Gary watched the seconds tick away with an increasing sense of horror. He could not remember experiencing such excruciating tedium. He tried to distract himself with thoughts of more pleasant forms of torture, like being strapped to a gurney and having his eyelashes plucked out or listening to Yanni while getting a root canal.

The Daily Theme from Figment for March 20, 2012

In “The Busboy” episode of Seinfeld, George refers to moments like letting the car warm-up or waiting for your hair conditioner to work as “tough minutes.” Narrate a character’s thoughts in one of these “tough minutes.” What does he or she think about during those interminable seconds?

Mr. Brand walked into the fast food joint just as it was closing. He could tell by the cashier’s defiant look they were going to exchange words.

“I know who you fucking are. It’s says Tony Brand on that stupid name tag they make you wear. It’s a fucking disgrace to your grandfather’s name.”

For today, revisit that story, but now set it during a different time of day and in a different type of restaurant. How does the change in time and place affect your telling?

Mr. Brand walked into the Italian joint and ordered the cannoli. Tony the server gave Mr. Brand a look of disgust the likes of which he had not seen in twenty years.

“Good. Then get me my fucking cannoli, you bastard.”

The Daily Theme from Figment for March 16, 2012

A person walks into a restaurant, orders a meal, and has a fight with the server. Let the setting (time of day, kind of restaurant) guide your telling of the story.

On the day you were born, Jason, you nearly died.

Wow. I didn’t know that part of the story. Thanks, Dad.

The Daily Theme from Figment for March 8, 2012

Talisman transformation: Tell the story of how an ordinary object becomes a person’s lucky charm.

General Stern chewed on his tobacco lustily, the last luxury he afforded himself. Once the surrender was completed, there’d be no more tobacco. No more anything, most likely, except a dark cell. They’d probably try him for war crimes. He probably deserved it, too. But if the Battle at the Ridge had played out differently, he’d be a hero rather than a criminal.

The general spit out the nicotine-laced saliva with a bitter grin. It’s funny how things play out.

The Daily Theme from Figment for March 6, 2012

In addition to showing us the ramifications of its tardiness, try to include the actual text of the delayed message in your theme.

The technology was overwhelming at first, but as with all revolutions, people adapted eventually. The rose-colored glasses, as they were called, physically altered your appearance to more closely correspond to how people perceive you. The ads all showed some variation of a wife looking at her husband and seeing an Olympic athlete.

But Malcolm never quite accepted the way the device changed him so ruthlessly, to the point he had completely lost control of his appearance. It was especially distasteful to find the dog staring up at him and knowing that it was seeing a giant slab of raw meat.

The Daily Theme from Figment for February 27, 2012

Describe the day in the life of a character who has been punished or honored with wearing a physical badge of how he or she is viewed by the world.

As soon as the door opened, Jackson sprinted from the school bus. He could see the parcel sticking out of the mailbox from a hundred yards away. It had finally arrived.

Whatever. He had a death ray. Now, where was Chris Jenkins?

The Daily Theme from Figment for February 13, 2012

A character receives a parcel in the mail–something he or she was expecting. However, when this person opens the package, in addition to the anticipated item, there is something else. Something very surprising.

There I am on the down side of dusk. I stand stock still as the men drag her to the van. She used to be worth a look or two but now she is dead. Dead to me at least. Dead in the sense that I can’t see her no more. Dead.

I found her that way.

The Daily Theme from Figment for Feb. 9, 2012

This is a prompt I love to use when I first meet a new class. I tell them to take out their pens and write me a piece–the theme is up to them. It need not be long. But it needs to be a real scene. And the sole rule that frames what they write is this: You may not use a word with more than one syllable. It sounds hard, but “syllable” is the lone word used here that has more than one.

Peter replayed the conversation in his head endlessly. He had been such a fool. Every moment of his life the past 20 years, he prayed to have that moment back, and every moment for the rest of his natural life he would do the same. But nothing, no amount of pleading, no arguments, no appeals to the law or common sense, could ever get that moment back.

“I just don’t know, Bob, I just don’t know.”

The Daily Theme from Figment for February 7, 2012

On occasion, we all accidentally say something stupid/awkward/insulting enough that we replay the offending conversation in our heads again and again, agonizing over our own doltishness. Write about a character who is currently being plagued by the recurring embarrassment of such an incident.

The Institution stood at the top of the hill, perched over the city like a carrion bird. The city sagged below the Institution like heat-festered roadkill. The relationship between the two was a symbiotic one.

Ralph shrugged his shoulders and plodded back down to the city.

The Daily Theme from Figment for February 6, 2012

Set a scene inside an institution of some kind (a school, a hospital, a bank). Now take us to a room that only a few people normally have access to (a janitorial closet, the morgue, an executive suite). What happens when someone gets in who shouldn’t be there?