This week’s challenge?
I want you to click this link: generate random cocktail.
It will, predictably, give you a random cocktail and its recipe.
(If for some reason that link doesn’t work: try this one. It gives you 10 at a time.)
The title of the random cocktail is the title of your new flash fiction story.
You have ~1000 words.
Due by next Friday, 3/20. Noon EST.
Post at your online space. Link to it in the comments below.
198 responses to “Flash Fiction Challenge: Random Cocktail Challenge”
“Neon Voodoo”. Didn’t have much of a choice on the subject matter, did I? 🙂
https://johnfreeter.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/neon-voodoo/
Wow, this was cool. I have SO had it with zombie movies and TV shows, but I really liked this story. Well done!
Thank you. I tried to write something set in the 80s’ to use the neon bit of the title (I’ve been playing hotline miami…), but I’m glad you think it turned out alright!
I like where you got your inspiration and enjoyed the direction you took it.
[…] Chuck Wendig’s flash fiction challenge 03/13, though I went a little overboard with the word count. I still love how it turned out, and I’ll […]
[…] http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/03/13/flash-fiction-challenge-random-cocktail-challenge/ […]
Shore Breeze. Sounds like just what I need right now.
“Bittersweet with a Twist” Oh boy, this one got weird!
http://tonij.net/2015/03/bittersweet-with-a-twist/
Very cool. For a second I thought the twist would be explosive diarrhea, but I liked what you did much better!
I loved how weird that got!
Thanks guys!
Good weird!
I think the twist goes hand-in-hand with the cure. Great idea for a story.
I’m an Antoine Special. oooh..
I made an attempt! Hot Red Lover.
Here’s a link to Hot Red Lover.
https://decomposingadjectives.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/flash-fiction-challenge/
Oooo. I could be all wrong, but I’m getting a past lives vibe. This was mysterious and sexy.
[…] weeks Flash Fiction Challenge, as always courtesy of the lovely and bearded Chuck Wendig was to randomly generate a cocktail […]
“Mojo”. Okay then. https://evathereseebert.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/random-cocktail-challenge *clink*
I really liked this. It has a spooky feeling to it, a great Halloween story. You should polish it up a little and develop it into a short story.
Thanks! I do hope I can find something more to do with it later.
Spooky with a side of creep. Nice. Also, I like your blog title. Of course now I have a bit of a Funk Soul Brother earworm.
Aw, thanks! And if you like silly puns, I should tell you about my writers group ‘Writer’s Guilt’.
I love the magic. You could create a whole world and mythos from this. I like your character. She has a well-developed morality and it makes me curious about her reasons for doing what she does.
I think there was an error in the comment i posted before, but anyways here’s the link to my attempt at Royal Smile cocktail. I kinda doubled the expected word count, so it doesn’t count as flash fiction anymore ^^ But I really liked how in turned out. Here goes: https://justsomecynic.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/royal-smile/
I got “Jesus Is Here”…
http://andrewhickey.info/2015/03/17/jesus-is-here/
That was enjoyable. I expected it to be a bit more allusionary — hmmm… that’s not a word — but it was fun.
Awesome! I laughed my head off! I wouldn’t change a thing, except maybe have these thousand word conversations on different topics every now and then. I’d sign up for that. Thanks! (still smiling)
I haven’t written fiction in over 20 years. I invite comments on this first draft of a first chapter. https://redeemingquantity.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/ch-1-breezy-point-draft-1/
Well, if your really looking for a critique… this is fine, for a first draft. The punctuation needs a little work, to clarify the dialogue, which is in person, on the phone, in emails, etc. A first chapter could probably stand with a little less description, but your introduction of the protagonist was good, very organic, you do a nice job of showing her home situation, as opposed to telling it. Just needs some overall sanding and polishing
Thanks. Yes, I really want critiques.
I might be wrong (I usually am, and english is my second language) but at the beginning you describe the dialogue “she was brief…” which isn’t really necessary (showing vs telling). Also try and spread out description between action and dialogue rather than in large chunks. Be careful with vague adjectives “he smelled amazing”. I like thoughts in italics, but that’s probably personal preference. You should use ” ” for dialogue, and use tags or action to make it clear who’s speaking and to give it variety. A different font for e-mail conversations would make things clearer. I didn’t read very carefully, but I got mixed up with the extended flashbacks. I do like the character’s voice though, and the setup is intriguing.
It’s all helpful. Thank you.
“Walk Me Down” – by David Niall Wilson – Challenge Complete … story postered here : http://davidniallwilson.com/2015/03/walk-me-down-free-st-patricks-day-fiction/
Really good. I love your characters, the factory/town/pop parallels. Love the way you worked “Walk Me Down” into the story multiple times. Loved this sentence –> When the paper was read, and his cup was empty, it was time to go, and it didn’t matter if I’d finished eating, or forgotten to put on a shirt. “Come on boy,” he’d say. “Let me walk you down… No one broke in – everyone there was looking for a way out. <– Was struck by the poignancy, but think it underlined the theme perfectly.
I got “Curtain Call”, I’ll see what I can do with that.
Also when I tryed the second page that was linked in the news above, it showed me a cocktail named “Dirty Mexican Ghetto Whore”. That certainly escalated quickly.
I got Bondage’s No Problem. This ought to be interesting.
Just read your story for this week’s challenge. Good work, I really liked the voice and narration of the POV character.
Thanks so much! I actually really dig Phil and might pull him out for more adventures. I don’t know. We’ll see.
Here’s a lovely warm weather cocktail for you. It’s called Skinny Dipper.
https://jackiperrette.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/flash-fiction-challenge-random-cocktail-challenge/
Those photographs are both controversial and inspiring. I like your characters, too. Do I feel romance in the breeze?
You are correct. These photos have caused a bit of uproar on FB. In response, the photographer now posts his pictures in a cropped format that will link to Twitter or Tumblr so that viewers can see uncensored versions.
This flash fiction is a vignette using characters from a m/m romance I am writing. Not sure it will retain the Skinny Dipper title, but that is actually what inspired the whole thing.
This is the first time I’ve written flash fiction and I found it really fun.
Nicely done.
Thank you!
[…] I’m going to be posting my first flash fiction piece this Friday as part of Chuck Wendig’s Flash Fiction Challenge. […]
[…] http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/03/13/flash-fiction-challenge-random-cocktail-challenge […]
Bondage’s No Problem
Here’s the cocktail, as randomly generated: http://www.webtender.com/db/drink/3627
Here’s my 999 words, which may just end up a longer story, we’ll see: http://www.casondrabrewster.com/?p=2173
Nice. The narrator’s attitude is very relatable, and the story kept me intriguied.
Cool!
Really enjoyed this. Could be the beginning of a mystery. I liked the characters. Wish I knew what OTF means…
I got ‘Suddenly, Daylight’…
https://ryanjamesblack.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/suddenly-daylight/
Best story I’ve read here yet.
Thanks!
I really loved this — I appreciated the fresh take and the spoofing, I would love to see it as a short film!
[…] Chuck Wendig of TerribleMinds put out a Flash Fiction Challenge for this week. Go to this random cocktail generator, take the title of the drink, and make it the […]
I ended up with the brandy-based drink, Cherry Blossum.
https://gowordbird.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/chuck-wendigs-random-cocktail-flash-fiction-challenge-cherry-blossum/
beautiful and wistful. I really enjoyed this.
I got “Green Goddess”. Enjoy. https://katethesape.wordpress.com/read-my-stuff/
I really enjoyed this, great story!
Oh, thank you so much! 😀
I liked the subject, very relevant. I’m glad it had a happy ending, but Beth had me worried for a minute! This could easily be a full length story people would want to read.
Oh wow, thank you! Gender/orientation and identity are some things I’m very passionate about so they always find a way into my stories in one way or another.
[…] week’s flash fiction challenge from Chuck Wendig involves a random cocktail generator and 1000 words of pure imagination. I got the Cosmo Katie, […]
I got the Cosmo Katie, which meant that it had to be space. Space and obsession and murder, of course.
http://fistfulofwits.com/2015/03/19/flash-fiction-cosmo-katie/
That was awesome. Well done!
I enjoyed that. Good work!
Go, Cosmo Katie! Wow. You had my emotions all over the place with this!
I really enjoyed the narrator voice. I pictured Starbuck from the most recent iteration of BSG. Nicely done!
Shit, I got Green Cookie Monster… Whep! Here goes nothing!
[…] written in years. That changed last night. Tonight I wrote a submission to Chuck Wendig‘s writing challenge. Here is that […]
Okay, here we go. Green Cookie Monster.
https://greasysqueezins.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/hello-world/
Awww. Such a sweet story – and had me laughing in a few places. It’s especially funny, because it is so authentic. 🙂
[…] This week’s flash fiction challenge from Chuck Wendig instructs us to use the Random Cocktail Generator to come up with the title for our next 1,000-word piece. I got “Brutal Hammer,” which sounds like a completely disgusting drink (half French red wine and half vodka, mixed in an old fashioned glass and then slammed) but sparked a whole slew of ideas for a short story. I went in what I hope is an unexpected direction, and the story turned into a little YA/coming of age piece. […]
I got “Brutal Hammer,” which sounds perfectly horrible to me (red wine and vodka?), but the title inspired me to write my first ever YA piece. http://wp.me/p1Tyuy-bB
Very nice!
so sweet! I really loved the way you had Gillian squeal and shriek . That completely blew away all the clouds.
Mine is up, but at the moment I can’t access it to copy in the URL. For to moment, I will instead link in a great story by writer Jemima Pett, “Equinox on Ice.”
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2015/03/20/flash-fiction-friday-equinox-on-ice/
Thanks, Rebecca! I knew I wouldnt get back in time to link it up myself! But at least I wasn’t the victim!
Okay, got into my own blog at least. Here is “Thug’s Passion”
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2015/03/friday-flash-fiction-thugs-passion.html
I liked it…dark humor and pathos. Kind of like “Leon, The Professional” caring for the 12-year-old Mathilda…unexpected…but in this case, deadly! It had a bit of an “Of Mice and Men” flavor.
It’s been too long since I’ve done one of these. My randomly selected beverage is Raspberry Punch. http://mireles-musings.blogspot.com/2015/03/raspberry-punch.html
I enjoyed these so I went and got “Iced Coffee Fillup” Hm. Well the result is here:
http://simonbjones.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/iced-coffee-fillup.html
Shades of Clockwork Orange. Definitely gives the reader a lot to think about.
A bit late to the party, but here’s my story (hopefully the link will work):
https://katecopse.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/lighthouse/
I’ve been meaning to take part in these challenges for months to help me start writing, but I haven’t written fiction in years and found it hard to get started (so I know its not the best).
You had me from Grim saying things grimly. (I adore word humor) I thought this was such a unique way of looking at death/afterlife, and the humorous surprise at the end was great. Good job! 😀
Awww. Humor, surprise and sentiment. <3
Thank you, both 🙂 I was a bit worried about the response I’d get putting something on the interwebz, especially as I haven’t really done anything like this before, but I’m glad I did!
Been a while since I’ve had the chance to take part. Happy to be back. As always, feedback much appreciated.
Shot of Respect (tequila, 151, tabasco sauce – disgusting)
http://www.andablankpage.com/shot-of-respect/
I came for the tequila and stayed for your story. It was brilliant – the characterization was spot on. I really enjoyed it!
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks taking the time to check it out. Yours was fantastic, too. I left a comment under your post.
Really enjoyed this. It gave me ideas about alternate realities for the story, but I won’t elaborate…would spoil it.
So happy you liked it! Thanks.
Okay, so this one ran a bit long. Like 7000 words long. Hey, sometimes it takes what it takes.
Blue Ice Mountain: Blue Curacao, Perrier, vodka, club soda. I hope my story is stronger than the drink:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HC0jL95Rn82mKQVTQ7e41vQ86SA7D3kL_jpK8vUiIEE/edit?usp=sharing
[…] blog post was created for Chuck Wendig’s FLASH FICTION CHALLENGE: RANDOM COCKTAIL CHALLENGE. The idea is to randomly select/generate alcoholic drink and use that drink’s name for the […]
[…] was prompted by this weeks Flash Fiction Challenge by Chuck Wendig. I’ve wanted to have a go at Chuck’s challenges for months but struggled to write […]
Late – I combined cocktail and 100 word challenges
Norse Goddesses and Screaming Viking
http://aliceekeyes.blogspot.com/p/norse-goddesses-and-screaming-viking.html
[…] Herr Wendig is at it again This week’s flash-fiction challenge revolves around adult beverages randomly generated. The one I got is Bondage’s No Problem. Yes that’s a real cocktail. It has vodka in it, for which I’m allergic, so I’ll never taste it unless you maybe sub some whiskey instead. Below is where the title Bondage’s No Problem took me — in 999 words. It’s easy to believe that maybe this might be a much longer story, clearly I could continue it. But, I think it works as it is, as well. Read it. Comment below. Much appreciated. […]