Recently members of Brand New Aspiring Writers took part in a group prompt exercise. The challenge? To write a short story using only dialogue.

Talented Australian fiction scribe Jaime shares with you her take on this idea in the story below.





"I wouldn't mind being dead."

"How can you say such a thing? Oh! That cloud looks like ma, I swear it."

"Think about it. You don't have to worry about eating. You don't have
to answer the phone. You don't have to be afraid of death."

"I'm not afraid of death."

"Most are, just a little. Even if they don't know it. It's something
unknown. Something… out there. But think about it, if you're dead, you
already know all about it. You don't have to worry about when or how
you're going to die or what it's going to be like."

"True. Oh, look at that beauty! A sunflower, I'd say."

"I hate how sad people get, though. I understand it, but I don't like it."

"People need to be sad for a bit. You saw what happened to auntie when
unc bob died and she didn't even want to say he was gone. The men in
the white coats ma used to talk about took her not long after that.
Remember?"

"You saw that?"

"Yeah."

"Ma wouldn't have took kindly to that if she knew."

"Nah, but she don't know, and she don't need to know. Ah! Now you
can't tell me that cloud don't look like one of them boats grandpa
used to make."

"Huh. You're right. I think you spend too much time looking at cloud
shapes."

"What's the harm in it?"

"None, I suppose. Looksee, I should be getting back to the house."

"Ah, okay. It was nice talking to you again. Same time next week?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, anybody say anything yet about you coming out here to the
graveyard every afternoon?"

"Nah, they don't mind or talk. They know I'm just talking to my
brother. I haven't told anyone that you talk back."