Tag Archives: creative-writing

Writing Prompt Challenge Accepted #33

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I am determined to make my writing prompt challenge goal, and as I have had little opportunity to sit and write anything since going back to work, I wanted to write as freely and without hinderance as I could with the time I had available. And so I just wrote. No idea of what it was going to become, no concern of word count, just a little story to break up the monotony of my day.

I present June’s flash fiction pieces.

Ghost Story

Every culture has their ghost stories. Often times they’re allegorical tales intended to frighten the children into behaving, or to give reason for the strange happenings in the land. But not every mystery has a reason, not every sighting has cause.
 
In our village, for as many years as anyone could remember, there was the tale of the Mist Woman or the Lady in Black. There was no memory of who she might have been, why she walked with her umbrella, or who or what she may have been looking for. She simply appeared, and no one could connect her sightings to events of good or ill, she just existed, randomly.
 
And that brought me a great sadness. She seemed to be stuck in limbo, and she didn’t have a history of threatening behavior or a desire for help, which made me wonder at what held her back from crossing over? Why did she remain?
 
One day I was “lucky” enough to cross her path. I was not afraid. Only curious. I hoped to be able to discern something in her nature that may be of use. There was no chill in the air, no disturbance, she simply manifested near me. We walked together for a while. There was no wind, but her dress moved about her as if she were caught in a breeze, or perhaps in water. I could not see her face, but I felt something, like gratitude. She suddenly stopped, turned toward me, made the slightest gesture of a head nod toward me, then disappeared.
 
I walked that path every day for the rest of my life waiting for her to join me again.

Dark Side

Morgan had a lot to be thankful for, but she was also a teenager who resented hiding her true nature. She was born a fairy and raised by humans, and while that sounded like the interesting premise to a story, her life was lived in fear that she would be discovered; that she would be taken by the Men in Black to be experimented on, never to be seen by her loved ones again.

She once had white hair and wings to match, but then she met someone who changed her perspective. Whose influence changed her in ways she could never have imagined. An unleashing of power long repressed by fear and responsibility.

She had felt the change happening, and feared it, as she had most things until her transformation was complete, and then she felt renewed, strong, unafraid. Her power had been dormant because, in part, she didn’t know who she truly was. It’s one thing to know you’re a mythical being, it’s another to discover what you’re capable of because you’re this mythical being. 

She knew Lucien was not to be trusted, that he was not the ally she needed, there was another who already had her heart, but while he wanted to keep her safe, keeping her progress slow, Lucien was determined to set her free. But he had his own agenda, a grand scheme that gave her a different sense of fear.

~ * ~

I hope you’ll join me for a little free write, writing community! I look forward to reading your creations!

Happy Writing!

Writing Prompt Challenge Accepted #32

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I will make my goals. I will make my goals. (Repeats mantra for the umpteenth time this month alone.)

Sticking to the planner has become a game changer for me. It’s kind of like gaming, keeping track of my “quests”, marking them off, or watching them carry over from month to month, has an effective, compulsory nature to it.

Writing at least two flash fictions a month will quickly get me to my goal of 90 completed fics for the year, and it’s something I’ve written in the planner so I actually make time to do it. This month’s offerings brings me to 85. Only five left to write and I’ll have them completed in probably the next two months. Yay! A completed goal well before the end of the year. (I’m also close on my book reading and movie watching.)

What is this strange sense of accomplishment I’m feeling..?

Unlikely

I hadn’t really expected to find it. It was both a fairy tale and a warning of what was possible. 

Every mer creature was given the chance to discover the world above. There was much to learn, to see, to experience. It was a chance for each of us to decide how we could help our people. Could we bring back useful information? Would the humans above be a threat to our way of life? They were poisoning our water, killing our friends, destroying everything around them, but as we learned, they didn’t all do that. Some were trying to reverse years of damage, but even still, when my turn came to go to the surface, I was hesitant. I had heard a great deal, seen some of the results of their “curiosity”. I was properly prepared, calm, resigned to my task.

But I had found kindness. I had found passion. I had found someone so different and yet not.

I stayed too long. 

With his help back to the sea, we said our farewells. He held me in his arms, so strong, doing his best to remain stoic. He and I looked toward the vast expanse before us, each seeing something different. He saw an unknown world, miles upon miles that would separate us. I saw home. 

But my heart was conflicted.

Regret

So, yes, I was to blame for my current predicament. I had, because I had been put in the position as “leader”, made the decision to make Alistair king, and that made it my fault that he was now willing to put me aside, because while I was good enough to sacrifice my life for the “greater good”, I was not of a bloodline worthy to sit beside him on the throne.

Did he not love me anymore? Did he not think me worth fighting for?

And as he thought on it, a moment longer than I thought respectable, all I could think was, “In your hesitation, I found my answer.”

It wasn’t fair to have thrust so much upon him, to expect so much when most things were now out of his control, but his heart…that still belonged to him, and who he chose to give it to was still very much in his power. Maybe I still had it, but he had been swayed to think that he should have a “proper” wife, and he thought he was doing me a kindness…hmm…perhaps, I had a great many thoughts on the subject, but the foremost one was I knew he would come to regret his very first decision as king. 

~ * ~

Hey, writing community! Feel like joining me in a little writing prompt challenge? I look forward to reading/seeing your creations!

Happy Writing!

Writing Prompt Challenge Accepted #31

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Going back to work has really messed up my schedule. I want to say life, but that’s sounds rather dramatic, albeit somewhat true. In my planner, I’ve been setting a goal of writing two flash fictions a month, which you would think would be an easy task to complete, and yet, I couldn’t get them written in March.

So I set aside a day to write this week, a little bit of everything, and you can guess how that went. I was feeling…ambitious…also, a bit determined. I need to spend time doing the things I enjoy too. It can’t always be about the grind.

I present to you (March and) April’s flash fictions, in my pursuit to write at least 16 new pieces this year. I’m halfway there! ((thumbs up))

Enough

“We all have our reasons.” Those haunting words had come from an unlikely ally, one she knew she couldn’t trust, no matter his “reasons”.

The revolt had long been in the works, but it wasn’t until today that they took action. 

It was necessary. 

They were justified in rising up. 

She just didn’t know how alone they’d find themselves once they finally did.

There had been a surprising division in the populace when offered the chance at freedom. So many were compliant, unwilling to take the risk. They turned their backs. They played dumb. They simply didn’t care what happened to those not so different from themselves. It could have been them, if they found themselves in a different box, but they considered themselves lucky for being “normal”.

How boring life would be if everyone fit that mold.

And so, as she stood before one who had long championed conformity, and everything else they stood against, she had to wonder what had brought them to this point? What did they consider the uncrossable line in the proverbial sand of their morality?

They couldn’t be trusted, but they could be exploited, and so it began.

Red Light District

The red light used to mean something different, or so I’m told. It was a way to communicate a service, rather discreetly, until it became more well-known. There were entire districts within cities named for the light that provided patrons with all manor of diversion, but now it meant something else.

Now, it was a means of refuge.

Hm. Now thinking about it, it was a refuge then too, just for a different means of escape.

Red lights were scarce, and you had to know someone who knew someone who knew someone that could lead you there because the vice grip of the police state wanted to keep everything, and everyone, within their grasp. They couldn’t allow any one to escape, because that kind of leak could cause their entire system to crumble, so the red light was like an urban legend.

Everyone “knew” someone who had been able to utilize the service, it was a more comforting thought as to why people went missing, but now here I was. The darkened hallway looked more like something out one of those pre-war horror movies people used to enjoy, not realizing one day we’d be living a daily nightmare. The slash of red that should have caused fear actually caused hope to swell. After nearly a year of searching, in a few moments, I could be out.

Last Ditch Effort

We weren’t exactly cornered, but we wouldn’t be able to outrun the horde either. We were all batttered and bleeding and didn’t have enough supplies to remedy ourselves for more fighting. I hated the Deep Roads. They were probably spectacular at the height of the Dwarven empire, but now they were a death trap. Not one building offered proper shelter, let alone a defensive position, and yes, while we had been able to travel deeper than anyone in an age and would come out the other side, if we were lucky enough, rather wealthy from the abandoned treasure, I wasn’t sure that was enough incentive.

There was a narrow pass over a long drop, which would slow up our pursuers for a moment, and maybe we could take out enough of them while they tried to cross, but it wasn’t the only route. We were at risk of being surrounded.

As we weighed our options, I looked up, as did my companions, and we all had the same idea. “If you’ll give me a minute…I think I can make this worse.”

Stray

She shouldn’t have come with him – hindsight was brilliant in times like these – but how could she not? It was another planet, another world, and she was going to be the first human to see it, to stand upon its ground and admire its beauty. He was going to gather resources for the journey, but she didn’t believe she would be a liability. Why would she? She was a tourist, basically. An extra pair of hands. 

So, when the weather took a sharp, unexpected turn, and hail the size of VW Bugs started to fall from the sky, she was surprised to find him coming to her rescue, putting himself at risk, for her. He had barely acknowledged her presence since coming aboard, to some degree against her will, if she may say so, so why would she think he would care at all for her well-being, other than the implications of having a human aboard his ship?

And now he was injured, and she didn’t know what to do. It’s not as if he had a physiology she was familiar with, and being unconscious, didn’t lend to him telling her what she could do to help. What it did lend to was a quiet moment to reflect on the strange man who had become her rescuer. He was interesting to look at, dare she think, attractive, even among his own kind. He was helping her, even if she believed, begrudgingly, and she was indebted to him for saving her from a desperate situation, and now, no matter her ineptitude, she might have an opportunity to repay him. 

~ * ~

Come join me in a challenge!

Happy Writing!