Placeholder
How to handle awkward questions
Menolly had a secret. Whenever she thought about it, her lips would lift in a knowing smile. It caught her out every time.
Her secret wasn’t really anything bad, but it was hers, and she didn’t feel like sharing it. So when someone would inevitably ask what she was smiling about, she would stumble over her words, then make up some lame excuse to put them off. It never went well. Until she found a solution that let her keep her secret and satisfy the curious.
She knew her smile radiated mystery. She’d been told that far more than once. It invited questions. So Menolly decided she needed pre-set answers. Placeholders for her actual secret.
She created a file on her computer, and whenever a new placeholder came to her, she added it to the list. She soon had compiled enough answers to last her for months, if not years.
But she realized that she enjoyed creating the placeholders, and that they stuck in her imagination, growing, despite her having no need for it. And that’s how Menolly became a writer.
I recently created a series of character sketches on Midjourney. They were all meant to have a knowing smile. I decided I wanted to write some stories for the images.
When I prepared to write this one, I wanted the image up to inspire the story. But I’ve never figured how insert an image at the top of the page and then return to write something above it.
My solution was to type “Placeholder” where the title would go and then insert the image. And a story was born!
Also, don’t you hate when people, especially strangers, pry into your business like that? Do you answer them? How do you handle situations like this?
I'm a word stumbler. A list of preset answers is a great idea! Maybe it finally lead me to a story, too 😉
I love the concept here. I've never had a hard time making up lies to tell to nosy strangers! Ever since I was a teen I loved to see what kind of harmless nonsense I could get people to believe.