So many stories begin with a dead body.
A dead body is a gateway to mystery.
A story to be solved.
The aftermath of incident that leads to further incident.
It works across a variety of genres, a plethora of storytelling styles.
Dead bodies: they do a story good.
AND SO, today’s flash fiction is precisely that — I want you to take your story and it must begin with a dead body. That’s it. That’s the only stipulation. In the first paragraph you must introduce a dead body. Doesn’t matter the context or the genre. But you gotta check that box marked
[ ] DEAD BODY.
You get 1000 words, as usual. Due by the 19th, at noon EST. Post the story at your online space, then drop a link in the comments below so we can all go check it out.
Begin.
Josh Loomis says:
Okay, Chuck. Let’s pretend that we’re dead.
You Are Dead
June 15, 2015 — 1:34 PM
Happyturtle says:
That was shivering. Especially the burning bullet in the chest.
June 15, 2015 — 2:20 PM
dmcclure17 says:
Daring use of 2nd person narrative. Refreshing!
June 15, 2015 — 8:14 PM
Periodically Demented says:
That’s a really good story. More please.
June 15, 2015 — 9:23 PM
Ebonstorm says:
I was intrigued and wanted to know more. Mission accomplished. (Maybe you should keep going too, it has an interesting perspective worth pursuing.)
June 16, 2015 — 3:06 PM
R.L. Black says:
Can’t get mine to show up in the comments, but I did write one and it’s on my website.
June 15, 2015 — 3:00 PM
Happyturtle says:
A wonderful vignette. I love that it wasn’t crowded into the word count. Short and sinful.
June 16, 2015 — 3:58 AM
John Chyriwsky says:
Fun challenge. Here’s mine. I hope you enjoy. http://johnchyriwsky.com/2015/06/15/the-purpose/
June 15, 2015 — 3:57 PM
Happyturtle says:
The only critique I have is right at the beginning. For some reason I thought the narrator’s job was having to watch snuff videos, perhaps looking for evidence, or trying to establish veracity. I didn’t get that it was a time skip until the very end. Is there any way to clarify the jump?
June 16, 2015 — 5:22 AM
Teresa Tysinger says:
I’m writing mine for my #WriteAWhileWednesday feature….so will post in a bit. Likely quite a bit different than many here. 🙂 But fun reading everything!!
June 15, 2015 — 10:03 PM
thedebc says:
Nope. Not for purpose…for lust. Soooo sad?
June 16, 2015 — 12:15 AM
thedebc says:
Wow that was like a kick in the gut! Well done but very sad !
June 16, 2015 — 12:59 AM
ceciliamrcunha says:
Great challenge, helped me with an online course assignment too. Here it is:
https://ceciliamrc.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/week-8/
June 16, 2015 — 8:15 AM
grahamwrites says:
Well now. That was fun. Tell yis what. You read mine, I read yours. https://grahamwrites.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/flash-fiction-dead-ringers/
June 16, 2015 — 1:12 PM
thedebc says:
Okay it’s a Deal.
Read yours …Loved it… Actually it was my favorite story so far!
I was LMAO most of the time.
Def following your blog !
June 16, 2015 — 3:01 PM
Joelle Reizes says:
An endless loop of duplicates? Fascinating idea. The elevator is a copier that just keeps shooting them out. They are going to run out of space in that car!
June 16, 2015 — 3:23 PM
Fred G. Yost says:
Ha! Nice. I like it. I’m seeing it in almost a Robert Rodriguez-esq loop of ultra violence.
June 17, 2015 — 7:12 PM
Joelle Reizes says:
How Murder Came to the Sasquatch
http://www.slipperywords.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=109&action=edit
June 16, 2015 — 1:58 PM
grahamwrites says:
Get the feeling, what with the clothes and the understanding/command of spoken English, that this particular Sasquatch was always destined to branch out from her clan.
June 16, 2015 — 6:26 PM
Joellel Reizes says:
Thanks for reading, and who knows what happens but it is definitely a transition point.
June 16, 2015 — 8:01 PM
Catastrophe Jones says:
Here goes nothin! https://catastrophejones.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/flash-fiction-challenge-the-dead-body/
June 16, 2015 — 3:27 PM
Joelle Reizes says:
oh dear. the poor guy is going to Hell? You make me question the role of Hell/Hel. One thing: did he commit suicide? that was the part I wasn’t completely sure about. I enjoyed the Jewish reference to Adonai.
June 16, 2015 — 3:58 PM
Catastrophe Jones says:
He is.
He did.
And thank you!
June 16, 2015 — 10:17 PM
thedebc says:
I would hardly call that piece nothin’ !
Angels and cast-outs battled for eons over spiritual existentialism!
I say well done, Carastrophe Jones!
June 16, 2015 — 4:53 PM
Catastrophe Jones says:
Thanks so much!
June 16, 2015 — 10:11 PM
C R Smith says:
That was simply beautiful. Not a strong enough word, but for now it will do.
June 17, 2015 — 11:06 AM
Catastrophe Jones says:
Well thank you!
June 17, 2015 — 11:48 AM
allenalien says:
As a newby here, I need to know da rulz. Are these supposed to be complete beginning to end stories or can they be ‘chapters’ that might make the reader want to read more to find out what happens? Not that I care much about rules, but I like to know how to best break them.
June 16, 2015 — 6:26 PM
mike says:
I trust you now…
http://www.penmanhouse.com/413955078
“About fifty feet above the first house they stopped, the figure of a man lay sprawled at its corner.”
June 16, 2015 — 7:55 PM
Melinda Davis says:
Here she goes.
http://mschaotica.tumblr.com/post/121721318179/like-going-to-europe
June 16, 2015 — 10:20 PM
thedebc says:
Oooh, pretty scary! Not sure if she had a REALLY good reason, or if she was just a closet psycho! Lol
June 18, 2015 — 8:55 AM
the oncoming spork says:
https://apostrophobic.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/the-day-it-rained-men/ Here’s mine!
June 17, 2015 — 12:00 AM
SamKD says:
This made me smile on a day that badly needed it–thanks!
June 17, 2015 — 1:39 PM
J. Grace says:
Haha! Loved it. Flow was great, as was dialogue.
June 18, 2015 — 7:18 PM
Violet Graves says:
Funny! Love the headsmack
June 19, 2015 — 2:30 PM
thedebc says:
Spork … You cracked me up ! Great job
June 17, 2015 — 6:54 PM
allenalien says:
My contribution to the contest. First time here and first time publishing anything at wordpress. Please let me know if the link doesn’t. https://allenalien.wordpress.com/
June 18, 2015 — 2:10 AM
thedebc says:
This was a blast to read. Love the dialogue and the cadence of the story. Totally enjoyed it !
June 18, 2015 — 7:39 AM
allenalien says:
Thank you, thedebc. It was also a blast to write, Could have used another 1000 words though; had to be ruthless with the axe. Tears were flowing.
June 18, 2015 — 11:04 AM
thedebc says:
Yeah been there lol !!!
June 18, 2015 — 1:05 PM
SamKD says:
I agree—this was great! Welcome!
June 18, 2015 — 8:44 AM
allenalien says:
Thanks, Sam. Much appreciated. Great to be aboard.
June 18, 2015 — 11:02 AM
Eva Therese says:
Nice! A great first one. Clear voice and a good flow. Have you been doing these challenges before without publishing them?
June 18, 2015 — 9:59 AM
allenalien says:
Not on terribleminds, no. But I’ve put a few things up in writing.com that did OK, and I’m 400 pages into a novel. The opposite challenge to trying to write a complete detective story in 1000 words. Yikes! Haven’t tried to publish anything yet. Thanks immensely for the compliment, Eva.
June 18, 2015 — 11:00 AM
C R Smith says:
Great story! I enjoyed the humanistic banter, sounded like real people.
Like you, this challenge was my first stab at writing for others to see, as well as blogs in general. For me, it is a tad overwhelming at first but I am getting the hang of it. Good luck in your writing journey.
June 19, 2015 — 10:22 AM
allenalien says:
Thanks, CR. I work hard at dialog. My wife thinks I’m nuts, sitting at my computer playing all the parts in different voices. She may be right. But I don’t care, it’s fun. And I have to hear it out loud to get it anywhere close to my take on authentic.
I’ll look for your work on this site too. It is overwhelming and challenging without a doubt to get naked in public here, but the writers in this community offer a lot of support for each other. Good luck to you as well.
June 19, 2015 — 2:52 PM
Sam Phillips says:
Hey – great tale. Loved the pacing
June 20, 2015 — 5:00 AM
Eva Therese says:
I couldn’t really get started on this challenge until I read an article about weird science which gave me a plotbunny. So this is my story: https://evathereseebert.wordpress.com/2015/06/18/flash-fiction-challenge-the-dead-body/
June 18, 2015 — 8:50 AM
Violet Graves says:
Wow, great plotbunny! I love the entanglement issue. I would read this book.
June 19, 2015 — 3:04 PM
Rebecca Douglass says:
Mine goes live in a few hours.
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2015/06/friday-flash-dead-in-water.html
June 18, 2015 — 10:16 AM
Violet Graves says:
Okay, if I’ve done one of these challenges, it was long enough ago that I can’t remember. I sought this challenge out yesterday when my early morning brain could not focus on the current WIP. Thank you, Chuck, for the exercise:
http://violetgraves.com/2015/06/18/the-inn-itself-terrible-minds-flash-fiction-challenge/
June 18, 2015 — 10:38 AM
Joelle Reizes says:
Whoa! Hi creep factor! I’ll never complain about a hotel room again. 🙂
June 18, 2015 — 10:46 AM
the oncoming spork says:
Ooooooooooh. That was a nice little chocolate mousse of a story. Just the right amount of everything and totally satisfying. I loved the ending lines!
June 19, 2015 — 12:05 AM
thedebc says:
Haha that was super fun, great job!
I love the line where she corrects his grammar!
June 19, 2015 — 3:40 PM
gypsypepys says:
Hey Violet. Loved the tale. Very eerie 🙂
June 19, 2015 — 10:17 AM
Brad Peirson says:
Well, here she be:
http://www.bradpeirson.com/flash-fiction-revenge-reborn/
June 18, 2015 — 2:54 PM
Joelle Reizes says:
Please tell me you are going to keep writing this story!
June 18, 2015 — 3:00 PM
the oncoming spork says:
That gave me palpitations. Well done.
June 19, 2015 — 12:09 AM
Violet Graves says:
Very nice! I would love to follow her tale.
June 19, 2015 — 2:39 PM
ashleyakagaoan says:
https://ello.co/ashleykagaoan/post/_0kxPhPvCTXkh_cx64LjhA
Feels great to be writing some fiction again! Thank you Chuck Wendig for the inspiration!
June 18, 2015 — 3:31 PM
J. Grace says:
Very poignant.
June 18, 2015 — 9:01 PM
Henry says:
I wrote this without knowing what was going on. I hope you enjoy finding out as much as I did.
“The First Is The Worst”
http://fistfulofwits.com/2015/06/18/flash-fiction-the-first-is-the-worst/
June 18, 2015 — 4:03 PM
lauriekozlowski says:
-Dagger of The Damned-
An orphaned young woman tries to breach the crime scene of her brother’s death to obtain an ancient dagger and escape a fate worse than death.
http://lauriewriting.com/2015/06/18/dagger-of-the-damned-flashfiction-amwriting/
June 18, 2015 — 6:03 PM
spoonfedbyaliens says:
Wow! You guy are all really quick at this! It took me a while to get my words down on the page.
This is only the second time I have taken part in one of the Flash Fiction Challenges. This challenge seemed to fun to let pass by.
Here it is: Phoenix
https://spoonfedbyaliens.wordpress.com/2015/06/18/flash-fiction-challenge-1000-words-the-dead-body-phoenix/
June 18, 2015 — 6:37 PM
J. Grace says:
Here’s mine!
https://gatheringmypieces.wordpress.com/2015/06/18/when-you-bury-your-mother/
June 18, 2015 — 6:44 PM
J. Grace says:
Needless to say, I took some liberties with the definition of “dead body”…
June 18, 2015 — 9:13 PM
the oncoming spork says:
:O
It’s like you knew my grandmother.
June 19, 2015 — 12:13 AM
Violet Graves says:
“…only her and a poor imitation of her…” Wow, very cool line. Deep story. Wonderfully done.
June 19, 2015 — 2:56 PM
Sheila says:
This challenge was tailor made for me, or so my family tells me. Here is mine. http://cowpasturechronicles.com/2015/06/18/flash-challenge-maggies-new-beginning/
June 18, 2015 — 10:40 PM
Jean M. Cogdell says:
Excellent! Reeled me in and gave new meaning to the word Karma. LOL
June 19, 2015 — 9:15 AM
C R Smith says:
A fantastic story. It really grabbed me from the beginning.
June 19, 2015 — 10:10 AM
momdude says:
A little long and it could probably use some shortening and tightening.
http://pauljwillett.com/2015/06/18/flash-fiction-fallen-so-far-from-home/
June 19, 2015 — 2:56 AM
Sam Phillips says:
Great challenge. I enjoyed trying to come up with something a bit different. “Ocean”
http://idreamofgypsies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/night-on-oceans-waves.html
June 19, 2015 — 4:53 AM
allenalien says:
Wow! Crazy ride, Sam. Loved the stark imagery and action. “A bit different” indeed. Creative to the max. On the edge. More please.
June 20, 2015 — 11:55 AM
Jemima Pett says:
Another late posting from me, I’m afraid, but I made it by my own noon, let alone yours 🙂 Fans of Sir Woebegone (who originally appeared over a year ago in The Empress and the Peanut) may enjoy this 🙂
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2015/06/19/flash-fiction-friday-sir-woebegone-thinks-and-draws/
June 19, 2015 — 6:38 AM
J. Michael Best (@bxbstudios) says:
Here’s my submission. A lot of fun writing this one.
http://www.bxbstudios.com/flash-fiction-the-dead-body/
June 19, 2015 — 9:18 AM
lauriegienapp says:
my first entry ever into a Chuck Wendig challenge. Here goes nothing
http://teapotmusings.blogspot.com/2015/06/flash-fiction.html
June 19, 2015 — 10:37 AM
cwdykes says:
Here’s mine!
http://www.loudlyintroverted.com/need-some-aspirin/
June 19, 2015 — 10:49 AM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
Here’s mine. Running really late for me. https://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/black-magic-blues-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
June 19, 2015 — 11:19 AM
thedebc says:
Loved it, one of my favorites so far! Super job weaving the witch stuff into the murder mystery. This is a book I’d like to read, so get busy, lol.
June 20, 2015 — 7:31 AM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
Thanks! I seem to run into “this would make for a great longer piece” issues all too often it seems.
June 20, 2015 — 2:28 PM
thedebc says:
Hey, you sound disappointed. But that’s a huge compliment !
The story is super on its own … obviously… however you sucked us into the character and/or the realm ,,, and we want more! 🙂
June 20, 2015 — 4:09 PM
lauriegienapp says:
Wow, very nice.
June 21, 2015 — 1:34 PM
lissainkslinger says:
Here it is. A subway collapses. A body pins down a commuter for days. Late arrival, Survival, and denial! It’s a feel good tale about new friends. Not really, sorta, it’s mostly just a creepy tale.
http://lissaword.blogspot.com/2015/06/morning-train.html
June 19, 2015 — 11:32 AM
thedebc says:
Great ending !
June 20, 2015 — 7:22 AM
StarNinja says:
I missed the week before this one so I ended up combining two flash fictions for this piece. Smashed up title Forgotten Bridesmaid with a dead body!
https://wormholelesstraveled.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/forgotten-bridesmaid/
Enjoy!
June 19, 2015 — 5:56 PM
ashleyakagaoan says:
Thank you! 🙂
June 19, 2015 — 8:29 PM