Prompted into action
by Steve
WordPress offers bloggers regular ideas or starting points for new posts, with the Daily Prompt feature. I can certainly see the value of it but have always been a little wary. I’d like to write stuff from my own ideas, not from the prompts of others. But with a short period of blogging-time becoming available, and no posts lined up in my head that I could just bash out without any real work, I figured I’d take a look at the suggestions and see if I was inspired. And I was. Kind of. I thought I’d try to respond to the last five prompts posted here in this very post.
Write your own eulogy.
I feel very uncomfortable doing this as it almost feels like it could be tempting fate. It feels a little morbid and a little self-indulgent. I imagine it will be “He was OK, I guess” and not a whole lot more. As much as part of me would like wailing professional mourners and the unveiling of a giant statue, I’m not sure a whole lot of fuss would be necessary. I remember a teacher once marking an essay of mine with something along the lines of “Good, if a little obscure” which I think would make as good a eulogy as any. Short and sweet.
Set a timer for ten minutes. Open a new post. Start the timer, and start writing. When the timer goes off, publish.
Right, I’m already about six minutes in. Damn.
Read the story of Richard Parker and Tom Dudley. Is what Dudley did defensible? What would you have done?
I had to read this quickly because of the above time constraints. I’m not sure I can condone drinking your own piss or eating your fellow man. Or eating tinned turnips for that matter. I’d have probably called for a pizza or something. Or not got on the boat. I don’t have sea legs.
If you could choose to be a master (or mistress) of any skill in the world, which skill would you pick?
I now have one minute to consider this. I’m not sure I can commit to this with such time constraints. Maybe the ability to keep me and my family alive forever. Or to create legal tender with my bare hands. Or to write less annoying posts than this one.
And stop. I think I went a minute over the deadline, and still have to add a vaguely related image. But there you. I have been prompted. Any thoughts on the above would be very welcome.
Wait until next year 
I tried these writing prompts on my last blog once. I didn’t do too hot. I taught reading and writing for a year, and the prompts on WordPress feel an awful lot like the short constructed response writing assignments they put on our standardized tests. Which always stressed me out, because a teacher could lose a job over consistently low test scores. So I think I have a mental block.
As far as master or mistress of skills, I’m stuck. I’ve been looking for a new hobby and got nothing. Yours look fun, though. Maybe I’ll get on this printing money thing.
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