Go visit last week’s flash fiction challenge — BABY PULP! It’s easily my favorite, so check out the stories.
Okay, so. See that photo?
When the wife and I were in San Francisco, we stopped in a kooky little antique store up near the Marina. It was truly eclectic, like many are, and particularly like many in the city of San Francisco are, and contained within were any number of strange delights and wonders. But then I found that portrait up there. Now, one suspects that the portrait — which clearly portrays a boy who is not, erm, precisely human — is Photoshopped and isn’t actually a real antique. But let’s be honest: that’s not the most interesting interpretation of that story, is it?
So, your task is:
Write some flash fiction about that portrait. Will you write about the monster in the picture? Or the photographer? Or the poor couple who buys the portrait? Or some other unseen angle?
Is it real? Is it fake? Will you write horror? Humor? Urban fantasy? Noir? Some weird mish-mash of genres that remains unexpected? Fuck it, go nuts.
You have 1000 words. (Though next week’s challenge? I’m giving you only 100.)
You have one week. (Next week’s challenge, you get one day.)
As always, post the stories at your blogs. Link to the stories here in the comments. And, if you’d be so kind, link to here from somewhere within your own post.
Once more, you’ve got till next Friday morning.
Please to enjoy.
47 responses to “Flash Fiction Challenge: The Portrait”
Damn you, sir! As a Supernatural superfan I can’t resist this. So here we go again…
P.S. What a great picture. I would totally hang it on my wall. It would freak Mr. Pinkwood out no end.
@Pinkwood —
I totally should’ve bought it, but if I recall, it was very expensive.
Probably because it’s art, and not an antique? I dunno.
I did find an autographed picture of the Devil once at a flea market. (It was actually a creepy dude in a red lycra Devil body suit.) *That* was cheap and I totally should’ve bought it but had no cash on hand.
— c.
omg! That picture is freaky! I think I’ll just stare at it before bed, have a nightmare and then write about that! 😛
Another reason it might be expensive is if it’s actually an antique, early trick photography could well be a niche collector’s thing and that does look as if it could conceivably be a double exposure image… I’m not an expert or anything but I made a pinhole camera once as a kid so I’ve seen the kind of stuff you can do with really basic camera technology.
Anyway, off to go and cook up something suitably weird.
Hmmm… very intriguing! And tempting…!
CREEEEEEEEEEEEPY!
Here’s my Flash Fiction.
http://lindsaymawson.blogspot.com/2011/03/flash-fiction-challenge-3-you-shouldnt.html
Can’t help but write these things like a speed-demon. Good topics!
. . . it’s way too early for this.
http://hillarymonahan.com/2011/03/25/the-bad/
It’s coming but not until later. Damn you.
Chuck! You totally should’ve lifted it! It’s what the Devil would have wanted 😉
@Lindsay @Hillary – Dang! You ladies are FAST!
Decided to try something a bit different. For me anyhow. Coming in at a mere 242 words: The Portrait
http://www.realityrefracted.com/2010/01/portrait-terrible-minds-flash-fiction.html
[…] one is inspired by a Flash Fiction Challenge from the TERRIBLEMINDS blog, based on this creepy-ass photograph. I think this whole flash fiction thing is doing a […]
This is my freshman effort for this particular challenge. Don’t hit me too hard with that hazing paddle.
http://robottrees.com/2011/03/25/flash-fiction-challenge-mission-person/
[…] Another week another FLASH FICTION CHALLENGE. This week’s theme is The Portrait based on the photo below. Another thousand words. For more on the challenge visit Chuck Wendig’s terribleminds. […]
Here’s my entry titled: YOUR MUG ON A1.
http://sgtzero.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/your-mug-on-a1/
Alright. After wrestling with an abundance of ideas, i decided to go with this one: Captured Souls. Enjoy!
http://jamiewyman.blogspot.com/2011/03/portrait-flash-fiction-challenge.html
Taking up next week’s challenge this week: 100 words; 1 day. Makes me work a little harder.
http://dianehenders.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/flash-fiction-that-man/
This one was pretty cool — that picture is killer, and I just knew it’d dislodge some kind of creative cluster of neurons…
http://warnerkirby.blogs.com/clintonaut/2011/03/the-last-king-of-siam.html
Thanks, as always. This is a lot more fun than I deserve.
Great. Now I won’t sleep. That’s one way to get me to finish my short story in progress…insomnia.
I told myself I wasn’t going to do this challenge! I’ve got other shit to do. I don’t have the time. I told myself. And I tried to resist. But that damn picture of that creepy little boy wouldn’t leave me alone. And before I knew it, a story wrote itself inside my head. I’ve posted it here: http://juliamadeleineauthor.blogspot.com/2011/03/flash-fiction-challenge-portrait.html
That’s one creepy picture. I linked my flash fiction to my blog post.
http://needatuneup.blogspot.com/2011/03/show-and-tell.html
My turn to put my head on the block. I hope this holds some interest for somebody.
http://iuchiatesoro.blog.com/2011/03/27/the-portrait-by-tony-lane/
After bludgeoning my head on my keyboard all weekend:
http://tailwindstimemachines.blogspot.com/2011/03/flash-fiction-portrait.html
This one is too creepy for me. I can’t even look at the pic without cringing. Against my better judgment, I spent some time late last night reading the entries so far. Some truly excellent writing. Very well done. And then I had horrific nightmares. All night long. So thanks, everyone. Thanks a lot.
Anyone remember Rod Serling’s Night Gallery? [lifted this intro from one of the episodes; they’re over at Hulu.com]
“Good evening. Let me welcome you to this parlor of paintings. We offer them to you for your enjoyment and edification. Feel free to dwell on them at your leisure and in your own good fashion. But kindly don’t touch, because here they frequently touch back. Our number one painting in tonight’s exhibit is an intriguing portrait of . . .”
Briefly considered writing something like that. But I just can’t. Yes, I am a wimp.
That picture is truly awesome! I swear I think you “get me” with most of these prompts. 🙂 Horror is my schtick.
So come to my carnival, if you dare…
http://adiaryofawriter.blogspot.com/2011/03/side-show.html
[…] favour by giving us a picture of a photo, of a photo freaky enough to plant a seed of a nightmare. The challenge was to write a flash fiction based on the photo within a 1000 […]
Here’s mine. I hope I have done justice to that awesome picture! http://callmeshree.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/flash-fiction-challenge-changing-the-past/
Chuck, can I get your permission to use the image on my page to preface my entry? I’d really like to have the context there before people start reading. Most of the time they just ignore links.
Bah. I see other people are using it. don’t know why I asked now. Entry coming up.
MKS:
Technically, it’s always good to ask — the Internet is often too free with using images. That being said, I am entirely fine with you using the pic. 🙂
— c.
Here is mine.
The Tragic and Untimely Demise of Uncle Ilbert
http://marlanesque.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/the-tragic-and-untimely-demise-of-uncle-ilbert/
Finally have my entry completed. It went a little long, but I like the story and had a lot of fun with the descriptions and putting my own feelings of endless boredom in my day job into the work. So I present: Workin’ for the Weekend: http://paulvogtwrites.blogspot.com/2011/03/workin-for-weekend.html
Okay, I’m pretty sure mine’s a little long, but I swear I did carve it down. This was actually an interesting write, because it sort of decided to create itself as it went. So, for better or worse, here’s my entry for The Portrait: http://writemomma.blogspot.com/
[…] Wendig at TerribleMinds gave us another challenge. This time with the picture below as our prompt. The picture is […]
Okay I have no idea where this story came from in my head. I blame television really.
http://8thage.blogspot.com/2011/03/terrible-minds-flash-fiction-challenge.html
I finally did one of these. Great blog, Chuck! Thank you.
http://iperrish.com/?p=34
[…] go at Flash Fiction, using a prompt from Chuck Wendig’s site, Terrible Minds. This week’s prompt was an old portrait – one that was evidently altered by someone […]
Here is my entry – an interesting challenge.
http://tishipoo.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/the-eyes-have-it/
I’m lovin’ me this flash fiction challenge! Went with horror this time:
http://angryreporter.blogspot.com/2011/03/flash-fiction-challenge-portrait.html
[…] little puppy’s 879 words, and is a response to Chuck Wendig’s weekly flash fiction challenge (this one’s called The Portrait) over at terribleminds. I recommend highly that you give his blog a good read, it’s quality […]
[…] little puppy’s 879 words, and is a response to Chuck Wendig’s weekly flash fiction challenge (this one’s called The Portrait) over at terribleminds. I recommend highly that you give his blog a good read, it’s quality […]
http://boysbehavingbadly.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/artistry-of-the-portrait-as-a-young-man/
Do so enjoy your weekly challenges, even though I skimped out on baby pulp last week.
[…] Thanks to Chuck Wendig for this flash fiction writing prompt! […]
Here’s mine, shoved under the door again. I made it part 2 of the HOTEL one: http://cmstewartwrite.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/re-rapture-at-the-hotel-a-flash-fiction-tale/
Here is my (rather late) effort!
http://pinkwood.blogspot.com/2011/04/flash-friday-yall.html
The first time I read your blog, it left me sitting on a hotel bed laughing my ass off. LOVE your stuff, so much so that I nominted you for the Versatile Blogger Award. Get the scoop here: http://thompsonkelly.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/and-the-nominees-are/
Keep cranking out the good shit! kt
[…] picture? This one right here? It’s fucking creepy. Chuck Wendig posted it as the prompt for this week’s flash fiction challenge. Apparently he found it at a San Fran antique shop. (Which immediately makes me think he found it […]
[…] http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/03/25/flash-fiction-challenge-the-portrait/ […]