how to choose a writing prompt
First day on the job today. I think it went very well.
During my interview (in addition to taking five multiple choice quizzes) I was asked to write, on the spot, 500-1000 words on one of the following:
1) Your friend from Argentina has sent you a penguin. Tell about your first day with your new pet.
2) Describe your workspace in vivid detail. What items are on your desk? What pictures do you have on the walls? What does your trash can look like? Why are things the way they are?
3) Is the opinion of the majority a poor guide?
4) Something interesting happened in the last week/month/year - tell us about it.
5) "An orderly society must never compromise in matters of law." Discuss.
6) Any other topic...
I thought I'd share what I chose to write (Let's see if some of my astute readers can find the details and symbolism that I put in there, which I'm sure were completely lost on my new employer... I kind of felt like I was pulling a Keyser Soze) I knew it might be a risk...but it was fun to write and I figured If they're going to hire me--they should know what they're getting...a goof that writes about a penguin)
My New South American Friend
I stared at the single word written on the small card that was taped to the crate, "Enjoy!" Okay, I thought to myself.
Harry told me that a gift would be arriving for me, and here it was. I popped the top with a crowbar, and all four sides of the crate fell to the floor revealing a penguin sitting in some straw. Harry had sent me a penguin from Argentina. He was one of those macaroni penguins with the shocking yellow feathers darting out in all directions from his brow. Harry had sent me a penguin from Argentina.
"Hi," I said, trying not act nonplussed (I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable) "What is your name?"
My new friend stood up and began waddling around my living room, pushing around the fan of magazines on the coffee table with his beak, then flipping through the stack of bills, adverts, and NetFlix sleeves on my desk. Dissatisfied, he shuffled over to my library of CDs. He carefully beaked them aside one by one, staring for a moment at each cover. He slid one to the floor and began pecking at it. I discovered that it was This Year's Model by Elvis Costello. Grinning, I said, "Okay, Elvis it is."
Harry's card had directed me to "Enjoy!" so I decided to show Elvis a good time. We headed to downtown Chicago. Our first stop was the Art Institute. Elvis greeted the majestic lions with some apprehension, but soon relaxed when he realized that they were ornamental as opposed carnivorous. I introduced him to Picasso, Seurat and Magritte. He seemed duly impressed but eager to move on, so we headed over to Navy Pier. We quickly found out that Elvis is afraid of heights while on the giant Ferris wheel. It was not pretty, and I will spare my gentle reader the unpleasant details. Elvis' macaroni brow was furrowed in my general direction for the better portion of the next hour. We were able to catch a matinee of Hamlet at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, to which Elvis gave resounding applause. We then headed over to the Billy Goat for cheeseburgers. He seemed to like them okay, but the chips were difficult to eat with his beak. I think he tried to communicate that he wanted fries and perhaps would have preferred Coke to Pepsi, but I informed him that he would have been categorically refused.
When we returned home, he waddled up to the TV and began pecking at the screen. Hmmm, I thought, what should I show Elvis? March of the Penguins? No, too obvious. Pulp Fiction? Mmmm, maybe too disjointed and violent for his taste (again, I didn't want to offend). Aha! You can't go wrong with the best movie ever made, Casablanca.
I set Elvis up on the recliner, popped some popcorn, put in the DVD, and settled in on the couch. Of course, it totally kept his interest; He blinked rapidly during the casino raid, sending his macaroni feathers into a bouncing yellow blur, and tears pooled in his eyes when Rick made Sam play As Time Goes By. Toward the end of the film, I stared at Elvis, who was drifting off to sleep and echoed Rick's sentiment, "This looks the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
During my interview (in addition to taking five multiple choice quizzes) I was asked to write, on the spot, 500-1000 words on one of the following:
1) Your friend from Argentina has sent you a penguin. Tell about your first day with your new pet.
2) Describe your workspace in vivid detail. What items are on your desk? What pictures do you have on the walls? What does your trash can look like? Why are things the way they are?
3) Is the opinion of the majority a poor guide?
4) Something interesting happened in the last week/month/year - tell us about it.
5) "An orderly society must never compromise in matters of law." Discuss.
6) Any other topic...
I thought I'd share what I chose to write (Let's see if some of my astute readers can find the details and symbolism that I put in there, which I'm sure were completely lost on my new employer... I kind of felt like I was pulling a Keyser Soze) I knew it might be a risk...but it was fun to write and I figured If they're going to hire me--they should know what they're getting...a goof that writes about a penguin)
My New South American Friend
I stared at the single word written on the small card that was taped to the crate, "Enjoy!" Okay, I thought to myself.
Harry told me that a gift would be arriving for me, and here it was. I popped the top with a crowbar, and all four sides of the crate fell to the floor revealing a penguin sitting in some straw. Harry had sent me a penguin from Argentina. He was one of those macaroni penguins with the shocking yellow feathers darting out in all directions from his brow. Harry had sent me a penguin from Argentina.
"Hi," I said, trying not act nonplussed (I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable) "What is your name?"
My new friend stood up and began waddling around my living room, pushing around the fan of magazines on the coffee table with his beak, then flipping through the stack of bills, adverts, and NetFlix sleeves on my desk. Dissatisfied, he shuffled over to my library of CDs. He carefully beaked them aside one by one, staring for a moment at each cover. He slid one to the floor and began pecking at it. I discovered that it was This Year's Model by Elvis Costello. Grinning, I said, "Okay, Elvis it is."
Harry's card had directed me to "Enjoy!" so I decided to show Elvis a good time. We headed to downtown Chicago. Our first stop was the Art Institute. Elvis greeted the majestic lions with some apprehension, but soon relaxed when he realized that they were ornamental as opposed carnivorous. I introduced him to Picasso, Seurat and Magritte. He seemed duly impressed but eager to move on, so we headed over to Navy Pier. We quickly found out that Elvis is afraid of heights while on the giant Ferris wheel. It was not pretty, and I will spare my gentle reader the unpleasant details. Elvis' macaroni brow was furrowed in my general direction for the better portion of the next hour. We were able to catch a matinee of Hamlet at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, to which Elvis gave resounding applause. We then headed over to the Billy Goat for cheeseburgers. He seemed to like them okay, but the chips were difficult to eat with his beak. I think he tried to communicate that he wanted fries and perhaps would have preferred Coke to Pepsi, but I informed him that he would have been categorically refused.
When we returned home, he waddled up to the TV and began pecking at the screen. Hmmm, I thought, what should I show Elvis? March of the Penguins? No, too obvious. Pulp Fiction? Mmmm, maybe too disjointed and violent for his taste (again, I didn't want to offend). Aha! You can't go wrong with the best movie ever made, Casablanca.
I set Elvis up on the recliner, popped some popcorn, put in the DVD, and settled in on the couch. Of course, it totally kept his interest; He blinked rapidly during the casino raid, sending his macaroni feathers into a bouncing yellow blur, and tears pooled in his eyes when Rick made Sam play As Time Goes By. Toward the end of the film, I stared at Elvis, who was drifting off to sleep and echoed Rick's sentiment, "This looks the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
posted by Kathleen Ryan at 12:16 AM
1 Comments:
Great story!
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