Neil Gaiman spent 12 hours tweeting a question or prompt an hour and a gazillion people wrote back with a very short response. Even reading the original responses brought laughs and tears. So I was wildly excited to sit down tonight and read Neil’s twelve very short stories, A Calendar of Tales, inspired by the responses. What a deal! I was glad that each month’s tale included the tweet that had inspired it.
I was at work so I didn’t get to see all the prompts as they rolled out. I sure understand the excitement and pleasure of working under a restraint or challenge. Having the limits really stirs the pot and gets the mind working and focused. That is true no matter what media you’re working with.
Yanked from the archives, here are my responses to some of the prompts (like, “Why is January so dangerous”):
- January is when days grow slowest due to the extreme cold. #JanTale
- #FebTale I took a couple week stay-cation; stayed home so much my neighbors thought I was away and plowed my driveway.
- April 1, 2004 I told husband he needed to get out. He thought it was an april fool’s joke. Long-term happiness ftw. #AprTale
- Eat as much corn on the cob & as many fresh tomatoes as you can, life’s short oh & save some room for birthday cake! #AugTale
- #SeptTale 2001, lost the glory of a cloudless blue sky to an inability to comprehend what men can do, the morning of the 11th.
- I’d most like to meet a fairy, but if that’s not creature-like, then how about a rendezvous with a dragon? #OctTale
