Please Help

RFP (request for prompts): living thing, inanimate object, location

I’m writing today to ask for your help.

In January of 2022, I started a series of stories based on writing prompts submitted by readers. When I publish the story, I tag the person who submitted the prompt.

Since then, the free subscriber count has nearly doubled, jumping from 165 to 318. Not only that, 3 lovely people have become paid subscribers, and 1 superstar has decided to become a founding member.

I’d like to keep the momentum going, but I’ve got a problem. 

As of March 6th, I’ve only got two prompts left.

Please help. Leave me a prompt in the comments. Three words: a living thing, an inanimate object, and a location.

For example, the two I have yet to write:

cat, sword, New York (Mary V)

bear, pen, new house (Cody B)

At least 250 subscribers haven’t offered a prompt. Half of that number will keep me going for two years.

If you’ve submitted a prompt already, feel free to send me another. 

Below you’ll find a list of all the prompts and stories published so far. The newest stories appear first. Anything older than 3 months is behind the paywall.

Become a paid subscriber to get access to all the prompt-based stories—plus the full archive going back to March of 2020.

Thanks,

Jim

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Frito Pie (cat, upstairs bedroom, Barnes and Noble gift card—coming 3/29/2023)

Machu Picchu and Machupicchu (kelp, magnet, Machu Picchu—coming 3/22/2023)

Stew and Ginger (moose, solar panel, garden—coming 3/15/2023)

Two Fingers and a Ring (bobcat, ring, northern Canada)

My Brother the Bear (bear, donut, forest)

A Streak of Black and White (border collie, castle, Isle of Skye)

Around the House (monster, kitchen table, end of the line)

What Qualifies as Stupid (frog, hot springs, saloon)

Before the Veil (kayak, knife, secret)

Saint Uber Don’t Make Mistakes (model, raindrop, Detroit)

Midnight Moose Raid (stinkbug, Zest soap, Melbourne)

Stop Transmission (woman, rock, Sandia peak)

Same Name Exactly (mobster, coat, alley)

The Moon is Pissed (human, data, moon)

She Drowned Before I Heard the Explosion (great Dane, Bahamas keychain, Tonga)

Lawn Anomaly (butterfly, wooden spoon, front lawn)

The Once Pristine Valley (troll, mirror, mountaintop)

Water and Weighted Pockets (fishing pole, beach, southern Texas)

Slime Trails and Magic Mushrooms (snail, book, library)

Where Vultures Are Known as Zopilotes (dog, trousers, desert)

Edmund, Fitz, and Gordon (duckling, spiral, Great Lakes)

The Most Perfect Thing (human, teacup, Arizona desert)

Pigs, Possums, and Hot Dogs (aardvark, chocolate wrapper, NYC)

A Gift from the Mountain (ladybug, arrowhead, tarn)

Working Loki’s Telescope (coral reef, Johny Mathis Christmas album, Asgard)

Dramatic Beaver Makes Splash (beaver, feather, urban stream)

No Time for Caterpillars (caterpillar, throwing star, DMV)

When Nigel Met Sarita (amoeba, hair tie, aisle seat)

Quacking the Case of the Maltese Falcon (Conway Twitty, Maltese Falcon, Forest Moon of Endor)

Bald-Faced Lies (eagle, cup, end of dock)

The Only Singleton (rat, exhaust-fan set screw, Gary, Indiana)

Rhino the Destroyer (rhino, 1970s KISS lunch box, cruise ship)

If Spiders Thought (spider, camera, county road)

Getting Smaller Every Day (spider, scissors, produce section)

Ellie’s Orange Roses (whale, orange roses, cabin)

Russian Rest (feather, llama, elevator)

Uncle Grand’s Wheat Field (red dress, four-poster bed, wheat field)

Cowboys Ain’t Easy to Love and Dolphins Are Harder to Hold (dolphin, hacky sack, public pool)

Of Mice and Muscadine Wine (mouse, chair, kitchen)

Baboon Fingers on Glass (baboon, spoon, moon)

A Reason for the Moon to Return (cricket, shoe, bedroom)

The Place the Sun Won’t Rise (caribou, phone, arctic)

Four Thousand Kilometers Over Jupiter (spider, wind chime, Jupiter)

Teddy the Tortoise (tortoise, candle, hospital)

Things Nora Didn’t Know (whippet, mayonnaise jar, apartment in Milan)

The Underside of the Fern (fern, lock, basement)

Special Delivery (snake, mailbox, hallway)

A couple of notes

1. Thanks to Jimmy Doom for lending me the prompt format and giving me the prompt for “Special Delivery.”

2. Two stories based on reader prompts—Café Lempira (toucan, coffee bean, Honduras; Jesse A.) and Skittles (fox, bar of soap, drive-in; Justin D.) are being considered for publication outside of Jim’s Shorts.

Or make a one-time donation to buy me some tacos (via Ko-Fi).

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Photo by Rohan Makhecha on Unsplash