Story Prompt Sunday #1: A is for Alien

Last year my good friend David Rae blogged about sketching daily for mental health (click here to read his post). I loved the idea and thought I’d draw a picture every day for 2023. I enjoy drawing and I haven’t done a lot of it for fun recently, so I thought it would be a good challenge. So far I’ve drawn at least one picture every day. I’m on my third notebook already! I’ve taken a picture of each daily drawing and I’m going to compile them into a video at the end of the year. It will be nice to look back and see how my pictures change over the year.

David shares his drawings as a weekly writing prompt on his blog, and they say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so I’m going to shamelessly steal his idea and share one of my daily drawings each week for Story Prompt Sunday.

A is for Alien

This drawing was inspired by real events. I woke one night unable to move. Moonlight streamed through the large window at the end of my bed. In the bright light I saw a grey alien standing beside my bed, it’s hand on my foot.

After a second of terror, my brain kicked in and I started to analyze the situation. My dog and cats were still sleeping peacefully, which seemed odd with an intruder in the room. I’d experienced sleep paralysis before, with a different yet equally terrifying waking nightmare, so I knew what was happening to me.

I used oil pastels for this drawing.

I hope you find this picture inspiring. Let me know if you use it as a story prompt. Be sure to provide links if you blog or publish your story or poem, or post it in the comments.