So. You’ve been hearing a lot about Write Club lately, I’ll bet. You wouldn’t have dropped in to read this post otherwise, am I right?
Unless I’m wrong? If that’s the case, let me lay it on you. Write Club is a sixteen week intensive writing commitment for eight raving fools eager writers who really want to hone their craft. Consider it a boot camp, if you will. A very aggressive boot camp for writers. I am one of the Eight, who will somehow manage to give birth to eight premium short stories over the next few months, or die trying.
Well, folks? Tonight is the night.
I have the singular honour of being the first among the Eight to choose what our writing prompt will be. I give it to you here, my fellow writers.
Segment One Prompt: A story about a sacrificial gift.
Story and Author: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Link: https://www.teachervision.com/o-henrys-gift-magi
Discussion: You’ve probably heard this classic old story before. I can’t say that it is my favourite, but with Christmas and Epiphany having just passed us by on the calendar, it was quick to come to mind. Nor can I say that it is an example of “great writing” because the author sometimes uses devices and writing methods that I know the good folks in The Writer’s Block Fiction Workshop would cringe at.
But I love the story. A young married couple, hard up on cash, who each sell their most prized possession in order to purchase one another a Christmas gift. This particular tale employs a comic irony at the end, which makes those sacrifices even more gut-wrenching, since those priceless purchases had been made to complement the items sold.
I don’t care whether you employ the irony. My only requirement is that in your story there must be a gift given, and it must cost a lot. Not in an expensive way, but in a sacrificial way. On your mark, get set, GO!
For those of you watching in the stands, I offer the same challenge! See what you can come up with for this prompt. And by all means, drop by The Writer’s Block on Discord and let the fantastic people there help you polish your story into something fantastic! You might even see me there, from time to time, when I’m not sweating over a keyboard!