Irregular Creatures: Flash Fiction Challenge

The Shackleton’s Scotch challenge was pretty dang cool, and the results were, frankly, fun as hell to read. And a number of you said you’d be interested in more flash fiction challenges.

So, here I am, once more throwing down the gauntlet.

As you may know, I have a short story collection called IRREGULAR CREATURES (buy here), which features nine tales of bizarre-o beasties, mythological miscreants, and mad monsters — the creatures found in that collection (flying cats, Bigfoot, mermaids, mystic hobos, evil sex monkeys, the mesmerizing vagina of a fallen angel) are in many ways like the writer himself: an odd-seeming and often irregular entity.

This week’s challenge, which runs from today till next Friday (3/11/11) at noon, asks you to take those two words — “irregular creature” — and craft some flash fiction around it.

Whatever that phrase means to you, run with it.

You’ve got 1000 words.

Doesn’t mean you need to stay inside the margins of genre — while fantasy, sci-fi, horror and humor are apropos, anything goes in terms of the inspiration you take from that pair of words.

I’ll once more compile them at the end of the seven days.

Well, what the hell are you waiting around for? Get thee to the word mines!

Your own irregular creatures await.

The Results

Karina Cooper, “Looking Too Hard”

Josin McQueen, “Irregular Creatures”

Jamie Wyman, “Step Right Up”

Angela Perry, “Dog Farts”

Wes Robinson, “Irregular Creatures”

CY, “Signing On”

Tim Kelley, “Snowbirds”

Albert Berg, “The Life And Times Of Casey Jones”

Anthony Laffan, “Three Nights ‘Til The New Moon”

Elizabeth Newlin, “Irregular Creatures”

Amber Keller, “Running On E”

MKS, “Irregular Creatures”

Ben, “Coyote”

Paul Vogt, “Attempt #3”

Snellopy, “Dogspider”

Shree, “Daddy’s Girl”

Marko Kloos, “Seeds”

Aiwevenya, “Writing Class”

Tara Tyler, “Irregular Creature”

McDroll, “My Irregular Little Creature”

Stephanie Belser, “Irregular Creatures”

Sroot, “Angels Or Aliens”

Seth, “Three”

Letters Bloody Letters, “The Story Of Dirty Mari”

Michael Montoure, “Control”

Boys Behaving Badly, “The Horologe”

Sparky, “Waiting Room”

Valerie Valdes, “Hiss”

Gary B. Phillips, “Mottephobia”

Dan, “Jake’s Wake”

 

John Murphy, “Unintended Consequences”

DeAnna Knippling, “The Last Diary Of Doctor Frankenstein“