If I’m ever feeling full of myself for writing a story every day for so many months, I need only remind myself of Samuel Pepys to prevent ego-bloat. The man wrote a diary entry every single day for 10 years, from January 1, 1660, until the end of 1669. Now THAT is a commitment! I’ve been alternating story-prompt weeks with non-story-prompt weeks, and it’s time for prompts again. In brainstorming possible prompts, I thought of old Sam’s diary, which I’d always heard was pretty lively. Turns out, a man named Phil Gyford has been publishing the diary entries every day since January 1, 2003, at this wonderful site (so as it happens, they’ll finish out the tenth year this December 31). Oh, how I love the interwebs! I decided to read the entry from December 25, 1662, as my inspiration for the day’s shorty, just because I like round numbers. On Christmas day in 1662, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary that he had enjoyed “a mess of brave plum-porridge,” a detail that inspired a short story 350 years later. I wrote this one in the form of a recipe.
Working Title: Christmas Pudding
1st Sentence: 10 to 12 long, heavy sighs.
Favorite Sentence: 1 argument that involves more than two family members, lasts at least twenty-four minutes, and starts with a disagreement about whether garland is prettier than icicles OR whether colored lights are prettier than white lights, and ends with a reference to a sin committed by one of the arguers at least ten years ago.
Word Length: 241
Photo of 1666 Samuel Pepys portrait by John Hayls (1600–1679).
Daily Shorty 
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