[Apologies that this challenge is late — I set the other one to post but, without realizing it, had been logged out and the scheduled posting did not save.]
This challenge? Pretty straightforward.
Pick one of these five randomly generated sentences.
Use the sentence in a flash fiction short story, ~1000 words in length.
Post that story at your online space, and give us a link to that story in the comments below — this story is due by this coming Friday the 13th at noon EST.
Bonus challenge: use more than one of these sentences in the story.
The sentences are:
“The mysterious diary records the voice.”
“The stranger officiates the meal.”
“The shooter says goodbye to his love.”
“A glittering gem is not enough.”
“The memory we used to share is no longer coherent.”
“The old apple revels in its authority.”
“Rock music approaches at high velocity.”
“Sixty-Four comes asking for bread.”
“Abstraction is often one floor above you.”
“The river stole the gods.”
Joe Turner says:
Challenge accepted.
March 8, 2015 — 1:42 PM
Joe Turner says:
Challenge failed 🙁
March 13, 2015 — 2:17 PM
M. MacDonald says:
A thousand words that are inclusive of random sentences from a terrible mind
http://gravityroom.tumblr.com/post/113093706297/a-thousand-words-that-are-inclusive-of-random
March 8, 2015 — 4:08 PM
Jen Donohue says:
Here’s mine. I linked it up to a random challenge I completed from here, from last June.
http://authorizedmusings.blogspot.com/2015/03/another-wendig-flash-fiction-challenge.html
March 8, 2015 — 4:53 PM
Hannah says:
I liked the stream of consciousness style of this–it fit well with the story. I wrote about something eerily similar!
March 10, 2015 — 2:29 PM
Jen Donohue says:
Thanks so much ^^
Yours was somewhat similar, but I really really liked the form and direction it took!
March 10, 2015 — 3:40 PM
Hannah says:
Thank you!
March 11, 2015 — 8:42 AM
Ajahni says:
This is mine. It is about twenty-seven words over the limit, but I tried. This is my first ever time participating in any of the flash fiction challenges, and I honestly don’t think I’m really good at it, but there’s a first for everything, right?
http://www.wattpad.com/109695854-memorial
March 8, 2015 — 6:57 PM
Ajahni says:
Update: It is now under one-thousand words.
March 8, 2015 — 7:17 PM
Mozette says:
Here’s mine… it was a great challenge.
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/the-abstraction-of-heaven-and-earth.html
March 8, 2015 — 8:55 PM
Jemima Pett says:
Good work, Mozette!
March 13, 2015 — 2:03 PM
Modern Authors says:
Here’s hoping mine turned out okay.
https://modernauthors.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/my-memory/
March 8, 2015 — 11:11 PM
StarNinja says:
So, that took a turn for the worse! Just like the start of the movie UP, I was happy, then sad, then emotionally flat lined. Then depressed again. Great story!
March 13, 2015 — 1:46 PM
Modern Authors says:
Thanks! I’m glad I had a chance to depress you today.
March 13, 2015 — 4:28 PM
R. M. Webb says:
I didn’t choose my sentence. My sentence chose me. I didn’t really have time to write a short story this morning, but it wrote itself while I was editing my novel. I just typed it up and posted it to my blog. Thanks, Chuck, for the crazy bout of inspiration!
http://www.rmwebbfiction.com/?p=166
March 9, 2015 — 10:42 AM
Mozette says:
Hey my sentence kinda chose me too… 😀 And I thought I was the only one where the sentence jumped out at me. 😀
March 9, 2015 — 8:16 PM
R. M. Webb says:
These sentences were quite thought provoking, weren’t they?
March 10, 2015 — 8:20 AM
addy says:
Amazing. I love what you have done. its like a darkest before dawn and a good reminder to fight through tough times 😀
March 10, 2015 — 7:43 AM
R. M. Webb says:
Well thank you Addy! I’m a simple creature. A little praise leaves me smiling for the rest of the day. 🙂
March 10, 2015 — 8:19 AM
Mark Gardner says:
I used five of the lines: https://article94.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/stay-awake/
March 9, 2015 — 10:54 AM
jaegur says:
That was awesome! I managed to get in 6 of the sentences. Did they make sense? Maybe.
http://raymondcmorris.com/2015/03/09/the-ties-that-bind-sort-of-flash-fiction/
March 9, 2015 — 11:41 AM
Sacha Jones says:
Deceptive. Thanks for the challenge.
http://onewomanswo.blogspot.co.nz/
March 9, 2015 — 8:28 PM
Allison Maruska says:
Ha. Clever take on it. 🙂
March 10, 2015 — 9:32 PM
stevechatterton says:
Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Here’s mine:
http://www.wattpad.com/110080219-short-stuff-letters-to-bernie
The story of the last man on earth told through a series of letters to his recently-estranged wife. I used two of the challenge lines in the first entry. Thanks.
March 10, 2015 — 9:56 AM
mannixk says:
Bleak and good. I really liked it.
March 10, 2015 — 12:12 PM
stevechatterton says:
Thanks, mannixk. I really appreciate the read and the feedback.
March 11, 2015 — 9:38 AM
Hannah says:
I only used one sentence, but it was nice to stretch my flash fiction challenge muscles again.
https://secondstaronther.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/therefore-i-am/
March 10, 2015 — 1:57 PM
R. M. Webb says:
I loved this!
March 10, 2015 — 5:15 PM
Hannah says:
Thank you so much!
March 10, 2015 — 5:30 PM
Steve Hartline says:
Terminator from a less sophisticated POV? I wasn’t aware of this line of thinking until a peer critique pointed it out.
http://www.notchtopping.com/ways-we-mark-time/
March 10, 2015 — 3:37 PM
powerjacob says:
Here is mine. I managed to get two sentences in there.
Enjoy.
http://jpowerdesign.com/2015/03/10/high-stealing/
March 10, 2015 — 4:44 PM
divynal66 says:
https://writingwhateveriwant.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/re-terribleminds-com-flash-fiction-challenge-ten-random-sentences/
March 10, 2015 — 5:34 PM
Allison Maruska says:
Used one sentence, and I think it came out quite poignant.
http://allisonmaruska.com/2015/03/10/flash-fiction-cowboys-and-songs/
March 10, 2015 — 9:08 PM
deliriumend says:
Let’s get back into doing this. Here you go. I used the one about rivers and gods.
http://shatteredrefractions.blogspot.com/2015/03/flash-fiction-river-stole-gods.html
March 10, 2015 — 10:08 PM
Mel says:
Here’s my entry! I hope you guys enjoy.
https://bardgirlstale.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/single-serve-flash-fiction-time/
March 10, 2015 — 10:25 PM
timmatthews1 says:
Great challenge, especially the word limit. Really helps me to write more sparingly. Here’s my entry. It’s a bit tongue in cheek. Hope you enjoy it!
http://wp.me/p4jIj9-2O
March 11, 2015 — 5:51 PM
Michelle Murrain says:
Thanks for this challenge! Loved it. I used two of the sentences. http://author.murrain.net/2015/03/chuck-wendigs-flash-fiction-challenge-day-of-remembrance/
March 11, 2015 — 9:58 PM
52lettersinthealphabet says:
Loved a lot of the sentences but went with “The river stole the gods”
https://52lettersinthealphabet.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/short-story-desert-gods/
March 11, 2015 — 10:22 PM
nkharrold says:
I had a hard time choosing one… so I used them all. Not horribly profound, but it was fun to write!
https://freelancefedora.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/story-time-a-man-unwoven/
March 12, 2015 — 3:49 AM
Tina says:
Two sentences!
This is the first time I wrote something in over two years, thank you for being such a source of motivation, Chuck.
http://andsuddenlythetruth.com/2015/03/12/flash-fiction-challenge-ten-random-sentences/
March 12, 2015 — 10:47 AM
Rebecca Douglass says:
Managed to pair two sentences. Go find them yourselves!
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2015/03/friday-flash-fiction-river-gods.html
March 12, 2015 — 5:11 PM
Jemima Pett says:
Well,, I guessed one from the title 🙂 Great work, as always, Rebecca!
March 13, 2015 — 6:50 AM
amusedreams says:
Here’s my entry! I only used one sentence: “The memory we used to share is no longer coherent.”
https://amusedreams.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/corrupted-file/
March 12, 2015 — 7:28 PM
joshuamneff says:
Ooooh, I like this! It’s lovely!
March 13, 2015 — 6:56 AM
R. M. Webb says:
Very cool!
March 13, 2015 — 8:24 AM
Jessica says:
I managed to use all of the sentences! (Well ok, I had to bend a few of them a bit.)
And the even-better news? It’s a spy story.
http://jessicaruprecht.com/2015/03/the-shooter-says-goodbye-to-her-love/
Thanks for the challenge, Chuck!
March 12, 2015 — 7:37 PM
Henry says:
I was short on time, so I did something a little different: I tried to tell a story as quickly as possible, using multiple sentences from the list. I got three sentences in 231 words. I think it works.
http://fistfulofwits.com/2015/03/12/flash-fiction-power-play/
March 12, 2015 — 7:41 PM
Rebecca Douglass says:
Nice! I like it. You got a complete story, used the sentences, and it’s brief enough for my limited evening attention span!
March 13, 2015 — 12:20 AM
conniecockrell says:
Good one. I like it.
March 13, 2015 — 12:34 AM
decayingorbits says:
I enjoyed this one. I hope you do, too.
https://decayingorbits.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/sixty-four-comes-asking-for-bread/
March 12, 2015 — 8:09 PM
conniecockrell says:
Left a comment on your site. Well done.
March 13, 2015 — 12:39 AM
decayingorbits says:
Thanks for checking it out. I read yours as well and really enjoyed it. Amazing how different our interpretations of a sentence can be!
March 13, 2015 — 10:17 PM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
Decided to go with “A glittering gem is not enough.” Am feeling a touch burnt out from work, so maybe nto my best work. Was aiming for a pulpy sword and sorcery feel, which is tough to do in 1000 words or less.
https://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/emerald-of-garrul-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
March 12, 2015 — 10:23 PM
conniecockrell says:
Nicely done. A good start there and reminds me of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies of Conan.
March 13, 2015 — 12:48 AM
lisacle says:
I was inspired by “The river stole the gods.” It took me right back to the world of my NaNoWriMo novel, so I wrote a little 630-word prequel/backstory piece. http://wp.me/p1Tyuy-bz
March 13, 2015 — 12:25 AM
conniecockrell says:
I used the same line as the last line of my story. Left a comment on your blog. Well done.
March 13, 2015 — 12:43 AM
conniecockrell says:
I know, I’m at the end of the line, but I put my flash stories up on Fridays. If I post my link before then people get upset because they can’t read it. So, it’ll post tomorrow at 3amEST. I used 2 of the sentences, one as the first line and one as the last. Enjoy. http://wp.me/p2AyuM-sT
March 13, 2015 — 12:32 AM
joshuamneff says:
I was going to only use one sentence, but I managed to work a few more in as well.
http://www.goblin-cartoons.com/2015/03/12/geometries-of-the-sleepless-hotel/
March 13, 2015 — 1:31 AM
Beth Turnage says:
Awesome, awesome, awesome. I would have left off the last three sentences, but otherwise—awesome.
March 13, 2015 — 3:39 AM
joshuamneff says:
Thank you for the praise and the feedback. 🙂
March 13, 2015 — 6:57 AM
swordsoftheancients says:
Got one in, using the final sentence on the list. This is “The River and the Gods.” https://swordsoftheancients.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/the-river-and-the-gods/
March 13, 2015 — 2:16 AM
Beth Turnage says:
Lovely story.
March 13, 2015 — 3:34 AM
Beth Turnage says:
I loved these sentences. Like potato chips it was hard to settle on just one. And I might have cheated just a little bit:
The Bearing House–http://bethturnage.com/?p=321
March 13, 2015 — 3:27 AM
Beth Turnage says:
No link? Oh geez. Try again.
http://bethturnage.com/?p=321
March 13, 2015 — 3:29 AM