Last week’s challenge: “Smashing Sub-Genres.”
Ah, first a bit of administrative: I have finally picked my favorite “opening line” story from way back when (SO MANY ENTRIES, and so many good entries, too), and I’m gonna toss the ring onto the hat of Valerie Valdes. Valerie! You should email me at terribleminds at gmail dot com.
Now, onto the challenge.
I admit that I’m kind of a sucker for random generators of various types and stripes. And so I point you to this one — “Fantasy Character Concept” generator.
Click that, you’ll get five different concepts. (Example: “A desperate air pilot is trying to get a date.”) It gives you that short little bit about the character and part of their conflict or desire. Simple, elegant, and ripe for the picking in terms of a flash fiction challenge.
Choose one of those random concepts.
Write a story (~1000 words) about that character.
Post at your online space.
Link back here.
You’ve got one week — due by Friday the 24th, noon EST.
Please to enjoy.
Jim Franklin says:
I’ve been far too lazy with my writing for far too long, and this bit of flash fiction is gonna kickstart me back into action…
I’ve chosen ‘an ensorcelled errand boy is trying to rid herself of a curse.’
May 17, 2013 — 6:58 AM
Jim Franklin says:
Sorry, it took so long. It turned out to be much harder to write this than I thought it would be. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to comment.
http://www.thezombiechimp.com/2013/05/22/flash-fiction-true-wealth/
May 22, 2013 — 4:05 PM
Kristin Mireles says:
I selected a fun one: “A foppish oracle is seeking the Labyrinth of Insanity.” By way of the Crazy Train, mayhaps?
May 17, 2013 — 8:09 AM
Kristin Mireles says:
Here I go, being dark again …
http://mireles-musings.blogspot.com/2013/05/labyrinth-of-insanity.html
May 22, 2013 — 4:01 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
And just when I thought no flash-fic challenge could get more fun than last week’s, you prove us wrong yet again!
I used all five characters in my story… yes, I am greedy and contrary!! The lines I got were:
A youthful native is trying to prove himself to his unrequited love.
A diseased grandmother is trying to kill a dragon to acquire its treasure.
A brave savage is trying to prove himself to his unrequited love.
A clever sorcerer is being assaulted and pursued by mysterious, demonic spirits.
A thoughtful thief is seeking the Labyrinth of Insanity.
My story, titled “Why Grandma, What A Big Mace You Have” – http://mrurbanspaceman.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/why-grandma-what-a-big-mace-you-have-flash-fiction-piece/
Hope y’all enjoy! And thanks, Chuck, for another great flash-fic theme.
May 17, 2013 — 8:44 AM
Jasmine Stanford says:
Very fun piece! I like how you worked in all of the characters so well, don’t know if I could have done the same so seamlessly. Great job!
May 19, 2013 — 4:56 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Many thanks!
May 20, 2013 — 2:23 AM
Matt Gomez says:
Wow! Very nicely done, and you left hooks if you wanted to build on it.
May 21, 2013 — 9:15 PM
Bill Dezell says:
Heh: “a brown-haired pregnant woman is losing his mind after the death of his beloved.”
May 17, 2013 — 8:47 AM
j. tapeslinger wolf (@jayxwolf) says:
I got a similar one and my first thought was, “Oh, trans-positive prompt generator, awesome,” but more likely a fluke/oversight in the prompt generator, ha.
May 17, 2013 — 1:29 PM
RTAllwin says:
I’m not sure I’ll be able to write anything, but this one intrigued me:
“A skeletal man of letters is trying to find a place to call home.”
May 17, 2013 — 8:49 AM
Wanderer says:
Not going to lie, I ran the generator several times…there’s so much gold to choose from! I’m stuck between “a veteran alchemist is fleeing a dark past” and a “forlorn bard is fighting to regain the throne”
May 17, 2013 — 9:45 AM
marilawrence says:
This seriously just popped up: “a red-haired nun is must drown the world in blood and tears of all those who have made the world a poorer place in order to see more gold in their pockets, more water in their wells and more fat on their ribs..” – I think I can’t say no.
May 17, 2013 — 9:59 AM
Reggie Lutz says:
A lovesick thief is being assaulted and pursued by mysterious, demonic spirits.
…and done.
http://reggielutz.blogspot.com/2013/05/fantasy-flash-fiction-challenge.html
May 17, 2013 — 10:12 AM
Amy says:
Loved it! So creative–Princess name for a man, comical demons, vivid descriptions.
May 17, 2013 — 8:14 PM
ryanvgr says:
This is a little outside my comfort zone, but this concept gave me some inspiration;
a timid barmaid is reluctant to fight, despite great skill at it.
Click my name to see the results 🙂
May 17, 2013 — 12:04 PM
ryanvgr says:
Oops! forgot to change the URL on my name.
Its fixed now
May 21, 2013 — 1:41 PM
linderan says:
Huh. “A malevolent gravedigger is fighting for the rights of the common people.”
Time for a would-be villian! This character generator is so awesome.
May 17, 2013 — 1:46 PM
jdsfiction says:
Okay, here’s the toy I get to play with: a carefree mother is captured and enslaved by an army of Orcs.
Out of what was available to me, it seemed like the most fun!
Coming soon: Orc! -Or My Mom Will Shoot
It’s a working title, but that’s what popped in my head. So here goes…
May 17, 2013 — 1:49 PM
jdsfiction says:
Here it is. Enjoy.
http://jdsfiction.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/flash-fiction-challenge-2/
May 17, 2013 — 7:02 PM
Amy says:
Great twist on things! As the mother of boys, I can attest to the orc-like yet sweet qualities they have. Loved their names.
May 17, 2013 — 8:21 PM
jdsfiction says:
Thank you much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Wasn’t sure if it was going to work out, but I had a blast writing it. Thanks again, Amy! 🙂
May 18, 2013 — 12:59 AM
Matt Gomez says:
Heh. That was fun.
May 21, 2013 — 9:19 PM
jdsfiction says:
Thanks! 🙂
May 22, 2013 — 2:40 AM
adstarrling says:
‘A forlorn oracle is engineering the downfall of the Empire’…hmm…I fear for the Empire…
Also, go check out http://www.seventhsanctum.com/
I used it a couple of years ago and came up with a few concepts that bloomed into a dark fantasy trilogy I plan to write in the future…that’s if the Empire hasn’t fallen…
It’s also good if you’re very bored.
May 17, 2013 — 3:03 PM
anauthorswishfulthinking says:
http://anauthorswishfulthinking.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/a-partnership-worth-gold/
May 17, 2013 — 5:44 PM
Stephanie says:
“An open-minded businessman is out for revenge.” OK, I think I can work with that.
Don’t Cheat J-Hod. A little bit under 1,000 words.
May 17, 2013 — 7:44 PM
Jasmine Stanford says:
This was great! I loved the setting of the story a lot. It was all very well done!
May 19, 2013 — 4:31 PM
Matt Billock says:
Congratulations, Valerie!
Think I’ll hold off on generating my story for the moment – want to make sure I do it right!
May 17, 2013 — 9:37 PM
Mozette says:
It took a while, but I found a sentence I liked 😀
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/the-dewey-upgrade.html
Enjoy! I wrote this one in one sitting too 😀 It’s only around 700 words, but sometimes, if you flesh it out too much, it ends up being awful.
May 17, 2013 — 9:41 PM
Mike Jackson (@MikeTheWordsmif) says:
Four blurbs about various dukes and duchesses, followed by “…an envious copyist is desperately fighting Master Secretary.” How can I not?
May 18, 2013 — 1:30 AM
jreinmiller says:
Ah fantasy, something familiar this week. I had my story planned out about 30 seconds after I saw the character I was going to use. So I think that’s a good thing. At least it saved my brain all that angsty grinding. Ew, angsty. So here’s what came from that list of ragtag characters.
http://www.jqpdx.com/2013/05/18/ambitions/
May 18, 2013 — 1:41 PM
Jasmine Stanford says:
An efficient milkmaid is reduced to stealing to survive. I give you, “Love, The Milk Maid”
http://jasminestanford.blogspot.com/
May 19, 2013 — 9:37 AM
Jasmine Stanford says:
An efficient milk-maid is reduced to stealing to survive:
http://jasminestanford.blogspot.com/2013/05/love-milk-maid.html
May 19, 2013 — 1:54 PM
Eric Sourwine says:
A charming martial artist is doomed to wander the world
http://ericsourwine.blogspot.com/
May 19, 2013 — 8:51 PM
bigrickcook says:
I went pretty high over 1,000 words, but the random character I received was “an egotistical woman is afraid of her uncontrollable powers”.
http://panningforclouds.com/2013/05/20/shortstories-the-price-of-fortune-3500-words/
May 19, 2013 — 9:48 PM
Josh Loomis says:
On my first hit of the page, I got “a foul-mouthed sage is searching for a legendary weapon” – the rest kind of wrote itself.
http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/2013/05/20/flash-fiction-the-wandering-sage/
May 20, 2013 — 8:57 AM
Toni says:
A definite thumbs-up, sir!
May 28, 2013 — 7:07 AM
Wanderer says:
I used two of the characters I got after several clicks on the generator. “For the Price of a Song” is what they became. http://secondstaronther.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/for-the-price-of-a-song/
May 20, 2013 — 10:49 AM
Toni says:
A very cool mash-up of your prompts!
May 28, 2013 — 7:12 AM
Wanderer says:
Thank you! This one was tough for me.
May 28, 2013 — 9:24 AM
Paul Baughman says:
“A remorseful knight is out for revenge”
I got about halfway through this and realized it would make a great prequel to a previous challenge (that I didn’t post). So here is “The Iron Knight”: http://pbaughman.com/blog/2013/05/20/fiction-the-iron-knight/
BTW, the previous one was an erotic fairy tale called “The Iron Knight and the Fairy Tail”
May 20, 2013 — 1:37 PM
Fatma Alici says:
“a well-fed wastrel is being assaulted and pursued by mysterious demonic spirits.”
I kind of deviated from the original idea, but I like how it came out. Super fun to write either way : )
http://naharavensari.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/are-you-hungry/
May 20, 2013 — 3:40 PM
AM Gray says:
http://amgray.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/the-accidental-trespasser.html
I got ‘A stiff trespasser is afraid of her uncontrollable powers.’ My effort is 979 words.
May 20, 2013 — 10:10 PM
Preeti says:
http://fuchsiaoutbursts.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/grey/
I got “glum fishmonger fighting for the rights of the common people” is what I got.
May 21, 2013 — 10:18 AM
ryanvgr says:
whoops put in the wrong url! Click o
May 21, 2013 — 1:40 PM
Eva T says:
I’m back in the flash fiction game! It’s been a long time since I last wrote one of these. Not for lack of want, but as Chuck would be the first to point out, other things eat your writing time, if you don’t take care. Out of my five random concepts, I picked ‘A cynical warlord is doomed to wander the world’ and it was a breeze writing this: http://wp.me/p2X1mW-C
May 21, 2013 — 3:12 PM
Toni says:
I like the twist. Well done!
May 28, 2013 — 7:22 AM
Valerie Valdes (@valerievaldes) says:
I got “a territorial knight is doomed to wander the world.” Over the limit again at 2213.
http://candleinsunshine.com/asthemoonclimbs/short-story/promotion/
May 21, 2013 — 3:51 PM
Josh says:
“An angst-ridden milkmaid is out for revenge.”
In the words of George Takei, “Oh, myyyyyy.”
I’ll be posting soon. 🙂
May 21, 2013 — 5:03 PM
Matt Gomez says:
A blind outcast seeks the Tomb of the Demon.
http://www.writerscarnival.ca/the-god-king-of-sanrikar/
Had a bit of fun with this one, even if it wasn’t too much of a stretch from some other things i’ve been writing recently.
May 21, 2013 — 9:10 PM
Beth L. says:
A graceful master weaver is reluctant to fight, despite great skill at it.
And Her Suitors is what came of that.
http://knotachance.tumblr.com/
May 21, 2013 — 9:51 PM
crow365 says:
I picked “a philosophical grave robber is looking to take over a powerful crime syndicate” and give you “Loving Father, Honored Grandfather”:
http://nickegelhoff.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/flash-fiction-challenge-the-random-fantasy-character-generator/
May 22, 2013 — 2:48 PM
Toni says:
I could see a novel springing forth from this story. Well done.
May 28, 2013 — 7:37 AM