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The scene that so many of you asked for on Twitter when I first announced this project. A scene set in a bookshop! It’s all of our favorite places. We practically live there, right?! Now I finally have the chance to write a scene inside a bookshop and I couldn’t be happier.

If you remember last month’s Revenge is Inevitable crime scene was a bit dark. Now, this scene is a bit lighter, but only slightly as the topic is still dystopian. Unfortunately, there is only a bit of wiggle room to make an unpleasant society pleasant. So if you’re looking for a happy piece, I suggest looking at A Winter Sledding Adventure. It will bring you right back to your childhood.

This month’s writing prompt:

Genre: Dystopian

Setting: A Bookshop

I had a lot of fun crafting this scene. Not only do I get to write about my favorite place, but imagine it in a dystopian society?! It’s a double win! Anything can happen in a bookshop and that’s exactly what I’ve brought to the table today. So what happens in a dystopian bookshop? Let’s find out!

Scenes by Jennifer Leigh is a new segment in 2019 where the scenes have been picked using a random number generator and will be around 400-500 words. I started with a numbered list of different genres and settings I thought would be fun to write about. Then I randomly selected 12 numbers for genres and 12 number for settings. From that list, I found out what my writing prompts were for the year which you can find the list by going to my Fiction Writing tab!

And if you’d like to join and follow these prompts, I’d love for you to link me to your stories either in the comments or via email (boundtowriting@gmail.com) and I’ll showcase your amazing pieces in next month’s post!

Bookshop Oasis

Written by Jennifer Leigh

*Disclaimer: No books were harmed in the making of this scene!*

The lights around the city fade to black. The honking. The sirens. All go quiet.

Curfew is at 9. No one is allowed out of their dwellings. The small units the Republic let’s us live in. We are confined to our living quarters until the sirens alert us that the day is to begin.

It is an hour past curfew when a small tap against my bed wall gets my attention. Mom and Dad are asleep on the sofa bed set in the middle of the floor.

I nudge my little sister Tammy, who sits on our shared bed holding her teddy bear.

“Tam, it’s time to go.” I keep my voice low. Not wanting our neighbors to hear through our thin walls.

We climb out of bed and with our sock covered feet, we walk the short distance to the front of the unit.

Outside the black sky is void of the moon. Our compound simulation not allowing for such pleasures of moon or stars. Less of a reason to go outside past curfew that way.

Tammy and I shuffle with our backs to our unit. Any misstep could send the Squad on our trail.

We move on without a sound. Through the rows of units. Stacked high with ladders running down the sides. If Mom didn’t bring us here earlier, we’d be stuck in the top level units.

Tammy pulls on my sleeve and I look up to see one of the Squad stationed outside of Books, the only allowed place for books in the Republic. We wait for him to round the corner before dashing to the single ladder on the front of the three story building.

The window on the third floor is cracked like usual and have no problem shimmying our way inside.

Three people already sit cross-legged on the floor. Two my age, sixteen. The other ten, like Tammy.

“What’s with the extra security tonight?” I ask, settling into my usual spot between Carl and Cindy, the twins from unit 35D.

No one says anything for a moment. Then Cindy speaks. “I heard that they’re going to take away Books.”

We all gasp.

“They can’t take away our books.” Sam pulls his copy of Charlotte’s Web to his small chest.

I pull Sam into my arms. “We won’t let them near our books.”

Everyone in the room spins around when the curtain rustles. A blond haired boy pushes himself through the cracked window. “Sorry I’m late, but look what I brought.”

In his jacket he has two copies of Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

“Hugh, How did you get these?” I ask grabbing the book and flipping through the newly whitened pages. “This is the newest book we’ve ever had.”

Hugh smiles. “I know someone on the outside. He knows where all the good stuff is.”

I turn my focus back on the new addition then look back at Hugh. “Could he get us out of here?

---

No wonder we can’t have nice things! At least someone wanted to save the books. I had a lot of fun writing this scene and I hope you enjoyed it! I look forward to sharing with you another scene next month!

 

Want to try out these writing prompts? Do you like this dystopian writing prompt? Should this be a longer story? Talk writing with me in the comments below!

Want to my other scenes? Check out my Fiction Writing page

Want a longer piece by Jennifer Leigh? Check out her books here.

This page may contain affiliate links. Click to read full disclaimer. I only promote products I support.

 

 

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