Last week’s challenge: Holiday Horror!
I love the random title challenge.
I love it so much I wanna hug it.
I wanna hug it so much it explodes.
Anyway.
Way it works is this: you pick one from the two columns of 20 either by using a d20 die or a random number generator, and smooshing the word from Column One with the word from Column Two gets you a title. (You can modify that title slightly by putting “The” in front of it or making the title plural or possessive in some way.) You write the story — we’ll say 1500 words max this time around. Then you post it at your online space and drop a link here so we can all read it. Due by next Friday, noon EST.
Get it? Got it? Great.
Column One
- Skyborn
- Murderer’s
- Cocktail
- Night
- Dead
- Obliterated
- Heaven’s
- Thirteenth
- White
- Armored
- Wrong
- Daniel’s
- A Song For
- Screaming
- The Oathkeeper’s
- The Day of the
- Bleeding
- God’s Own
- Ghostly
- Endless
Column Two
- Inkwell
- Treasure
- Waitress
- Keeper
- Bird
- Corps
- Traveler
- Padlock
- Comet
- Elf
- Starfish
- Medallion
- Absinthe
- Rats
- Reason
- Crusade
- Nebula
- Screwdriver
- Snowflake
- Forge
magalyguerrero says:
I got 4 and 7: Night Traveler. Ask me how bad I wanted to cheat? I mean, God’s Own Elf sounds so freaking hysterical. I might have to write it anyway. Later, I guess. For now, I’ll be good (okay, let’s not lie, I’ll be honest) and write Night Traveler. I hope he gets stuck between dimensions, or in the New York City subway… the bastard.
December 16, 2014 — 12:46 AM
joy Cronje says:
http://www.wattpad.com/88023881-drabbles-and-dabbles-endless-treasure?d=ud
There ya go, “the Endless Treasure” – a grimdark short story 😛
December 16, 2014 — 7:55 AM
Jeff Elkins says:
I got The Day of the Screwdriver. I intended to write about booze, but it got a little darker. Here you go. Enjoy! http://shortfictionbreak.com/2014/12/16/the-day-of-the-screwdriver/
December 16, 2014 — 9:25 AM
smkay70 says:
Wow, I did not see that coming. Great story!
December 16, 2014 — 3:24 PM
Jeff Elkins says:
Thanks.
December 16, 2014 — 3:28 PM
Catkins says:
Goddamn that was good
December 19, 2014 — 9:04 AM
Jeff Elkins says:
Thanks.
December 19, 2014 — 9:06 AM
smkay70 says:
What if all your mistakes and guilt could be transferred to someone else? I got “Wrong Keeper”
http://sabrakay.com/flash-fiction-challenge-wrongkeepers/
December 16, 2014 — 3:18 PM
Jeff Elkins says:
Great pull for the title and what you did with it was fantastic. Nice work.
December 16, 2014 — 3:28 PM
smkay70 says:
Thank you!
December 16, 2014 — 4:02 PM
WallofIllusion (@WallofIllusion) says:
The Thirteenth Inkwell.
http://toushindai.tumblr.com/post/105406995940/the-thirteenth-inkwell
Thank you for inspiring a fic of one of my favorite, and hardest to write for, ships. You have no idea how much it just improved my night.
December 16, 2014 — 10:17 PM
WallofIllusion (@WallofIllusion) says:
Though I should probably warn those who go to read it that the inkwells in question are being, er, thrown at people. And the relationship might read as abusive to people unfamiliar with the context. So please be cautious with that if that’s something you’d prefer not to read! <3
December 16, 2014 — 10:36 PM
aspeed says:
Murderer’s Corps – and yet, the story isn’t as grim as it could have been. Mostly it’s superpowered fun. (Until the end.) http://andreaspeed.com/2014/flash-fic-challenge-murderers-corps/
December 17, 2014 — 4:29 AM
Jim Franklin says:
It’s been a long time since I’ve taken part in one of these, so forgive me if I am little rusty. I got the title The Dead Waitress. i hope you like it.
http://keyboardpizza.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/flash-fiction-the-dead-waitress/
December 17, 2014 — 7:58 AM
M.J. Diedrich says:
Endless + Bird = Endless Birds. I considered doing some sort of jokey Angry Birds thing from the pigs’ perspective, but settled on a more contemplative mad science piece.
http://mjdiedrich.com/2014/12/17/endless-birds/
December 17, 2014 — 11:25 AM
addy says:
Sad and intriguing all at once. I thought it was pretty good.
December 18, 2014 — 6:43 AM
Suzanne says:
My first time participating here. I had a blast! I got Wrong + Nebula. Here’s my story:
http://lucidedit.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/wrong-nebula-fiction/
December 17, 2014 — 1:09 PM
Pavowski says:
Took me a few more days than I planned, but I wasn’t going to NOT take part in the Random Title challenge.
Kids are having a run of bad luck in my stories of late. I wonder what that says about me. Whatever… for your dystopian future, science-fiction, euthanasia-embracing societal curiosities, here’s “The Screaming Comet”.
http://wp.me/p4p1YR-jx
December 17, 2014 — 3:18 PM
kimberleycooperblog says:
I really liked this. Very interesting idea.
December 19, 2014 — 11:57 AM
Pavowski says:
Thanks!
December 19, 2014 — 1:18 PM
cleefrost says:
Herewith, “The Oathkeeper’s Forge.” As someone replied, it sounds epic. It felt epic to write. Could’ve been 150,000 words instead of 1,500. I feel a novel coming on…
http://www.herravendomain.com/the-oathkeepers-forge/
December 17, 2014 — 9:01 PM
addy says:
ok i want more of this. more of it now.
December 18, 2014 — 6:54 AM
cleefrost says:
Thank you! I assure you, it’s in the works. 🙂
December 18, 2014 — 5:09 PM
Eleanore D. Trupkiewicz says:
Wow: ” … the four moons — the domains of the gods …” There’s so much potential and promise in that single line, and then there’s the rest of the story! Beautiful work!
December 19, 2014 — 6:31 PM
Camilla Ochlan says:
I got #16 and #4: The Day of the Keeper 🙂
http://www.werewolfwhisperer.com/dayofthekeeper.html
December 17, 2014 — 11:38 PM
Bonita says:
Very cool Sci-Fi story with unexpected twists.
December 20, 2014 — 3:04 AM
Robin says:
The Oathkeeper’s Inkwell
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TwWmhKtvn_jRBqmD1HVwEU3E3Donann2F1FDzOB3V30/edit?usp=sharing
December 18, 2014 — 3:52 PM
Valentyn says:
Ok here’s my story; I accidentally wound up writing around 1800 words because I did it in a notebook by hand first. Feel free to check it out and message me feedback if you’d like. http://valentyn-the-mad.tumblr.com/post/105557687057/alrighty-so-i-wrote-a-short-story-for-the-december
December 18, 2014 — 6:17 PM
serendipitousmc says:
God’s Own Padlock
(Looks like this is a popular title!)
This is dark because I needed practice writing dark. (Thanks for this, Chuck.) Another warning: there’s a scene of child abuse here.
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/meilleurcafe
December 18, 2014 — 6:17 PM
serendipitousmc says:
I’m not sure if that link is right, so here’s another one:
http://meilleurcafe.tumblr.com/
Sorry!
December 18, 2014 — 6:20 PM
Evolet Yvaine says:
I would like to preface this post by saying that first, this is my second time participating. I’m not used to writing flash fiction (novellas are more my speed). In my Other Non-Pseudonym Life, I’m taking a hiatus from writing YA fiction to try my hand at writing erotic fiction. Second, I’m an aspiring erotic fiction author and any future stories I plan to write will be about the build-up of a relationship that leads to sex (not erotica. Yes, there really is a difference). With that being said, my forays into flash fiction may or may not include full-on intimacy. I’m new to this genre so please bear with me. LOL
Here’s my story, Heaven’s Treasure: http://wetpantystories.com/2014/12/18/wps-shawties-heavens-treasure/
December 18, 2014 — 7:11 PM
Mozette says:
Ooooh! Wow! Um… wow… and … wow!
I loved it!
Are we going to see a book in this?
…and I love your site. 😀
December 19, 2014 — 7:36 AM
Evolet Yvaine @ Wet Panty Stories says:
Mozette – Thanks so much! and thanks for adding me to your site. As for seeing this story in a book, it’s possible. I liked writing about Heaven. I wouldn’t mind seeing where her business venture goes. LOL. Or the one they had to create. LOL
December 19, 2014 — 1:21 PM
Mozette says:
Just added your site to My Reading List blog.. 😀
December 19, 2014 — 7:39 AM
lisacle says:
I got Endless Screwdriver. It made me think of a place we used to go for brunch that advertised bottomless margaritas. Enjoy!
http://lisacle.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/flash-fiction-challenge-the-randomized-title-rears-its-head/
December 18, 2014 — 9:00 PM
Helen Espinosa says:
I, too, like the random title challenge. This one was definitely a challenge, but I did it! 🙂
https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/armored-treasure/
December 18, 2014 — 9:57 PM
Jessica Ruprecht says:
Squeaking (ahem) in just under the wire this week — here’s the link to my fiction, “God’s Own Rats”:
“The rats come at midnight. Why always at midnight?”
http://jessicaruprecht.com/2014/12/gods-own-rats/
December 18, 2014 — 10:36 PM
john freeter says:
A Song for Rats. Sounds like Game of Thrones fan fiction, but I made it into an apocalyptic tale. It gets a bit dark in the end…
https://johnfreeter.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/a-song-for-rats/
December 18, 2014 — 10:43 PM
momdude says:
A four plus a sixteen gives us “Night Crusade.” I started with a single line, “The words never came during the day.” From there it got…odd.
http://pauljwillett.com/2014/12/18/flash-fiction-night-crusade/
December 19, 2014 — 2:58 AM
nkharrold says:
Misread a little and thought I rolled “The Day of Reason”. Still, got me somewhere I was not expecting to go. https://freelancefedora.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/story-time-the-day-of-reason/
December 19, 2014 — 9:14 AM
Eleanore D. Trupkiewicz says:
I rolled #9 and #4 for “The White Keeper.”
http://eleanoretrupkiewicz.blogspot.com/2014/12/flash-fiction-challenge-randomized.html
December 19, 2014 — 10:24 AM
joshuamneff says:
I’m a little late in this, but since this is the first time I’ve done one of your flash fic challenges and I’m happy to have actually started and finished my shit, I’m posting the link anyway.
http://www.goblin-cartoons.com/2014/12/19/the-wrong-treasure/
December 19, 2014 — 3:19 PM
Catkins says:
I’m late but I want to post it anyway so nah nah – God’s Own Treasure, or The Priest, if you prefer : http://dubious-gravity.tumblr.com/post/103467751104/the-priest
December 19, 2014 — 4:55 PM
Eleanore D. Trupkiewicz says:
I’m awed … I love the lines about the bell, the reverberations. And the ending caught me entirely off-guard; twists like that are so much more evocative than predictable endings. Nice work!
December 19, 2014 — 6:28 PM
Laura L. says:
Death by calligraphy? Random title is “Ghostly Treasure” and just posted on my site. http://wp.me/p51P4z-iT
December 19, 2014 — 5:43 PM
Andy says:
http://wp.me/p3l9OS-8f
Again, late. But at least it’s getting done.
PROGRESS PEOPLE. PROGRESS.
Anyways, please enjoy A Song for Nebula.
December 19, 2014 — 11:54 PM
underastarlitsky says:
Better late than never…right? Right. Here’s mind. God’s Own Medallion. Hope you like it. http://underastarlitsky.wordpress.com
December 26, 2014 — 6:25 PM