- Set your font to 12pnt Courier.
- Write your surname vertically
- Write a single verb for each letter of your last name
- Reorder the words by character length longest to shortest
- First word must be in your title
- Last word must be the last word in the piece.
- All other words must be used in order
e.g. A N S T E Y Anticipate Nudge Stifle Trudge Eavesdrop Yell Yell Nudge Stifle Trudge Eavesdrop Anticipate
The Fisherman's Yell The old man sat in silence on the pier, watching the wave's nudge a piece of driftwood toward the rocks. It'd been hours since he'd had a bite, and it was all he could do to stifle a yawn as the sun drew towards its noontime apex. The thought of the long trudge back to the car without anything to eat gnawed at him even more than the boredom. So he sat there and tried to eavesdrop on a couple of little boys pretending they wanted to catch something like a shark. It wasn't that long ago when he was a boy. He remembered those long summer days when he dreamed of the big fish. Not because he was hungry, but because it seemed so exciting. They were so loud as they squished their little boy voices into happy shouts. It took everything for him to hold on to his voice. It took everything in him to love them. It took every bit of strength to be the old man who held his anger. "They're boys," he thought. "They're boys, and everything is exciting when you still have all your fingers." Later, when you don't, it's hard to remember what it's like to hope. Eventually, when you've lost everything, you give up the childish notion of the joy you felt when you were still happy to anticipate.