Flash Fiction Challenge: The SubGenre Smash-And-Grab
AND WE’RE BACK.
And we return with an old favorite.
We shall make subgenres dance together for our whims.
I will give you 20 subgenres. You will pick two from the list either using a d20 or random number generator (or use monkey knuckles or coffee grounds or whatever), then you will write a short story that mashes up those two subgenres.
Length: We’ll say 1500 words.
Due by: Next Friday (5/19), noon EST.
Post at your online space.
Link to it in the comments below. So we can all read it!
THE SUBGENRE LIST:
- Political Thriller
- Erotic
- Fairy Tale / Fable / Folklore
- Haunted House
- Weird West
- Body Horror
- Near-Future Sci-Fi
- Sword & Sorcery
- Occult Detective
- Historical Fantasy
- Comic Fantasy
- Vampire
- Superhero
- Bodice Ripper
- Heist / Caper
- Space Opera
- Biopunk
- Medical Thriller
- Paranormal Romance
- Splatterpunk
May 12, 2017 @ 1:43 PM
I was skimming the list and initially misread 18 as Dental Thriller, so now my brain is stuck on that concept.
May 12, 2017 @ 2:29 PM
@Tamra Hart Dentistry is a medical field…
May 16, 2017 @ 7:00 PM
Dr. Emile Molar is a dentist on the edge! Three days from retirement, he’s about to work on the dental bridge of his life!
May 12, 2017 @ 4:05 PM
Near Future Sci Fi / Biopunk here we come!
May 12, 2017 @ 6:03 PM
I want someone to do a space opera bodice ripper!
Scandalous Contradiction | Article 94
May 12, 2017 @ 7:45 PM
[…] this summer about that… Anyway, these 1,487 words are from the following prompts: Terrible Minds, Inspiration Monday, The Writing Reader, Sunday Scribblings 2, #3WW, & […]
May 12, 2017 @ 7:46 PM
I did #7 & #15: https://article94.wordpress.com/2017/05/12/scandalous-contradiction/
May 12, 2017 @ 8:51 PM
If you smash 8, 17 and 18 together you might get a Nanobiotechnoshaman Thriller. Does that break the rules?
May 12, 2017 @ 10:19 PM
I got Vampire and Superhero and wound up immediately writing 650 words about a little girl who idolizes Batman and decides she’s a superhero after she gets bitten by a vampire. I know two things: this is probably the weirdest thing I’ve written, and I’m not going to be able to stick to the 1.5k word limit because I already have so many ideas for it.
(this is what I love about these things; you get the oddest stuff when you try to fit genres together)
May 13, 2017 @ 2:01 AM
A smidge over the 1,500 word mark. But it was fun doing this one.
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/my-hero.html
enjoy.
May 13, 2017 @ 4:03 AM
Erotic medical thriller might have been… well… anyway, random rolls done, results obtained, story written. Folks can view the results here: http://trollbreath.com/index.php/2017/05/13/the-sneak-thief/
May 15, 2017 @ 10:04 AM
Fun read! I enjoyed the gradual introduction of the fairy-tale element.
May 18, 2017 @ 4:32 AM
Thanks! I was trying to keep it a mystery as long as possible which fairy tale I was playing with. Although the “goose vase” at the beginning might have been a little too cute and given it away. 🙂
May 17, 2017 @ 2:40 PM
A good laugh. I really enjoyed the giant’s wife – she seemed like a pleasant woman.
May 18, 2017 @ 4:33 AM
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. I really wanted his wife to be that loving, kind, motherly sort of character you see on some British television shows. Always pleasant and cheerful, sees the bright side of everything. 🙂
May 18, 2017 @ 9:12 PM
Reminds me a bit of Shaun’s mother in the movie Shaun of the Dead. Cheerful even in the worst situations.
May 13, 2017 @ 9:41 AM
I wrote a genre fusion of #3 (based on The Faerie Queen) and the 2015 AP Calculus Exam. Since Mathematics is not on your list, I will not be participating this week.
May 13, 2017 @ 10:57 AM
Hey Chuck, why are Amazon.co.uk charging £21.56 for Thunderbird? It’s $19 on Amazon.com. $19 usd to gbp is £14.75. What gives?
May 13, 2017 @ 12:37 PM
Okay, 2/19 seemed way too easy (Erotic Paranormal Romance is not exactly unusual, not to mention I don’t know anything about either genre), so I rolled again. 19/10 it is. Though I’m really intrigued by option 19/6.
So, I probably do two stories or end up with 19/10/6.
May 13, 2017 @ 1:42 PM
Thanks for deleting my comment related to the price of Thunderbird on Amazon.co.uk vs the price on Amazon.com Chuck. I’ll wait and pick up a second-hand copy.
May 15, 2017 @ 7:51 AM
I didn’t delete it, ding-dong. It just wasn’t approved yet.
But you’re still a ding-dong, because:
a) I don’t control the price of my books
b) I don’t control Amazon
c) This post is a flash fiction post, which has literally nothing to do with my novel Thunderbird, or any of my novels, or the price of any of my novels, or Amazon, so really, I *should* delete your comment outright, but I’ll leave it here so your ding-dong nature can be on full display for all to see.
d) also, your threat is heard (oh no, a second hand copy), and I rate it 1 out of 10, very disappointing
Enjoy your book, should you buy one.
— c.
May 15, 2017 @ 8:09 PM
Ah ok. I apologise for thinking my comment was deleted. Still going to buy a second-hand copy though. Just waiting for a copy to be available for around £10.
Also, Amazon.co.uk have put the bloody price up to £21.72 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thunderbird-Miriam-Black-Chuck-Wendig/dp/1481448714/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494892375&sr=1-1&keywords=chuck+wendig+thunderbird
May 13, 2017 @ 6:32 PM
I got superhero and medical thriller. This was fun.
https://allisonmaruska.com/2017/05/13/flash-fiction-the-healer/
May 15, 2017 @ 9:31 AM
Very well done! Loved the voice, the dialogue, the tension, and the concept!
May 17, 2017 @ 2:48 PM
What an interesting idea.
May 14, 2017 @ 4:26 AM
Sword and Socery/Space Opera for 911 words
https://dcxli.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/duel/
Face palm – Andi Winter
May 14, 2017 @ 3:08 PM
[…] I saw a post by Chuck Wendig with another flash fiction challenge to write a story mashing up two randomly chosen genres***, and I got started on another […]
May 14, 2017 @ 11:23 PM
Here’s a molecular biologist’s take on a biopunk-themed superhero story. https://christopherslagle.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/flash-fiction-splice
May 17, 2017 @ 2:57 PM
Loved everything about this story. Reminds me of The Fly. Gorrific!
May 17, 2017 @ 3:00 PM
Thank you!!!
May 15, 2017 @ 9:04 PM
Near-Future Sci-Fi & Occult Detective. I think this exercise cured my writers slump!
http://rebekahturner.net/index.php/short-stories-2/flash-fiction/
FLASH FICTION: SUBGENRE SMASH-AND-GRAB | hikelylads
May 16, 2017 @ 5:01 PM
[…] Flash Fiction submission, so why not celebrate reaching halfway through May 2017 but doing another Chuck Wendig […]
May 16, 2017 @ 5:10 PM
My tea leaves gave me 5. (Weird West) and also 15. (Heist/Caper).
https://hikelylads.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/flash-fiction-subgenre-smash-and-grab/
Also, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who found this weeks prompt exciting! Almost like a palate cleanser!
May 17, 2017 @ 3:04 PM
Considering the state of the world today, this one was oddly apropos.
May 16, 2017 @ 6:55 PM
Got my first draft done for a splatterpunk space opera. It is goddamned revolting. So, I think it’s pretty good. I’ll post it up once I have a change to set down tomorrow and give it an editing pass.
Flash Fic Challenge – Witch | In Absentia
May 17, 2017 @ 5:55 AM
[…] This is the latest writing challenge , and I got haunted house/Weird West. So here’s that story. […]
May 17, 2017 @ 5:57 AM
Okay, so I got haunted house/Weird West, and it was interesting, because I don’t write Westerns. But here you go – Witch. http://andreaspeed.com/2017/flash-fic-challenge-witch/
May 17, 2017 @ 11:43 AM
Excellent resolution and really interesting story. Good stuff.
May 17, 2017 @ 8:13 PM
Thank you. My only exposure to Westerns has been old Jonah Hex comics and some Joe Lansdale shorts. I did my best.
May 17, 2017 @ 3:14 PM
This story. This character. Your writing style. I’m in awe of it all. Very well done!
May 17, 2017 @ 8:15 PM
Thank you! I did like the character a lot. I bet a genderqueer woman with a demon sense and a Death eye could get up to some crazy stuff in the west…
May 18, 2017 @ 9:12 PM
I wish it was a book I could pick up and read right now.
May 19, 2017 @ 3:02 AM
I’ll take that as encouragement! I think it’ll be the start of something bigger.
May 17, 2017 @ 8:39 AM
I got 4 and 6. So haunted house body horror it is! Here’s Oak Tree Manor: http://davidralphlewis.co.uk/oak-tree-manor/
May 17, 2017 @ 3:20 PM
Love the manner of haunting in this tale. Slow and steady. Well done!
May 17, 2017 @ 10:07 AM
Haunted House + Comic Fantasy. Not at all the kind of story I would ever think to write. Just a bit of a goof off more than anything: https://www.jwmartin.com/the-haunted-fellowship/
A Haunted Fellowship - A Flash Fiction Story | J.W. Martin
May 17, 2017 @ 10:08 AM
[…] This week’s challenge was taking 2 different genres and making them collide in about 1,500 words. Chuck gave a list of 20 different genres and link to a random number generator. For me, it chose Haunted House and Comic Fantasy. Here’s my attempt. […]
Black Current [Fiction] – ADAN RAMIE
May 17, 2017 @ 1:24 PM
[…] The first prompt for today’s story comes from Terrible Minds: […]
May 17, 2017 @ 1:27 PM
Even when I tried to game the system, I kept getting “fairytale/fable/folklore” and “superhero”, so I finally just went with it. And went waaay over 1500 words.
https://adanramie.com/black-current-fiction/
May 17, 2017 @ 8:06 PM
As promised – here’s my gorefest, ‘Beasties’ for the Space Opera / Splatterpunk mashup. This is going to get disgusting.
http://ossua.com/beasties-a-terribleminds-flash-fic-challenge/
May 18, 2017 @ 11:29 AM
Great story. Good use of the gore. Not at all what I was expecting. Good stuff.
May 24, 2017 @ 9:36 AM
Sick! Freaking loved the beastie near the end, what it did with the finger bones…
Chuck Wendig: Bible And A Gun | Writing The Egg 2.0
May 17, 2017 @ 9:34 PM
[…] one in a while, more than a month, I think. This time he pulled out one of my favorites, the Subgenre Smash-and-Grab, where he lists 20 different subgenres and we penmonkey acolytes are supposed to somehow randomly […]
May 17, 2017 @ 9:37 PM
Here’s 1445 words of Weird West/Vampire goodness. Please to enjoy “Bible And A Gun” and comment if you feel so led. Let me know what you think!
https://sambrady.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/chuck-wendig-bible-and-a-gun/
May 18, 2017 @ 10:12 AM
I got superhero/superpunk. This is what I came up with: http://mywrite.martinperlin.com/2017/05/flash-fiction-offer-we-cant-refuse.html
May 18, 2017 @ 11:27 AM
That was fantastic. Nice job.
Serpent of Smoke (A Chuck Wendig Challenge) | Dark Perceptions
May 18, 2017 @ 11:48 AM
[…] Anyway, this was supposed to be a sword & sorcery/bodice ripper mashup (original challenge here courtesy of Mr. Chuck Wendig). It leans way more heavily on the former than the latter, and for […]
May 18, 2017 @ 11:48 AM
Okay, so this was supposed to be sword&sorcery/bodice ripper. Way more the former than the latter. Round about 1600 words. https://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/serpent-of-smoke-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
May 18, 2017 @ 11:56 AM
For this challenge, I got sword & sorcery and biopunk. https://rainyday.blog/2017/05/18/our-only-hope-flash-fiction-challenge-the-subgenre-smash-and-grab/
Now, I’m nowhere near finished with this story, which you can tell. Most of this is just the beginning and a lot of it is world building. But this is what I have so far to start off the story before my hero begins her quest. Hope those of you who read it enjoy, and don’t hesitate to tell me what you think.
Flash Fiction Challenge – The Subgenre Smash-and-Grab | Write about now
May 18, 2017 @ 1:38 PM
[…] new round of Flash Fiction and we’re back to the Subgenre Smash-and-Grab as always courtesy of Chuck Wendig. I rolled and got Haunted House and Paranormal […]
May 18, 2017 @ 1:42 PM
Got Haunted House and Paranormal Romace. Since we got 1500 words this time, I tried to make it a (somewhat) finished story, rather than just a slice-of-life. https://evathereseebert.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/the-subgenre-smash-and-grab-2/
May 24, 2017 @ 9:43 AM
Not what I was expecting. Well done!
May 18, 2017 @ 4:16 PM
Near future Sci-Fi / Biopunk mashup. Hope you enjoy it.
https://guyoharrison.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/enhanced/
May 24, 2017 @ 9:50 AM
Terrifying. Gripping. I knew how it was going to end, but the story kept me engrossed through the final sentence. Bravo!
Enhanced. | Guy O'Harrison
May 18, 2017 @ 4:43 PM
[…] Chuck Wendig Fiction […]
May 18, 2017 @ 6:52 PM
Almost late!
I got Near-Future Sci-Fi & Occult Detective. I wrote almost 1700 words, and I’m afraid the story is not really finished, so finishing it will be an extra challenge in the future.
I hope you enjoy “A Private Enquiry”: https://medium.com/@VicenteLRuiz/a-private-enquiry-7aa931368618
Flash Fiction: Vampire for President – a place to put stories
May 18, 2017 @ 7:19 PM
[…] Chuck Wendig’s Flash Fiction Challenge “Vampire for President” 1,821 […]
May 18, 2017 @ 7:21 PM
I got Vampires and Political Thriller, so I give you:
“Vampire for President”
https://jakashadows.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/flash-fiction-vampire-for-president/
A little over 1500 words at 1821
May 18, 2017 @ 7:48 PM
I got Near-future SF and Biopunk, which are pretty overlapping. Used just under 1400 of the words Chuck allotted us.
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2017/05/friday-flash-fiction-crispins.html
Brand New | aimee there
May 18, 2017 @ 11:58 PM
[…] So, after a very goddamned long time, I am writing fiction again. I threw this together so I’d have some place to post my piece for Chuck’s flash fiction challenge as my social media presence is basically only twitter. Linky link here. […]
May 19, 2017 @ 12:05 AM
Sooooo. I haven’t written any fiction in nearly twenty years, and I want to find my way back to writing again, so I figured why not jump in with both feet? Gah. Super nervous. Here is 1500 words on numbers 12 and 18, vampire/medical thriller.
https://aimeethere.wordpress.com/2017/05/19/brand-new/
May 19, 2017 @ 11:47 AM
Wow, that was a great story. You should write more.
May 25, 2017 @ 11:28 PM
Hey, thanks! I’m planning to; I managed to get one in for this week’s challenge as well. 🙂
May 19, 2017 @ 1:02 PM
I love when beauty products go horribly wrong. Nice!
May 25, 2017 @ 11:30 PM
Thank you! Funnily enough, I read the novella Reenu-You right after I wrote this, which is about a hair relaxer that has a v tragic outcome. It’s haunting.
May 26, 2017 @ 6:44 AM
Ha! I will have to check that out.
May 24, 2017 @ 10:23 AM
I need this to be a series.
May 25, 2017 @ 11:38 PM
Man, no pressure. 🙂 (Replied to your other comment on my blog)
Of Two Minds – Anna Nyms
May 19, 2017 @ 1:08 AM
[…] Wendig over at terribleminds.com has a flash fiction challenge. Pick two genres from a list of 20. Mine is Near-future Sci-fi (#7) and Medical Thriller(#18). […]
May 19, 2017 @ 3:55 AM
I got body horror and heist/caper. Hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think!
http://marspetrichor.tumblr.com/post/160832109476/latent-impressions
May 19, 2017 @ 12:21 PM
Gave me chills! Nice job.
May 21, 2017 @ 10:33 AM
Thanks!
May 19, 2017 @ 11:54 AM
Okay, giving this a try. I used the random number generator and got 6 and 9, Body Horror and Occult Detective. Which, until I saw this, I didn’t even know were actual genres, along with many of the others.
Anyway, here it is, for what it’s worth:
http://www.alphaopportunities.com/another_damned_message.htm
May 19, 2017 @ 12:44 PM
Okay. This one messed with my head big time. LOL! Nice job.
May 19, 2017 @ 3:44 PM
Thanks!. If that one messed with your head, you should read some of the other twisted stuff I write.
BTW, I found some glitches that got introduced in the text while doing a rushed coding job on the initial posting. These have now been corrected.
May 19, 2017 @ 11:56 AM
Just made the deadline with my Space Opera/Splatterpunk tale. This was fun.
https://exlibrisregina.com/2017/05/19/space-wedding/
May 19, 2017 @ 2:07 PM
Like it a lot. Sort of old fashioned Space Opera feel to it.
May 20, 2017 @ 7:22 AM
Thank you.
May 19, 2017 @ 12:00 PM
I rolled Near Future SciFi/Medical thriller. This story is thrown together roughly and needs more polish. You have a really good blog Chuck, lot of tips and plenty of help.
Here’s my link everyone, enjoy.
https://annanyms.wordpress.com/2017/05/19/of-two-minds/
I like writing, it’s a lot of fun. And I’m sorry if this post is a multiple post. I’ve tried posting my link to my story, but the post did not show up, even with a status of awaiting moderation. I’ve been having some network problems this week. We switched over to a new fiber network and still are having a few problems.
May 19, 2017 @ 1:03 PM
I really enjoyed this one.