Flash Fiction Challenge: The Randomized Title Rears Its Head
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
December 16, 2014 @ 12:46 AM
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 @ 7:55 AM
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 @ 9:25 AM
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 @ 3:24 PM
Wow, I did not see that coming. Great story!
December 16, 2014 @ 3:28 PM
Thanks.
December 19, 2014 @ 9:04 AM
Goddamn that was good
December 19, 2014 @ 9:06 AM
Thanks.
December 16, 2014 @ 3:18 PM
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 @ 3:28 PM
Great pull for the title and what you did with it was fantastic. Nice work.
December 16, 2014 @ 4:02 PM
Thank you!
December 16, 2014 @ 10:17 PM
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 @ 10:36 PM
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 17, 2014 @ 4:29 AM
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/
Flash Fiction : The Dead Waitress | Keyboard Pizza
December 17, 2014 @ 7:52 AM
[…] Terribleminds? Terribleminds? It rings a bell, but what could it be, the fevered dreams of a lunatic, maybe; a slice of dream that remains in the waking world. Just kidding. Of course I remember TM, though it’s been months since I’ve taken part in one of their Flash Fiction Challenges. […]
December 17, 2014 @ 7:58 AM
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 @ 11:25 AM
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 18, 2014 @ 6:43 AM
Sad and intriguing all at once. I thought it was pretty good.
December 17, 2014 @ 1:09 PM
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 @ 3:18 PM
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 19, 2014 @ 11:57 AM
I really liked this. Very interesting idea.
December 19, 2014 @ 1:18 PM
Thanks!
The Oathkeeper’s Forge | Her Raven Domain: Blog of Author Christine Frost
December 17, 2014 @ 8:56 PM
[…] challenges. One of them even produced the final three pages to my third novel, Whiskey and Rue. The randomized titles are among my favorite challenges, and when the d20 gave me “The Oathkeeper’s Forge,” it felt […]
December 17, 2014 @ 9:01 PM
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 18, 2014 @ 6:54 AM
ok i want more of this. more of it now.
December 18, 2014 @ 5:09 PM
Thank you! I assure you, it’s in the works. 🙂
December 19, 2014 @ 6:31 PM
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 17, 2014 @ 11:38 PM
I got #16 and #4: The Day of the Keeper 🙂
http://www.werewolfwhisperer.com/dayofthekeeper.html
December 20, 2014 @ 3:04 AM
Very cool Sci-Fi story with unexpected twists.
December 18, 2014 @ 3:52 PM
The Oathkeeper’s Inkwell
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TwWmhKtvn_jRBqmD1HVwEU3E3Donann2F1FDzOB3V30/edit?usp=sharing
December 18, 2014 @ 6:17 PM
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
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 @ 6:20 PM
I’m not sure if that link is right, so here’s another one:
http://meilleurcafe.tumblr.com/
Sorry!
WPS Shawties: Heaven’s Treasure « Wet Panty Stories
December 18, 2014 @ 7:00 PM
[…] This shawtie was inspired by Terrible Minds’ Chuck Wendig’s weekly Flash Fiction Challenge […]
December 18, 2014 @ 7:11 PM
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 19, 2014 @ 7:36 AM
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 @ 1:21 PM
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 @ 7:39 AM
Just added your site to My Reading List blog.. 😀
December 18, 2014 @ 9:00 PM
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 @ 9:57 PM
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 @ 10:36 PM
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 @ 10:43 PM
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 19, 2014 @ 2:58 AM
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 @ 9:14 AM
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/
Story Time: The Day of Reason | Off The Story Map
December 19, 2014 @ 9:20 AM
[…] Prompted by Chuck Wendig’s Flash Fiction Challenge here. […]
December 19, 2014 @ 10:24 AM
I rolled #9 and #4 for “The White Keeper.”
http://eleanoretrupkiewicz.blogspot.com/2014/12/flash-fiction-challenge-randomized.html
Flash Fiction Challenge: Random Song Title Story Challenge « terribleminds: chuck wendig
December 19, 2014 @ 11:09 AM
[…] Last week’s challenge: randomized title challenge! […]
night bird | The Story Hive
December 19, 2014 @ 1:23 PM
[…] Chuck Wending – THE RANDOMIZED TITLE REARS ITS HEAD – […]
Wrong Nebula (fiction) | Apoplectic Apostrophes
December 19, 2014 @ 2:14 PM
[…] is my first time participating in Chuck Wendig’s Flash Fiction challenge, which gave me my title and inspired the story. I am also linking up with the Grammar Ghoul Writing […]
December 19, 2014 @ 3:19 PM
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 @ 4:55 PM
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 @ 6:28 PM
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!
Ghostly Treasure | wtf Am I On About Now?
December 19, 2014 @ 5:42 PM
[…] fiction, in response to Chuck Wedig’s Random Title challenge. A title was randomly selected and the challenge was to write 1500 words for it. This […]
December 19, 2014 @ 5:43 PM
Death by calligraphy? Random title is “Ghostly Treasure” and just posted on my site. http://wp.me/p51P4z-iT
December 19, 2014 @ 11:54 PM
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 26, 2014 @ 6:25 PM
Better late than never…right? Right. Here’s mind. God’s Own Medallion. Hope you like it. http://underastarlitsky.wordpress.com
White Screwdriver | Holly Geely
January 2, 2015 @ 11:18 AM
[…] has been brought to you buy Chuck Wendig’s Random Title Challenge. I rolled a 9 and an 18 and now present to […]