Picture It And Write!
M. Selene mentioned this very cool writing prompt thought up by Ermilia – check her blog out here. Basically, she posts a picture, and then you write a short paragraph of fiction about it and share it. I remember my grade 8 teacher used to make us do activities like this. I hated it back then, because I was in the eighth grade so what did I know, but now I’m psyched. Here is the image, and my contribution:
It was the first sign of civilization they had seen in days – a weather-beaten, clapboard house on a rough little island connected to the shore by a rickety bridge. As if they needed extra incentive, the clouds were catching up again. Within minutes they would cover the entire sky, and Darcy knew what would happen when the last gleam of blue was swallowed up. She refused to let that happen.
Grabbing Mikey’s hand, Darcy dragged her brother off the path and onto the splintery walkway. “It looks like it could fall down any second,” Mikey protested, digging his heels against the wooden boards.
Darcy continued resolutely across the bridge, trying to ignore the way it creaked ominously at each footfall. “It’s better than being caught out here when the clouds come,” she snapped.
Overhead, the skies had grown darker. The deceptively pleasant white clouds were now deepening to navy, and would soon be a roiling black. Only a sliver of blue peeked out from the distant edge of the horizon. It had happened faster than she expected. “Run!” Darcy screamed. This time Mikey cooperated, and together the children raced across the rest of the bridge and down the curving path towards the house.
Then Mikey tripped, not five meters from the partially-ajar door. Darcy, holding his hand, was dragged down with him. The stumble was a critical error. By the time the children had made it back to their feet, the skies had turned completely black. They made a desperate dash for the house, but the door slammed shut in their faces. Then the wind started to swirl around them, and the dark clouds crackled with malevolent energy.
They were too slow. It was coming.
SpaceX Update!
Ladies and gentlemen, the first commercial spacecraft – aka SpaceX’s “Dragon” ship – has officially docked with the International Space Station! The Canadarm was used to dock the ship, and now the ISS astronauts are floating into the Dragon capsule to claim their 1,000 pounds of provisions stored inside. According to astronaut Donald Petti, it smells like a brand new car. I wonder if they stuck in one of those pine tree air fresheners?
How awesome is the name “Dragon”? SpaceX apparently has a rule when naming things:
“They are named independently, the rule is names must be cool.”
What really fascinates me about SpaceX is the man who runs it – Elon Musk. He financed a huge part of the project with money acquired from his roll as co-creator of PayPal. He also started Tesla Motors, which is an electric car company. Spaceships, electric cars… I want to nominate this guy for president, or something. He’s the kind of person I want running the world. Focused on improving technology, making the world a better place – not starting wars, or selling junk food, or whatever multinational corporations spend all their money on these days.
Thinking time!
Say I gave you a billion dollars. What would you do with it?
Michelle Proulx - Author 