It happens all the time:
- You say one thing, your boss hears another.
- Your kid’s teacher tells him to finish an assignment by Friday, he tell you Monday.
- He says he’s busy, she hears “I don’t love you anymore”.
Miscommunication is part of life. It can lead to hilarity or it can be tragic. Crises can be averted, or opportunities can be missed. A story based on miscommunication can be frustrating or poignant.
The Prompt
Write a story where two characters misunderstand each other.
Tip
- Try to make the miscommunication something that couldn’t easily be solved if the characters simply ‘fess up and talk like adults. Keep them apart, have someone interfere, find another way to make the miscommunication believable.
- Make sure your story travels from start to end: don’t just write a scene, make someone or something change between the first word and the last.
The Rules:
1. You should use the prompt in your story (however tenuous the connection).
2. You must write the story in one 24 hr period – the faster the better.
3. Post the story in the comments — if you’re brave enough.
4. Find something nice to say about someone else’s story and leave a comment. Everybody needs a little support!
Optional Extras:
Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook
Some tweets/updates you might use:
Don’t miss my short story: miscommunication #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-ym
This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is all about miscommunication #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-ym
Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-ym
See my story – and write your own, today: Why Would You Say That? #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-ym
SURGICAL STRIKE
“So, can you come with me tonight?”
Janice rubbed an imaginary smudge from her fingernails, avoiding eye contact so he’d know it wasn’t a life-or-death kind of thing, that he could do what he liked.
Scott flipped the channel. Channel 47 was promo-ing a Die Hard marathon: ten hours of guns, mayhem and hilariously-dubbed cursing. His eyes creased at the corners in that way she used to find utterly irresistible and she knew she was lost — had lost.
“But no, on second thoughts, it’s probably best I go on my own,” she said.
Her bright-sharp voice sliced their lives so cleanly into ‘before’ and ‘after’ that it was some time before either of them felt the cut.