First up, last week’s challenge — “The Unexplainable Photo” — is live and worth checking out. Killer stories there. If you’re looking for the next Blackbloom challenge this week — there shan’t be one at present. The last challenge received only tepid response (I think eight total entries), which isn’t enough to sustain the challenge. My hope (assumption?) is that the holidays maybe cut into the Blackbloom stuff, so I’ll try again with the worldbuilding challenge in the new year. Check back in another two weeks. (Which means, the Create-Your-Own-Myth challenge is still open.)
For now, then, it’s all flash fiction challenges, all the way down —
Today’s challenge is simple enough.
The challenge is the phrase, “Christmas in a strange place.”
What does that mean? I dunno. Prison? A distant moon? An underwater base? A WWII submarine? Your call. That’s why it’s a challenge, after all. Oh, except the challenge is heightened:
You’ve got till tomorrow, Christmas Eve, by noon EST, to write.
Not a week, then.
Merely one day.
You have up to 1000 words, as usual. Any genre. Post at your blog, make sure we have a link. By now I expect you know the drill, but there it is, just the same.
One random participant will receive… well, I don’t know what. A holiday gift of sorts.
Now get to writing, my little elves and reindeer.
Josh Sarz says:
Hey there, Chuck. Here’s my entry for this challenge.
http://sagoyism.com/2011/12/23/christmas-in-a-strange-place/
I hope it goes by the rules of your challenge. Tell me what you think. Oh, and Merry Christmas.
December 23, 2011 — 10:04 AM
Jim Franklin says:
Well it’s a good job that ‘Harsh-Deadline’ is my middle name… well, actually it’s Richard but that doesn’t really work. Well, abbreviated I guess it does, but it’s not anything I won’t to be known as.
Anyway, here is my entry.
http://www.thezombiechimp.com/2011/12/23/flash-fiction-the-good-boy/
Enjoy, and a a Merry Christmas to you all.
December 23, 2011 — 11:40 AM
Casz Brewster says:
With my military background, I’ve spent the holidays in lots of strange places. This is going to be an interesting exercise. Off to write!
December 23, 2011 — 11:44 AM
Jamie Wyman says:
Fun. Too fun. Here’s my contribution. At exactly 1000 words I give you “Belize Navidad”. http://jamiewyman.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-flash.html
December 23, 2011 — 12:11 PM
Lee Auburn says:
Here is my entry for your Christmas shin-dig…
http://explore-auburnville.blogspot.com/2011/12/snowman-microfiction.html
Happy Christmas Scribblers!
December 23, 2011 — 6:01 PM
Angelina Williamson says:
Here’s my entry:
http://www.betterthanbullets.com/flash-fiction-challenge-christmas-in-a-strange-place/
Thanks for the writing challenge. Couldn’t figure out what the fuck to do today now that I had a day off for the first time in forever. I wanted to write but couldn’t get into it. I am not a great big fan of Christmas and didn’t intend to do this challenge but then an idea slipped into my head and I couldn’t dislodge it. So I wrote it.
December 23, 2011 — 7:31 PM
Schafe says:
oooh good news on the myth front I have an idea but alas I’ve been doing 12 hour shifts at work finishing at midnight for the past 5 days for the Christmas rush so haven’t written a thing let alone for this. Have a day off next week though so may get it doing.
Now I best sleep have to be awake in 5 and a half hours to get back into work with a 8 hour turn around between shifts. (I get a day off this week as well but that is Christmas Day so that won’t be a day off but a day doing stuff with the family).
Merry Christmas everyone. Love to all your mothers.
December 23, 2011 — 7:48 PM
Arachne Jericho says:
“I have no desire to partake of the people’s flesh.”
http://www.spontaneousderivation.com/2011/12/23/fiction-christmas-in-a-strange-place/
Note: There are no zombies here. And I probably cheated the prompt.
December 23, 2011 — 9:57 PM
adamjkeeper says:
Here is my entry for Christmas in A Strange Place -> http://wp.me/px2EF-9r
Its loosely titled ‘Wishbones’, a short flash about a Christmas Miracle in the most unlikely of places.
Really enjoyed writing to this deadline, keeps the momentum I built up with the fridayflash I wrote yesterday, cheers for the push Chuck!
December 23, 2011 — 9:57 PM
Ben K. says:
What stranger place to have Christmas than home?
http://warnerkirby.blogs.com/clintonaut/2011/12/dasher.html
Thanks, Chuck. And merry Christmas to you and your family.
December 23, 2011 — 10:00 PM
Gaming Girl says:
Here’s my contribution. I love getting to play with my characters in director’s cut scenes.
http://wedschild.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/christmas-in-a-strange-place/
December 23, 2011 — 10:57 PM
oldestgenxer says:
Okay, with time being short, I admit that I cheated, but only because I was really hoping for an excuse to bring this story to you. Like much of what I write, this is a true story from My Godforsaken Life.
The Ghost of Pizza Past (Redux)
And I want to say “Thank you, Chuck.” After doing a number of these challenges, my writing might not be better but my editing certainly is. Anything I can say in 1600 words I can say in 1000 words, and say it better. I should go back and re-write all my ridiculously long entries into 1000-word pieces.
December 23, 2011 — 11:09 PM
Kelly Shew says:
Fun, fun, fun! I think I could learn to like these challenges! 🙂 Thanks for having them!
http://kellyashew.blogspot.com/2011/12/crazy-for-christmas.html
December 23, 2011 — 11:37 PM
Marina Bridges says:
Hi, Chuck! I’m back this week with The Christmas Visitor. http://horrorshortstories.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/chuck-wendigs-christmas-eve-flash-fiction-challenge/
December 23, 2011 — 11:43 PM
Brendan Gannon says:
Finally chiming in on a flash fiction challenge! Let’s hear it for holidays and deadlines.
Christmas at the Lodge:
http://brendangannon.net/christmas-at-the-lodge/
Don’t know where that came from, but it was fun to write. Happy Christmas everyone-
December 24, 2011 — 1:47 AM
Amy Tupper says:
“Cotton Candy Color”
http://amytupper.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/cotton-candy-color/
December 24, 2011 — 8:32 AM
Casz Brewster says:
Poetic License onto real-life events = fiction. It’s really sappy and all, just in time for Christmas. I don’t normally do sappy. The typical author inside of me normally would have turned this into some weird blood bath or what not. But the New Moon and the holiday has me all melancholy.
I give you: “Christmas in the Land of Phillip”
http://www.casondrabrewster.com/?p=332
Peace.
December 24, 2011 — 9:19 AM
Steph says:
http://writex3.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-excerpt-from-middle-of-book.html
December 24, 2011 — 9:57 AM
Amber Keller says:
I have my entry ready. It was screaming to be written.
“Christmas Eve”
http://adiaryofawriter.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-in-strange-place.html
December 24, 2011 — 10:56 AM
Mike says:
This was fun – thx
Mike
http://www.ravensview.ca/ravens/2011/12/christmas-in-a-strange-place.html
December 24, 2011 — 11:19 AM
Anthony Elmore says:
Twas the night before Christmas, and something was stirring…
http://barelyok.com/terribleminds-com-writing-challenge-christmas-in-a-strange-place.html
December 24, 2011 — 2:09 PM
Angelina Williamson says:
I loved reading everyone’s entries. I was taken way out of my fiction reading comfort zone and I think it’s good to experience that from time to time. So many different styles of writing.
December 24, 2011 — 7:35 PM
G.L. Kimber says:
I linked back to this from my blog yesterday, but then realized I hadn’t posted a separate link to the story. Here it is just in case linking back wasn’t enough. 🙂
Merry Christmas!
http://epenymous.com/2011/12/23/flash-fiction-challenge-christmas-in-a-strange-place/
December 26, 2011 — 12:50 AM
terribleminds says:
HUZZAH.
@Amber —
You need to contact me! Chaos has been your friend this holiday season. 😀
— c.
December 26, 2011 — 9:52 AM