Last week’s flash fiction challenge is here — The Unexplained Must Be Explained. Stories may be coming in throughout the day, so feel free to check back over yonder.
Second:
Welcome back. It’s time, again, to play with flash fiction the way a cat plays with a dead mouse. Batting it back and forth. Bringing it to your owners to show off. Making little Prada handbags out of it.
Today’s challenge: choose a cocktail, and name your story after it. The great thing is, you have a lot of leeway here: the cocktails that exist in this world are nigh-endless. From the common (Dirty Martini, Tom Collins, Whiskey Sour) to the WTF (Satan’s Whiskers, Electric Smurf, Monkey Gland). The story doesn’t need to incorporate the cocktail, though you’re certainly welcome to do that.
Also: bonus points if you give the cocktail recipe after the story. Because, fuck it, we’re all lushes here, right? Right. High-five, those whose livers look like beach-balls or peach-pits.
Here’s the tweak:
You only have 500 words this go around.
And, the goal is still to use those 500 words to tell a full story, not just a vignette. Remember, flash fiction ideally has a beginning, middle, and an end; they’re just trimmed, sharpened, heightened.
Standard rules apply. Post at your blog. Link back here if you’d like. Then post a link (don’t rely on the trackback) in the comments in this post. Any questions, shoot ’em my way.
I think I will once more begin aggregating the links because, frankly, I think it made it easier to view the links. I’m going to try to keep on it as they come in, through, for ease of attack.
Get thee to writing, you ink-stained drunken baboons!
[EDIT: Doh, I didn’t make clear: You’ve got one week, till the close of next Friday, 4/15.]
The Stories
Lindsay Mawson, “A.S.S. On Flames”
Josin McQuein, “Flaming Moe”
Anthony Laffan, “Satan’s Whiskers”
Quinn Slater, “Camel Piss”
McDroll, “The Smokey Carburetor”
Madison Morris, “Sex With Captain Or Babymomma”
Aiwevanya, “Bloody Mary”
Anthony Schiavino, “Jack Rose”
Dan O’Shea, “Bloody Mary”
AB, “The Corpse Reviver”
Shauna Granger, “Irish Gold”
Stephanie Belser, “Zombie”
Sparky, “Rattlesnake”
Eck, “Tee Many Martini”
Neliza Drew, “Paradise”
Tim Kelley, “Primal Scream”
Bob Bois, “Lucy On The Floor”
KD James, “Tom Collins”
Pia Newman, “Swimming Pool”
Angie Arcangioli, “Negroni Splash”
Carolyn E. Bentley, “Mugging In Moscow”
Tara Tyler, “J Is For Jello Shooter”
Marlan, “Mad Cow Special”
Seth, “Moscow Mule”
Paul Vogt, “Snake In The Grass”
Dan Wright, “Gin And Sin”
Tribid, “G&T”
Joseph McGee, “A Murder Of Crows”
C.M. Stewart, “Tom Cullen”
Lindsay Mawson says:
Wow, am I the first!? Sweet.
Here’s mine, called Ass On Flames (Drink is A.S.S. on Flames and you will find the recipe at the bottom!)
http://lindsaymawson.blogspot.com/2011/04/flash-fiction-challenge-5-ass-on-flames.html
April 8, 2011 — 8:56 AM
Brandy says:
Innnnteresting prompt…!
April 8, 2011 — 9:23 AM
Sparky says:
For the benefit of writers such as myself who are not acquainted with the names of mixed drinks: I present you with Wikipedia’s extensive list of cocktails. Enjoy the strange creations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cocktails
April 8, 2011 — 10:06 AM
terribleminds says:
Sparky —
An awesome list. Thing is, you can find even weirder ones. Cocktails from the 1920s are great. A “speakeasy” nearby does rock-awesome cocktails of old:
http://www.thebookstorespeakeasy.com/cocktails.html
— c.
April 8, 2011 — 10:08 AM
Josin says:
I went with Flaming Moe: I give you the scimitar wielding meth-bear… sort of. (Drat you and your shorter word count!)
http://josinlmcquein.blogspot.com/2011/04/flash-fiction-flaming-moe.html
April 8, 2011 — 12:33 PM
Anthony Laffan says:
Coming in at about 496 words, I’ve got “Satan’s Whiskers”. Just too good to pass up.
http://www.realityrefracted.com/2010/01/satans-whiskers-terrible-minds-flash.html
April 8, 2011 — 1:44 PM
Quinn Slater says:
Great prompt. Read “Camel Piss,” if you wish, at
http://www.quinnslater.com/short-fiction
April 8, 2011 — 2:19 PM
McDroll says:
The Smokey Carburettor
http://mcdroll.blogspot.com/2011/04/smokey-carburettor.html
April 8, 2011 — 3:24 PM
Madison says:
what we have here: 208 word story plus TWO recipes! Not to mention the titilating title:
Sex with the Captain or Babymama
(of course once you had the first one, Babymama CAN only be a considered to be a natural/possible consequence)
Enjoy the story NOT in moderation..thanks for reading:
http://chrysalisnow.blogspot.com/2011/04/sex-with-captain-or-babymama.html
April 8, 2011 — 3:27 PM
Aiwevanya says:
Go clicky here > http://metamuse-aiwevanya.blogspot.com/2011/04/bloody-mary.html for 500 words on some kind of vampire slaying chick called Mary.
Oh also I found this cocktail site helpful http://www.in-the-spirit.co.uk/cocktails/index.php (even though I went with a really, really well known one in the end and probably didn’t need to do so much research… oh well, maybe I’ll do another one or two, this was fun).
April 8, 2011 — 3:47 PM
Anthony Schiavino says:
I went with Jack Rose. Couldn’t resist. I think there’s more for this character in the future but we’ll see. http://sgtzero.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/jack-rose/
Recipe at the bottom of the page.
April 8, 2011 — 5:54 PM
Dan O'Shea says:
I give you my Bloody Mary first shot at vampire porn. (Hey, Sabrina Ogden asked for it.)
http://tinyurl.com/3hyv4qg
April 8, 2011 — 6:23 PM
AB says:
Okay, so I couldn’t say no to an alcohol based challenge. It was just too fun not to try. Here’s my entry for this week’s Cocktail Challenge, then I’m off to read all the other entries, because they are always so good.
I give you: The Cocktail Challenge http://writemomma.blogspot.com/2011/04/flash-fiction-cocktail.html (you’ll have to read the story to know which drink I chose).
April 8, 2011 — 8:36 PM
Ben Kirby says:
Well, it’s as good a challenge as we’ve had yet — thank you. Fun, too. Worked hard to make this more a “story”, less a vignette.
http://warnerkirby.blogs.com/clintonaut/2011/04/sir-barkley-winston-sears-tells-stories-of-the-amazing-but-true-the-last-gin-martini.html#tp
Keep it up — doing this and seeing the good stuff folks come up with is a good time.
April 8, 2011 — 11:22 PM
Dan O'Shea says:
Damn, forgot my drink recipie. Hmm . . . don’t really drink bloody marys except sometimes on early AM flights if I’m on vacation. It’s what? Vodka and menses? I got that right?
April 8, 2011 — 11:45 PM
Shauna Granger says:
This was a lot of fun. I think I might’ve came up with a whole new character to play with after this!
http://shaunasspot.blogspot.com/2011/04/flash-fiction-challenge-cocktail.html
April 9, 2011 — 12:52 AM
Stephanie M. Belser says:
http://downrange-impact.blogspot.com/2011/04/zombie.html
April 9, 2011 — 1:48 PM
terribleminds says:
@Stephanie:
It shouldn’t show up in any browser, as b/c of the link it wasn’t yet approved. But that’s fixed now!
🙂
— c.
April 9, 2011 — 4:43 PM
Delisa says:
I didn’t write a story for the challenge but loved reading everyone else’s stories. Awesome challenge theme.
April 9, 2011 — 2:01 PM
Stephanie Belser says:
This is weird. My comment shows up in one browser (Chrome) but not three others (Firefox, Iron and Opera).
Weird.
http://downrange-impact.blogspot.com/2011/04/zombie.html
April 9, 2011 — 4:33 PM
Sparky says:
The Rattlesnake. Exactly 500 words (not counting recipe at the bottom)
http://sparky29252.blogspot.com/2011/04/rattlesnake.html
April 9, 2011 — 5:14 PM
Stephanie Belser says:
Chuck, sorry. I didn’t know that.
April 9, 2011 — 8:24 PM
terribleminds says:
@Stephanie:
Oh! Nothing to apologize about, was just letting you know why sometimes comments don’t show right away. That tends to be true if it’s got a link in it.
— c.
April 10, 2011 — 7:56 AM
Eck! says:
I just had t try this one. The bars open..
http://mozambique-drill.blogspot.com/2011/04/tee-many-martini.html
April 9, 2011 — 11:37 PM
Neliza Drew says:
As this was flash and short, I didn’t bother editing this. Just kind of threw it up on the screen. (Vomit is how fruity drinks usually end up for me, so perhaps that’s fitting.)
http://nelizadrew.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/paradise/
April 10, 2011 — 2:41 PM
Tim Kelley says:
Not sure I avoided a vignette but drink up. Primal Scream
http://tailwindstimemachines.blogspot.com/2011/04/flash-fiction-cocktail.html
April 10, 2011 — 5:09 PM
Bob Bois says:
You can read “Lucy on the Floor” at:
http://sittingindarkness.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/lucy-on-the-floor/
April 10, 2011 — 9:39 PM
KDJames says:
Taking a break from other writing to toss back a quick shot:
http://kdjames.com/2011/04/11/drinking-games-and-other-stiff-shots/
Also, I’ve noticed in reading these other posts that it’s unbelievably damned difficult to find the writer’s name on some of these sites. C’mon, guys, how am I supposed to look for your published work someday if I don’t know your name? And yes, I’ll be looking. Find a prominent blank spot, add your name and fucking claim it.
April 11, 2011 — 3:32 AM
Michael Webb says:
http://innocentsaccidentshints.blogspot.com/2011/04/terrible-minds-challenge-death-in.html
Here’s mine, called “Death In The Afternoon”
April 11, 2011 — 9:04 AM
Marlan says:
I’m not really an aficionado on drinks so here is a joke I read.
A woman goes into a bar and asks for a “double entendre”.
So the bartender gave her one.
Thanks. I’ll be here all week.
April 11, 2011 — 10:49 AM
Pia Newman says:
This was fun! My first flash-fiction piece: Swimming Pool.
http://mylinesmylife.blogspot.com/2011/04/terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge.html
April 11, 2011 — 11:49 AM
Angie Arcangioli says:
The cocktail is the Negroni but Negroni Spash, 500 words, is the title for the essay of this fun challenge. This piece brings me out of the closet 20 years of memoirs never read, here is a taste. Thanks Chuck.
http://brooksbymemoirs.blogspot.com/2011/04/negroni-splash-for-chuck-wendigs-flash.html
April 11, 2011 — 4:59 PM
Carolyn E Bentley says:
Don’t try this at home!
http://skullscrapingsonparade.blogspot.com/2011/04/mugging-in-moscow.html
April 11, 2011 — 9:43 PM
tara tyler says:
I finished =)
Now to go back and read the rest!
http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com/2011/04/j-is-for-jello-shooter.html
April 12, 2011 — 7:08 AM
tara tyler says:
Here’s the recipe (but I think we all know how to make it):
make jello to package instructions and substitute clear alcohol of choice (rum, vodka) for half of the water measurement, put in small paper cups and chill.
April 12, 2011 — 7:30 AM
Marlan says:
Here is The Mad Cow Special
http://marlanesque.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/the-mad-cow-special/
April 13, 2011 — 11:13 AM
Seth says:
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my story & accompanying recipe: The Moscow Mule
http://www.mostlymuppet.com/2011/04/13/the-moscow-mule/
April 13, 2011 — 1:42 PM
Paul Vogt says:
Took me forever this time to get my story up (odd considering the word limit on this one), but finally here it is: Snake in the Grass – http://paulvogtwrites.blogspot.com/2011/04/snake-in-grass.html
April 13, 2011 — 7:16 PM
Dan Wright says:
Proving that even girlie drinks can have a kick-ass name. “Gin and Sin” http://8thage.blogspot.com/2011/04/flash-fiction-gin-and-sin.html
April 14, 2011 — 1:41 AM
Tribi says:
I completely failed the ‘not a vignette’ thing, sorry. It’s 11am on a Thursday, I’m all wibbly and I really want a gin & tonic.
http://tribid.livejournal.com/14349.html
April 14, 2011 — 11:02 AM
Joseph McGee says:
At 500 words EXACTLY (to include recipe), I present to you:
“A Murder of Crows”
http://josephmcgee.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/murder-of-crows/
April 14, 2011 — 1:48 PM
CMStewart says:
I bent the rules somewhat, and instead of a “Tom Collins” I have a “Tom Cullen.” But it is exactly 500 words, excluding the *4 BONUS COCKTAIL RECIPES* (two I found and two I made up).
http://cmstewartwrite.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/have-you-seen-tom-cullen-a-flash-fiction-tale/
April 15, 2011 — 3:05 AM
Joseph McGee says:
These are some great stories, really fun stuff! Who knew there were so many bizarre cocktails!? I think I am in love with flash fiction now!!
April 15, 2011 — 8:19 AM