Writing Prompts for the Mentally Deranged and Linguistically Addicted

SIX

It watched the dark stain spread on the white satin, its luxurious fabric caving under the black tide of fluid. It's sensors whirred, flushing air through its ventilation wires, its prosthetic arms shook, its sensors beeped havoc.

"Now look what you've done."

The android turned, registering the hiss just in time before the white fabric was ripped from its grasp. The woman was glaring, seething. It rolled back a few steps, turning its sensors to the fingers rubbing around the stove iron in her hand, coated black.

"My apologies. Mistress."

"Save your audio system and its lifeless appeasement. How dare you spread your filth on my robe!"

Its jaw opened to project communication once more, yet it began to shake, and the jaw closed. A red light turned on.

"You useless machine! I am calling your creator. I want my money back!"

Its audio system echoed through its internal workings as it struggled with what to project to the woman. My warranty has expired. I am outdated. My internal fuel requires fixing. I am blee—

Its processes halted as its arm was seized, its treads being forced to roll across the carpet, spreading black liquid like a plague. The woman muttered angrily to herself, shoving the front door open, pulling it out to fall against the dust.

"Mistress," it said, it's recorded tone cracking as the particles immediately began to coat up its wires. "I am an indoor model C-150 and will best be of service in households with—"

"I don't give a shit what you're made for! You're useless to me."

The door slammed, and it sat, sensors beeping.

"Reprogramming," it said, to nothing in particular, twisting its body to register its surroundings. "Reprogramming, please be patient. Reprogramming, please be patient. Repro—"

A wire snapped.

It stopped.

Challenge: One way to engage your readers, whether you want to use it in description or actual characters, is the technique of personification. Now I'm sure y'all heard it in school, but just in case, it means "a figure of speech in which a thing – an idea or an animal – is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings" (https://literarydevices.net/personification/).

Using this can really step up your writing skills and convey your thoughts and the imagination of your world to your readers. So take a stab at a quick paragraph or page in which your describing a view of nature, or you can do what I did, and play with personifying things that are not really human. Don't worry, just write!