Improvisational Creative Writing Challenge

There is madness in my method. You may think that I am merely giving you a little writing prompt or taking a poll about these little slices of life. But there is more to it than that.



My plan is to request little anecdotes and favorites from you on one topic or another a couple of times per week through the month of November. Then, I plan to take all of the little tidbits you share of favorites, fears, annoyances, and more and incorporate as many as I can into a story that I will post here.



So, check back often, have fun answering the questions, and challenge me to be creative!

Halloween Fun in the Pun!

One Halloween day, when I was still working as an attorney, my secretary Carol walked into my office and dropped a small slip of paper on the floor. I bent down to get it for her, and noticed the name “Barbara” written in bold letters on it.

She started to giggle and left the room. For the next couple of hours, she dropped more notes that read, “William” in the library, “Julia,” in the kitchen, and “Caroline, “Jack,” and ‘Charlie” outside three colleague’s offices.

I finally asked, “What are you doing?”

She replied, “It’s my Halloween costume. I’m a name dropper!”

It was subtle, but it was one of my favorite Halloween costumes of all times I guess it’s the writer in me that I like those plays on words.

Another favorite: A black sweatshirt and pants with snack-sized boxes of Apple Jacks, Rice Krispies, Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes glued all over it. Each little box had a plastic knife sticking out of it. If you haven’t guessed it by now—Cereal Killer (instead of a Serial Killer).

Share with me your favorite Halloween costume, real or imagined. I’m especially interested in those that use a play on words and make the ones who see it have to solve the riddle.

Ring Tone Tales

Do you think you can tell someone’s personality by their ring-tone?

Sitting in the audience at the Shakespeare Theater, luckily before curtain time, I heard the theme song from “Jaws.” A fifty-something woman in front of me fumbled through her purse, turned to me. “Sorry,” she said through her braces.

My thirteen-year old son set his tone to sound like crickets chirping in hopes that he could call it from our home phone and trick us into looking for the cricket loose in the house.

At the library—another spot where phones should be silenced—the guy sitting in the study carol behind me refused to silence his phone. It played “Sweet Caroline” five times in the course of an hour. Your guess is as good as mine: huge Neil Diamond fan, baseball fan, or “oh, oh, oh” his girlfriend, Caroline calls way too often.

My sister’s teenager got hold of her cell and set it so that each family member had his or her own personal recording as their ring tone. Every time her husband called, she heard his voice saying, “Marcia, pick up the phone.” When her daughter rang, “Mom I need you.” My poor sister, she finally turned the phone off altogether. The tones made her feel pestered.

My latest ring-tone is the monster from Young Frankenstein “singing,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” When he screams his line everyone around laughs (including me--it gets me every time!) What does that say about me?

I’d love to hear what your ringtone is and why. Or share your funniest, interesting or creative ring tone ideas.

Feel free to chime in!