Tag Archives: Flash fiction

Flash Fiction: Dreams of Drowning

Posted on by Henry

Well this one is grim.  Chuck Wendig’s flash fiction challenge of the week was a subgenre mashup this time around, and I rolled “Dystopian” and “Satanic Horror.”  I’m not sure I like the results, but they seem appropriate.  I decided that dystopia was dark enough, and thought that I’d try for a Luciferian take on the whole “Satanic” bit this time around, but that apparently wasn’t enough to tip the scales towards the lighter side of things.  Even well intentioned Luciferians can’t compete with a dystopian state this time around.  I think I’m in need of something a little happier or more optimistic next time.

***

Her name was Lucille, and she wore the standard safety gear like a professional.  Her coveralls were a faded grungy black, but she had a crisp, clean patch sewn onto one shoulder, a simple black circle with a four pointed star falling, no, dangling from a parachute.  A flare.  There was a word around the bottom: Phosphorus. Continue reading →

Flash Fiction: Some Disassembly Required

Posted on by Henry

Winchester_Model_1873_Short_Rifle_1495

Once again, I have flash fiction for you inspired by Chuck Wendig’s prompt for this week.  This time around I had to somehow include three randomly determined things in the course of a 1000 word story, and luck dealt me a journal, Survival, and a horse.  Yes, Survival was capitalized.  Maybe it’s the music I’ve been listening to, maybe I’m in a rut, but that combination just screamed “Old West” to me.  I did my best to make it interesting.  Have fun!

***

My brother had been gone for too long, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.  He’d taken the horse into town seven days ago, and should have been back in three.  One day there, one for business, and one back.  But I was still waiting for him near our claim.  When I heard the horse coming up the trail, late that night, I jumped out of my bedroll in excitement. Continue reading →

New Flash Fiction En Route!

Posted on by Henry

Once again Chuck Wendig has provided me with a prompt to play with, and I intend to share the results here.  I won’t be sharing them with you today though, because I spent most of today in a car.  This time around, the prompt is “X meets Y,” a theme in keeping with nonsensical high-speed elevator pitches.  I ended up rolling a few times on the table Wendig provided because my first result seemed too surreal, but my natural stubbornness inclines me towards using the first result anyway.  I’ll tell you what that was later, and share the ones that I’m not writing instead: Fast and the Furious meets The Godfather, and The Matrix meets True Grit.  Maybe I’ll get around to writing those some other time.

I should also note that I’m now going to be in classes on Wednesdays.  My posting schedule may change some time in the near future, to avoid timing conflicts.  I’ll be sure to let you know if/when it does.

Flash Fiction: Robin’s Songs

Posted on by Henry

Turdus-migratorius-002

Chuck Wendig has a blog called terribleminds, and on the 9th he posted a Flash Fiction challenge.  The prompt: write a 1000 word story about a character created by this random D&D character generator.  My prompt turned out to be a “suspicious half-elf bard from a sheltered upbringing who is lactose intolerant.”  I really had no idea how to work in lactose intolerance, but I think I’ve succeeded.  Check it out below the break!

***

Robin looked up from her book, absentmindedly pushing a strand of hair behind her gently pointed ear.  The little cluster of red feathers that she kept tied at the end of her hair rustled against her shoulder.  She gave the innkeeper a second-degree smile, the one the Enlightened Brethren had taught her to use for disarming the suspicions of others.

Continue reading →

Flash Fiction: Following “When Dawn Broke”

Posted on by Henry

No review for today, just me making more material in the setting I created with When Dawn Broke.  I haven’t done an exhaustive examination of what the bits and bobs I casually conjured up in that first piece would mean for a setting, so I’ve decided for now to continue to fly by the seat of my pants with this one.  Sorry, Stephanie.  Enjoy the short scene after the break.

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Bait and Switch

Posted on by Henry

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned.  Back on August 26th I promised you that I’d have a short story posted by today.  As you can see, I don’t have that here for you, but perhaps you’ll forgive me: I did give you the second installment of my Choose-Your-Own-Adventure far sooner than I had thought would happen, and I have actually finished the short story I’d intended to post today.  I just haven’t edited it yet.  My guess is that you’ll see that up here on Wednesday, though it won’t have any of the section that I teased you with last time (that should end up in another short story, which will come out sooner rather than later).

Finally, in hopes of making reparations, I offer you the flash fiction piece that I wrote over the weekend for Alison McKenzie’s contest.  The rules were that the piece had to be between 100 and 750 words long, and had to use the phrase “When dawn broke, he knew it was all over.”

Have fun…

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