Writing Prompt Saturday, Writing As A Toy

What was your favorite toy as a kid?

I was not loyal, or consistent.  I had a different favorite every week.  One time it was a mermaid doll that was accidentally left in a restaurant forty five minutes away.  Once it was a building set that consisted of little circular things with three feet.  They looked just like those plastic things that hold pizza boxes up.  Once it was this stuffed cat that had two little cats inside it.  (Does anyone else remember those?  Do you remember the extra kittens you could buy?)

I still have toys.  I love stuffed animals still.  I buy art supplies, and stickers.  I have no less than three different pairs of scissors that put different edges on a piece of paper.

At its best, writing is a toy.  It’s a game.  The question is, what kind of toy is it?

For me, I think of writing as a big box of blocks.  You can give two kids the same box of blocks, and they will make totally different things.  My older monster will make a rocket, while the little one will make a house.  Or the Tardis.  It’s the same with writing.  Take a contest that has a specific idea you have to work off, for instance.  Mash is a good example, but it’s not the only one.  You look at all the different stories that come from that prompt, and it’s amazing how varied those stories will be.

So that’s your prompt for the day.  If writing were a toy, what would it be?

I’d also like to throw out a giant congratulations to all of the couples who can now get legally married in America.  For those of you who don’t live in America, we finally got around to making marriage legal for all couples, not just those who happen to have two different genders.  Marriage equality took way too long, but we’ve got it now.  My prayer for every single couple is that your wedding is as wonderful and significant as mine was, and not one bit less blessed.