Tags
flash fiction, Grocery store, poems, Ptolmey Erlington, sculpture, shopping cart, Tim O'Brien, Walmart, writing prompt
Twitter inspires again! Someone was musing about how much they enjoyed watching people grocery shop yesterday, and I thought wouldn’t it be fun to dive into what might be in their carts.
So, a la Tim O’Brien, but much less dark, I’d like you to explore what clues might lie in these shoppers’ purchases. What does all that cereal, toothpaste, etc. tell you about circumstances, attitudes, or tastes?
Feel free to make up whatever you want about these people. Don’t be bogged down by reality. Reality is often inconvenient and usually boring. You might want to go camp out at Walmart for inspiration, but try not be creepy about it. Nothing worse than creep-os at Walmart.
Just work up a suite of flash fiction pieces, or poems if the mood strikes, and see where it takes you. If you don’t get anything salvageable out of it, a
t least you had fun and got to look at the world in a new way.
And speaking of looking at the world in a new way, check out these breathtaking sculptures made by Ptolemy Elrington out of…you guessed it..old shopping carts. Gorgeous! I would love, love, love to have one of these for my own. Perhaps when I become rich and famous. 🙂
Happy writing!
