Last week’s challenge: Describing one thing ten ways.
This week’s pretty straight forward.
I’ve got two lists at the bottom. Pick (or randomly choose with dice or a random number generator) one from each list, then make sure your flash fiction contains each of those things.
That’s it. Easy-peasy, Ramona-and-Beezy.
You’ve got an upgraded 1500 words. Due in one week (March 14th). Post it at your online space of choice. Drop a link to your completed story in the comments below. Any genre.
Now, the lists…
Must Contain #1
- A lover’s betrayal.
- A dead body without a face.
- A mysterious — perhaps even magical — photograph.
- An antique gun.
- A terminal illness.
- An ancient tree.
- A time machine.
- A monster.
- A faithful hound.
- A talking cat.
Must Contain #2
- A distant outpost.
- An infernal bargain.
- A pair of detectives.
- A stolen treasure.
- A forgotten manuscript.
- An escaped prisoner.
- A hard drive filled with secrets.
- A plane or train ride.
- A piece of lost technology.
- A comatose patient.
Adrienne says:
I haven’t done a challenge in a while, but I couldn’t resist the talking cat for some reason. I paired it with an escaped prisoner. Here is Cat vs Con!
http://thepaddedcastle.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/flash-fiction-cat-vs-con/
March 11, 2014 — 3:20 AM
Fatma Alici says:
You managed to not use much dialog, but keep the flow going at a good pace. And I love the cat. I’ve been in love with talking cats since The Last Unicorn.
You kept changing the spelling on Stanley was that intentional?
March 11, 2014 — 8:07 PM
Adrienne says:
Oh no! The misspellings were not intentional. Thank you so much for pointing them out! Fixing them now.
March 11, 2014 — 11:50 PM
Hannah says:
I had a desert outpost and an ancient tree, which worked out perfectly for this little piece of fantasy, “Faded”. http://secondstaronther.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/faded/
March 11, 2014 — 4:27 PM
Fatma Alici says:
I got an antique gun and a loyal dog. And, only now I do I realize I accidentally rolled the same list twice. *bonk* In any case, I decided to make this a general fiction. No crazy elements of magic, technology, or horror. It was really fun.
The Fate of Cora http://wp.me/p4ifXa-9A
March 11, 2014 — 7:54 PM
NG Jones says:
So this is my first attempt at a short story (actually over the 1500 word count, sorry). I picked ‘monster’ and ‘hard drive filled with secrets’.
So here goes….Matisse http://nadinebates01.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/matisse/
Any comments (only positive, obviously) welcome 🙂
March 12, 2014 — 10:01 AM
Nadia Orenes (@NadiaOrenes) says:
My story contains:
One: A monster
Two: An infernal bargain.
And it’s called “HARD TIMES FOR BOGEYMAN”
http://nadiaorenes.es/flash_fiction_challenge_hard_times_for_bogeyman.html
March 12, 2014 — 1:23 PM
joannadacosta2014 says:
8 & 4 , the 10 sided random number gen loved me.
March 12, 2014 — 4:50 PM
Rebecca Martin says:
Coming in at 1480 words! I rolled a 9 and a 2: a faithful hound and an infernal bargain, respectively. I played a little bit with the idea of a faithful hound. Enjoy!
http://thereallydivinemissm.com/2014/03/13/the-infernal-bargain/
March 13, 2014 — 12:39 PM
Kathleen Magner says:
#6 and #9 with a sci-fi bent turned into “Lift Off”. Thanks for the read & any thoughts.
http://kathleenmagner.wordpress.com/other-inspirations/lift-off/
March 13, 2014 — 1:22 PM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
An infernal bargain and a faceless corpse gives me “Old Debts.”
http://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/old-debts/
March 13, 2014 — 1:30 PM
Cathryn Grant says:
Nice chill! Very well written.
March 13, 2014 — 3:57 PM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
Hey thanks! Glad you liked it.
March 13, 2014 — 8:59 PM
Cathryn Grant says:
A lover’s betrayal and a comatose patient resulted in “He Can Hear You”.
http://suburbannoir.com/2014/03/he-can-hear-you/
March 13, 2014 — 3:49 PM
Christopher says:
That was really well-written. Great job!
March 14, 2014 — 11:35 AM
Cathryn Grant says:
Thanks!
March 18, 2014 — 9:25 AM
Tony Kelly says:
I took a talking cat and a train ride. Took two days to write and four to whittle down to 1,500 words.
http://wombatspouch.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-first-attempt-at-chuck-wendig-flash.html
March 13, 2014 — 5:16 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Being the owner of a cat who has the tendency to poke claws into my scalp at 3 am in the morning, I sympathize with Jeff. Cats are evil evil creatures. Nice story, funny and disconcerting at the same time.
March 18, 2014 — 12:36 AM
Tony Kelly says:
Thank you. I have a couple of cats and always wonder what’s going through their mind.
March 19, 2014 — 12:29 AM
Jemima Pett says:
I drew an antique gun and a hard drive filled with secrets… giving you “Data Protection Racket” (online in 2 ish hours)
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2014/03/14/friday-flash-fiction-data-protection-racket/
and I think it’s my first anniversary of Chuck’s Challenges – Thanks, Chuck! <3
March 13, 2014 — 5:49 PM
curleyqueue says:
A terminal illness and a comatose patient. I may have been inspired (or at least influenced) by Sunday’s series-ending episode of ‘True Detective.’ Hoping for more like that show down the road!
http://wp.me/p44qkj-Y
March 13, 2014 — 5:54 PM
Adam Hughes says:
A monster and a hard drive full of secrets. “Mother Me Then Leave”
http://adamhughes.in/mother-me-then-leave/
March 13, 2014 — 10:11 PM
momdude says:
An ancient tree and a ride in a plane or train. The idea came to me immediately and although a bit derivative, I enjoyed writing it and fleshing out the scene.
http://pauljwillett.com/2014/03/13/flash-fiction-resting-place/
March 14, 2014 — 3:01 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Nice story. I really liked the scene-setting,the descriptions of the island and the jungle.
March 19, 2014 — 12:02 AM
momdude says:
Thank you Trine, I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
March 19, 2014 — 12:04 AM
Carl says:
My story featuring An Ancient Tree and A Pair of Detectives is here:
http://carljshirley.blogspot.com/2014/03/flash-fiction-friday.html
I also threw in A Hard Drive Filled With Secrets because it proved to be very useful as a plot device
March 14, 2014 — 8:18 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I liked your story, it’s got some good snappy dialogue and was well paced.
March 19, 2014 — 12:10 AM
Dana Alyce-Schwarz says:
Here’s mine, two private eyes find a faceless body on the floor of their office. Investigative shenanigans ensue.
http://contrastsolution.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-again-return-of-flash-fiction.html
March 14, 2014 — 10:03 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Great story, love the dialogue and the characters. I would love to know what happens next.
March 19, 2014 — 12:23 AM
Christopher says:
I tried to get all clever and used the “Random Number Generator” on Google. I got. . .
1) A lover’s betrayal
and
1) A distant outpost.
Ha. Here it is. Enjoy. Oh, and thanks again, Chuck. This was a lot of fun.
http://roktyping.blogspot.kr
March 14, 2014 — 11:28 AM
Rebecca Douglass says:
Running a bit behind here, due to travel (see you at the TFOB tomorrow, Chuck!).
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2014/03/flash-fiction-friday-and-his-dog.html
March 14, 2014 — 12:33 PM
tinydotty says:
I had lovers betrayal and escaped prisoner
http://wp.me/p4pRoT-g
March 14, 2014 — 3:14 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
My piece is late and too long. Apologies!
http://www.trinetoftschmidt.com/2014/03/chuck-challenge-must-contain/
March 16, 2014 — 6:42 AM
underastarlitsky says:
Better (very) late than never, here’s my story. The Last Train to Nowhere. Comments welcome! http://wp.me/pBqgu-9q
March 16, 2014 — 5:28 PM