Tag Archives: flash fiction

Writing

WOD Challenge 2-12-20 Superstition

Bibi Place for Unsplash

Dungeon Dinner

It was my own superstition that led me to seek the soothsayer in the dark dungeon. She invited me in to dine at her table, to discuss my fears, visions, and ask for a reading on what was to be my future.

“Relax dear,” she said, but I could not concentrate for worry of what lay beyond the gated door. I could see the soft light, hear a low grumbling.

“He’s my insurance policy,” the soothsayer pronounced with a wicked grin. “For what?” I asked her.

“That you’ll pay my fee, of course.”

 

 

Word of the Day Challenge

 

Standard
Uncategorized, Writing

WOD Challenge-09-21-19-Flight-Write Something Wednesday

Word of the Day Challenge

Good morning everyone! I don’t know how to run challenges or anything like that, but you are welcome to join in the fun anyway!

I decided that the way I want to include the Word of the Day challenge today is to start a new Wednesday feature called Write Something Wednesday. I will give you a prompt, then I will write a story based on the prompt and use the WOD in there somewhere. Sound like fun?

Today’s sentence prompt is: Invent a history for someone with whom you’ve lost touch. 

(Names in this fictional tale will be changed to protect the innocent) Here goes:

 

Detroit Rock Angel

When Tessa Simpson left Micki on graduation day of AIT in San Antonio, she had no idea the two would never see each other again. Tessa and Micki had been the best of friends all through boot camp, then cemented that friendship in San Antonio with all of their wild adventures. Micki was headed to Colorado for her permanent party, she had promised to keep in touch yet never a letter did Tessa get. She decided to move on, make new friends and put her military training to good use when she got to where she was going next; which was Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

As soon as Tessa boarded the plane for the long flight to Hawaii, she thought of how lucky she was to be going to this tropical paradise, while Micki would be stuck in Ft Carson, Colorado. She could not have known that Micki would fall in love with the gorgeous state, it’s majestic mountains, touristy locations, and magical atmosphere. Had they stayed in touch, maybe. Right now though, she was excited to get to her permanent party and start the kind of work she’d been trained for, medical lab technician. She was going to a great base with an outstanding Army Hospital, steeped in history in the middle of this tropical destination.

Six years later, Tessa moved back to Detroit, in her birth state, Michigan, to begin a new career of her own. She was bringing along her new man she had met while in Honolulu, a stud named Keoni that she met at one of the local nightclubs while stationed there. He was the total cliché, tall, dark, and handsome, with a killer bod and the same love for rock and roll as Tessa. The minute their eyes locked on each other, she was in love. He had swept her off her feet the same night they met on the dance floor and she had been his ever since. Keoni was the son of a prominent doctor at the very hospital where Tessa worked, had been raised in a military family himself, and until they met, Tessa had no idea who his father was. As they got to know each other, she learned that his mother was a native Hawaiian that his father met while he had been in the service, Keoni and his sister Alani had been born and raised there in Honolulu.

Moving to Detroit would be quite the culture shock for Keoni, but with Tessa by his side, he knew he would learn to love it. They were both wild about Detroit’s native son, Ted Nugent and his music, and Tessa had shared with him all the funny stories of how she and Micki would get in trouble listening to his music in the barracks and dancing when they should have been cleaning or doing some other duty. Keoni loved Tessa’s tales and hoped to meet this friend of hers some day, if they ever made it back to Texas. Tessa just figured that Micki would end up back in her home state when her tour of duty was over, she had been so right, yet nary a card or letter ever came. They had been such good friends back then, what could have happened to her? She just hoped she was happy and for Micki’s sake, she hoped she had found a love as true as Tessa had.

Tessa found work right away in Lansing, her home town, at Ingham Regional Medical Center in the lab as a medical laboratory technician who sometimes also did blood draws. Yes, she became a phlebotomist, just like Micki, however, in Tessa’s case, she did little of that. She had finished school and got her license, specializing in microbiology. Keoni met her family and was welcomed right away, Tessa’s mom gave her the thumbs up and her dad was proud of the woman she had become. Her wild side was somewhat contained, reserved for date nights with Keoni at her old haunts and of course, their private time. They got an apartment together near the hospital and Keoni soon found work in his chosen profession; bartending. He was a superb mixologist and really put on a show with his talents behind the bar, just like that guy in the movie Cocktail with Tom Cruise. Tessa felt like the luckiest girl in the world and wished she could share her news with Micki, yet could never find her. She carried on with her busy career, had a family eventually and thirty years later, she and Keoni had saved enough to move back to Hawaii. He called her his Detroit rock angel and as they touched down in Honolulu to begin yet another chapter in their life, she grabbed his hand, pulled him in for a passionate kiss and told him just how lucky she still felt after all these years.

 

Ok! It’s your turn if you would like to try your hand at the prompt, I’d love to see what you come up with!

Did you like my story or was it lame, be honest and give me some feedback. I’m sure I could have done better, but I pulled it out of thin air and didn’t want it to be too long or rambling. In any case, I felt like I needed a prompt other than just the Word of the Day to get me moving and writing so, this is what I came up with. Next Wednesday, I’ll post a new sentence prompt and see how it goes. Until then, happy Hump Day!

Standard
Uncategorized, Writing

Word of the Day Prompt-Collar-Flash Fiction Friday-The Cocaine Cowboy

The Cocaine Cowboy

Photo credit: Unsplash

There was no rain in the forecast so Sally headed outside, adjusted her collar, and started her mile-long walk. Normally, she brought her two pups along but they were hard to manage and she didn’t want anything to break her stride today, today she was on a mission. Setting her pace in her pedometer app, then her music, she started down the hike and bike trail, determined to get a mile or more in today, while at the same time, blasting the fat and toning her legs in the process.

Sally was not obese, yet she had always struggled with her weight. In her eyes, even ten pounds overweight was too much. She was a marathoner and she had an important race coming up. Wishing she had brought along her water bottle, yet feeling like it would be cumbersome, she pushed on, listening to the beat of her music and timing her steps accordingly. She wanted to get ten thousand in today at least, so her choice of music was an inspiration to her. Songs from groups like Korn and Bring Me The Horizon were good choices for a steady pace.

Rounding the bend she headed toward Main Street, where she could see some blue and red flashing lights. As she approached, she saw two police cars had one car pulled over, which usually meant someone was fixing to go to jail. She watched as the officer in the first car approached the driver who for some reason had stepped out of the car. As she got closer she saw suspicious activity, so she removed an earbud so she could hear what was taking place. The fellow in the car was yelling something at the officer and now the second cop was out of his car and approaching the subject with his hand on his gun.

Sally stopped on the trail while still at a safe distance and watched this drama unfold, there was never any action like this in her sleepy little town. What was this guy’s trip anyway, you know you never want to get out of the car when stopped by the police. He must be in some real trouble. The yelling continued with both cops screaming for him to get back in the car, as Main Street was a super crowded road at this time of the day, late afternoon. The man continued to plead with his hands up, yet not moving to get back in the car. Now both cops had their guns drawn and were in shooting position, but the second cop was coming around the subject’s car from the opposite side. The man saw this and at least put his hands on his head, finally realizing he was surrounded and was not getting out of this.

As Breaking Benjamin was singing Blow Me Away in her left ear, Sally stared in fascination as the cops finally made the collar, dragging the suspect off the road and to the intersection of the hiking trail and the road. She had to wonder what the heck did the guy do, was he hiding drugs, did he have a warrant, had he committed a felony? From her distance of several hundred feet, it was impossible to say. Soon though, the cops had him in handcuffs and he was put in the second officer’s back seat to be transported to jail, presumably. Well, so much for her completing her mission today, she thought. Maybe she would jog back to the house and write down what she just saw, thinking this will make a great story! That way, she would kill two birds with one stone, you see, Sally was not only a marathon runner, she was also an online flash fiction author.

Jogging back to the house, she crafted the tale she would write in her head, by the time she penned her story this guy would be famous! Quickly she pounded out 850 words, editing afterwards and then hitting the submit button to her online publication. She felt a sense of accomplishment having written a great story and getting her steps in today as well. She looked at her step tracker and what do you know? She had made her step count after all! Later that evening, on the local news, she saw the story of the arrest she witnessed. Turns out the police had nabbed the guy for robbing several of the Quick Marts in her area, a crime to be sure, but nothing like she had conjured up in her mind. She had penned a tale of how the man had lead the police on a multi-city chase and the eventual abduction of a criminal on the most wanted list, responsible for trafficking the most cocaine her state had ever seen! The police were heroes in her story, surely “The Cocaine Cowboy” would win her an award, even if her upcoming marathon didn’t. ‘Well, you can’t win them all’, she thought.

 

I hope you enjoyed my little bit of flash fiction combining the word of the day prompt. Maybe I will try to get back to my Flash Fiction Fridays if such inspiration strikes again. Have a good weekend everyone!

Standard
Uncategorized, Writing

I Found Something New

Good afternoon everyone! I am so excited to share with you this new place I found while looking for paying writing markets.

It’s called Drabblecast and the stories found there are made to be listened to in the form of a podcast, with guest speakers reading and studio created music and sound effects behind the speaker reading the tales. Stories are very different at Drabblecast, ranging from the weird to the downright silly. One needs to have an active imagination, a taste for the strange or magical element, and in some cases, a strong stomach. Stories have titles and numbers like the first one I listened to-#43 Jelly Park, which I haven’t stopped gushing bout since.

To check out a story yourself, go to drabblecast.org and peruse the site for yourself. Start with New to The Drabblecast? and have a look around. The artwork is also submitted, just like the stories and is fantastic. The stories are called episodes and remind me of the old Inner Sanctum and The Shadow radio shows. I may have found a new pastime! I always say I never have enough time to read, but these are short enough, that you could listen to a few a day, if you were so inclined.

An example of the artwork and stories found on Drabblecast

Every podcast starts out with the narrator Norm Sherman introducing the story and a bit about the author. Professional authors like Tim Pratt, Mike Resnick, and Ben H. Winters have appeared on the podcast, I’ve already listened to several different author’s stories told by Tim Pratt. He’s awesome!

The Drabblecast publishes short and flash fiction and is a paying market if you think you want to try your hand at creating speculative fiction, horror, science fiction, or fantasy. They want weird, gross, bizarre, and badass and they publish “Strange Stories for Strange Listeners” so put your eclectic thinking cap on and get busy, like I did! I got so excited at the website itself, and the stories I heard there, that I immediately wanted to be a part of the weirdness. I found the site on Thursday and had my first story written and submitted by today! Wish me luck! Mind you, I am a complete stranger to writing anything like this, yet hearing the stories come to life with strange and/or whimsical sound effects in the background was inspiring, to say the least! Search the submissions page on their site for rules, there aren’t many, I promise. 🙂

Drabblecast takes donations from it’s listeners/readers and pays it’s artists and writers from these donations. If you truly enjoy the podcasts, $10 a month would get you access to the coveted B-Sides feed.

I do hope you check it out for yourself and let me know what you think! Just be aware if listening at night with your earphones, chillbumps and paranoia will ensue!!

Standard
Uncategorized, Writing

3TC & WOD Prompt Challenge-The Tiny House

Good morning all!

Today the challenge words will be combined as I have been trying to do for the last several days (time permitting) in one small story. Hope you like it, the come from the 3TC and Word of the Day prompts and by now you probably know who’s blogs those come from, if not, just click on those links.

The Tiny House

A Flash Fiction Fantasy

Once there lived a man named Bill in a tiny house with his family, his wife Betsy and their daughter, five-year-old Kaitlin. Bill was a bit of a minimalist, he built the tiny house with his own two hands and vehemently denied any outside help. His wife was so amazed at his talent and very proud of her man. Kaitlin enjoyed carefree days, as most children of that age do, eating popsicles as she watched her dad laying tile in the kitchen, never knowing how hard the work he was doing was. Betsy had a stamp collection that Bill made a special place for, the tiny house had an upstairs loft, and he had prepared a book with lots of plastic sleeves for her to store them in, and a shelf beside their bed for her to set it. She was so happy with Bill that she tried hard to please him in every way. Bill was appreciative of that, so together they lived in happiness and harmony for all of the rest of their days. The End.

Standard