Last week’s challenge: Conclude The Tale!
This week’s challenge is deceptively simple.
I want you to write one amazing sentence. A sentence that is part of a larger story but is not itself a story — a sentence that makes you want to read forward and backward, but is itself a capture of the tale. Just a slice.
(And then, next week, folks will choose a sentence to build an entire story around.)
Write one sentence — no more than 100 words, please.
Drop it in the comments below.
And that’s all you need to do.
But make that sentence as amazing as you can make it.
Go.
Ashley Kidd says:
She knew that no matter how much space and time separated them, she would always cherish the gift he’d given her that one exquisite night.
September 28, 2014 — 9:27 PM
ryanjamesblack says:
Gigantavultures circled overhead, sand sharks below, while in the midnight middle there was me, arguing with a pile of diesel drenched dinosaur bones over why they wouldnt just ignite already and save me from the desert night deep freeze.
September 28, 2014 — 9:30 PM
mangacat201 says:
I took your sentence and ran with it. And I mean, I ran *lol*.
http://mangacat201.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/under-a-green-sky/
October 10, 2014 — 4:37 AM
Sheri says:
He stares up into the tree, and for the first time he doesn’t have to search for meaning in the twists and turns of its branches, since their language now runs through his veins.
September 28, 2014 — 9:36 PM
tedra says:
Ooh
September 30, 2014 — 7:20 AM
JJ Toner says:
Reminds me of Avatar, the movie.
October 3, 2014 — 11:42 AM
Rhyan says:
Alright here we go.
The heat gushes through my fingers and I am screaming and someone is screaming my name, Rin Rin Rin, then my father stands in the doorway to my room, afraid to entre and I can feel the pressure bubbling up in my chest, clawing to climb it’s way out of my throat to say it’s name to the world, scream, cry, sob
September 28, 2014 — 10:33 PM
52lettersinthealphabet says:
My mortality and I am closely acquainted.
September 28, 2014 — 11:23 PM
gingerlovinmind says:
Love this one.
September 30, 2014 — 11:01 AM
nerdboiwonder says:
The strange weeds sprouting from the walls shuddered as another rotten wind rushed from the hot darkness from the back of the cave towards the cavern’s quivering mouth and the shattered pink sky beyond, and it was then that I realized that we had found our shelter within the beast’s enormous nostril.
September 28, 2014 — 11:58 PM
Justin says:
I open my eyes and the sky explodes.
September 29, 2014 — 12:05 AM
Eleanore D. Trupkiewicz says:
Selected.
October 9, 2014 — 6:24 PM
Anne says:
The corner of his lip curved, his fingers withdrew. She sighed her displeasure. He reached for his glass nestled between two pillows. The liquor gutted him like a machete pulled from flames and thrust into flesh.
September 29, 2014 — 12:08 AM
Rose Red says:
I picked this one.
October 4, 2014 — 3:07 PM
Jemima Pett says:
The first message was two minutes of silence before the line clicked off.
September 29, 2014 — 5:44 AM
Sia Marion says:
Well done, Jemima!
September 29, 2014 — 9:46 AM
darkvirtue1974 says:
Ok, I have gone through all the amazing sentences. They were all full of their own ideas. Your sentence, on the other hand, kept nagging at me and begged me to follow it up. So, hopefully I will have something by tomorrow; maybe tonight.
October 8, 2014 — 9:51 PM
Jemima Pett says:
Thanks!
October 9, 2014 — 6:00 AM
darkvirtue1974 says:
Oh dear…this may easily break the 1000 word rule, but I’m gonna finish it!
October 9, 2014 — 10:18 PM
mattzitron says:
Honey, even if your puss filled fanny was the last snatch on Earth, I wouldn’t even poke it with a shit covered stick.
September 29, 2014 — 6:20 AM
Toni J says:
That bridge was burnt long ago, though I never knew if it was my match or my friend’s that started the fire.
September 29, 2014 — 10:58 AM
Mike says:
Juan Carlos Torquemada y Torremolino bore an unbearable name.
September 29, 2014 — 11:42 AM
Tony R says:
The ocean began to recede, high tide kissing just below the watermark on the broken hull, as it had for ages.
September 29, 2014 — 12:22 PM
michelledevilliersart says:
You say Ello, I say Oodbye.
September 29, 2014 — 12:25 PM
Dawn Pier says:
ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
September 30, 2014 — 3:37 PM
lisacle says:
He glanced down at her one last time, flashing her what he hoped was a reassuring smile as her eyes fluttered open again and her arms snaked up and around his neck to hold on.
September 29, 2014 — 12:50 PM
Willow says:
Some friendships are like cancers; bits of rotting flesh that must be cut from the heart before they kill you.
September 29, 2014 — 1:16 PM
52lettersinthealphabet says:
Powerful
October 2, 2014 — 12:18 AM
Noel says:
“We’re not going to know it tomorrow, but I”–she covered her mouth, fighting back sobs–“I was *fucking awesome.*”
September 29, 2014 — 1:52 PM
Kat says:
Love this!
October 4, 2014 — 11:41 PM
Jason Heitkamper says:
The rats have really taken over and, while the house feels more empty than it did ten years go, I can still see the ghosts of my sisters clinging to every shadow.
September 29, 2014 — 3:38 PM
Jemima Pett says:
I’ll be posting my response to your sentence late tonight 🙂
October 9, 2014 — 6:04 AM
AE Smith says:
As it turned out, all that Cobb was treated to at the Golden Hound was a short beer and a long wait.
September 29, 2014 — 4:39 PM
Sia Marion says:
I like this. It’s bitterness and juxtaposing call to me.
September 29, 2014 — 5:18 PM
R T Allwin says:
The pain made it difficult to think, let alone act, as the reverend pulled himself forward through the broken glass now littering the church floor – but the thought of what he had done just wouldn’t go away, regardless of how much of his sinful blood he left behind.
September 29, 2014 — 5:48 PM
OzFenric says:
She rises through black waters, leaving the City behind, and as the light above glimmers and grows, she knows she will need to remember how to breathe.
September 29, 2014 — 6:54 PM
tedra says:
Wow!
September 30, 2014 — 7:18 AM
fadedglories says:
Just posted a story around your great sentence. Thanks
October 9, 2014 — 9:21 AM
Eleanore Trupkiewicz (@ETrupkiewicz) says:
“Ashley said you wouldn’t leave her alone last night, so I told her I’d make sure you finally got the message.”
September 29, 2014 — 7:56 PM
DD says:
Michelle’s face was ashen and she pointed to the can of hummus rolling on the floor, hurled into the room by someone who wasn’t there.
September 30, 2014 — 2:57 AM
underastarlitsky says:
Ha! I lol’d at this imagery 🙂 the hummus was a great choice of object
October 2, 2014 — 7:30 PM
Katherine Hetzel says:
You’ve dealt with worse – remember the four armed Gradat diplomat Father brought home when you were ten?
September 30, 2014 — 3:30 AM
Katherine Hetzel says:
(As in having four arms…just in case the missing hyphen was confusing anyone. Doh!)
September 30, 2014 — 3:32 AM
Goldfishbob says:
There they were, the hunter and the hunted, staring each other down with a loathing that had grown from years of pursuit and evasion.
September 30, 2014 — 7:36 AM
Allison Maruska says:
I like this one. Might have to take a stab at it.
October 3, 2014 — 3:47 PM
tedra says:
I knew the exact moment the girl disobeyed me and turned, by the way her tiny fingers encased in mine crumbled; I released the ashes of her hand to the blowing wind because I dare not turn, I dare not look, for the devil himself was watching and he has taken, yet another of mine.
September 30, 2014 — 7:57 AM
Holly says:
Terrifying. I think I actually shivered.
September 30, 2014 — 7:58 AM
tedra says:
Yay! Thanks.
October 1, 2014 — 7:08 AM
mikes75 says:
Terry grabbed his bag and broke for the train, damn it, straight through the crowd, damn it, and touched the yellow stripe god damn it just as the car’s doors closed, and he was stuck on the wrong side.
September 30, 2014 — 9:22 AM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
Gasping for breath, Jasper ducked through the fungal forest as gunshots from the Caliph’s men impacted around him.
September 30, 2014 — 10:05 AM
JR Simm- says:
Go back to sleep, Wallace.
September 30, 2014 — 11:16 AM
JJ Toner says:
Infinite possibilities here.
October 3, 2014 — 11:21 AM
Ashlee says:
Lies would have kept him tethered to the ledge, but he chose truth, the choice which sucked him down into the abyss, haunted by other options on the long way down, all the while knowing that the only difference between truth and lie is the fantasy that one is morally superior to the other; all the same, we only suffer the fall when we think we *should* have chosen differently.
September 30, 2014 — 11:28 AM
SamuraiCowgirlMel says:
Love love love this one. Wowzers.
September 30, 2014 — 11:50 AM
Sia Marion says:
Really good. Smooth.
September 30, 2014 — 5:22 PM
Ashlee says:
Thanks, y’all!
October 2, 2014 — 9:58 AM
Dawn Pier says:
That morning I awake to realize I’ve once again lost my way, my moral compass is spinning without trajectory, and the triangular expanse of this “relationship” threatens to leave me marooned on the shoals of moral corruption.
September 30, 2014 — 3:34 PM
marshskpop says:
I really did try.
September 30, 2014 — 3:38 PM
JJ Toner says:
More infinite possibilities.
October 3, 2014 — 11:25 AM
Tsara says:
I just want to let you know that I used your sentence in the Flash Fiction Challenge. Do you have a website you’d like me to hyperlink to? Let me know and I’ll do it right away! Thanks for the inspiration, and here’s the story if you’re interested: http://autismanswersbytsara.blogspot.com/2014/10/short-story-to-try.html
October 3, 2014 — 11:38 PM
Vicente L Ruiz says:
I have witnessed the end of humanity.
September 30, 2014 — 4:25 PM
mangacat201 says:
Somehow my sleep-deprived brain turned that into ‘I have missed the end of humanity’ which i have to admit has a certain appeal, too. Eheheee… either way, I like the evocative simplicity of the statement. It’s a full story told and yet, so much left unsaid to be filled in by the writer/reader.
September 30, 2014 — 4:32 PM
Vicente L Ruiz says:
Thanks for your kind words!
Indeed, “I have missed the end of humanity” would make for a whole story in itself.
October 3, 2014 — 12:30 PM
mangacat201 says:
It totally would, wouldn’t it? Well, leave it to the sleep-deprived brain to give you a two for one.
October 3, 2014 — 1:12 PM
Rhyan says:
I have missed the end of humanity… Thats most certainly one whole story in itself
October 3, 2014 — 5:04 PM
darkvirtue1974 says:
Gears and pendulums the size of worlds moving at the speed of lifetimes loomed above my head.
September 30, 2014 — 11:34 PM
underastarlitsky says:
Love this! I might use it 🙂
October 2, 2014 — 7:34 PM
52lettersinthealphabet says:
love this one
October 3, 2014 — 12:12 AM
JJ Toner says:
Echoes of Edgar Allen Poe?
October 3, 2014 — 11:23 AM
mangacat201 says:
Just wanted to let you know, I love this sentence, and I would have used it, but the story I spun from in turned into something that 1) couldn’t possibly be told in 1000 words and 2) had to adjust the imagery to something a bit different for the purpose. But it’s an amazing sentence that’s inspired me greatly. Thank you for that!
October 12, 2014 — 12:39 PM
Lucy says:
Like autumn leaves, she crumpled; it hadn’t hurt a bit.
October 1, 2014 — 2:48 AM
nerdboiwonder says:
Oooo I think I’m gonna pick this one!
October 5, 2014 — 12:47 AM
georgekaltsios says:
The day after he burned the letter, he got a text from her.
October 1, 2014 — 3:43 AM
JJ Toner says:
Try burning this, it said.
October 3, 2014 — 11:24 AM
Jane says:
Ha! Love the reply – carry on!
October 3, 2014 — 11:32 AM
boydstun215 says:
Clever!
October 6, 2014 — 8:40 PM
Jonah says:
I know it’s well past the deadline for the sentence into a story challenge, but I thought I’d let you know that I used your sentence. Thanks!
October 15, 2014 — 4:10 PM
fadedglories says:
The floor jumped erratically, the walls flickered from solid to clear and there was no ceiling today; I sighed and got out of bed.
October 1, 2014 — 6:12 AM
tedra says:
This, is good! I hope you have a story to go with that.
October 2, 2014 — 8:10 PM
fadedglories says:
Thanks. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have a story, but an idea is hovering in the vicinity.
October 3, 2014 — 3:32 AM
JJ Toner says:
Sounds like my last hangover 🙂
October 3, 2014 — 11:25 AM
Greg 'Hosehead' Highnote says:
Walking Kathi down the sidewalk to my apartment the morning after my first got-lucky night at her place, my Hi-Pro glow was drenched by the sight of two fat blue rainclouds stringing crime scene tape across my fourth floor balcony. (From The Hoser’s ‘Truth is Stranger than Fiction’ Files)
October 1, 2014 — 12:40 PM
RIck Sherman says:
It was just bad luck that the genius who perfected the mind control was a devout fundamentalist.
October 1, 2014 — 8:10 PM
Kurt Bali says:
Oh my. I like this.
October 5, 2014 — 7:15 PM
Josh Gillespie says:
This is my first time ever posting on here, after loving this site for a long time now!
“I thought I had been lucky to get out of the ship in time, but maybe the rest of them had it easy; all I can do now is watch as my emergency shuttle is dragged into the gravitational pull of the dying Earth, until those nuclear flames reach up and swallow me.”
I got a little inspired by this one, and the full short story can be found at http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/JMGillespie/1421101/
October 1, 2014 — 11:50 PM
Celeste says:
If I were to choose my villain of the year, I would have never even thought of a rubber ducky being my antagonist.
October 2, 2014 — 6:13 AM
Anthony Crociata says:
I finally step outside after three weeks of healing, thinking and plotting, the bullet still lodged somewhere in my gut.
October 2, 2014 — 10:09 AM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
I ended up taking your sentence for a spin: http://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/nothing-like-getting-rained-on-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
October 9, 2014 — 10:31 AM
underastarlitsky says:
It began as mundane as any other Tuesday but watching the clock tick ever closer to midnight Alexis knew, even before the sky turned blinding white with a loud pop, like the sound of a cork pulled from a giant bottle, that the world was going to hell in a hand basket.
October 2, 2014 — 12:37 PM
Dave says:
The plea for help was unmistakable, scrawled in child-like handwriting, tucked in the packaging of an electric shaver from overseas.
October 2, 2014 — 2:21 PM
john freeter says:
I really like this one
October 3, 2014 — 11:12 AM
boydstun215 says:
Whoa, this is amazing.
October 6, 2014 — 8:41 PM
M.R. Dorough says:
Battered, bruised, and bloody, the survivors felt a brief pang of bittersweet triumph before the packed earth began to rumble beneath their feet and the massive southern gate groaned open, slowly revealing the cavernous and atramentous depths beyond the threshold.
October 2, 2014 — 4:32 PM
Robert Niemann says:
The kitten died in my hands just after six on that unbearably humid Sunday evening.
October 3, 2014 — 12:22 AM
Jane says:
Oh, that’s wonderfully sad.
October 3, 2014 — 11:34 AM
Laurie Jameson says:
Robert, I am using your sentence and hope i can do it justice.
October 4, 2014 — 3:53 PM
Laurie Jameson says:
Thank you Robert for providing the perfect first sentence. My story is now posted at
lauriejameson.wix.com/scribblings
October 5, 2014 — 1:54 AM
Connor Millard says:
And when the girl in the red dress had Harrison thoroughly entwined in her arms and intoxicated by her perfume– *that* was when she slid a fifth, arthropodal limb out from under the hem of her dress.
***
Argh. I’m not entirely in love with the way I constructed this sentence, but I’m pushing it as it is. It might be late already; I don’t remember the usual deadline for these.
October 3, 2014 — 3:17 AM
jay x wolf says:
I choked as the words formed in my head, but I fought to force them out: “We were wrong, but I had to try.”
October 3, 2014 — 7:28 AM
Jonathan Dayton says:
Standing on the hill overlooking the warlord’s capital city, my hand rattled on the hilt of my sword as I felt feeble against the army of hill giants guarding the gates.
October 3, 2014 — 8:53 AM
Holly says:
As a gamer, I suggest arming your sniper rifle and picking the bastards off one by one. Head shots all around. See? No more shaking hands. Works every time. 😎
October 3, 2014 — 9:36 AM