Last week’s challenge: The Color Title Challenge
This week?
Both easy and difficult, I think.
I want your 1000-word story to be all action.
Now, that action could be: gunplay, karate kicking, fighting, running, car chasing.
In other words, the standard “action movie fare.”
Or: it could be fucking. Or cooking. Or arm-wrestling.
Or some other notable action characters would undertake.
The trick is: make it exciting. From start to finish.
And — and! — make it a complete story.
Beginning, middle, ending.
Get to writing.
You’ve got 1000 words.
You’ve got seven days.
You’ve got your own blog to post to, and the comments to link it in.
Get writing, word-nerds.
Ryan says:
This is almost a historical piece. Almost.
August 22, 2014 — 1:31 PM
Tippy helliwell says:
Not realize am a internet nerd as of writing. Started from Ottmar’s twitter! Ach ja.
August 22, 2014 — 1:34 PM
Deanmcsmith says:
Hope this works, enjoy 🙂Off the menu
August 22, 2014 — 2:26 PM
Deanmcsmith says:
Should have said, its a vampire kind of story, loved writing it and planning a sequel. Yay.
August 22, 2014 — 3:04 PM
esselle says:
Very exciting piece. Need to check your typos though. Might affect your word count!
August 23, 2014 — 2:30 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
THanks for reading. Those typos are tricksy, I edit and edit again but they still get through. Grrr, I’d fire my beta reader if she wasn’t so gorgeous (and my wife) 🙂
August 23, 2014 — 4:30 AM
D.R.Sylvester says:
Brutal. Awesome. Good character journey. Wonder how a similar situation would go down here in Oz (no/few guns). Last armed hold up in a pub here, they drove them off by throwing bottles of Jack Daniels at them haha
August 25, 2014 — 10:57 PM
Deanmcsmith says:
Speaking as someone who had the BEST past of his childhood in Leederville, Perth I reckon they’d take a stubby and….well you get where I’m going with this.
August 26, 2014 — 3:30 AM
D.R.Sylvester says:
Haha I read ya. Or a longneck, if they were really ticked off…
August 26, 2014 — 3:53 AM
D.R.Sylvester says:
Haha, or a longneck if they’re really ticked off. Could just go all Alf Stewart on them: “I’LL BITE YOUR FACE, C#$T” lol
I used to visit Perth every week or so for work. Beautiful place, if a bit quiet. Freo was fun too
August 26, 2014 — 4:25 PM
peterjam says:
Wow this was really good, hope you do write the sequel
August 27, 2014 — 9:14 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
Am writing it as we speak.
August 27, 2014 — 9:42 AM
Judith Post says:
The action worked for me. Really liked it that the cute, little waitress had some grit. The vampires were a little slow for vamps, but the protagonist’s voice was right on.
August 27, 2014 — 10:54 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
Thanks for the thoughts Judith. I get what you mean by the speed, I did flirt with them flitting, but my wordcount went through the roof and I’m a bit over as it is. I’m glad you liked the waitress, it was my favorite bit in the story.
August 28, 2014 — 2:06 AM
Judith Post says:
She was a nice surprise. I didn’t expect it–always fun.
August 28, 2014 — 1:13 PM
Jon Stoffel says:
Good one. Only real wish is that I knew more about the POV character, felt a bit unsure who ‘I’ was. Still enjoyed it!
August 28, 2014 — 1:53 PM
Pavowski says:
This is an exercise I desperately need.
August 22, 2014 — 2:34 PM
Pavowski says:
This was tough. Here’s “Bull Rush.”
http://pavorisms.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/bullrush/
August 26, 2014 — 1:06 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
Digging the description, especially the injection and the moustache. This story just needed a duck…
The perspective jumps confused me slightly at first, but when I got that’s what we were doing it was cool. Good stuff.
August 26, 2014 — 4:41 PM
Pavowski says:
I wrote it all from Taurie’s perspective, then had the thought to rewrite the whole thing from Handlebars’s perspective, and couldn’t commit to either one, so I jumped back and forth. Not 100% sure it works, but glad you were able to follow it.
August 26, 2014 — 8:14 PM
Patrick Tumblety says:
Here’s the link to my entry! Thanks for the prompt! This challenged me to find some creativity through todays dreariness.
August 22, 2014 — 5:52 PM
Deanmcsmith says:
I enjoyed the whole vibe you managed to get into this piece Patrick, nice one. I couldn’t find the link on your reply, so I’ve added one for you Restless should take you straight to Patricks story
August 23, 2014 — 5:42 AM
Patrick Tumblety says:
Deanmcsmith – Thank you for your compliments, and for linking it directly. I wasn’t sure how to set that up, so I appreciate it. So glad you liked the story!
August 23, 2014 — 4:20 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
A 1st person ghost perspective horror story!? Brilliant. Works really well for a short story, though you squeezed a lot in. The strongest part was the start-to-middle, before she busts in there (that said, the ending was great in concept).
August 25, 2014 — 11:16 PM
Patrick Tumblety says:
Thanks for the compliments, and for reading!
August 28, 2014 — 2:05 PM
Jon Stoffel says:
Um… a touching story? I think? Thanks for sharing!
August 28, 2014 — 2:00 PM
Patrick Tumblety says:
That’s actually the reaction I was going for 🙂 Thanks for reading!
August 28, 2014 — 2:04 PM
Kat Cho says:
Thanks for getting me writing today. Here’s the link to my entry: BORDERS
August 22, 2014 — 11:35 PM
Kat Cho says:
Forgot to say that it’s an cross between Sci-Fi and Urban Fantasy
August 22, 2014 — 11:36 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
The action was vivid, punchy, unpredictable. The character Mal wasn’t likeable until near the end. Is this an established story world? Digging the magic style
August 27, 2014 — 11:12 PM
percykerry923 says:
Here’s the link to my entry. Thanks for the prompt, Chuck.
http://percykerry.tumblr.com/post/95531302174/ninas-last-vow
August 23, 2014 — 3:38 AM
angelacavanaugh says:
Alright, action time travel. I’ve actually thought about this story idea before, mostly envision it as a movie, but here’s a very abridged version, lol
http://angelacavanaugh.com/2014/08/23/flash-fiction-friday-time-wake/
August 23, 2014 — 6:04 AM
ryanjamesblack says:
Here’s the link to mine.
http://ryanjamesblack.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/the-great-ish-escape/
August 23, 2014 — 7:54 PM
Mozette says:
Funny as hell! Loved it! 😀
August 23, 2014 — 11:28 PM
Richard says:
Nice one, you smashed this!
August 28, 2014 — 2:53 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
Hah, brilliant. You kept it nice and simple, made it fast and fun, then the ending… hah! Nice one
August 28, 2014 — 7:51 PM
ryanjamesblack says:
Wow! Thanks for the kind words guys! Glad you liked it
August 28, 2014 — 9:20 PM
ryanjamesblack says:
Can someone please confirm the link to mine works? I’m a tech idiot and a first time blogger. Thanks
August 23, 2014 — 8:13 PM
rmorrisey says:
Ryan your link works like a long tailed cat in a chainsaw factory… nice story bro. 🙂
August 23, 2014 — 9:42 PM
Mozette says:
Yep it works! 😀
August 23, 2014 — 9:55 PM
curleyqueue says:
Nice job- really enjoyed this!
August 25, 2014 — 3:30 PM
ryanjamesblack says:
Thanks!
August 28, 2014 — 9:20 PM
rmorrisey says:
Historical fiction, I guess… well, as historical as the History Channel gets anyway… http://www.rmorrisey.net/?p=76
August 23, 2014 — 9:32 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
What a dame! Nice short, and certainly action packed
August 28, 2014 — 7:57 PM
Mozette says:
Well… mine might be a little boring, but I tried out a different take to the prompt. 😀
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/michelles-daily-movements.html
August 23, 2014 — 9:46 PM
Helen Espinosa says:
This one is dark, a return to form for me, I suppose. https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/the-lie/
August 24, 2014 — 7:44 PM
Torin says:
Here’s a link to mine: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/deathbykeyboard. I know, I know it’s tumblr. This is my second entry ever I think.
August 24, 2014 — 11:05 PM
bassplyr5150 says:
This may be a bit of a cheat, as I originally posted it over a year ago, but here goes..
http://isaidwhattowho.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/the-warehouse/
August 24, 2014 — 11:21 PM
Mat Danaher says:
because the seven days are not up yet and it’s rainy bank holiday Monday here in Blighty I thought I would submit something. Thanks for the prompt Chuck, you’ve inspired me to write my first (self)publishable length piece in ages.
It is a piece of amiable nonsense set in a world where Pokemon are real. And in England.
http://reticulatedmetalarms.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/ashleighs-challenge/
August 25, 2014 — 5:02 AM
Richard says:
Like Mat, stuck with a rainy bank holiday Monday….
http://traitorblade.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/chuck-wendig-flash-fiction-friday-do-or.html
Great range of stories here!
August 25, 2014 — 11:47 AM
underastarlitsky says:
Here’s mine: Lights, Camera… Action? http://underastarlitsky.wordpress.com
August 25, 2014 — 1:24 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
FINISHED! Let the ninja-martyr-lady space-opera insanity commence! Any feedback (including hate) much welcomed. Gotta polish the craft somehow… Thanks!
http://drsylvesterfiction.com/2014/08/26/flash-fiction-challenge-and-action/
August 25, 2014 — 9:04 PM
Anthony Elmore says:
It’s been a while. There ain’t nothing like it when the gods go at it. http://www.barelyok.com/terrible-minds-flash-fiction-challenge-and-action.html
August 27, 2014 — 9:00 AM
Jess West says:
I’d been mulling over an idea for another writing challenge and this one brought it into focus. The story leans more toward Horror, but is action (running) threaded through with action (killing) and laced with an underlying action (discovering/changing).
Anyway, here it is: http://jessicapwest.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/bad-tastes/
August 27, 2014 — 10:47 AM
Chuck Knight says:
Here’s my attempt. Kinda in the penalty box on word count. And, not sure if this is action-y enough. But it is my attempt this week. It is called “Breaking on the Track.” Warning: violent.
Here it is: http://storedstory.blogspot.com/2014/08/flash-fiction-challenge-breaking-on.html
August 27, 2014 — 2:50 PM
Jon Stoffel says:
I immediately dismissed fucking as a viable action scene, therefore I chose fucking as my theme. But that is not action enough! At ~900 words, I present… RE-ENTRY:
http://www.jdstoffel.com/2014/08/flashfiction-re-entry/
August 28, 2014 — 1:33 PM
Beth Turnage says:
And I thought guys didn’t like talking after. 😉 Aside from that good story.
August 28, 2014 — 3:56 PM
Jon Stoffel says:
Never judge a spaceship by its heat-shielding panels. (Actually, you probably should do that, just to be safe.)
August 28, 2014 — 11:12 PM
georgekaltsios says:
I hate writing action. But it was fun writing a flying armbar into this:
http://elproedros.tumblr.com/post/96019373266/shooting-guns-and-breaking-arms
August 28, 2014 — 3:31 PM
Mat Danaher says:
Loved it! Have you written more in this world?
August 28, 2014 — 5:19 PM
georgekaltsios says:
Thank you. Originally this was a scene from a short film I was supposed to do, and maybe expand it into a web series. Sorry for the late reply. Still getting the hang of WordPress.
September 12, 2014 — 5:09 AM
Beth Turnage says:
Pirate’s Luck: http://bethturnage.com/?p=226
August 28, 2014 — 3:50 PM
Doug Daniel says:
For what it’s worth– The Angle.
http://douglasdanieldotcom.wordpress.com/
August 28, 2014 — 7:44 PM
Jemima Pett says:
A new Sir Woebegone story: A Piece of the Action
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2014/08/29/friday-flash-fiction-a-piece-of-the-action/
August 29, 2014 — 1:51 AM
momdude says:
I took it in a different direction, especially for me. I hope you enjoy it!
http://pauljwillett.com/2014/08/28/flash-fiction-defenders-of-the-universe/
August 29, 2014 — 1:55 AM
R.L. Black says:
Did a strange flash piece:
http://rlblack.weebly.com/flash-fictionshort-stories.html
September 1, 2014 — 2:58 PM
Judith Post says:
Short, but evocative. Good story.
September 1, 2014 — 5:21 PM
R.L. Black says:
Thanks, Judith. I put it in the wrong place. It was supposed to be under this week’s Flash challenge. Glad you liked it.
September 1, 2014 — 6:23 PM
Judith Post says:
I noticed there wasn’t any action, but there was plenty of emotion:)
September 1, 2014 — 7:58 PM