60 Uses for a Fork: Divergent Thinking Practice

This challenge is an indirect writing exercise.  Indirect because I'm not actually going to write but it's a practice in creative/divergent thinking which is the life source of fictional writing.  I was inspired by RSA's video Changing Education Paradigms.  They mentioned a test in which they asked people to think up as many uses as they can for a paper clip.  Some could come up with 200 unique uses.  I've always been meaning to give it a try just for the fun of it.  However, instead of a paper clip I'm going to use a fork.  This exercise is untimed and you stop when you can't think of any more ideas. It's also fun to set a number goal or to make it a game between friends to see who can come up with the most uses.  Feel free to try it yourself with whatever object you wish.  If you post your list on a blog or website please leave a link below in the comments.  I'd be great to see all the ideas you guys come up with. 

Sip of Iced Tea

Today I'm going to write a short story inspired by The One-Minute Writer's prompt for Friday: Lie

 It was one of those days, when the sky was perfectly clear and the sun was ridiculously bright.  Just by looking the world would seem to be a warm and inviting place.  In the reality of standing amiss the bright light it was frigidly cold.  The wind would hit it gust so violent that your very soul was knocked out of you.   I scurried from my car, battling the mischievous wind to keep my skirt from flying up.  Any onlooker watching would see a much less graceful version of Marilyn Monroe.   Finally I reached the doors of a familiar restaurant and entered.

   I was here in part monthly ritual concocted years ago in which my three closest friends and I would meet for lunch or dinner no matter what.  When they (being all three since I was apparently the last to arrive) saw me, a clamor of squealing and laughter arouse to greet me. I hugged and politely said hello to everyone then sat in the remaining chair at the table.  We ordered our food before commencing to talk.

   Janet, not able to contain herself, started talking about her upcoming wedding that we all were already aware of.  Her fiancée had proposed no less that a month ago.  I happily listened as she blabbered about color schemes and dreamy marital plans.  Kelsey was next talking about her job, then Hannah about how her houses seems to be falling apart with a recent termite infestation.  Janet turned to me and commented that I was awfully quiet today.  I shrugged.   Hannah asked me, "So how's life going for you?" 

   I smiled on the outside.  Inside I reflected on how terrible I really felt.  This past month a multitude of small incidents seemed to conspire against me.  I felt so frustrated with myself as I go through the daily grind of life.  I feel like I'm going nowhere, that all this effort I put into making a better future is hopeless.  I don't remember what the epicenter of this quake of misery was.  I just feel the aftershocks.  I looked into the eyes of my friends, with a feeling that they would not understand especially since I don't completely understand.  Nobody likes a whiner.
   I took a sip of iced tea and said, "I'm doing good."

Black Friday

Today I will be doing a fictional short short story inspired by Alana's writing prompt on Writercize (awesome blog full of writing exercises).  The prompt:

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writercize #129: "Create a dialogue centered around a question of ownership."

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We are a consuming nation.  We buy stuff we want, we need, and we get just because someone else has that same thing.  Then there’s Black Friday.  It's the single biggest day of low price sales.  However shoppers swarm to the stores like all the items were free.  Normally I just spend the day after Thanksgiving resting and eating leftovers.  So how do I find myself sitting in the car in the wee hours of the morning on November 25th, driving loops in a parking lot?  Of all the people in the world, my boyfriend caught the Black Friday Fever.  We were sitting together on the couch at his house earlier in the week and he said, “Cindy, I’m thinking about buying myself a new television set.”  I nodded affirmatively unaware of where the conversation was leading.  He carefully mentioned he knew of a great Black Friday sale on HD flat screens and DVD players.  I said it wasn’t a good idea, he artfully argued that I should come along with him.  I gave in.

We eventually found a parking space at the far edge of the lot.  We trekked across the whole parking lot to the department store entrance.  Passing the threshold of the automatic doors I was greeted with a roar of concentrated murmuring of the masses of people.  Being in the store I was suddenly grasped by a state of urgency by looking into the eyes of other shoppers rushing around with baskets of stuff.  My boyfriend seemed completely in his element with a determined look on his face. 

We decided to split up. He went to the electronics section while I browsed the women’s clothing.  I had to admit, the prices were very appealing.  I soon found myself with a handful of blouses.  I was searching through a rack of jeans slashed to the tempting price of five dollars and ninety-nine cents.  I found an adorable pair that was my size.  I lifted the hanger off the bar, but there was a resistance keeping me from pulling them off the rack.  I saw a hand grasping it on the other side.  I looked over the top of the rack and my eyes met with another woman’s.  Neither of us was letting go.  I smiled faintly, “excuse me.”

“Excuse yourself,” the other woman scoffed and pulled.

“I realize this is an awkward situation but that doesn’t mean you have to be rude.”

“Whatever, why don’t you go get yourself some other jeans.”

“This is the only pair left on this rack that are my size.”

“This is my size too.  However, you might do better by trying a size larger.”

“I beg your pardon!”

“Quick being such a stick in the mud and let go of the jeans.”  I looked over at her cart.

“You already have a lot of items, I’m sure you can do without one pair of jeans.”

“Their mine, I found them first.”

“No, I found them first.”  She gave the jeans a jerk, which I returned with a pull. Another older shopper had overheard us and commented,

“Ladies, where are you manners?”

“This is none of your business,” the other woman snapped.  The other shopper quickly withdrew from us, her sensibilities insulted.  I sighed and let go of the jeans.

“You can lose yourself over a pair of jeans.”  The other woman gave me a glare.  With the jeans she pushed her cart-full of loot away.

Captivating Caption #1

Dog thinking to self: Ah, I bet on my dog kibble that Captain Savedays just engaged in a epic battle with Sir Killsalot.

So what do you think is going on in the picture?  See what silly captions you can think of, and feel free to share your ideas in the comment section.