Last week’s challenge: “Write What You Know“
It’s the Game of Aspects, and you know the drill.
Grab a ten-sided die or click over to a random number generator.
Choose three random numbers between 1-10.
That corresponds to a subgenre / setting / element to include.
Those are now the parameters of your story.
(So, you might randomly get: superhero / Titanic / love letter, for instance.)
You have — well, let’s up the numbers a bit. You have 1500 words.
Due by next Friday, March 1st, at noon EST.
Post at your blog or online space. Link back here in the comments.
Now go forth and randomize!
Subgenre
- Superhero
- Erotic Fairy Tale
- Sword & Sorcery
- Slasher Horror
- Bumbling Detective
- Time Travel Romance
- Zombie Apocalypse
- Parallel Universe
- Technothriller
- Magical Realism
Setting
- High school prom
- On board the Titanic
- In a vampire’s subterranean lair
- At the gates of the Garden of Eden
- A shopping mall
- A Martian greenhouse
- The capital city of a lost civilization
- A king’s throne room
- An amusement park after dark
- In the home of the gods
Element To Include
- Warring Families
- A Love Letter
- A Puzzle Box
- Elves
- A Talking Sword
- Artificial Intelligence
- A Mysterious Stranger
- A Lost Painting
- A Dream
- A Magical Pocketwatch
Sarah O'Hara says:
I don’t even know where I was going with this…
http://authorsarahohara.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge_27.html
February 27, 2013 — 1:01 PM
Jeanne B. says:
http://jmboverthinking.blogspot.com/2013/02/flash-fiction-challenge-game-of-aspects.html
February 27, 2013 — 3:02 PM
eastwatch says:
I liked your story, interesting ending. 🙂
February 27, 2013 — 3:11 PM
Beau Hall says:
I finished one! Woohoo! The assignment was Parallel Universe, Warring Families, and At the Gates of Eden.
http://www.beauhall.com/the-booty-snatchers/short-story-1/
February 27, 2013 — 6:26 PM
Beth L. says:
The story that came up after getting parallel universe, elves, and the prom – That’s Just the Way It Is.
http://knotachance.tumblr.com/
February 27, 2013 — 10:27 PM
Kit Murdoch (@DreamScrybe) says:
Much to my dismay, my D10 chose the following: technothriller, in the home of the gods, warring families.
I Tweeted my dismay to (at?) Chuck and received nothing but encouragement. I hope he’s happy. No… seriously. I really hope he’s happy. If he is, it likely has nothing to do with my story – but I shall tell myself it does nonetheless.
My story is one thousand, four hundred, and seventy-eight words long (or thereabouts).
This is my first published short story. It’s a big deal. Well… to me. (Holds breath.)
http://dreamscrybe.dreamwidth.org/474.html
February 27, 2013 — 11:59 PM
Amber says:
I got magical realism, an amusement park after dark, and a love letter. Not entirely sure I got the magical realism right, but I tried! Let me know if you think it was a hit or miss lol.
I [resent to you ‘Fortune’s Eye’.
http://onethemis.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/fortunes-eye/
February 28, 2013 — 2:48 AM
Beau Hall says:
That first paragraph is amazing. It’s a huge mouthful but absolutely sets the stage for the story!
February 28, 2013 — 9:32 AM
Amber says:
I know I almost cut it up a bit more, but then I left it lol. Thank you though!
March 1, 2013 — 9:27 PM
RebaSays says:
I got Time Travel Romance/On board the Titanic/A love letter. Great fun! Read “Unsinkable” here: http://pushcomestoshove.blogspot.com/2013/02/unsinkable.html
February 28, 2013 — 10:41 AM
Denise says:
Jigging with a little travel romance in a subterranean lair all wrapped up in a dream.
http://pdhinson.com/?p=848
February 28, 2013 — 3:00 PM
blackwolfpenmonkey says:
6,5,1 here we go. First short story ever.
http://denoftheblackwolf.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/flash-fiction-2-28-13/
February 28, 2013 — 6:58 PM
mrdorough says:
7, 4, 7. Zombie apocalypse, gates of the Gardens of Eden, mysterious stranger.
First time blogger- sounded too fun to pass up.
http://mrdorough.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/noah-zombies/
I’d really like to know what you think, so feel free to leave a comment.
February 28, 2013 — 11:31 PM
Robert Boon says:
zombie apocalypse, capital city of a lost civilization, and artificial intelligence:
http://therealmofdionysus.blogspot.com/
February 28, 2013 — 11:44 PM
V Rose Dahrke says:
I got time travel romance (wasn’t even sure what that was), an amusement park after dark (my brain inserted ‘abandoned’ somehow), and a mysterious stranger. My die hates me, I guess. Still, I made a stab at it. Yay for stabbing!
http://tentavailetimes.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/the-torch-and-the-tower/
March 1, 2013 — 3:24 AM
swordsoftheancients says:
2, 7, 10. An erotic fairy tale set in the capital city of a lost civilization and featuring a magical pocket watch. Here’s “Shambhala.” http://swordsoftheancients.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/shambhala/
March 1, 2013 — 5:38 AM
Kristine N says:
I got 10/2/10 for Magical realism/Titanic/Magic Pocket watch. Here it is:
http://librarycreature.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/titanic.html
Comments greatly appreciated!
March 1, 2013 — 8:15 AM
Jack Vanish says:
Your story is cool and has an interesting premise, but there are a couple of things that I kind of wanted to point out. The big thing that rankles me is the very first sentence, it’s awkward and it took me a couple of times- and a flick back to the top of the page mid-story- to clue in to what it was saying. I don’t know how much of this was just me being thick, but let me break it down and maybe I can articulate where it is I’m coming from.
“The day Alex met a mermaid was unusual only for the fact that the person she was complaining too actually agreed with her”.
I think the stumbling block for me here is “the person she was complaining to”. Call me a stickler for grammar, but I think this could be improved if it were written as “the person to whom she was complaining” (or heck, just crop it out altogether and say “James”, if you fancy). That seems like a really bizarre thing to nitpick about, but I think it really makes the sentence flow better. Take it or leave it, I’m just a dude with grammar hangups.
It also wasn’t immediately clear (to me, at least) whether or not the person doing the complaining was Alex or the mermaid. Like the day was unusual because the person to whom the mermaid was complaining was agreeing with her, as though the mermaid complained a lot but usually not to sympathetic ears. I think this may have to do with the fact that the implication of the sentence is that the day wasn’t unusual because of the mermaid. I actually do like that, it nicely underscores how infrequently Alex and James are on the same page. Unfortunately, it took me a little while to suss that out, and I think that weakened the effect. I think it would be good to maybe emphasize it a bit, it would drive the point home and make the sentence a little clearer. Try this on for size as an alternative phrasing:
“The day was unusual for Alex- not because of the mermaid, but because James was actually agreeing with her”.
As with anything I say, you can take it or leave it, because I’m just a guy on the internet and my credentials are suspect at best and nonexistent at worst.
All besides, the rest of your story is pretty on point. I like the non-traditional characterization of the mermaid, and the characters feel whole and fleshed out in spite of the word limit. The ending is a kind of out-of-nowhere gut punch, the kind of which I’m not a huge fan, but it’s a flash fiction so your mileage may vary on how strongly that can be counted against it. Good show, and carry on.
March 1, 2013 — 9:14 AM
kristine N says:
Thanks for the comments and for the suggestion on rewriting.
Hmm, the revelation of the pregnancy is supposed to answer the question at the beginning about why Alex’s advisor is suddenly so unsupportive of her. Apparently that question was too subtle.
March 1, 2013 — 8:44 PM
Jack Vanish says:
Ah, you know what, I see that now. It’s probably half again as likely that I’m just bad on subtlety.
March 4, 2013 — 7:40 AM
James Evans says:
7,7,6 were my lucky numbers. Long time participant, first time poster. Enjoy. Feedback welcomed, careful, I’m fragile. 🙂
http://evanspencil.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-prison-within.html
March 1, 2013 — 11:42 AM
kristine N says:
I don’t normally read zombie fiction and between the gruesome imagery and an unsympathetic main character I wasn’t sure I wanted to finish. I did want to see if the AI got it’s ‘final release.’ Nice job handing him a truly burdensome failure.
Why doesn’t he just jump off a cliff? Why couldn’t he have used the guts of a monster?
March 1, 2013 — 9:44 PM
Jeff Xilon says:
Ok, last minute but here is the story. Was 2000 words (written in one go just over the last few hours!) but I pared it down to just under 1500. I give you: The Box http://www.jeffxilon.com/a-terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge-more-random-elements/
March 1, 2013 — 12:13 PM
Suzie Hunt says:
I got “Erotic fairy-tale, high-school prom, elves”
I don’t know… this story ended up late, over-budget (1800 words) and missing some features – namely the high-school prom! http://suziehunt.co.uk/erotic-elven-fairy-tale
But at least I got something down on paper. Better late than never?
March 1, 2013 — 12:49 PM
Sondra says:
My numbers were 1, 1, 5. Superhero at a high school prom and a talking sword. Sounds epic already.
March 1, 2013 — 1:39 PM
Benjamin Adams says:
I guess I’m late but here’s mine. Also, over the word count by about 1000 words. But what can you do when you get Sword and Sorcery/Gates of Garden of Eden/A Talking Sword ?
http://ablogisagreatwaytoprocrastinate.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-garden.html
March 1, 2013 — 6:44 PM
Chris van Soolen says:
I forgot to check in this morning, but this was my writing accomplishment this week.
http://vansoolenartoflife.blogspot.com/p/writing-prompts.html
March 2, 2013 — 12:55 AM
Carl Bussler says:
Yup. It’s late. But I finished it, so I’m posting it. I rolled zombie apocalypse, shopping mall, warring families. I give you…
“Love Will Never Tear Us Apart.”
http://blackpowderblackmagic.com/flash-fiction-love-will-never-tear-us-apart/
March 3, 2013 — 1:55 PM