BBQs: Fun or Dumb? You decide.

BBQs are all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

In a writer’s life it can become easy to not write daily. We can’t let it become a chore either. It’s supposed to be fun. For our creative selves it’s important to nurture that side of our core. It’s a strength in many ways. It fuels several aspects of our being. That’s why I’ve created this weekly writing prompt.

This week’s writing prompt is “What’s the worst part about either hosting, attending or being invited to a BBQ? OR, What’s the best part about hosting, being invited to or attending a BBQ?”

I’ll share what I wrote first to help get you started. Check it out below!

 I want to hear from you too. Leave your own writing prompt samples in the comments below.  If you do I’ll put your name in the hat for each prompt you share. One lucky person will be picked at the end of the month and I’ll read the first ten pages of their manuscript and provide feedback.

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I love BBQs, but let’s face it, if you have the honor of being the host, it’s thankless work. All day you’ll slave over a pot of boiling potatoes, you’ll slice tomatoes, cry over those damn onions, and try to remember who’s vegan, kosher or just plain dumb.

The thing is you’ll never be able to remember any of these, and you’ll wind up with a host of problems, including a bunch of people you don’t even remember inviting finding your most expensive booze. You’ll spend all spend all night wondering how they even knew you hid it there.

To help you decide if hosting a BBQ is the right move this summer season, I’ve compiled ten things that are the absolute worst about hosting BBQs, including all the backyard intricacies you’ll encounter. I hope you’ll consider before taking on this very challenging role.

1. Friends who went vegan. There’s always one that slips through the cracks. The key is to have something on hand like artisan Tofurky. This way you can grill them up and you won’t have to hear their whiny cake hole for the rest of the day.
2. Someone shows up with their eight kids. Always a spoiler. Tell them at the door early: “You know the rules.” They should know to back off after that minor scolding.
3. The secret ingredient in Grandma’s special sauce turns out not to be love. I think this one is self-explanatory.
4. There’s a rogue toenail clipping in the bathroom your sure wasn’t there before. Keep extra locks on all your medicine cabinets during a heated BBQ. Too many wine coolers often leads to rummaging for no good reason.
5. Someone forgets their Lactaid, eats half of the cheese platter and crop dusts the grill. Make it clear on the invite, if anyone has any bowel issues they must make the necessary arrangements or they can sit on the opposite side of the fence.
6. Your friend has enough corn kernels in her teeth she could pass for having a gold grill. Never an easy moment. Walk her to the garage and let her down gently.
7. Someone brings a 7-layer dip and asks for help assembling it. This is never acceptable. You bring it, you assemble it.
8. Your friend brings a friend who plays the ukulele. No one likes ukuleles, especially at a BBQ. Anyone who brings this to the party will be asked to check it at the door or be slapped with rotten lettuce leaf.
9. Someone forgets their bathing suit and wants your favorite one. (Listen, you’re already covered in BBQ sauce, it’s not happening.)
10. Someone throws up in the pool and swims away like nothing ever happened. This will happen at some point. I’ve personally experienced it. If anyone gets remotely drunk, or eats to fast and doesn’t follow the 20-minute rule let them know that there’s a strainer in the kitchen they can use to clean that effing disaster up.

So there you have it. I’m leaving this delicate decision to host a BBQ in your hands. But I recommend you take this role seriously. You might just want to attend someone else’s BBQ. Rather someone else’s problem than your own. Right?

Your turn! Go!

And, if you like this blog, stay in the know. I have all sorts of prompts for your undamnded soul. If you post something I like, I might invite you to write a guest blog. So be sure to click to SIGN UP to get a piece of the action.