The Prompt
In March, researchers at Matter Neuroscience installed a ‘Call a Boomer’ payphone near Boston University that connects to a similar ‘Call a Zoomer’ payphone in a Nevada senior living facility.
The project’s goal, in part, is to connect two of the loneliest US demographics and to study the role those interactions have in combatting that loneliness.
Neither callers nor recipients know the other’s identity when they call, and their conversation topics (recorded for the study) range from the weather to dating advice.
Write a story about one such conversation.
Or not.
But be sure to include a payphone.
- What are its features and how does this device fit (or not fit ) into your story world?
- How familiar are your characters with this technology?
A story about a payphone in ancient Mesopotamia, for example, would be wildly different from one set in 1970’s Manhattan.
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Michele Reisinger
Michele Reisinger’s short fiction has appeared in Across the Margin, Stories That Need to be Told, Sunspot Literary Journal, Dreamers Creative Writing, and others. Find more of her writing online at mereisinger.com.
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Remember: Please don’t post your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.
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Michelle,
Your prompt has got me thinking about doing a sequel to this, let’s say extreme generational phone call. https://afstoryaday.blogspot.com/2018/10/an-explanation.html
Today I wrote a dystopian piece about a young woman alone in a city with her dog. There’s not much to it, but it is written!
This was my favorite prompt so far. I wrote about a grandmother watching her grandchildren play in the park. She hears a pay phone ring. She answers the phone only to find it’s her younger self calling. I wrote this in cluster. Started before my morning shift at work. Wrote some on my lunch break and some while my granddaughter was in gymnastics. Just finished it up.
I’m working on a blog and hope to post this one if I could figure it out.
I love this idea!
Melanie, glad to hear it sounds intriguing. Charlie is working off his community service sentence.
Sounds great!!!
It feels nice to finish today. I went with the initial prompt and wrote about a conversation on the zoomer boomer phones, and also have a list of payphone sparks to work with in the future.
Yay! That’s a bonus win 😊
Indeed! Thanks😊
Michelle,
Love that you’re in here commenting.
I wrote about a derelict old man who asks a young commuter (the narrator) in the train station to help him to make a pay phone call – he has money, but can’t find a phone. At the end, after the narrator has helped the old man call his family, the old man gives the narrator a quarter, for a local call.
I’m picturing the young commuter’s puzzlement and wondering what he does with the quarter. My Gen Z children would have no idea!! They rarely use cash for anything.
“I think I might be able to help you,” says Charlie, one of the people who volunteered to answer calls from the payphone experiment being conducted at a retirement home. Since the calls are monitored, he will have to find a way around that.
Intriguing!!!
“I think I might be able to help you,” says Charlie, one of the people who volunteered to answer calls from the payphone experiment being conducted at a retirement home. Since the calls are monitored, he will have to find a way around that.
Definitely intriguing!!
Ok, well, that one took a turn I wasn’t expecting. 131 words of what might be a horror story(I mean, it involves a phone so of course. lol). The last 2 lines:
“You’re dead.”
The low laugh sank through me. “Not quite, darling. You failed. Want to try again?”
This is *not* what I typically write. But, it was fun.
Lol!!! Love this! From the phone generally being a horror story, to those ominous last lines!
Glad you had fun!!
I love this prompt, Michele. I live near the BU phone booth and in my life and stories, payphones have been important. I will let this prompt simmer for a bit and then I will write. Thanks!
Thanks! And how cool that you live near that exact payphone 😊
OK, today I went with a version of the day 12 prompt, combined with one of my own, a Random Page # from the 2024 D&D Monster Manual, using the image on that page for the story.
Here’s what I came up with. https://afstoryaday.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-long-strand.html
I will of course bank today’s prompt for possible later use.
Love that you’re doing your own thing!!
It’s interesting – I was reviewing the log I run, I’ve done ~4 of the Story a day prompts, not sure how often I manage to do them on the day they are prompted. I think my day starts about 14 hours before the day’s prompt comes out.