Okay, so, a couple weeks ago I asked you guys to come up with three-word titles, and you did, in spectacular fashion. It fueled last week’s challenge.
And, because you were prolific and I am nothing if not a tremendously lazy human being, I’m going to dip back into the well for another ten titles. Pick one or use a random number generator to choose, then write a piece of short fiction to go along with the title.
One change this time around is my picks for title are not random —
I’m hand-picking ten that sound interesting.
Also, we’ll up the word count a little.
Get writing, word-nerds.
Length: ~1500 words
Due by: Friday, Feb 24th, noon EST
Post online, give us a link in the comments.
Your ten titles to choose from (title creators in parentheses) are:
- She Broke Gods (thomasmhewlett)
- Gunslinger Ridge Experiment (EGUW)
- Wolves of Sorrow (powerjacob)
- Tomorrow’s Mirror Today (stephen cowles)
- Stars That Bleed (kirajessup)
- To Forbidden Passengers (lydie h)
- The Porcelain Cat (d.moulou)
- It Wants In (mollons)
- Sincerely, Your Mortician (AN)
- Burr Edge Jitterbug (m. oniker)
79 responses to “Flash Fiction Challenge: Ten More Titles (Round Two!)”
My typo or yours? Burr Edge *Jitterbug* (as in the dance). 🙂
Mine! Fixed. 🙂
I combined this with a challenge that allows only 99 words, so I’m WAY under the limit. LOL. I chose The Porcelain Cat.
https://allisonmaruska.com/2017/02/17/flash-fiction-the-porcelain-cat/
Like Allison, I went WAY under the limit—249 words. The title picked for me was It Wants In.
https://theurbanspaceman.net/2017/02/17/it-wants-in-flash-fiction/
I like your story. It shows reflection and self-awareness–an examined life worth living.
Thanks!
I love the writing style in this piece, and I’m impressed at how vividly you captured the essence of the darkness in each of us in so few words. I had no trouble visualizing the frightening, paralyzing inner demon that I think is far scarier than the monster’s we’re taught to fear. Great stuff!
Thanks! I was hoping this piece would be evocative to some readers despite the brevity, so I’m glad it worked for you.
I chose powerjacob’s Wolves of Sorrow.
https://emroberts.blog/2017/02/18/flash-fiction-wolves-of-sorrow/
Great story!
Thank you!
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2017/02/sincerely-your-mortician.html
Slightly over the 1,500 words, but not by much.
enjoy!
A lovely, tender story.
She Broke Gods: https://andrewhickey.info/2017/02/19/she-broke-gods/
I think this story has multiple layers; I will probably visit it again and sit with it. Thanks for sharing.
“She Broke Gods”
https://andrewhickey.info/2017/02/19/she-broke-gods/
I enjoyed this story a lot! It touches on some of my favourite themes, and you did a great job of conveying a mythological allegory to the questions of existence and the inevitability of human civilization’s evolution. Nicely done!
Thanks!
(And apologies to others for not having been very good at doing similar critiques/praise this week. Been a hard week)
[…] Another challenge, and another nasty piece of work. I’ve just started reading In Sunlight and In Shadows, Lawrence Block’s story collection inspired by Edward Hopper, and I can’t help but feel that influenced this story, a story of revenge from an unexpected place. Possible trigger warning – so, so violent. […]
So, here’s a story that feels like it might be a part of a longer story, but it’d be a pretty nasty story. She Broke Gods – http://andreaspeed.com/2017/flash-fic-challenge-she-broke-gods/
A harsh but fitting end to cretins who deserved no less. It read very fluidly; I was surprised when I came to the end of the piece.
mine is also, WAY under the limit. oh well.
http://bek516.deviantart.com/art/Sincerely-Your-Mortician-664594903
Have to admit, I found the opening few paragraphs confusing with all the different characters and themes, but the twist at the end was nice, and helped to clarify some of my initial confusion.
[…] words | Prompts: TerribleMinds, #3WW, Sunday Scribblings 2, The Writing […]
I’m still running my superhero web serial. I went with “To Forbidden Passengers:” http://wp.me/p4le2s-1Nw
[…] http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2017/02/17/flash-fiction-challenge-ten-more-titles-round-two/ […]
Here is my 1500 word story inspired by Zane Grey, “Paint Your Wagon”, and alternative facts.
https://curioushart.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/gunslinger-ridge-experiment/
Reads like a parable in the best way. Self-contained and an interesting ending.
Thank you.
Very moving like a parable. The characters really stood out and cleverly delivered a powerful message.
I’m joining the way under the limit gang with ‘She Broke Gods:’
http://caralmckee.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/she-broke-gods-flash-fiction-post.html
Brilliant! I like how the physical act of destroying the statues corresponds to the metaphysical act of bringing down centuries (or more) of oppression and antiquated beliefs.
Not that I see parallels, or anything……..
I had to go with Stars That Bleed. It inspired the beginning of a Hollywood detective story. Serial Killer. Steampunk. Snark. Can’t help myself.
https://rhythmandcrime.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/stars-that-bleed/
Really enjoyed the noir-ness of this in the modern world. There’s some great lines in here as well, It’s a good start to the story, would like to read more.
Great setting and exciting way you set up the prompt. Didn’t even imagine it like that when I saw the title, but then your story was a great depiction for this title.
Sincerely, Your Mortician called to me.
http://ericgoebelbecker.com/2017/02/sincerely-your-mortician/
This. This is great.
Thank you very much!
[…] That Bleed is a piece of flash fiction written for Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds blog. You, too, can join the fun by choosing a title here and writing a story wherever it is you […]
[…] A Terrible Minds writing challenge. […]
I chose ‘Sincerely, Your Mortician’ as the title of my story, but included the porcelain cat as inspiration.
https://guyoharrison.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/sincerely-your-mortician/
To Unwanted Passengers
Continuing the story from last week, but it can hopefully stand alone.
https://dcxli.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/to-unwanted-passengers/
I went with To Forbidden Passengers from lydie h. Turned into a sci-fi short that sort of about refugees. It’s roughly 1500 words long. Here you go: http://davidralphlewis.co.uk/my-writing/to-forbidden-passengers/
Just wanted to say, these are some excellent titles. In fact, I’m already in the process of writing another flash fic for the “Gunslinger Ridge Experiment” title. The others also have a lot of potential… I could definitely see me using at least half of them.
The Porcelain Cat (under the intro in French) became an accessory to explore the voice of a teenage girl. Took me far from my comfort zone; not satisfied but I’ll let it rest so it can tell me more later. http://www.campagnonades.com/fiction-le-chat-de-porcelaine/
I really, really liked this. Strong voice from the teenage girl, slightly creepy with the porcelain cat. You get a lot of emotional depth through understatement, which is fantastic. I’d be interested to see you develop it further, feels like it’s the start of a longer story.
Dead moms leaving porcelain cats seems to have been a wavelength vibe as I had the same impetus (though vastly different results).
This story has a wonderful narrative voice and pacing that was a pleasure to read. The ominous presence of the cat was creepy and a fitting symbol of this dysfunctional family. It gave me the sense that the narrator fears becoming like her mother, and grandmother, and turning the cat around at the end was her way of trying to reject that fate. Bravo, et merci de partager!
I actually combined two of the titles to come up with “The Porcelain Cat Wants In” and then my story became a poem. I initially thought it was going to be an homage to “The Raven” but I was wrong (as usual). It’s only 183 words so I am also in the Way Under The Limit club this week. Please to enjoy, and please comment if you get a chance. I haven’t written a poem in years. I’ll be curious to know what you think of it.
https://sambrady.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/chuck-wendig-the-porcelain-cat-wants-in/
Busy busy week for me, but here’s a short crime story with a twist: “The Porcelain Cat”, with thanks to d.moulou for the title.
https://medium.com/@VicenteLRuiz/the-porcelain-cat-bc821e09af88#.7jtuyvivy
Hey, all. Here’s mine: http://brennanmcmahon.com/gunslinger-ridge-flash-fiction-story/
Didn’t quite do 1500 words, but enjoy anyway!
Quite amusing! Poor Jerry. Lady Luck is a fickle mistress, isn’t she?
Ha, she is! Glad you liked the story!
I agree with Urban Spaceman–amusing story.
Thank you!
[…] Chuck Wendig’s Flash Fiction Challenge “She Broke Gods”(Title by thomasmhewlett) 1,509 […]
Here’s mine: She Broke Gods https://jakashadows.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/flash-fiction-she-broke-gods/
Another chapter of the space opera, action adventure (how’s that for keywords?) Pirate’s Luck with the chapter title To Forbidden Passengers. We pick up the action from last week but you should be able to read this as a stand alone. If not, let me know. http://bethturnage.com/?p=947
Great continuation from last week! Always good to see a couple of antiheroes sticking it to the law.
[…] gives good writing prompts. They aren’t the easiest in the world, but they are interesting. Currently he has one where his readers were to submit a three-word title, and he has selected a handful of the many […]
[…] story was written in response to a Flash Fiction Challenge issued by Chuck Wendig at his blog Terrible Minds. You can check out the other entries in the comments […]
Things can get rough on the playground.
https://cornedbeefhashtag.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/the-porcelain-cat/
Thank you powerjacob for the title: https://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/wolves-of-sorrow-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
Mecha space-opera action is go!
I picked “It Wants In” by Mollons. I thought it sounded like a classic horror title. I tried to do it justice. Enjoy.
https://roktyping.blogspot.com/2017/02/it-wants-in-wendig-flash-10-more-titles.html
I started out with my own title (“It Wants In”) but as I was writing things changed from what I set out to write. “Sincerely, Your Mortician” by AN seemed to tickle that nerve that kept saying “tell the story THIS way instead.” “It” in the story changed to “He”, and things just felt better.
http://flash.scottmollon.com/sincerely.html
I find that some of my stories have a mind of their own, too. Still getting used to that.
I enjoyed your story very much, it flowed very nicely and I liked the way you ended it.
The Porcelain Cat – horror, but really more like unsettling creep than outright horror.
https://cameronamount.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/the-porcelain-cat-a-wendig-weekly-challenge/
I really enjoyed this piece.
I picked “The Porcelain Cat”. I hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think (good or bad).
http://thecolemind.com/the-porcelain-cat/
Okay, powerjacob’s Wolves of Sorrow leapt off the page and ran away with my imagination…
http://www.herravendomain.com/2017/02/wolves-of-sorrow.html
I had a hard time choosing, so turned to my significant other for a decision. The result: Sincerely, Your Mortician.
https://mjdiedrich.com/2017/02/23/sincerely-your-mortician/
First time poster here, and I picked “Tomorrow’s Mirror Today”. It’s a great title that lends itself to interpretation in so many different ways, which allowed me to rework a backstory segment I had to cut from a novel draft. Fun stuff!
https://addictedtowriting.ca/2017/02/23/tomorrows-mirror-today/
Here is my take on The Gunslinger Ridge Experiment. I like that title and really got my imagination running. It took me in a few different directions when I started trying out ideas about gunfights that went wrong, but then found a totally different approach
Here is my piece http://mywrite.martinperlin.com/2017/02/flash-fiction-gunslinger-ridge.html
A sad story; it builds hope and then ends with a surprise. It reminds me of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I could not resist “Sincerely, Your Mortician”. Did mine epistolary style.
https://pathofthecrab.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/flash-fiction-challenge-sincerely-your-mortician/
I had to do Wolves of Sorrow. Enjoy! https://helenoloughlin.com/2017/02/24/wolves-of-sorrow/
Hey guys. Sorry if I’m late.
Anyway, my entry – Wolves of Sorrow.
https://thefictionextends.wordpress.com/flash-fiction-wolves-of-sorrow/
Just in under the wire! This one put up a fight, but I think I got it. My first attempt at second person POV. I went with “It Wants In”
https://michelle-wordplay.blogspot.com
[…] week’s Chuck Wendig Flash Fiction Challenge is another go at last week. In Ten More Titles (Round Two!) Chuck selected ten more titles from the ones that were submitted two weeks ago and put them […]