Over 10 years ago, I subscribed to Writer’s Digest, and I would sometimes enter their monthly contest. The assignment for March in 1992 was to write a short piece in which the first sentence dictates how the next sentences begin. For instance, the second sentence starts with the second word in the first sentence; the third sentence starts with the third word in the first sentence; the fourth sentence starts with the fourth word in the first sentence, etc. The catch? The piece had to tell a coherent story at the same time.

Anyway, here is what I wrote:

There he was, looking like an idiot. He stared at his hand, the ground, then the few people around him, all with a frown on his face. Was this ever easy or what?

“Looking for something?” I asked him, and I laughed as his brows shot up, his head turning this way and that. “Like it or not, you won’t find it,” I taunted. An ugly expression came over his face, but I only laughed harder at his expense. Idiot that he was, I thought, as he continued to search for me and the wallet that he lost, he would never know that he’d just been a victim of an invisible pickpocket.

It’s short and sweet but oh so fun! Feel free to try your own hand at the writing assignment.

Share this post: