are in the middle of the ocean all day long.’ said Dominic to Joy, his wife.

    ‘I don’t know Dom, I think I’m a little bit seasick, my stomach feels really queasy, turning over with the billowing waves,’  Joy replied.

  ‘That’s funny, so do I, It’s as if I’ve been on the fairground, Big Dipper ride. This is our first cruise so we are probably taking a while to get used to the swell of the waves at sea. We can get some seasick tablets free from reception.’  said Dominic.

  ‘Hey Dom, look! They’ve organised a special lunch today with a free cocktail, on the house.’

    ‘Doesn’t appeal to me, not with my crazy upset stomach.’ 

   ‘Oh! Can’t we just go and take a look. Please Dom.’

    ‘OK,’

They entered the crowded dining room where they were immediately handed a free green coloured cocktail drink with a cherry on the top. They both grimaced and abandoned them on the nearest vacant table.

    ‘Oh Dom, your face has gone as green as those two horrible concoctions.

  The couple then surveyed the tables around them, groaning with the weight of a wonderful array of delights and deliciousness. The first thing was the meticulous way the food was displayed. Multi breads from around the world, with cheeses in abundance with olives, grapes and pickles. A large salad bar with seafood and fish, including a whole smoked salmon and caviar displayed in abundance. Exotic fruits were carved into the most amazing shapes, around a huge ice-sculpture of a large eagle. The main courses were representative of foods imported from around the world. Then to finish there was the temptation of the dessert section, pavlova, ice cream, and much more.

Joy looked at Dom and burst into tears. ‘All these delights and deliciousness but we daren’t touch a morsel.

Dom frowned.

© Written by John Yeo

IF OUR STARS ALIGN

Posted on by | Leave a comment

SATURDAY 1st AUGUST 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

August writing prompts

IF OUR STARS ALIGN

by John Yeo

   Girish and Lakshmi were promised to each other and the arrangements for their wedding were underway. The odd thing was that both sets of their parents had received hazy indeterminate astrological forecasts for their future together. Girish’s father had spent thousands on a series of well known astrologers with the same indefinite response. Likewise Lakshmi’s Mother and Father. The astrologers just couldn’t agree. The thing was, the young couple were actually in love with each other. Everyone in both families agreed the children were ideal for each other and it would be the perfect match to marry the fortunes of both families together. 

 Girish’s father one day came up with a solution, he approached a famous out of town philosopher Dr Khan and explained the situation.

 ‘Can you help us out of our predicament? The situation is becoming intolerable, some of the shades of opinion are beginning to differ radically.’

Dr Khan, hesitated, before he replied,

‘Well, I’m not an astrologer, I’m an astronomer, which is a totally different discipline.’

‘Yes, but can you help us?’

‘ Yes, I think so, if your son promises to marry his future wife when the stars align, all should be well. There is a celestial alignment of the planets due in two weeks time. Instruct him to meet her and promise her. ‘When our stars align we will marry’. This will unite Astronomy with Astrology.’

‘Thank you so much Dr Khan.’

© Written by John Yeo.

TRIGGERED BY TIME

Posted on by | Leave a comment

FRIDAY 31st JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

TRIGGERED BY TIME

by John Yeo

    ‘Well Jim, step back when I say the word. Listen closely, we’re going to be experiencing the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen. When I set the clock a huge red balloon will be inflated with the words.  ‘JO WILL YOU MARRY ME?’ This will be triggered by time. Following the balloon going up there will be a massive explosion which will detonate a fantastic fireworks display. All the colours of the rainbow will be featured in the sky. At the same time a carriage pulled by four pure white horses will arrive containing a butler who will hand you the ring to pass on to your good lady, providing she accepts your proposal.’

 Jim was overwhelmed with this proposal.

   ‘It will certainly make it a memorable occasion. How much will it cost?’ he asked.

   ‘£7000,’ replied the bearded man smoothly, ‘But I will give you a 10% discount, to welcome you into the family.’

At that moment Jo walked in and Jim got down on one knee and asked her the time honoured question. ‘Will you marry me Jo?’

‘Of course,’ she replied, ‘I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask’.

With that, the conman  pushed the time controlled trigger and a buzzer sounded in the bar across the road and a barman arrived with champagne and two glasses.

The conman removed a false beard and took his hat off, and said, ‘Welcome to the family Jim.’ 

© Written by John Yeo

THE SOUNDS OF THE ALPHABET

Posted on by | 2 Comments

THURSDAY 30th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

THE SOUNDS OF THE ALPHABET

by John Yeo

Synaesthesia a magical process

Turning sound into colour.

Musical instruments bring to life

The beautiful sounds of the alphabet

~

Skiffle, Rock, Country sound,

My youth in words, Swirling around.

Lonnie, The King and the Famous four,

Crooners, Swooners and many more.

~

Vid Sicious, Punk Rock,

Safety pins and the Union Jack.

Shouting, pouting, Strolling clones,

Gyrating, ear-aching, mind numbing tones.

~

Then, conversion through a live performance,

An orchestral night out with a friend,

Feeling apprehensive and very mellow,

Admiring a pretty girl, cradling a Cello.

~

The bow is poised, the strings are silent,

The mind is focused.   Expectant!

The baton is raised, the sound reverberates,

A beautiful Cello sings.

~

A cloudburst of music then resounded,

Each note, a rainbow hued drop of magic.

Gathering force and bursting forth

Entering and impressing my consciousness.

~

The sensual Cellist, lost in producing,

The magic of the sounds.

My mind is taking in her interpretation.

The mechanics of the piece.

~

She reads the script from the music sheet,

Stroking the bow across the strings.

Producing sounds that shake the Soul

Sending the mind on a journey.

~

The notes flow from the instrument,

The musician interprets the composers’ creation.

Mellow sounds fill the air, colourful, resonant.

Each note touches a nerve, the nerve ends tingle.

~

Sound reaches out to colour the brain.

Interpretation begins.

Using the instrument to bring to life

The beautiful sounds of the alphabet.

~

Picturing a beautiful Swan from “The Carnival of the Animals”

Composed and created by Camille Saint-Saens.

© Written by John Yeo

CHICKENS AND CHOCOLATE

Posted on by | 5 Comments

WEDNESDAY 29th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

CHICKENS AND CHOCOLATE 

by John Yeo

   Larry was a 10 years old legend among his boarding school fellows. He was leader of the Blaggards, a small group of six young lads who were always getting into mischief. They had got their colourful name from a local farmer who had chased them away from stealing apples from his orchard. ‘Come here you crowd of thieving blaggards;’ he was heard to cry out as the friends scattered in all directions.

   The group of friends were always together during the school day teasing the other pupils and making a nuisance of themselves. If they were a few years older they would have been labelled a gang of ne’er-do-wells and severely dealt with.

   There had recently been a national strike and the pupils were shocked to hear there would be no Easter eggs available anywhere this year. Larry was out walking in the school grounds with Walter and Jim when they heard the news from one of the prefects.

 ‘Oh no!’ Exclaimed Jim, ‘No Easter eggs, what next?’

 Walter shrugged and said, ‘Don’t worry, my parents always send me parcels full of chocolate bars, we can all feast on those.’

  Larry was quiet for a while and suddenly said. ‘I have an idea that is bound to work. Call all the Blaggards together,

 We will have our own supply of delicious Easter eggs. Trust me.’

There was excitement among the boys when they met up in the early hours of the morning a week before Easter. Larry had been hatching a plan and there had been some mysterious goings on.

Walter had been carrying a mysterious paper bag and scattering the contents in the farmers chicken pen for the last few days. The Blaggards were up early to collect some special eggs from the chickens. Larry was excited about collecting his first chocolate eggs laid by the chickens.

  There was a shock in store for them when they discovered  four dead chickens in the pen. They ran back to the school as fast as they could. 

© Written by John Yeo

Information from the web.

‘Chickens should not eat chocolate

The darker the chocolate, the more theobromine it contains and the more dangerous it is. … Chocolate is known to cause heart problems in birds which can range from an irregular heartbeat to full cardiac arrest and death will happen very quickly – within 24 hours of eating the chocolate.

26 Jan 2018′

THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE

Posted on by | 4 Comments


TUESDAY 28th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE

by John Yeo

Peter and his sister Jane were visiting their granny for tea,

‘Hello Granny! our teacher said, we should ask you please

To remember your life and the way things used to be’.

~

Granny yawned, and bluntly said; ‘Hard times, but we were free

Of social distancing, masks and a pandemic of death and disease’.

Peter and his sister Jane were visiting their granny for tea.

~

‘We didn’t have the internet Zoom, Facebook or Twitter you see’

Granny said, ‘Things were simpler then, it will not be a squeeze

For me to remember life and the way things used to be.

~

There weren’t many aircraft jetting off, on holiday over the sea

We never needed to quarantine from death or a viral sneeze’.

Peter and his sister Jane were visiting their granny for tea.

~

‘Food was too scarce to hoard; we fought a war to be free.

We never had to keep washing our hands, it seems a wheeze

When I remember life and the way things used to be.

~

I remember the times when simple things made me happy

Sun shining on the fields, laughing, playing and climbing trees’.

Peter and his sister Jane were visiting their granny for tea

Exploring her life and the way things used to be.

© Written by John Yeo

THE CHARDONNAY OF TRUTH

Posted on by | 2 Comments

MONDAY 27th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

THE CHARDONNAY OF TRUTH

by John Yeo

   ‘Cheers!’ announced the toastmaster, smiling broadly. Everyone around the table raised their glasses to wish the happy couple well. The best man was tipsy and the wine was slowly going to his head.

The family around the table were full of cheer as toast after toast was made to speed the happy couple on their way to married bliss.

  Roger, the best man, was an old friend of the bridegroom, Peter. He’d known both Peter and Jane for years, ever since their college years together. 

 When it came time for the best man’s speech, Roger struggled to his feet and loudly burped, there was a ripple of surprise from the wedding guests seated around the top table. The speech went roughly as follows.

 ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I apologise for being slightly tipsy as I confess, I’ve overindulged in this excellent Chardonnay. I’ve known both of this happy couple for many years, especially Jane who I’ve been more than close to. In fact I knew Jane long before Peter and I’ve had the pleasure of eating and sleeping with her many times over the years since I’ve known her. You can imagine my feelings when my best friend came into our lives at college and stole her away from me.’ 

 There was a sudden silence around the table, in fact you could have cut the air with a knife. Roger clumsily picked up his glass and emitted another loud burp.

 Then announced, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, please refill your glasses with the Chardonnay of truth as I make a toast to the happy couple. My best friend Peter and my adorable sister Jane, may they spend many happy years together.’

© Written by John Yeo