This week: The Mathom Drawer Edited by: Legerdemain  
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The Mathom Drawer
A fan of the Hobbits will know what that is. I didn't. We called it the "junk drawer". I'm pretty sure everyone has one. The drawer where random stuff ends up Is it your catch-all drawer? In Yiddish, it would be the tchotchke drawer. Mine has the wrench for the garbage disposal, Red Rose tea figurines, and an egg slicer I never use.
The graciarnia - this term, used in Polish, often refers to a room or part of the house (like an attic or garage) where "definitely-will-come-in-handy-someday" type of stuff is kept, but it can also be applied to a drawer. Who saves defunct electronics "just in case"?
In writing, we create all kinds of odds and ends, don't we? Characters we decided we didn't need, or developed in a way that didn't suit the story. I toss mine in a folder called "Random Stuff" because if I thought I'd remember those bits, I certainly would not. That folder is very random, and sometimes I enjoy poking around in there, just to tickle the muse. It has a crazy assortment of stuff, stories I started and got stuck. I even have a page of phrases I read in novels or even billboards that seem inspiring.
While this bits and bobs don't work for me at the moment, they have a use in my portfolio. I often write newsletters about where we find inspiration, and yes the world does fun things we like to observe, but organizing it can be a bear.
So organize, and Write On!
This month's question: What do you call your "junk drawer"?
How do you use those bits in your writing?
Answer below  Editors love feedback! 
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Each day around 12pm NOON WDC time, one of our dedicated volunteer judges will judge the previous day's entries and post a new writing prompt. Entries for each new prompt must be posted by 11:59am WDC time the next day.
Excerpt: Grady and Greta Goose were excited. Today was the day! They had waited and watched, watched and waited for the first signs of their new baby goslings. It had been a long month! They had found the perfect site for their new nest. The flight with their flock of Canada Geese had been exhausting. They had searched for that special place called home until finally, they came to a small pond nestled into the rural farmlands of South Georgia. Finally! Home!
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Excerpt: Iris watched aghast as Ferd got down on one knee. He held out a long-stemmed orange flower. She grimaced.
“Before you say anything the answer has to be no.”
Excerpt: "Ah, that's a good lad then," said Hagrid, as Buckbeak ate the last of the food in the bucket. "Growing children need their nourishment and all."
"Hagrid!" Hermione was exasperated. "Buckbeak is not a growing child. He is a fully grown Hippogriff and almost as big as you are!"
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Excerpt: “I didn’t understand a word of that,” Ellie complained as they left the hall.
Excerpt: Elliot: What is it?
The response came almost immediately.
Sam: Big robbery at Blackthorn Manor! They say the vault was broken into — no one knows how!
Excerpt: I hunched over my homework at the kitchen table, trying to figure out a math problem. My little sister Angie burst in.
"Dan! I need your help." She clutched a bundle of brown paper that looked a million years old, all crumbling and musty.
Excerpt: To be an effective scoutmaster one must attend the training sessions offered by the Boy Scouts of America, go camping in the great outdoors, listen to what Mother Nature is telling us, and above all, try to stay a chapter ahead of the scouts!
Excerpt: In just three hours, the Great War ended, leaving the planet in ruins, its atmosphere shattered by Titan missiles that had destroyed communication satellites. The sun’s relentless flares now scorched the earth, rendering all technology powerless and plunging civilization into oblivion. The world had become a wasteland, where the few survivors clung to life, battling each other in a primal struggle for survival. Hope, however, lingered in a small band of determined souls who believed in the ancient scrolls—a glimmer of salvation in the form of the legendary Tree
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This month's question: What do you call your "junk drawer"?
How do you use those bits in your writing?
Answer below Editors love feedback!
Last month's "Action/Adventure Newsletter (June 4, 2025)" question: Do you like to take news articles and twist them into a storyline?
Quick-Quill  : I do this all the time. My new work-in-progress is inspired by a series called The Repair Shop, which airs in the UK. The man brought in something to get fixed, and his story was so intriguing that I had to write it into a story. I love watching the news and interviews. Why would a town turn against a woman,take her children from her and put her into an insane asylum? It became my first novel.
Monty  : In answer to the question, I have at times.
S 🤦  : Yes. I have 32 scrap books filled with newspaper articles dating back to 1987 with news stories. Every so often I will look back through and these little decades-old articles will give me a prompt for a story or poem, or help with a scene in same.
Wordsmitty ✍️  :
I've never used a news article to base a story on, but I like making up news articles to fit a story that hasn't happened (usually humorous). "Bear Drives into Tollbooth - Humor" "Vampire Movie Promotion Draws Blood"
THANKFUL SONALI Magical Days!  : Had not really thought about this. Interesting idea.
N.A Miller  : The news is not worth a s*** to use anyway... it is all fake and made up... might as well be fiction. So, no, I don't use news articles.
TheBusmanPoet  : Depends on the subject.
Tannus : I did a poem on a tragic incident in Texas. I didn't twist it, I left it as it was.
Jeffrey Meyer : It's unusual that use a specific news article as inspiration. Sometimes I will use news trends as a guide to a satirical or topical piece. Other times, I have been known to make up a fictional news story as a focal point. One step removed from the conversation, I will look at social trends that seem to be generating news trends as an inspiration.
Based on these three sources, I guess it's not a wonder that a lot of my writing has a dark undertone to it.
jackson : Decent idea, but no, I've never done that.
Rick Dean - Dinosaur : I've tried it a couple times but it rarely works out.
I've used them successfully to add background but not for anything central to the story.
Amethyst Angel 🌼  : I think I tried once and it fell flat. It's easier to work more subconsciously than directly.
HollisFrances : Good idea, but not up to now.!
Susie : In some cases why twist a story if it's already been twisted.
Dave  : Yes. "The Rabid Rhetoric"
oldgreywolf on wheels : Journalists and other media tend to twist them pretty well, as is.
Indelible Ink : Yeah, but the irony of doing so is that’s when get some reviews that say my story should be more “believable.”
Some days it just doesn’t pay to base your thoughts on facts!
Mousethyme : I've done it when the inspiration strikes.
keyisfake : No, it reminds me of the real world too much.
Dragonfly : I like this idea, even though I watch lots of detective shows, and I know some of the writing is off of real situations, I just never thought of doing it.
I think the only drawback for me is the watching, or reading of news stories, and at this point I'd probably stroke out. To many horrible, and sad things going on. My old ticker just can't take it anymore.
deemac : Headlines rather than full articles. Gives the imagination a lot more scope.
Love the responses, thank you! L~ |
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Action/Adventure: July 02, 2025 Issue [#13214]
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