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Sept 22 – Tension Tuesday

The Family Gathering!

For todays Tense Tuesday prompt we are exploring that time honoured ritual … the family gathering. Why is it an occasion that should be relaxing and carefree so often induces so much tension and stress? It might be Christmas, a birthday celebration, a summer barbecue, a christening, a wedding or even a funeral.

The Prompt

 Write a short story about a family gathering where things don’t quite work out as expected. It can be a social event at work or a family holiday that goes spectacularly wrong, you choose.

Tips

  • For this exercise it is probably best not to have too many characters, maybe a couple of main characters and two or three subsidiary ones.
  • It can be any genre you like; even dragon families, zombies and aliens fall out with one another!
  • You could make it some of your ancestors, how did family gatherings go wrong in times gone by?

OK, now stop trying to pacify Aunt Maud and start writing!

Malcolm Richardson has been writing creatively for the last ten years. After a slow start focussing on a novel, which is still only half completed he has concentrated on short stories over the last few years. One day the novel may be resurrected, but his current focus is entering short stories in competitions. Malcolm is a latecomer to blogging, but his Story a Day stories can be found here.

Make sure to post a comment below, with a link to your story.

17 thoughts on “Sept 22 – Tension Tuesday”

    1. Wow well done, looks like it’s been a good day for you today. The play was really good, and I hadn’t spotted the adoption coming until just before they made the announcement.

      1. I had an inkling about what I wanted to do, but once I got there, I decided to add even more of a twist. I was recently a performer in a radio play, so I’ve been wanting to try to write more plays. Eventually, I’ll write a complete one.

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