Tag: arcadia

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Writing Prompt #5: Back at Arcadia

“She was usually an optimistic person but the challenge that faced her on that first day back in a classroom after so many years threatened to overwhelm her.”

She was used to facing challenges! They’d been her bread and butter for the past decade! 

But those challenges had usually been something straightforward like decrypting arcane ciphers while a razor cage closed in on you (not her fault!) or dodging angry spirit guardians who did not appreciate someone stepping into their domain (okay… that one was her fault). You know – real challenges. Things with life or death stakes that made you feel truly alive under all the dirt, sweat, and blood. 

Until the day you got too slow and ended up suddenly very dead. 

Gods, she’d loved it. Students trickled into what was now – regrettably – her lecture hall, and she restrained a dejected sigh. Filtering through the open door was the staccato murmur of twenty somethings (basically children!) passing by on their way to whatever class they’d justified was worth the extortionate amount of money they’d paid. The sound grated on her already paper-thin patience. 

She’d actually forgotten how much she hated academia (the institution, not the concept), and the violent death she’d always been expecting looked more and more tempting by the minute. But no, that luxury had passed her by thanks to that last job… and the payout hadn’t lasted nearly as long as she’d hoped. She’d only gone to Smythe because she was desperate for something to keep her afloat, and she suspected (justifiably!) that he had capitalized on that. 

Regardless, she was back. University of Arcadia. Now on the other side of the desk.

As the door swung shut and the last students took their seats, she looked over the lecture hall wearily and thought, “Gods help us all.”

I’m sensing a theme with some of my writing class prompts.

I actually really like the character that I’ve sketched out with this one! There’s something about her voice and exasperation here that I find really compelling and funny. I’m going to keep this one in my back pocket to work on later and make into a longer narrative when the inspiration strikes.

That’s all for me this today! Please like, comment, and share if you enjoy what you’ve read. 

Above all, be kind to one another. 

Love, Charlotte

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Writing Prompt #1: Welcome to Arcadia

Happy New Year!

In my creative writing class last fall, we were assigned prompts to keep us writing regularly outside of “big” projects and focus on introducing a new characters’  interiority in only a few words. I ended up really enjoying these exercises! I think this was mostly because they aligned well with how I think about character introductions in the weekly D&D game I run, but also because they made for a fun challenge when taken a little further. 

I ended up not just focusing on introducing a character in a way that makes them feel real and complex, but also adding into as much subtle worldbuilding as I could without it being distracting. That’s what really made writing these little snippets engaging (although admittedly that part was just for me and not really for the reader).

Our first prompt was to write about someone returning to academia after a period of time away.

Now I’ll admit, on the surface that’s not something I would usually write about, which I think adds to the value of it as an exercise. How do you spin a small idea so that it’s something interesting that you would write about? I came up with this:

It’s not like Irene hadn’t known what being back here was going to be like. After all, this had been the plan for half a year after the new education requirements had come out and her arguments about years of experience had counted for exactly nothing at the department.

But there was a big difference between knowing and seeing for herself. Of being physically present in a place she hadn’t stood in a decade and a half. 

University of Arcadia, Class of 2008. Was that really that long ago? 

She felt oddly disembodied, another ghost haunting the old place, while fresh-faced early-twenty-somethings chattered in their own small groups. She let the noise wash over her, trying to find the familiarity. Everything looked the same as it had before – ivy laden brick buildings in the places they’d always been, the same towering oaks, hell even some of the same professors – just a little older and grayer. The background was the same, but everything else was overwhelmingly different and it was… jarring. Like missing the last step on the stairs. Exciting in a way, but you don’t exactly want your trip downstairs to remind you of your own mortality. 

Unfortunately for Irene, pausing to survey all the students rushing to morning class was starting to do just that. She sighed before standing up straighter and squaring her shoulders. She was here for a purpose, and that purpose was not feeling sorry for herself. There’d be plenty of time for that later.

This came from a short story idea I’ve had simmering for a while now, although it would never fit into what I think I want that story to be (like I said, I have no interest in the whole returning to academia bit). I’ll share more about that another time.

For now though, if you’re a writer or artist, I encourage you to try exercises like this – there are plenty of free resources and prompts to be found online. They’re simple, creative, and helpful for getting away from the stress of a larger project to focus on something new.

That’s all from me today! Please like, comment, and share if you enjoy what you’ve read. 

Above all, be kind to one another. 

Love, Charlotte