Last week’s challenge: “The Titles Have Been Chosen.”
This week is pretty simple.
Using a random sentence generator, I’m concocting five random sentences.
Pick one and use somewhere in your story for this week.
The five sentences are:
- The shape fights the motionless ink.
- The portrait cat sneakily gestured at everyone.
- It walked inside the spaceship and then it sat down.
- When does the family document the thunder?
- The rough sex arrives by adhesive smoke.
So — you have ~1000 words.
Post online at your space, link back here.
You have one week — due by noon EST on Friday, May 10th.
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Loved this one! I chose “The shape fights the motionless ink.”
http://mrurbanspaceman.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/rorschach-redux-flash-fiction-piece/
May 3, 2013 — 3:34 PM
Billijean Martiello says:
Nice twist at the end, Spaceman! I enjoyed it very much. Kudos on including the word truncheon. It is one of my favorites.
May 3, 2013 — 6:05 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Thanks!
May 4, 2013 — 2:57 AM
Elaina M. Roberts says:
Posted on your site as well, but I really enjoyed this one. Creepy and kinda sad and a bit twisted. 🙂
May 4, 2013 — 11:48 PM
jeffandwendy says:
Loved the twist. Totally didn’t see it coming. Nice work.
May 7, 2013 — 10:54 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Thank you!
May 7, 2013 — 1:38 PM
KCummins says:
That was awesome! Loved it!
May 7, 2013 — 2:29 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Cheers, glad you enjoyed it!
May 7, 2013 — 4:17 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I your story a lot, I didn’t see the plot twist coming at all, It was very creepy. And the long sentence introducing Dr. Hart. Loved it!
May 9, 2013 — 12:21 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Thanks, I’m pleased the twist was a surprise!
May 9, 2013 — 2:17 AM
psutto says:
coming late to the party – really like this one
May 10, 2013 — 6:34 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Cheers, and welcome to the party. I think there are a few drinks left on the table (avoid anything pale yellow—could be urine!)
May 10, 2013 — 7:41 AM
Billijean Martiello says:
I really loved this week’s concept, and used sentence #2, “The portrait cat sneakily gestured at everyone.” I hope you all enjoy it!
http://teatimeforwanderer.blogspot.com/2013/05/jules-and-felicia.html
May 3, 2013 — 5:44 PM
Elaina M. Roberts says:
I enjoyed the story, and I like animals, but that cat would definitely have a few of its lives shaved off by the time I was through.
May 4, 2013 — 11:49 PM
Billijean Martiello says:
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I am an animal lover too, (and love my cat), but it was fun to imagine a jealous, evil cat.
May 6, 2013 — 9:49 AM
darleneaubol says:
I enjoyed this.
I’ve got a cat story a little further down, and yes, they are very clever.
aka Darlene Underdahl
May 6, 2013 — 9:31 AM
Billijean Martiello says:
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment…I will be sure to check your story out as well!
May 6, 2013 — 9:52 AM
jreinmiller says:
Very well written. It felt very relatable and genuine throughout with a spooky cat thrown in on top. I always enjoy seeing how other people use the same sentence and what the come up with. I liked it.
May 9, 2013 — 7:49 PM
Billijean Martiello says:
thank you 🙂 I am glad that you enjjoyed it. I love how all of the stories came out so differently, despite having the same inspiration sentence. It is very interesting!
May 9, 2013 — 7:56 PM
psutto says:
All cats look at me that way!
May 10, 2013 — 6:35 AM
KGombert says:
My choice is: When does the family document the thunder?
http://kgombert.blogspot.com/2013/05/this-weeks-flash-fictionprompt-from-www.html
May 3, 2013 — 7:44 PM
darleneaubol says:
A very satisfactory ending and I hope you haven’t had these experiences in real life, but the story seems too accurate to be entirely fiction (sympathetic smile). No flood plain here, but we did get singed by a wildfire.
aka Darlene Underdahl
May 6, 2013 — 10:02 AM
jreinmiller says:
Nice voice and word choice in this one. Felt very midwest / midlife-ish. I almost went with this sentence, but didn’t as clear of an idea for it, so I’m glad someone did use it. I enjoyed reading it.
May 9, 2013 — 8:03 PM
Mozette says:
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/wink-murder.html
My choice; The portrait cat gestured at everyone.
May 4, 2013 — 1:45 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
I tried to leave some feedback on your blog but the automated “PROVE YOU’RE NOT A ROBOT BY ENTERING SOME RIDICULOUS WORDS” verification thing just keeps hanging. So apologies if you got my feedback there twice. But just in case you didn’t get it at all, here it is:
Very creepy story, I approve! I’ve always had a wary suspicion of portraits ever since I saw ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’ as a wee spaceman child. Sure, it was black and white and not bright orange marmalade colour, but the ominous feel is very similar!
May 4, 2013 — 3:18 PM
Mozette says:
Sorry you had to go through that! How embarrassing! All my blog don’t have that… I thought I had cleared that up with them. It seems that Blogger had snuck in and did it with that one. I hate that. 🙁
May 4, 2013 — 8:43 PM
Mozette says:
Oh! And about your comment…. thank you so much. The moment I read second sentence I saw there for us to choose, that very story of Oscar Wilde’s came into my mind – but about a cat. And instead of a cat getting younger as it aged, it was a cool twist on Stephen King’s ‘Pet Semetary’ book… 😀 I wrote it out in one big session, and it hasn’t been edited or touched. I surprised myself as I just sat and wrote it as is and found it didn’t need to be fixed… just fleshed out. 🙂
May 4, 2013 — 8:52 PM
KCummins says:
That was great! I will never look at a cat in a picture without thinking of this story.
May 7, 2013 — 8:38 PM
Mozette says:
Hey thanks. I’m happy you enjoyed it! I had fun writing it too. A mish-mash of two genres just came together with a bit of Halloween thrown in for fun. 😀
And yeh, the Sabbath in August is used for exactly this use for grieving. I’ll be doing a ceremony for the Sabbath in August this year for when my little bird died last year, for closure, so I can buy another one without sadness in my life. 🙂
May 10, 2013 — 7:42 PM
psutto says:
Nice one!
May 10, 2013 — 6:48 AM
esselle says:
http://abroadspectrumlife.blogspot.com/
Please be gentle. I’m new at this and don’t know what in the world I’m actually doing putting myself out there. Really flash, no rewrite, top of my head. Please forgive me.
I sort of messed with the sentence: The shape fights the motionless ink.
May 4, 2013 — 6:45 AM
jeffandwendy says:
I thought it was good. You have nothing to fear. Keep writing!
May 7, 2013 — 11:10 AM
esselle says:
Thanks for the encouragement! I posted a second story so I wonder which you read?
May 11, 2013 — 6:06 AM
Lester Nieves says:
Well, I picked “The portrait car sneakily gestured at everyone” and came up with “Victor’s Portrait”. It’s just under 1000 words.
http://lonieves.wordpress.com/fiction-insanity/victors-portrait/
May 4, 2013 — 10:54 PM
Lester Nieves says:
Yay……… I noticed a typo…
May 5, 2013 — 12:48 AM
darleneaubol says:
Quite a story! Cats aren’t really evil; they just like to play at it sometimes. Dogs are children and cats are teenagers, I always say.
aka Darlene Underdahl
May 6, 2013 — 10:20 AM
jreinmiller says:
Whoa! Major dark turn in the middle there. I really enjoyed the mood and tone during the auction. The ending was crazy dark, but I still thought well written.
May 9, 2013 — 8:29 PM
Lester Nieves says:
…I couldn’t help myself…
May 9, 2013 — 9:12 PM
Elaina M. Roberts says:
Alrighty, I’m stepping back into things this week using the sentence: When does the family document the thunder? It’s a bit outside my comfort zone which was fun and scary all at the same time.
http://www.elainamroberts.com/thunder/
May 4, 2013 — 11:47 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Fantastic story, I loved it, had a very Constantine feel to it. Couldn’t leave feedback on your site because the login redirect isn’t accepting my password for some reason, but I think this is the best story I’ve read so far. I can definitely imagine monsters crossing over like that.
May 5, 2013 — 3:39 AM
Elaina M. Roberts says:
Thank you so much! I’ve been a voracious reader of SciFi but haven’t tried writing much of it so it definitely stretched my comfort zone.
Sorry about the site. I’m still working with figuring out WordPress (was on Blogger for years and they’re totally different animals in many ways), so the commenting issues are crazy. I either get a ton of spam or nothing lol
May 5, 2013 — 10:01 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Great story Elaina. Imaginative and creepy!
May 9, 2013 — 12:53 AM
jreinmiller says:
Cool concept.
May 9, 2013 — 8:38 PM
Elisa Nuckle says:
Three of these are so inspiring. Can we write more than one?
May 5, 2013 — 12:29 PM
darleneaubol says:
I give you Siam. Enjoy.
http://darlene.underdahl.net/?p=234
aka Darlene Underdahl
http://www.VermillionRoadPress.com
May 5, 2013 — 2:16 PM
Billijean Martiello says:
I really loved Siam’s personality. He reminds me of a cat from my childhood ^_^
May 6, 2013 — 9:59 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Sweet story! Who says that cats aren’t people?
May 7, 2013 — 4:50 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I chose “The Shape Fights The Motionless Ink”
http://www.trinetoftschmidt.com/2013/05/flash-fiction-challenge-five-random-sentences/
May 5, 2013 — 3:40 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
I love your take on this sentence, completely different to what I had in mind when I wrote mine, but it works so well! As an aside, did you redesign your site? Either I’m going crazy, or it looks different.
Possibly both!
May 7, 2013 — 4:56 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Thank you, and yes. You are not going crazy hehe. The old theme was too cluttered so I simplified things.
May 9, 2013 — 12:06 AM
KCummins says:
This is great! I really liked the personification of the words and the writer’s battle with them.
May 8, 2013 — 2:39 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Thank you KC.
May 9, 2013 — 12:08 AM
Benjamin Adams says:
Nice story about writer’s block. The SHape Fights the Motionless Ink is a great sentence but seems difficult to use well in a story, you did a great job though.
May 9, 2013 — 6:45 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Thank you Benjamin 🙂
May 10, 2013 — 11:27 AM
jreinmiller says:
Aha! Writer’s block, that familiar foe. If only I’d known a ninja was the answer all along. 🙂 I thought you did a good job. The scene felt very believable (probably because I’ve been there) and the weight on the emotions and his struggle with them just write, er right. 😉
May 9, 2013 — 7:56 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Thank you Jreinmiller. I think a word Ninja should be a tool in any writer’s box 😀 I would certainly love to have one handy for when that blasted writer’s block and copious amounts of self-doubt set in.
May 10, 2013 — 11:31 AM
jreinmiller says:
I went with “The portrait cat sneakily gestured at everyone.”, and after a bit of back and forth with myself, I wrote down this:
http://www.jqpdx.com/2013/05/06/feline-in-repose/
May 5, 2013 — 8:45 PM
Billijean Martiello says:
I love the allusions to Alice in Wonderland! Very smart, very entertaining 🙂
May 6, 2013 — 10:13 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Great story. As mentioned, lovely allusions to Alice. I thought the red/white/black clothing motif was particularly effective, and the red-queen’s command at the end was just the perfect way to wrap it up.
I must now go and listen to Jefferson Airplane…
May 7, 2013 — 5:05 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Loved it. I was snickering when I got to the last part.
May 9, 2013 — 1:04 AM
Jemima Pett says:
Great! I was thinking ahead on two outcomes – but yours was much better!
May 10, 2013 — 6:05 AM
esselle says:
When does the family document the thunder? When Lightning Strikes Twice…
http://abroadspectrumlife.blogspot.com/
May 6, 2013 — 6:38 AM
Shelly Tennyson Taylor says:
I started the week before lasts challenge and chose “Always have an exit strategy.” I didn’t make the deadline but was happy to see these choices of sentences, because “When Does the Family Document the Thunder” fit perfectly in the story I was writing.. So I give you a two week combined challenge 🙂 http://oldmomsunite.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/always-have-an-exit-strategy/
May 6, 2013 — 10:51 AM
James B. Jones says:
I wound up going with the fourth option, “When does the family document the thunder?” How’d it turn out? …eh, it’s alright.
http://jamesbjones.com/blog/flash-fiction-chasing-the-wind.html
May 6, 2013 — 1:09 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I liked your story, especially the characterisation of the father, who I could see very clearly in my head when I read the story.
May 9, 2013 — 1:19 AM
ryanvgr says:
My sentence of choice is
The portrait cat who sneakily gestured at everyone.
May 6, 2013 — 1:40 PM
ryanvgr says:
url here
http://flashchallenger.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-portrait-cat-sneakily-gestured-at.html
May 6, 2013 — 1:41 PM
Daphne Bee says:
My story is called “The Family” and my chosen sentence was When does the family document the thunder?
http://daphneblankenship.tumblr.com/post/49801202050/the-family
May 6, 2013 — 5:42 PM
Beth L. says:
Awesome. Give it about five years, give or take, and I wonder how close we’ll be. Thanks for the share!
May 7, 2013 — 11:14 PM
Daphne Bee says:
Thank you! I wonder about that a lot, usually with my phone in my hand. Must put it down more often. 🙂
Thanks so much for reading, I do believe you’re the first person to read and then reply to something I’ve written (besides my mother, anyway).
May 7, 2013 — 11:29 PM
Beth L. says:
Honored 🙂 I won’t be the last, I’m sure. Keep on writing!
May 8, 2013 — 9:35 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Lovely story. I am now embarrassed to say there exists several images of dinners of the past in my facebook account. 😀
May 9, 2013 — 1:28 AM
Daphne Bee says:
Oh, I’m guilty of that as well (usually because I’m proud that I did something more than boil water or turn on the microwave for once)!
Thanks so much for reading!
May 9, 2013 — 1:42 AM
jeffandwendy says:
Last night I had this crazy stroke of inspiration and figured out a way to work all five sentences into one story. The ending is a little…eh…but I hope everyone enjoys: http://jeffandwendy.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/three-painting-short-fiction/
May 7, 2013 — 10:05 AM
KCummins says:
This challenge was fun. 🙂
I picked “The portrait cat sneakily gestured at everyone.” The story is a continuation of the story from last week’s challenge.
http://kcummins.tumblr.com/post/49863196655/flash-fiction-2-random-sentences
May 7, 2013 — 1:12 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Great continuation, I enjoyed reading it.
May 9, 2013 — 1:43 AM
KCummins says:
Thank you
May 9, 2013 — 1:14 PM
Billijean Martiello says:
Nice idea, making it a continuation! and, it worked 🙂
May 9, 2013 — 7:58 PM
KCummins says:
Thank you Billijean
May 11, 2013 — 12:10 AM
Benjamin Adams says:
Went for sci-fi here. It walked inside the spaceship and sat down. Perfect little sentence in my mind. In space, anything could walk inside a spaceship and sit down.
http://write-first.blogspot.com/2013/05/it-walked-inside-spaceship.html
May 7, 2013 — 4:38 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I like your story, it is very Douglas Adams’esque, and I was laughing out loud at the end of it.
May 9, 2013 — 1:50 AM
Benjamin Adams says:
Thanks! Glad to hear you laughed. Humor doesn’t always come out great in a rough fast-written draft.
May 9, 2013 — 6:42 AM
Beth L. says:
Telephone call, but only one side, as overheard somewhere in space and time – when does the family document the thunder?
http://knotachance.tumblr.com/
May 7, 2013 — 11:11 PM
Daphne Bee says:
I love the one-sided conversation, it left me wondering what was happening and conjuring up all manner of possibilities in my head. Very entertaining. Thank you!
May 7, 2013 — 11:40 PM
Beth L. says:
Thanks for reading!
May 8, 2013 — 9:41 AM
Matt Gomez says:
I really liked that one. Well done.
May 8, 2013 — 2:18 PM
Beth L. says:
Thanks! Appreciate the comment.
May 8, 2013 — 9:48 PM
Cameron Mount says:
Nicely done. The one-sidedness of this is positively poetic.
May 8, 2013 — 4:42 PM
Beth L. says:
Thank you! I’m glad this little experiment in format worked!
May 8, 2013 — 9:52 PM
Matt Gomez says:
I chose “The rough sex arrives by adhesive smoke.” Enjoy!
http://catholicdemon.livejournal.com/40837.html
May 8, 2013 — 1:44 PM
crow365 says:
I chose “The portrait cat sneakily gestured at everyone”:
http://nickegelhoff.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/flash-fiction-challenge-five-random-sentences/
May 8, 2013 — 3:04 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Great story! I love the details, how you progress the story from her childhood to adulthood. The way she forgets hfinding her hands weird.
May 9, 2013 — 2:00 AM
Cameron Mount says:
I picked “When does the family document the thunder?”
http://mangledlatin.blogspot.com/2013/05/thundercounting.html
May 8, 2013 — 4:30 PM
Kristin Mireles says:
I chose “The rough sex arrives by adhesive smoke.” This one had me giggling and blushing. http://mireles-musings.blogspot.com/2013/05/five-random-sentences.html
May 8, 2013 — 7:01 PM
Matt Gomez says:
Really well done!
May 10, 2013 — 3:29 PM
Brad Stover says:
At first, all of the sentences felt like gibberish and I wondered how the hell could I make any of them make sense. But after a while HIS SHAPE FIGHTS THE MOTIONLESS INK stood out and was the genesis of the story. In the end I had a lot of fun writing this and I think it turned out well.
I did modify the sentence a bit, but I think it works with the spirit of the challenge.
Insomnia
http://bradstover.com/writes/?p=79
May 8, 2013 — 11:57 PM
Brad Stover says:
As an aside (and in the spirit of shameless self-promotion) I posted my entry to last week’s challenge incredibly late, but if you’d like to see it, here is the link.
The Window-Washing Boy
http://bradstover.com/writes/?p=71
May 8, 2013 — 11:59 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Great story, and I loved the twist at the end! Totally didn’t see it coming because of the adult language used through the earlier bits, so it was a nice surprise.
May 10, 2013 — 7:55 AM
Brad Stover says:
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I was a little worried that the reference to the “Bottle” might give it away too early, but I’m happy with how this story turned out.
Thanks for your comment, it’s appreciated.
May 10, 2013 — 11:48 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Definitely didn’t give it away too early. My mind automatically went to whisky bottle. Guess if I had kids it might be different, but my brain went into raging alcoholic mentality mode. 😉
May 10, 2013 — 11:54 AM
justincornille says:
Hey everyone, first shot at the Wendig Flash Fiction Challenge. It’s rough and half-baked, but done. Be moderately Gentle.
The sentence I picked was The Shape Fights the Motionless Ink. Because it is a marvelous sentence.
http://townofloutre.com/2013/05/08/ink/
May 9, 2013 — 12:07 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
A little confused by the sentence structure at first (it looked as if Abel was speaking in the first two sentences) but I liked the interaction between him and the girl. Good to read somebody else’s take on this sentence!
May 10, 2013 — 8:00 AM
chriswhitewrites says:
Here’s mine, the prompt I chose was It walked inside the spaceship and then it sat down. :
Looking Through the Stars, Homeward –
http://chriswhitewrites.com/2013/05/09/looking-through-the-stars/
May 9, 2013 — 1:27 AM
AM Gray says:
I chose number 3. It turned out a little firefly-ish. If that is a word. ‘Arachne’
http://amgray.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/arachne.html
May 9, 2013 — 1:45 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Really enjoyed this story, though I can’t exactly put my finger on why. It was just a really interesting piece, with fascinating interactions between the Captain and Arachne.
May 10, 2013 — 8:07 AM
AM Gray says:
thanks. I still haven’t worked out what it did to get spaced in the first place.
May 11, 2013 — 5:23 AM
Jeanne B. says:
The rough sex arrives by adhesive smoke.
http://jmboverthinking.blogspot.com/2013/05/flash-fiction-challenge-five-random.html
May 9, 2013 — 3:03 PM
jreinmiller says:
Really great descriptions in this one, and I loved the sentence about the white man in the white room, it flowed so well. And I also thought you ended with with a wonderful twist that lent the whole story a lot more depth. Good job.
May 9, 2013 — 7:43 PM
jreinmiller says:
Ew, browser fail. This should have been attached to Mr Urban Spaceman’s story.
May 9, 2013 — 7:45 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Thanks for the feedback! Sacrifice a newborn or two to the Browser-Gods, should see you right in future.
May 10, 2013 — 8:02 AM
jreinmiller says:
I thought it was a fun read. I could see it being sort of Royal Tenenbaums-ish.
May 9, 2013 — 8:20 PM
jreinmiller says:
Argh! Again with the blog not posting the comment where it should. This was for esselle’s story.
May 9, 2013 — 8:22 PM
Vivian Caethe says:
Hello! Here’s mine. I chose “The shape fights the motionless ink.
http://eightofswords.tumblr.com/post/50042286826/the-shape-fights-the-motionless-ink-as-i-stare-at
May 9, 2013 — 9:06 PM
marilawrence says:
First attempt – a lot darker than I first thought it would be but with a sentence like “the rough sex arrives on adhesive smoke”, well…it was fun. 😉
http://mechanicalghosts.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/shebringsthepain/
May 9, 2013 — 10:52 PM
Icarus Mortis says:
So here’s mine; 858 words using “The portrait cat sneakily gestured at everyone.”
Swords and Clubs: http://blog.icarusmortis.co.uk/2013/05/10/swords-and-clubs/
Hope it’s enjoyed, thanks.
May 10, 2013 — 3:37 AM
Jemima Pett says:
Impressive! I like the rhythm of the words. And the chill that lingers on…
May 10, 2013 — 6:14 AM
psutto says:
I chose the sentance “When does the family document the thunder?” but cheated a little and changed the tense – http://brsbkblog.blogspot.co.uk/
May 10, 2013 — 5:13 AM