Last week’s challenge: From Sentence To Story.
It is apple season, people.
Apple season.
APPLE SEASON.
And with apple season comes a chance to sample a world of weird apples.
Uncommon apples.
Like, say, from this list grabbed at North Star Orchards here in PA.
I want you to look through this list.
You can use a random number generator if you like.
But pick three of these apples.
And include them — not apples themselves, necessarily, but the names of said apples — in your story. They can be included however you see fit: character names, place names, some other worldbuilding aspect, anything and any way you so choose.
You’ve got 1000 words.
Post at your online space.
Link back here.
Due by next Friday, noon, EST.
Pick your apples.
joeturner87 says:
I can’t eat apples 🙁 but I’ll participate anyway
RNG spat out
40) Rosemary Russet
14) VonZuccalimaglios Reinette :S
30) Lacy
I think I can work with that :D…even if I’ll never know how delicious they are 🙁
October 10, 2014 — 7:20 AM
joeturner87 says:
I got: Rosemary Russet, VonZuccalimaglios, and Lacy.
I did what I could, and came in under-budget. I give you:
Golden Delicious
https://joetblogs.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge-picking-uncommon-apples/
October 13, 2014 — 7:01 PM
Lisa says:
Prarie Spy? That typo is Ludicrisp!
October 10, 2014 — 7:56 AM
L. N. Holmes says:
“Ludicrisp!” XD
October 10, 2014 — 9:36 AM
JP Juniper says:
The dice were kind to me this week: (11) Nova Spy, (32) Reverend Morgan, (38) Hoover.
October 10, 2014 — 8:59 AM
angelacavanaugh says:
Almost exactly what I got. But I didn’t get Hoover, I got Russet Beauty. The other two are the same. It’ll be interesting to see how our stories differ.
October 11, 2014 — 3:11 AM
JP Juniper says:
Here’s the story: http://www.jpjuniper.com/stories/2014/10/13/mercy
I cheated a little by dividing up “nova spy” across two people and two sentences.
October 13, 2014 — 10:06 AM
tedra says:
Wow what a good story!
October 13, 2014 — 2:19 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Good story, well told. I wanted to know more when it ended :).
October 13, 2014 — 2:53 PM
smkay70 says:
Great story, surprising ending with lots of questions, well done!
October 15, 2014 — 1:05 AM
Mozette says:
I chose three, and put them to good use:
* Malinda
*American Beauty
*Reverend Morgan
Enjoy!
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/american-beauty.html
October 10, 2014 — 9:02 AM
joeturner87 says:
Nicely done. I liked the change of voice, and a Sinister Minister is always going to be interesting
October 10, 2014 — 10:20 AM
Mozette says:
Thank you. It was late here… and I had the time to write it. And it came in under 1,000 words; at only 646 words! 😀
October 10, 2014 — 7:45 PM
Sia Marion says:
That was. I liked the way you blurred the lines. That isn’t easy to do. I’ve tried that a few times myself. You got that up really quick!
October 12, 2014 — 8:50 PM
Mozette says:
When it’s late at night, my brain tends to go to ‘sleep’ and my imagination has the opportunity to take over and have fun… it’s weird and a little scary… but it’s the next day I find my mind has two personalities; and I have no idea exactly how I wrote this one, or how the words came to be but this one just like a jig-saw puzzle, it just worked! 😀
October 13, 2014 — 9:41 PM
thesexiestwriter says:
I’d prefer to just sample that IPA, thank you very much!
October 10, 2014 — 9:36 AM
L. N. Holmes says:
I received these numbers (thanks for the random number generator):
17) American Beauty
18) Crow Egg
6) Davenport Russet
October 10, 2014 — 9:44 AM
Mike Berkey says:
Excellent choice in beer, sir. Founders is just up the road from where I live (relatively speaking) and one of my favorite breweries. I’ve drunk so much Dirty Bastard in my life that my friends refer to it as “Dirty Berkey.” 🙂
October 10, 2014 — 9:46 AM
Annigrey says:
I need a jolt. So I’m jumping in 🙂
7)Carter’s Blue
17) American Beauty
18)Crow Egg.
October 10, 2014 — 10:14 AM
Mark McLemore. says:
Mike, you must be a fellow Michigander. Founders is just DOWN the road from me, relatively speaking. I hail from Sparta, but currently reside in Howard City.
October 10, 2014 — 10:42 AM
Mike Berkey says:
High five!
I’m from the UP, but live in Kalamazoo, so we are equally distant from Founders, a measure by which I think I’m going to start measuring all time and space. I will call this unit of distance a Founders Unit, or FU for short.
October 10, 2014 — 10:59 AM
Mark McLemore. says:
Oh, oh, what about this GMO Gem- http://modernfarmer.com/2014/01/arctic-apple/
YEAH!!! It won’t “rust” when you slice it! Also, it is resistant to disease! You know why it is resistant to disease? IT IS GMO!! DISEASE WON’T EVEN TOUCH THE SHIT!!! Bon Appetit.
Now what are we doing?
Oh yeah…
King Solomon
Black Amish
American “opens-up-her-shirt-and-apples-fly-out” Beauty.
October 10, 2014 — 10:52 AM
Sandra Lindsey says:
Many apple varieties are resistant to disease – they’ve been selectively bred that way for centuries, and it’s something I’m quite glad of after losing my James Grieve to canker just as it was coming into proper fruit-bearing age. However, since the article you linked to (thanks!) mentions this Arctic strain as being Granny Smith & Golden Delicious varients, it would appear the supermarket-driven food industry is getting ever blander…
I don’t know what any of the varieties on the list taste like as my Rosemary Russett is yet to bear fruit, but I had my first Bloody Ploughman the other day & it was bloody delicious!
October 10, 2014 — 4:50 PM
Jemima Pett says:
I lost my Rosemary Russet but included her as my principal protagonist… and was very pleased with the way my bloody ploughman slipped into the story. James Grieve got in there too – how could I miss him out, one my family’s all time favourites. 🙂
October 16, 2014 — 6:16 PM
AB Hill says:
I wrote my three apples into “Prairie Spy”:
http://cubiclemonster.weebly.com/writings
October 10, 2014 — 12:32 PM
tedra says:
Pretty nice. I really enjoyed your story.
October 16, 2014 — 12:34 PM
Sia Marion says:
Very sad, AB. Nice use of imagary to illustrate your point. Lovely story.
October 16, 2014 — 3:42 PM
Nikki Broadwell says:
mine are: Lord Lamborne, Vonzuccalimaglios Reinette and Russet Beauty
October 10, 2014 — 1:37 PM
Nikki Broadwell says:
Here is the link to my piece: http://niksblog-authorinprogress.blogspot.com/
October 10, 2014 — 1:50 PM
Mozette says:
I can see this turning into something bigger… 😀
October 11, 2014 — 9:40 PM
Nikki Broadwell says:
thanks–kind of ended abruptly and a little too sweetly but had to wrap it up…
October 13, 2014 — 9:39 PM
Sia Marion says:
Nicely done, Nikki! Good read : )
October 16, 2014 — 3:50 PM
TheOtherTracy says:
I wrote mine as my flash for my Patreon supporters. It’s the PDF attached to this post. http://www.patreon.com/creation?hid=1068721&rf=38607
October 10, 2014 — 2:49 PM
Melinda says:
Really enjoyed the piece….and taking my name in vain LOL. Now if you would kindly quit letting out my secret, we’ll both be the happier for it LOL
October 10, 2014 — 3:44 PM
darkvirtue1974 says:
Just looked at the list. Three names back to back already churned the pot for me. Crow Egg, Orleans Reinette, and Husk Spice. I may make tiny adjustments to them, but they will be there. I’ll probably use tonight and tomorrow to hammer out the tale.
October 10, 2014 — 8:06 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
My three are: Malinda (Sorry, Melinda :)), Pixie, Lacy. I wasn’t brave enough to risk the wrath of the randomizer.
This might not be my normal type of story, but it’s what popped out when I started typing:
The Nature Show
http://kevjava.blogspot.com/2014/10/flash-fiction-nature-show.html
October 10, 2014 — 10:04 PM
AJ Bauers says:
This was really, really great. The POV seemed very natural when compared to the life circumstances she had encountered. Well done!
October 10, 2014 — 10:49 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Thank you. I don’t write from a woman’s POV often at all, and this story in particular made me nervous because of those life circumstances. So, if it worked, I’m quite relieved :).
October 10, 2014 — 11:27 PM
Denicide says:
That really is very pretty. Kudos.
October 12, 2014 — 12:36 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Thank you kindly :).
October 14, 2014 — 11:08 AM
kakubjaya says:
This is actually very touching.
October 12, 2014 — 6:19 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Thank you – I wasn’t intending on going that direction when I started, but I’m glad it came out that way. It’s one of the fun parts of the process, I suppose :).
October 14, 2014 — 11:10 AM
Allison Maruska says:
This is a gorgeous piece.
October 12, 2014 — 6:51 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Thank you so much. That means quite a bit coming from you – I’m quite fond of everything I’ve read from your virtual desk.
October 14, 2014 — 11:13 AM
joeturner87 says:
Enjoyed this. Nice use of the words (apples), and just an interesting internal piece.
October 14, 2014 — 6:51 AM
Kevin Wallace says:
Thank you for the kind words.
October 14, 2014 — 1:51 PM
Nikki Broadwell says:
This was a touchy subject to deal with and you did it well. Seems like most people on this thread know one another. This is my first time here. Writing is very good!
October 14, 2014 — 3:02 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Thank you very kindly, and welcome (*tips hat*)! This is actually my second week posting here too, although I read Blackbirds a while ago. The prompts are interesting and they inspire me to write (which is arguably the most important part, right? 🙂 ).
Perhaps just as importantly, the people here are very welcoming. Chuck seems to have done really well building a positive and encouraging community for writerkind.
October 14, 2014 — 3:17 PM
mannixk says:
I loved this and I think I would like to be friends with Malinda.
October 16, 2014 — 2:36 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Thank you so much :). By the end, I liked her too. I want to keep her around, so I can write her again.
October 17, 2014 — 11:05 AM
Sia Marion says:
That was really moving. I got so caught up, I forgot to look for your names! I thought the pov was very brave and your lovely touches of realism were both authentic and helped to move your story along. All together it was a job well done.
October 16, 2014 — 4:03 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
Very kind words, Sia – thank you for them. The apples are there, but hidden well because they were easy words to work in :).
October 17, 2014 — 11:42 AM
AJ Bauers says:
I used the random number generator to get: Oliver, Hoover, and Carter’s Blue. I had some fun with this story
Death by No-Name
http://ajbauers.blogspot.com/2014/10/death-by-no-name.html
Here’s the first sentence to give you a taste:
This is a story of how a boy named Oliver embarrassingly killed his school teacher with a Hoover vacuum cleaner.
October 10, 2014 — 10:16 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
This was cute and funny and clever and a lot of things. The last line is epic! I enjoyed it a lot.
October 10, 2014 — 10:48 PM
AJ Bauers says:
Thanks Kevin! I had fun with that last line 🙂
October 11, 2014 — 3:05 PM
tedra says:
Your story was really good. I too imagined a British guy reading it to me.
October 18, 2014 — 7:48 AM
Paige S. says:
Oof! It’s been a while for me.
I went Martian.
https://pznb.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/martian-logs/
October 11, 2014 — 2:49 AM
Nikki Broadwell says:
Loved this! Very Enderesque. And the ending was perfect.
October 14, 2014 — 3:09 PM
smkay70 says:
I liked this! Great ending, enjoyed the way you used the apple names and the whole journal entry format.
October 15, 2014 — 5:30 PM
Sia Marion says:
So much talent! Really good, Paige. I particularly like how you use slang for stuff that’s not been invented yet!
October 16, 2014 — 4:19 PM
angelacavanaugh says:
Here are my apples:
Nova Spy
Russet Beauty
Reverend Morgan
Not surprising, given the apples I picked (or should I say: the apples that the random number generator harvested for me), this turned into a church-spy-murder thing. lol
http://angelacavanaugh.com/2014/10/11/flash-fiction-friday-apples/
October 11, 2014 — 3:09 AM
joeturner87 says:
Great read. Would like to see where you’d go with it 🙂
October 11, 2014 — 6:58 AM
kakubjaya says:
Agreed! This was really polished, Bond-level stuff.
October 12, 2014 — 7:58 PM
Allison Maruska says:
I really like this one. What an interesting character.
October 12, 2014 — 6:44 PM
angelacavanaugh says:
Thanks 🙂
October 12, 2014 — 6:45 PM
JP Juniper says:
Very cool to see how almost the same prompt can be taken in such a different direction! Pretty funny, too, that I had a Father Morgan mistakenly called Reverend, and you have a Reverend Morgan mistakenly called Father. They are opposites in all sorts of ways, I think. 🙂
October 14, 2014 — 9:29 AM
Sia Marion says:
You write really intriguing dialog. Thanks for the read!
October 16, 2014 — 4:26 PM
angelacavanaugh says:
Trying to resist the urge to write a second story using All of the apple names.
October 11, 2014 — 3:13 AM
AJ Bauers says:
That be a crazy challenge in a 1000 words or less. *whispers you should do it*
October 11, 2014 — 3:07 PM
angelacavanaugh says:
If I did, I’d have to sorta cheat it to seem not forced. For example, I would name a character Russet. That way I could do things like this: “blah blah blah brown. Russet blah blah…” Lol
October 12, 2014 — 6:48 PM
melysandecousland says:
Crow Egg, Crown Prince Rudolph and Lord Lamborne; Story idea came from the Crow Egg…some may recognize the references and world.
October 11, 2014 — 1:05 PM
Mark Gardner says:
Lets add 1,002 words to 16Sunsets with 3, 10 & 35:
http://article94.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/16sunsets-part-15/
October 11, 2014 — 4:32 PM
Michelle Smith says:
I want to firstly say thanks! I haven’t written much lately and this really kick-started me back into it. Your words are often quite inspiring.
I had a go at the challenge. It was fun! My three apples are Cinnamon Spice (I can spell that right now), Pixie and Crow Egg.
Voila – http://isitcherry.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/cinnamon-spice-for-crow-egg.html
Thanks again for the challenge.
October 11, 2014 — 8:11 PM
roboclow says:
I’ve never tried one of your flash fictions before, but the apples called out to me. Specifically, the Orleans Reinette, Melrose and Carter’s Blue. Here’s what happened: http://roboclow.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/carters-blue/
October 11, 2014 — 10:57 PM
denicide says:
This is great!
October 13, 2014 — 6:18 PM
percykerry923 says:
My contribution to this challenge: http://thecrimocopoiea.blogspot.in/2014/10/american-beauty.html
October 12, 2014 — 5:19 AM
kakubjaya says:
Well played. Did NOT see that coming.
October 12, 2014 — 6:16 PM
mat says:
I was struggling a bit with this, until I watched A Most Wanted Man yesterday. Which I highly recommend by the way
http://reticulatedmetalarms.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/carters-blue/
October 12, 2014 — 5:40 AM
roboclow says:
Great minds! Same title, completely different story. Liked yours a lot. Here’s mine. http://roboclow.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/carters-blue/
October 12, 2014 — 7:30 PM
mat says:
Lovely twist at the end there, I really didn’t see that one coming!
October 13, 2014 — 1:38 PM
Kevin Wallace says:
This was clever. Well done :).
October 13, 2014 — 2:31 PM
fran730 says:
Loved it! The hidden room! The sliding dresser! Fab!
October 13, 2014 — 2:40 AM
Allison Maruska says:
I did a random number roll and ended up writing a dark 1930s piece.
http://allisonmaruska.com/2014/10/12/flash-fiction-four-down/
October 12, 2014 — 10:34 AM
kakubjaya says:
There’s something in the way of a first chapter in this. I could see this as the beginning of a rather long journey.
October 12, 2014 — 6:14 PM
Allison Maruska says:
My short stories tend to feel that way. Hmmm. I’ve thought of short stories (all, not just mine) as small bits of bigger stories, but maybe that’s wrong.
Thanks for reading!
October 12, 2014 — 6:30 PM
fran730 says:
Well, the names were irresistible…..https://grannywritesbooks.wordpress.com
October 12, 2014 — 5:29 PM
mat says:
really nice story. I also love the name of your blog. Shame it’s not Granny Smith though!
October 13, 2014 — 1:05 AM
tedra says:
I picked more than three apples. Oops. But I chose: Jewette Red, Margil, Crown Prince Roludolph, Lord Lamborne and Nutmeg. Here is my story.
October 13, 2014 — 2:05 PM
tedra says:
http://diginhappy.blogspot.com/2014/10/flash-fiction-jewett-red.html?m=1
It missed me the first time.
October 13, 2014 — 2:08 PM
Rose Red says:
Wow! You did a lot with 1k words. This is good stuff. Could be the center of a longer work.
October 13, 2014 — 8:30 PM
Nikki Broadwell says:
great story and well done!
October 13, 2014 — 9:37 PM
tedra says:
Thank you both!
October 16, 2014 — 12:28 PM
Rose Red says:
For this challenge, I wrote just under 900 words, writing part 4 of a noir crime serial I have been working on. I chose nutmeg, holiday and margil.
http://geletilari.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/your-loss-serial-part-4/
October 14, 2014 — 11:50 AM
underastarlitsky says:
I got 23, 16 and 9 (Oliver, Margil, Court Pendu Plat). Here’s: Ripe for the Picking http://underastarlitsky.wordpress.com
October 14, 2014 — 11:53 AM
Josh Loomis says:
The Random Number Gods bestowed upon me 28 (Crown Prince Rudolph), 18 (Crow Egg), and 31 (Lord Lamborne). The result is Strong Yet Subtle.
http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/2014/10/14/flash-fiction-strong-yet-subtle/
October 14, 2014 — 3:42 PM
smkay70 says:
Nice! I enjoyed your story, good characters!
October 15, 2014 — 1:44 AM
Rose Red says:
I enjoyed your story, especially when she says, “That tiny thing?”
October 15, 2014 — 7:14 AM
smkay70 says:
Okay, here is my offering. I got Jarret, Macoun and American Beauty.
http://sabrakay.com/?p=89
October 15, 2014 — 2:08 AM
mannixk says:
Creepy! I liked it!
October 16, 2014 — 11:13 AM
smkay70 says:
Thanks! Just read yours…wow! Also very creepy, I want more!
October 16, 2014 — 4:34 PM
Robert Jepson says:
I used the RNG but wasn’t inspired by its choice, so I picked my own and came up with this little story. I’ll leave you to work out which apples I chose 🙂 I Hope you enjoy it!
http://robertjepson.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/castle-of-light-flash-fiction/
October 15, 2014 — 9:03 AM
smkay70 says:
Good story, I liked the characters you created.
October 16, 2014 — 6:34 PM
Robert Jepson says:
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
October 18, 2014 — 11:37 AM
jooze says:
Bonjour,
Chez moi en bourgogne, les pommes acides sont précieuses, une petite rouge surtout l’ Avrolle, car elle stabilise à elle seule pour la production de jus de pommes, ou cidre que l’o met en bouteille. Il est nécessaire qu’elle gèle, pour l’utiliser.
https://oderozhes.wordpress.com
Cordialement Joanne OT
October 15, 2014 — 12:53 PM
denicide says:
Hey. I went a step further by basing the story around apple picking. I hope you enjoy it!
http://blogatonium.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/flash-fiction-apple-picking/
October 15, 2014 — 6:51 PM
mannixk says:
I loved this story. Especially the line: ‘Parts are woven for us. A princess needs a witch.’
October 16, 2014 — 11:11 AM
Kevin Wallace says:
I’ll second that. I love the idea that she’s compelled to be what she is. The tone in this piece is beautifully done.
October 16, 2014 — 12:55 PM
denicide says:
Thanks for both of your kind words!
October 17, 2014 — 9:18 AM