TIR Grows Presents
This is the second entry in The 3-Sentence Story Lab, an ongoing creative series where I experiment with telling complete stories in exactly three sentences. This series lives in the space between warm-up and world-building. The goal isn’t perfection or polish, but momentum. Small stories that can stand on their own while quietly hinting at something larger. It’s a practice makes perfect space.
What Is the 3-Sentence Story Lab?
Quick Reminder: Each entry in this series follows the same structure:
A single writing prompt that leads to one complete story told in three sentences.
- Setup – Establish the character, situation, or emotional ground.
- Disruption – Introduce the turn. Something unexpected, unsettling, or revealing.
- Transformation – Show how the world, the character, or the understanding has shifted.
Following the story there is a short reflection on craft, creativity, and writing practice. Then you can join me on the journey by creating your version of a story, using the same prompt. Have fun with it. These posts are not meant to be finished short stories. They are creative sparks. Proof that even under tight constraints, story can still breathe.
The Writing Prompt
“A future-dated alert pops up on your screen, scheduled precisely one year ahead. The message reads simply: ‘Begin.’”
The 3-Sentence Story
Hello, Nathan… BEGIN
- With last night’s festivities and lackluster year behind him, Nathan rises before the sun, reaches for his phone, eager to get a jump on his new year’s goals.
- He slides his finger down, revealing a list of notifications; however, before he can select, he is blinded by a flash from a pop-up dated “1/1/2027” that engulfs the screen, pulsing the words “BEGIN” encircled in menacing rhythmic bursts of cold blue light.
- Nathan’s finger trembles as he taps the ominous notification, which immediately reveals a personal video journal that begins: “Hello last year me, here’s your blueprint for the year starting an hour from now…”
Reflection: Beginning as a Narrative Device
This exercise helps to get the creative juices going. One word can have so much weight and generate a flood of ideas that come together in a micro-story with a big punch. “Begin” sounds hopeful, but it can also feel ominous. Is it an invitation, a warning, or an instruction that can’t be ignored?
In three sentences, the story leans into anticipation rather than explanation. We don’t know why Nathan sent himself the message. We don’t know what the blueprint contains. What matters is the moment Nathan realizes that his future is no longer abstract. It’s scheduled.
This kind of micro-story thrives on implication. The unanswered questions are intentional. They leave room for the reader’s imagination to step in and complete the story.
Like the first entry in this series, this piece could easily expand into something larger. A longer speculative narrative. A time-loop story. A meditation on agency, regret, or second chances. But here, the constraint keeps it focused on the instant everything changes.
Three sentences are enough to open the door.
Previous Posts in This Series
The 3-Sentence Story Lab – Lost Night
A short speculative story written in just three sentences, exploring how ordinary moments can quietly slip into the surreal. Part of the TIR Grows 3-Sentence Story Lab.
The 3-Sentence Story Lab – Frozen in Line
TIR Grows’ 3-Sentence Story Lab turns tiny moments into speculative twists—like a grocery line where time suddenly freezes and one figure keeps moving. Each story is a quick dive into the uncanny, proving three sentences can spark an entire world.
The 3-Sentence Story Lab – Granny Erline’s Diary
A speculative micro-story told in just three sentences. The 3-Sentence Story Lab explores how creative constraint sharpens imagination, invites experimentation, and turns small sparks into bigger ideas.
Your Turn
What did you think of this story? Did it feel like a beginning, a warning, or both?
Now try the prompt yourself:
“A future-dated alert pops up on your screen, scheduled precisely one year ahead. The message reads simply: ‘Begin.’”
Write your own three-sentence story using setup, disruption, and transformation. Don’t overthink it. Let the constraint do the work.
If you write one, I’d love to hear about it.
Stay Connected
For more reflections on creativity, writing practice, and building ideas without burning out, follow TIR Grows.
The 3-Sentence Story Lab will continue as a space to experiment, play, and let small stories grow into something bigger.
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My library does Writing Groups/Exercises and we give out prompts like these to them. It’s interesting what different stories all participants create with the same prompt.
It really is interesting how a story can develop and chose multiple paths from the same starting point. If you are so inclined, I’d love to see your story from this prompt.