Smell that?
*takes long sniff*
It is the first flash fiction challenge of the year.
I’VE THAT SCENT OF SHEER STORY POTENTIAL CLINGING TO THE INSIDE OF MY NOSE.
And it is wonderfully sweet.
I’d actually like to take a little moment to say I’m so happy that these challenges seem to get people writing and I’ve seen more than a few folks sell-through stories based on these challenges, which makes the brittle broken snow-globe that I call my heart twitch and shine for one second.
Anyway, let’s get to it.
All you need to do this week is to use a d20 or a random number generator to consult the table at the bottom of the document to roll for a story’s title. It’s a two-part title (meaning, two random numbers 1-20) and whatever title you get must fit the story you write for it.
You’ll have 1000 words, par usual. Post at your blog, link back here. Due in one week — January 17th, Friday — by noon EST. Easy-peasy story-squeezy.
(Example of an earlier, similar challenge here.)
The title tables are (and you’re free to put the word “The” in front of your title):
Column One
- Snowbound
- Devil’s
- Accursed
- Whispering
- Amethyst
- Griefstruck
- Lovestruck
- Red
- Cartographer’s
- Chaos
- Orbital
- Jackdaw’s
- Minotaur
- Invisible
- Dog Star
- Helical
- Flight of the
- Cerulean
- Seamstress’
- Ten-Year
Column Two
- Murders
- Kid’s Club
- Angel
- Vault
- Bookshop
- Champion
- Palace
- Fear
- Skull
- Potion
- Birdhouse
- Encyclopedia
- Peacock
- Prison
- Wire
- Rider
- Story
- God
- Parasite
- Earth
Kerry J. Renaissance says:
Okay, “Snowbound Bookshop”, not “Snowbound Bookstore”. Misread it there.
January 10, 2014 — 3:12 PM
Joseph D. Stirling says:
8 & 15: The Red Wire. Interesting. Back in a bit with a story… 🙂
January 10, 2014 — 4:33 PM
Joseph D. Stirling says:
Enjoy folks!
http://jdsfiction.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/roll-for-title-flash-challenge/
January 10, 2014 — 6:10 PM
Caitlin says:
6 & 20. The Griefstruck Earth. interesting…
January 10, 2014 — 4:41 PM
Michael says:
Oh, Cartographer’s Fear? Hmm, I think that calls for a little Lovecraftian horror.
January 10, 2014 — 4:43 PM
Michelle says:
Ten-Year Prison
January 10, 2014 — 5:15 PM
Jen says:
19/6 Seamstress’s Champion
I think I can work this
January 10, 2014 — 5:36 PM
John Evans says:
I used a physical d20, because I’m a nerd like that.
…”Griefstruck Prison”. That sounds depressing.
January 10, 2014 — 5:43 PM
Mark Gardner says:
How nerdy are you? Is it a spin-down D20, or is it a regular D20?
January 12, 2014 — 10:23 PM
Kyra Dune says:
Cerulean Fear. Hmm, this should be interesting.
January 10, 2014 — 5:46 PM
Jennifer says:
This’ll be my first time, so be gentle!
I’ve got Jackdaw’s Murders
January 10, 2014 — 6:55 PM
Matt says:
Curious to see what you come up with. Jackdaw’s was one of my words too.
January 11, 2014 — 1:02 AM
Coyote Twilight says:
Helical Angel. Let’s see what happens!
January 10, 2014 — 6:56 PM
Brice says:
13/10 – The Minotaur Potion.
Does someone know where I can find a king size brush, a flabby from raven’s blood and a leprous wall ?
There will be words !
January 10, 2014 — 7:46 PM
Lisa says:
Minotaur Rider.
Well okey dokey. This is my first challenge. Hopefully I’ll come back.
January 10, 2014 — 8:05 PM
Jen says:
I subscribe to Writer’s Digest (I know, I know) and I totally fangirled over the hybrid writer piece! something cool from the Internet in real life! such fabulous! Probably the most interesting thing in the magazine, obviously.
January 10, 2014 — 8:11 PM
Tami Veldura says:
You’re not alone. I had a freakout in the laundry mat when I saw that article.
January 12, 2014 — 11:34 AM
Matt G. says:
My first Flash Fiction Challenge ever was a load of fun.
The Jackdaw’s Wire
http://the52review.blogspot.com/2014/01/terrible-minds-flash-fiction-challenge.html
Enjoy!
January 10, 2014 — 8:42 PM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
Very good stuff. I like how conflicted he seemed about killing the priest–would have been easy and predictable to have him be flippantly justified about it.
January 10, 2014 — 11:22 PM
Matt G. says:
Thanks so much, for the encouragement. I thought it was kinda meh, personally, but this is my first time trying to write with such a small word count. I took a gander at yours and enjoyed it. Went a completely different direction than I initially expected.
January 11, 2014 — 12:28 AM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
Thanks 🙂
January 11, 2014 — 12:31 AM
dangerdean says:
That was fun. I would read more of that world.
January 11, 2014 — 2:51 AM
Kyra Dune says:
Good story. You got a lot of little details into a very limited word range. Nice job.
January 11, 2014 — 7:41 AM
Wanderer says:
I really enjoyed this! I got a sense of an entire world in just a few details.
January 12, 2014 — 7:26 PM
Wanderer says:
I tried to reply once and it disappeared…sorry if you get this twice!
I really enjoyed this! I got a sense of an entire world in such a short piece. Great read.
January 12, 2014 — 7:27 PM
Greg says:
so well…. though I was good most of the way with daily writing in NOV and DEC but this last few not so good….
I got Devil’s Wire….lots of possibilities there….
January 10, 2014 — 8:48 PM
caszbrewster says:
Invisible Bookshop
My first response was: There are too many of those now.
I’ll be back.
:: Hunkers Down at Desktop to Write ::
January 10, 2014 — 9:02 PM
AJ Bauers says:
Cartographer’s Vault – already I have an excellent visual.
January 10, 2014 — 9:19 PM
AJ Bauers says:
Alright, here’s my attempt!
http://ajbauers.blogspot.com/2014/01/flash-fiction-challenge-cartographers.html
January 11, 2014 — 1:14 AM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
Very enjoyable dialogue and characterization. I’d definitely like to see where the discovery of the map ends up taking the group (and as a child of the 80’s myself, a reference to Goonies is always appreciated).
January 11, 2014 — 1:46 PM
AJ Bauers says:
Thanks Nick – normally I try to stray away from pop culture references in my pieces, but with the tone of this flash fiction, I couldn’t help but throw it in 🙂
January 12, 2014 — 12:31 AM
Brittany says:
Cartographer’s Bookshop
The cartographer’s bookshop is on a quiet corner of a quiet street and on every shelf is what you’ll need to start your next adventure.
January 10, 2014 — 9:22 PM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
Here is my first Flash Fiction attempt: The Devil’s Rider.
http://www.ramblingbeachcat.com/2014/01/flash-fiction-fridays-devils-rider.html
January 10, 2014 — 9:29 PM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
Well, submitted this to some flash fiction publications today. Time to start up the process of rejection letters!
January 12, 2014 — 7:10 PM
C. Jai Ferry says:
Ok, that was a blast!
“Ten-Year God”: http://www.cjaiferry.com/ten-year-god/
January 10, 2014 — 10:22 PM
dangerdean says:
I liked that. I expect to see spec fic in these things so was a little surprised, but that was an excellent, polished story.
January 11, 2014 — 3:33 PM
Shelton Keys Dunning (@SheltonKDunning) says:
Amethyst Fear?
Okie-dokie.
January 10, 2014 — 10:27 PM
Nicki1323 says:
“The Cartographers Fear”
http://ndeneau.tumblr.com/post/72934988306/flash-fiction-challenge-the-cartographers-fear
January 10, 2014 — 10:33 PM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
At first I wasn’t digging the direction that you took the story. Once it got to his perceptions and fears, however, you really sold it well. Nice work.
January 11, 2014 — 1:59 PM
litanyofthieves says:
4/18 – “The Whispering God”
I’m sufficiently creeped out already. This is my first challenge.
January 10, 2014 — 10:57 PM
litanyofthieves says:
http://animisticengine.tumblr.com/post/73127429403/the-whispering-god
And here it is.
January 12, 2014 — 4:06 PM
dangerdean says:
And here is Snowbound Angel, finished just before I have to shut down and go home.
http://dangerdean.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/snowbound-angel/
January 10, 2014 — 11:45 PM
Matt G. says:
This was, in a word, fantastic. You really managed a strong voice in the piece and I love the cheat you used in making the thoughts stream together so as to only use a word each. I wish my effort had been half as good. Great job, sir.
January 11, 2014 — 12:26 AM
dangerdean says:
Thank you! Now that I have that out of the way I can read everyone else’s. 🙂
January 11, 2014 — 12:31 AM
dangerdean says:
Thanks! Now that I have that out of the way I can spend some time reading all the other people’s entries. 🙂
January 11, 2014 — 1:56 AM
dangerdean says:
And now, of course, the response I tried to post from my phone decides to show up…
January 12, 2014 — 1:40 AM
Andy Cowley says:
Really enjoyed that. Great work
January 11, 2014 — 4:36 AM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
That was superb! Best one I’ve read on here (and completely kicks my story’s ass). Well done.
January 11, 2014 — 2:16 PM
Kyra Dune says:
Good story.
January 12, 2014 — 1:47 PM
Leah F says:
Well done! I liked that a lot.
January 14, 2014 — 8:19 PM
mckkenzie says:
Damn! Seriously, that was great!
January 15, 2014 — 9:31 AM
Tony says:
Kudos for breaking out the word, “ersatz”. Well done, sir!
January 15, 2014 — 10:06 AM
dangerdean says:
Thanks for the comments, everybody!
January 16, 2014 — 3:00 AM
Adrienne says:
6/20 also. Griefstruck Earth?! Going to have to oil the gears, because they seem reluctant to turn…
January 11, 2014 — 12:20 AM
J. Milburn says:
Just found this and it looks like fun!
4/19 Whispering Parasite
January 11, 2014 — 12:49 AM
Matthew Eaton says:
20/10 – The Ten-Year Potion.
What happens when a customer is dissatisfied with a magical item purchase? They return it to Wensil and his Magical Item Return Office.
http://www.mattheweatonwriter.com/flash-fiction-challenge-ten-year-potion/
January 11, 2014 — 3:31 AM
Mozette says:
Here we go again! Chuck Wendig’s big carnival ride of craziness and fun 😀 All aboard for the great fun we loved last year – and more! 😀
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/the-cartographers-bookshop.html
Here’s my contribution… 😀
January 11, 2014 — 7:24 AM
markgardnerauthor says:
Mozette! Shoot me an email, your blogs have no contact information.
January 11, 2014 — 1:24 PM
Joseph D. Stirling says:
Great job, Mozette! I enjoyed your flash quite a bit. 🙂
January 11, 2014 — 2:41 PM
Mozette says:
Thank you, Joseph. I saw those two words and thought it’d be fun to have this kinda bookstore in a freaky kind of way… talking, mad squirrels and all! 😀
January 11, 2014 — 6:33 PM
Sian Chapman says:
Snowbound Wire:
Rightyo. The occasional swear word here, but not much. What happens when brats who know better start mucking around with weather magic:
http://antagonistsneeded.blogspot.com/2014/01/snowbound-wire-chuck-wendigs-flash.html
January 11, 2014 — 8:17 AM
Sian Chapman says:
Who should* Sorry, it’s late/early here
January 11, 2014 — 8:18 AM
Kyra Dune says:
Liked the story.
January 13, 2014 — 8:46 AM
Sian Chapman says:
Thank you. I think the thing I like about is the relatively instant gratification. No month of revising and beta’s and submitting. It makes me so happy to log on and see people comment 😀
So yeah, thanks 🙂
January 14, 2014 — 7:29 AM
beckyprokova says:
ooooo I got Lovestruck Fear! Good title if I do say so myself. Let’s get to it then.
January 11, 2014 — 10:08 AM
kurt bali says:
Ten Year Encyclopedia. Should be fun. Back in a bit.
January 11, 2014 — 3:08 PM
Benjamin Adams says:
Here’s “Griefstruck God”
http://write-first.blogspot.com/2014/01/griefstruck-god.html
January 11, 2014 — 3:26 PM
dangerdean says:
That rocked.
January 11, 2014 — 6:43 PM
Sian Chapman says:
I tried to leave a post on your blog, but couldn’t figure out how – anyway, I liked it a lot, and I especially liked how personal the conflict was. It was well done 😀
January 11, 2014 — 9:31 PM
Benjamin Adams says:
Thanks for the replies, both of you. I will have to make sure it’s easy enough to post on the blog. Thanks again.
January 12, 2014 — 9:05 AM
Christine Frost says:
Wow…intense…loved how it ends…great story!
January 12, 2014 — 9:10 AM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
That was excellent!
January 12, 2014 — 2:33 PM
Kyra Dune says:
Cool story. Good job.
January 13, 2014 — 8:53 AM
Johan says:
Devil’s God.
again
Devil’s God.
I knew I should have bought a lottery ticket this week.
January 11, 2014 — 6:05 PM
Caitlin says:
Okay here’s mine: The Griefstruck Earth. I moved my blog to wordpress cuz the one that came with my website was s***. so here it is: http://wp.me/pBqgu-52 hope y’all like it!
January 11, 2014 — 10:32 PM
Kyra Dune says:
Interesting.
January 13, 2014 — 4:23 PM
Victoria Byron (@vyctorian) says:
Jackdaw’s Peacock … Originally I thought I couldn’t think of anything. Then I spent the last few hours writing a romance story (It’s pg), please be gentle it’s my first time:
Jackdaw’s Peacock: http://art-of-shakura.tumblr.com/post/73059490599/jackdaws-peacock
January 12, 2014 — 12:55 AM
Sian Chapman says:
This was interesting – I thought the emotions and attraction between the two were quite tangible. I tripped a bit over the dialogue at the end, but I think that has more to do with the time of night here than anything else 🙂 It was good.
January 12, 2014 — 8:21 AM
Victoria Byron (@vyctorian) says:
Thank you for your feedback!~
January 13, 2014 — 8:08 PM
AJ Bauers says:
Nicely done – I really like the characterization you have immediately for ‘Jackdaw’ in the beginning of the flash, it hooked me in.
January 14, 2014 — 10:04 PM
Aly says:
Jackdaw’s Prison. Hmm… should be fun
January 12, 2014 — 6:29 AM
Christine Frost says:
Dog Star Prison: kind of a grimdark sci-fi piece, if I had to categorize it. That’s what I love about these prompts–always getting me to try new things! http://www.herravendomain.com/dog-star-prison/
January 12, 2014 — 9:21 AM
Kyra Dune says:
Nice story.
January 13, 2014 — 4:27 PM
decayingorbits says:
11/Orbital 15/Wire
“Orbital Wire”
Hmm. Okay then.
January 12, 2014 — 10:08 AM
Tami Veldura says:
First prompt of the year is off and running! A new world for me. Steampunky and action packed 😀
Flight of the Vault
http://www.tamiveldura.com/2014/01/promp-flight-of-vault.html?zx=100de8139741236a
January 12, 2014 — 10:51 AM
Tami Veldura says:
And part two:
http://www.tamiveldura.com/2014/01/flight-of-vault-part-2.html
January 14, 2014 — 1:20 PM
Kyra Dune says:
Really good.
January 14, 2014 — 4:27 PM
Tami Veldura says:
Thank you 😀 I might have a novel on my hands.
January 16, 2014 — 9:43 AM
Marc Cabot (@DreamsOfControl) says:
Finally got an hour to sit down and write. Herein, “Red God:”
http://dreamsofcontrol.blogspot.com/2014/01/roll-for-title-chuck-wendig-flash.html
January 12, 2014 — 12:08 PM
Tami Veldura says:
Oooh, Creepy. I want to know more 😀
January 12, 2014 — 4:28 PM
Kyra Dune says:
Nice job using nothing but dialogue. That’s tricky to pull off. Love the twist, never saw it coming.
January 14, 2014 — 4:40 PM
Abbie Findley says:
I got ‘The Helical Bookshop’.
This should be interesting.
January 12, 2014 — 12:36 PM
Justin Walker says:
My first attempt at the flash fiction challenge.
1 & 9… Snowbound Skull… Be gentle…
http://justinwalkerbooks.blogspot.com/2014/01/flash-fiction-roll-dice-challenge.html
January 12, 2014 — 12:50 PM
WallofIllusion says:
“The Red Potion.”
http://toushindaisblogofwonders.tumblr.com/post/73111661347/the-red-potion-chuck-wendigs-flash-fiction-challenge
January 12, 2014 — 1:39 PM
AJ Bauers says:
I liked the world of your story and I’d like to know what happened when the Brothers find out. Good job!
January 14, 2014 — 10:26 PM
murgatroid98 says:
Chaos Earth
Hmm…
January 12, 2014 — 2:04 PM