Creative Spark Showdown
Are You Ready for This Week’s Writing Challenge?
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Writers, it’s time to flex your creative muscles! This week’s challenge:
Write a scene where a character learns a life-altering secret—but they’re in the middle of a crowded room.
Bonus: Write it from the POV of someone watching the character
How It Works:
Post your response directly in the comments by 11/25/2024.
Hit the ♥️ on your favorite submissions to vote.
We’ll announce the winner in next week’s newsletter!
What’s at Stake?
The winning piece will be:
Featured in our Substack newsletter (sent to all our subscribers!).
Spotlighted on our social media channels.
Ready to take on the challenge? Show us what you’ve got!
I see her from across the hall. She’s slack-jawed and pale; struck dumb on the spot. The bustling crowd of the bridal convention continues its brutal rampage around her and her teary, sheepish-faced friend. She doesn’t seem to hear any more of her friend’s guilt-laden words; only stares blankly at the woman in front of her. The teary woman shakes and pleads. She finally responds, not with words, but with a firm closing of her mouth, and the removal of her engagement ring. She holds it out stubbornly to her pleading companion until it is no longer in her possession. I blink and she disappears into the anonymity of the crowd, leaving her sobbing friend behind.
Terry Dale was the leader and guitarist of the band Downlow. His playing and songwriting made the group a local favorite and kept them constantly busy. Janice was okay with vocals but had the bad habit of bending at the waist when hitting the high notes. Some songs made her look like she had constipated cramps as she moved across the stage. Terry must have put up with it because she was beautiful and sounded a lot like Chaple Roan. The rest of the guys had been with him since high school.
Rick poured a stiff drink and kept the clientele mostly in their thirties. Dark wood, neon beer signs, and dim light gave the bar he’d named after himself a classic roadhouse vibe. A few college kids started coming in to listen to Downlow’s country rock-inspired sound and to steal Terry’s rifts but not enough to cause a problem. I looked for my brother-in-law, Jack Rawson, and found him hanging out at a table with three girls young enough to be his daughter. That was Jack. He was pushing fifty but dressed and acted like a twenty-one-year-old
I watched my sister Lauren and niece Cece Rawson enter the bar and pause to let their eyes adjust to the dark. The woman at the door carded them even though Lauren was forty-seven. She still looked good, though and I didn’t understand why Jack slept around on her. He’d done it forever, but I’d just moved back into town after going through a divorce and knew what it felt like to be cheated on. I told Sis she needed to dump him and that I’d bankroll the bill for a clean break. Making money was never one of my problems.
Lauren wouldn’t have done anything if I hadn’t pushed her. I told her to think of Cece. Do you want the same thing to happen to her as is happening to you? Jimmy Watkins and I’d gone to school together, so Lauren and I went to see him in his official capacity as Attorney James B. Watkins. Sis had the divorce papers in her hand. I was waiting for the mother and daughter to neuter Jack by serving them in public and telling him that she was taking half of everything he owned.
Jack continued making a play for the girls and didn’t see Lauren and his daughter until Sis was standing right behind him. I raised my hand, and the music stopped. Jack looked around and noticed Lauren and Cece and froze like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Sis handed Jack the papers and spoke loud enough so the entire bar knew he was a lying, cheating bastard who was lousy in bed. Cece kicked him in the nuts. I waved my hand. Terry and the band began to play the Ray Charles classic Hit the Road Jack, and Janice started belting out the words as everyone laughed and watched the scumbag hobble to the door.