Flash Fiction Challenge: “Roll For Title!”
Smell that?
*takes long sniff*
It is the first flash fiction challenge of the year.
I’VE THAT SCENT OF SHEER STORY POTENTIAL CLINGING TO THE INSIDE OF MY NOSE.
And it is wonderfully sweet.
I’d actually like to take a little moment to say I’m so happy that these challenges seem to get people writing and I’ve seen more than a few folks sell-through stories based on these challenges, which makes the brittle broken snow-globe that I call my heart twitch and shine for one second.
Anyway, let’s get to it.
All you need to do this week is to use a d20 or a random number generator to consult the table at the bottom of the document to roll for a story’s title. It’s a two-part title (meaning, two random numbers 1-20) and whatever title you get must fit the story you write for it.
You’ll have 1000 words, par usual. Post at your blog, link back here. Due in one week — January 17th, Friday — by noon EST. Easy-peasy story-squeezy.
(Example of an earlier, similar challenge here.)
The title tables are (and you’re free to put the word “The” in front of your title):
Column One
- Snowbound
- Devil’s
- Accursed
- Whispering
- Amethyst
- Griefstruck
- Lovestruck
- Red
- Cartographer’s
- Chaos
- Orbital
- Jackdaw’s
- Minotaur
- Invisible
- Dog Star
- Helical
- Flight of the
- Cerulean
- Seamstress’
- Ten-Year
Column Two
- Murders
- Kid’s Club
- Angel
- Vault
- Bookshop
- Champion
- Palace
- Fear
- Skull
- Potion
- Birdhouse
- Encyclopedia
- Peacock
- Prison
- Wire
- Rider
- Story
- God
- Parasite
- Earth
January 14, 2014 @ 4:19 PM
Okay! First timer here. I rolled a 2/3 and got “Devil’s Angel”. Almost too good? Anyway here it is. I would love some feedback. This is my first short story. I really struggled to edit it down to what it is.
http://www.miserablesloth.com/devils-angel/
January 15, 2014 @ 10:32 AM
It seems this short was born a premie. Multiple issues have been addressed and revised. It now appears to be healthy and ready to be ingested(wait what were we talking about?).
January 15, 2014 @ 12:40 PM
“He was a small man in every way”…priceless! Really liked this one. One detail that bugged me though…she never washed the smeared makeup off her face! 😉
January 15, 2014 @ 1:51 PM
Thanks for reading! Also, thanks for picking out that omission. It has been fixed. It was detail that was left out after I tried to edit for length, then gave up realizing I had eviscerated the guts from the story.
January 15, 2014 @ 1:56 PM
Incredible how quickly 1,000 words runs out, isn’t it??
Free-Range Fiction: Invisible Bookstore | Casz's Fiction Farm
January 14, 2014 @ 5:21 PM
[…] winter’s veil. So lots of inside time to write. Chuck Wendig’s blog TerribleMinds.com is where you’ll see the latest challenge from this prolific and motivating writer to those of […]
January 14, 2014 @ 5:23 PM
I got “Invisible Bookstore.” Because the plague grips still two of my children, I’ve had lots of time to let this title stroll through the creative centers of my brain, and a mini-story to my larger novel-length work of INTERFACE, came to mind. The premise of INTERFACE is that humanity has been divided into two sects: Neurals and Purists. As you can imagine, the Neurals have a cerebral upgrade. Not Cyber Men upgrade, mind you. They still look like humans. But the world is divided. A casualty of this is libraries and bookstores. One woman, a Purist, is taking it upon herself to right that wrong. My story of INVISIBLE BOOKSTORES comes in right at 1,000 words. Sci Fi/Fantasy is a tough genre for flash, but I think I made this one work. Would love if folks read and comment. I can’t get these bits of placenta off my writing career if I don’t take a bath in feedback.
http://www.casondrabrewster.com/?p=1554
Flash Fiction: Cerulean Rider | Fatma Alici
January 14, 2014 @ 6:01 PM
[…] challenge of the new year. Check out the challenge here. This week we had to randomly generate a title, and make a story based off the name. I went […]
January 14, 2014 @ 6:04 PM
I got Cerulean Rider. I decided to go with dragons as a theme.
http://naharavensari.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/flash-fiction-cerulean-rider/
January 17, 2014 @ 11:19 PM
Dragons are never wrong. I really like the concept of a water dragon.
January 14, 2014 @ 6:12 PM
Took a little while, but it’s done now. I apologize that my blog isn’t in WordPress but that might change soon. My roll for title gave me “Dog Star God” as a project. I had no idea how this would turn out, but it is completely different than what I started with. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy it. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.
http://welcome2thewritersbloc.blogspot.com/2014/01/dog-star-god-flash-fiction-challenge.html
January 23, 2014 @ 12:29 AM
Tony, I enjoyed your story very much! Based on your title, I didn’t expect that kind of story at all. But it was creative and endearing. Good work!
January 24, 2014 @ 3:09 PM
I hope you don’t mind that I printed out your review and framed it. I framed it and it’s pegged at eye level on the wall directly in front of me. That way, while blood pours from my eye sockets while I write a chapter two to this, I’ll know it’ll be totally worth it! Thank you very much for your words of encouragement. It means a lot.
January 27, 2014 @ 4:22 PM
You’re welcome, and I don’t mind at all! Glad I could do something to help you through the pain of bleeding eye sockets. : )
Flash Fiction Exercise | Scott C Lyerly
January 14, 2014 @ 9:02 PM
[…] at Terrible Minds, Chuck Wendig has a great flash fiction writing exercise going. He has a link to a random number generator and two cross reference tables. The idea is that you […]
January 14, 2014 @ 9:19 PM
“Dog Star Earth” (15, 20), I went with a sci-fi sorta thing (probably unsurprising).
http://elviewrites.tumblr.com/post/72904244066/dog-star-earth
Flash Fiction Challenge: Roll for Title, Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds and The Griefstruck Cerulean | PaulaMillhouse.com
January 14, 2014 @ 10:06 PM
[…] http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/01/10/flash-fiction-challenge-roll-for-title/ […]
January 14, 2014 @ 11:55 PM
Alright…here it is! Cerulean Palace 🙂
http://www.miramichelleday.com/flash_fictions_and_short_stories/cerulean_palace/
January 15, 2014 @ 12:05 PM
Your link isn’t working for me… “page not found”
January 15, 2014 @ 10:18 PM
Sorry! I fixed it! 🙂
(Damnit Scottie! I’m a storyteller not a website builder! :P)
January 15, 2014 @ 12:38 AM
Wow! Looks like it’s been a very popular challenge so far. I haven’t done one in a while but I’m starting 2014 off on the right foot. Rolled a few titles until something sparked and that something was:
“The Invisible Encyclopedia”
Hope you enjoy it. Find it here: http://www.jeffxilon.com/flash-fiction-the-invisible-encyclopedia/
January 17, 2014 @ 11:40 PM
Really interesting concept Jeff. Thanks for that.
January 18, 2014 @ 1:41 AM
Glad you liked it. Thanks for reading.
January 15, 2014 @ 3:25 AM
I got Cartographer’s Vault. I wrote mine then read people’s with the same title. They did a great job! I need to work on my writing.
http://jeyyong.blogspot.com/p/meow.html
January 15, 2014 @ 11:30 AM
No need to put down your writing! I really enjoyed this. I love the small mysteries left unresolved about the stones and why his apprentice sold him out yet ran to tell him. Great read, thanks for sharing!
January 15, 2014 @ 1:12 PM
Thanks J.L.!
January 18, 2014 @ 12:14 AM
I liked it! And agree with J.L.
Jackdaw’s Amethyst – a short story | You See Kids....
January 15, 2014 @ 4:39 PM
[…] The following is a work of fiction. I wrote it in response to the Great Chuck Windig’s Flash Fiction Challenge. Enjoy! […]
January 15, 2014 @ 4:42 PM
For the pleasure of the Wonderful Tribe of the Great Windig I offer this booze filled tale – Jackdaw’s Amethyst. http://jeffandwendy.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/jackdaws-amethyst-a-short-story/
Minotaur Kid’s Club [2,066 words] | Panning For Clouds
January 16, 2014 @ 12:52 AM
[…] to start fresh with a new short story response to Chuck Wendig’s Flash Fiction Challenge, Roll For Title. Twice as long as the word limit, but I really don’t adhere to that very […]
January 16, 2014 @ 12:54 AM
First one in a while, coming in pretty well over 1,000 words, but uh… oh well?
Hope you enjoy Minotaur Kid’s Club:
http://panningforclouds.com/2014/01/15/minotaur-kids-club-2066-words/
Flash Fiction Helical Potions » The Zombie Chimp
January 16, 2014 @ 7:18 AM
[…] Flash Fiction Helical Potions Flash Fiction time again. I haven’t written a piece of flash fiction of a thousand words in quite a while, so it took me longer than I would have liked to finish this one. This is part of Chuck Wendig’s Terribleminds flash fiction challenge. […]
More News and a new #FlashForFriday | The Path – J. S. Collyer's Writing Blog
January 16, 2014 @ 7:21 AM
[…] is Thursday. I’m posting a day early because this piece has been produced in response to a challenge from the inimitable Chuck Wendig. Chuck is someone that any new writer should look into: his advice […]
January 16, 2014 @ 7:34 AM
Couldn’t resist having a second go at this. I got the words Minotaur and Prison… So here’s Minotaur Prison.
http://www.thezombiechimp.com/2014/01/16/flash-fiction-the-minotaur-prison
Brides of Chucky! | D. JAMES FORTESCUE
January 16, 2014 @ 10:34 AM
[…] complete accident, I stumbled across two fine ladies who both competed in one of Chuck Wendig’s flash fiction challenges. It almost made me wish I had an icosahedral die […]
January 16, 2014 @ 10:43 AM
Here’s mine! ‘Lovestruck Birdhouse’ http://jcollyer.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/more-news-and-a-new-flashforfriday/
January 16, 2014 @ 11:04 AM
I’m back, after a brief involuntary hiatus. Rolling a 20 and a 6 gave me The Ten-Year Champion:
http://probablyfalse.tumblr.com/post/73517610783/the-ten-year-champion
Advisory note: Test readings have suggested it’s possible that the effect I was aiming for might only be experienced by those who were once English schoolboys. I apologise in advance for any confusion my story may cause for anyone that didn’t get an education from a rubbish Three Counties state school. This was entirely unintended.
January 16, 2014 @ 4:46 PM
That was fun, and I don’t think you have to worry about people not getting it. I had to look up what a cheeser was, and we didn’t call it the same thing in Canada, but this seems a pretty Universal schoolboy pursuit.
January 17, 2014 @ 3:05 AM
Thanks for reading! I was worried whilst writing that I’d missed the mark a little but was having too much fun not to see it through.
January 16, 2014 @ 5:01 PM
Sorry, I’m neither English nor was I ever a schoolboy…so what’s a cheeser??
January 17, 2014 @ 3:01 AM
This should explain everything in probably more detail than you’ll ever need:
http://tinyurl.com/3uo887a
January 16, 2014 @ 2:16 PM
Very excited to be a part of this year’s first flash fiction challenge.
Story title: The Invisible Bookstore
Link: http://cmsimpson.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge.html
January 16, 2014 @ 2:30 PM
Nice one! 🙂
January 16, 2014 @ 3:15 PM
Go, go, Power Rangers!
Title: The Dog Star Murders
Link: http://www.crayonyellow.com/2014/01/the-dog-star-murders.html
January 16, 2014 @ 3:40 PM
The Lovestruck Kid’s Club http://cljohns82.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/the-lovestruck-kids-club/
First short story of the year!
January 16, 2014 @ 5:47 PM
Rolled 15 and 7, which gives me “Dog Star Palace”
http://heyinternetletswrite.blogspot.com/2014/01/short-fiction-hot-fresh.html
My first short story in a while, and far off in tone from anything I’ve worked on before.
January 16, 2014 @ 8:45 PM
That was kind of cool.
January 18, 2014 @ 8:31 PM
Thank you.
Invisible Earth | The Court of St. James
January 16, 2014 @ 8:49 PM
[…] Written for the January 10th 2014 Flash Fiction Challenge: “Roll for Title!” over at Chuck Wendig’s blog Terrible Minds. 1,000 words exactly, including the title.) Share […]
January 16, 2014 @ 8:54 PM
I’ve been watching from the wings here for a while and I haven’t finished a piece of fiction in over a year, but how could I resist the gift of something called “Invisible Earth”?
Come on over to my place and meet Rosemary and her shovel: http://greystjames.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/invisible-earth/
The Lovestruck Rider | Heather Milne Johnson
January 16, 2014 @ 9:42 PM
[…] for another of Chuck Wendig’s terribleminds flash fiction challenges. For this challenge we had to take two randomly chosen words from two […]
January 16, 2014 @ 9:43 PM
I got “Lovestruck Rider.” I had a lot of fun with it, thanks! http://wp.me/p3McUV-2j
January 16, 2014 @ 9:45 PM
So, here’s my first toss of the hat into the ring. I rolled “Amethyst Murders.” Be gentle …
http://awisheraliar.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/chuck-wendigs-flash-fic-challenge-roll-for-title/
January 16, 2014 @ 9:46 PM
First time doing one of these challenges and I’m not feeling especially inspired this week, but I finished something so I’m glad I managed that much.
Accursed Encyclopedia
http://sordidstoryteller.blogspot.com/2014/01/flash-fiction-accursed-encyclopedia.html
January 16, 2014 @ 9:57 PM
I got “Jackdaw’s Bookshop.”
January 16, 2014 @ 9:58 PM
Ugh. Try that again with the actual link, maybe?
I got “Jackdaw’s Bookshop.”
http://redroom.com/member/nathan-burgoine/blog/flash-fiction-challenge-%E2%80%9Croll-for-title%E2%80%9D
Flash Fiction Thursday | B.R.T. Writes
January 17, 2014 @ 12:54 AM
[…] I participated in Chuck Wendig’s flash fiction competition once again: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/01/10/flash-fiction-challenge-roll-for-title/ […]
January 17, 2014 @ 12:57 AM
Wow–a lot of entries, and I’ll not have time to read more than a few. For now, my story, “The Cartographer’s Potion.”
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2014/01/flash-fiction-friday-cartographers.html
January 17, 2014 @ 12:59 AM
Beware: Obscure football jargon.
Snowbound Champion: http://brtwrites.com/2014/01/16/flash-fiction-thursday-2/
January 17, 2014 @ 2:00 AM
Here goes. Helical Palace.
Carolineaisling.WordPress.com
Flash Fiction: Spiral God | We Love The Stars Too Fondly
January 17, 2014 @ 2:21 AM
[…] of fun!), followed by a couple of weeks off for the holidays, Chuck Wendig this week has given us this task to start the Flash Fiction Challenges for 2014. I rolled a 16 and an 18, so the title of my […]
January 17, 2014 @ 2:23 AM
I got a 16 and an 18, which gives me the title “Spiral God.” The muse stepped up when I needed her tonight. I’m very pleased to present what might be the oddest thing that I’ve yet written.
http://pauljwillett.com/2014/01/16/flash-fiction-spiral-god/
January 17, 2014 @ 8:58 AM
The soft and nuanced reference to the meaning of the title was nicely done.
January 17, 2014 @ 9:35 AM
Thanks, Kathryn
January 17, 2014 @ 7:16 AM
“Flight of the Peacock.” Comments welcome.
http://carlthenomad.blogspot.com/2014/01/flight-of-peacock.html
January 17, 2014 @ 7:19 AM
I rolled Red Encyclopedia.
Warning: May contain Opera.
http://www.stevencowles.com/red-encyclopedia/
Flash Fiction Challenge: The Who, The Where, The Uh-Oh « terribleminds: chuck wendig
January 17, 2014 @ 8:07 AM
[…] Last week’s challenge: “Roll For Title!” […]
January 17, 2014 @ 8:19 AM
So, because I like to do things last minute, here is my contribution:
The Cerulean Wire: https://www.abewolfgang.com/blog/cerulean-wire
Thanks!
January 17, 2014 @ 9:10 AM
Getting in under the wire… Dog-Star Earth. This one may go somewhere…LOL
http://jodilee.sacredtriskele.net/?page_id=3257
January 17, 2014 @ 4:29 PM
Good story. That would make a book I’d read.
January 17, 2014 @ 5:46 PM
Thanks, Kyra! 🙂
January 17, 2014 @ 10:17 AM
Oops, nearly forgot to post the link: The Amethyst God… http://jemimapett.com/blog/2014/01/17/flash-fiction-friday-the-amethyst-god/
January 17, 2014 @ 11:10 AM
Thanks for the challenge … my first time doing this Fast Fiction thing. Very cool. (Except I need to cut 180 words … my bad … will do!)
Looking forward to any feedback. And thanks …
CERULEAN RIDER
http://www.nicholasbrack.com/2014/01/17/cerulean-rider/
Cerulean Rider | nicholasbrack
January 17, 2014 @ 11:22 AM
[…] This is my first attempt at Flash Fiction, and it’s based one of Chuck Wendig’s flash fiction challenges. […]
The Cerulean Birdhouse | Rochelle Deans
January 17, 2014 @ 11:47 AM
[…] up the Flash Fiction Challenge from Terrible Minds for the first time, where I had to use a random number generator to decide on a title, and write a […]
January 17, 2014 @ 11:48 AM
Cutting it close here, but all done!
Cerulean Birdhouse were my words. I quite enjoyed this. Thanks for the challenge!
http://rochelledeans.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/the-cerulean-birdhouse/
January 17, 2014 @ 4:52 PM
Nice work! I had Cerulean Birdhouse too so I enjoyed seeing where you took it.