Prompts for 1 May 2026 from Scoot
Write about writing
unequal kindness
“I don’t deserve this”
A character who is window-shopping
Joanna peered through the window. The display contained the usual laptops and accessories, but what held her gaze was a typewriter on a pedestal, swathed in white crepe. Not quite a ghost, the old machine held stories by writers long gone.
A young man appeared, picking up the typewriter with unequal kindness. Joanna approved. Among sterile boxes, the old keys carried a regal character deserving of special treatment.
Joanna entered the shop. A frail woman sat in a wheelchair, a small table open over her knees. When the man placed the typewriter on the table, she raised her hands to the keys like a lover.
“I don’t deserve this,” she said quaveringly, but he simply inserted a piece of crisp paper. She began to type. The keys remembered.
