Last week, I said, “Come up with a title.”
And you did. Over 400 of them.
Now, your job is to go into the comments section of that post and find a title you like. Then, write a story (under 2,000 words, we’ll say) to fit that title. Please do not choose a title you came up with. The challenge is to pick up something new!
You have one week — due by Friday, October 2nd.
Post the story on your online space and link to it in the comments below.
Please give credit to the person who came up with your title. Credit is good.
Go. Pick. Write. Enjoy!
152 responses to “Flash Fiction Challenge: Now Choose Your Title”
Courtesy of Carlywrites (betterwithapenblog.com), “The First Apology.”
“Somebody had screwed up. Mia thought it was the new guy in Protocol. I suspected Britt. She’d always rubbed me the wrong way….”
http://mjdiedrich.com/2015/09/25/the-first-apology/
I lied this. Feels very unique. Nice world-building!
Many thanks! I really enjoyed yours as well, especially its overall premise and the…collegial relationship depicted towards the end.
I really like the worldbuilding here, too. I like the idea of this whole workforce that exists just to communicate with these complicated alien beings! I would have liked to see the Mars First movement be at least mentioned in passing earlier in the story. I’m also a little confused how Britt contrived to have all the people that would have worked for her or translated her work out at the same time? But mostly I really liked the setting and the setup here!
Thank you for both the kind words and the useful feedback. Much appreciated! I loved your use of imagery and detail in “Under the River,” especially the significance of color, to convey both tone and detail. The way you set up and paid off the dull white really worked for me.
I really liked what you’ve done here. You took a somewhat vague title and created a complex and compelling world. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you! I look forward to seeing more of the adventures of Arden and Snorts from your story.
I went with Penquillity’s title, The Charge of the Fright Brigade. A lot of fun to write! Here it is:
https://wormholelesstraveled.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/the-charge-of-the-fright-brigade/
Wow! Fantastic opening, and the fun just kept on coming. Is this part of a larger universe or just a one-off, because the detail was amazing.
It was supposed to be a one off but it’s gotten such a nice response that mayhaps I will make it into a larger universe. Tentative title: the “Spookyverse”. Thanks for the read Anna 🙂
I’m double-dipping on this one–today and next Friday. For today, I used AKDrees’s title, “How the Rain Gets In”.
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2015/09/friday-flash-fiction-how-rain-gets-in.html
Now to pick another for next Friday 🙂
Loved it!
Thanks!
Nice description – I liked the creeping sense of dread and the inexorable onset of the rain.
Followed up this week with “Weather Permitting,” which just sort of naturally had to continue the story!
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2015/10/flash-fiction-weather-permitting.html
They had me worried there!
We may never know if they make it out okay. But they are going to enjoy the journey.
Great idea! 🙂 I did something similar with my family. We all tried our hand at writing catchy opening lines for stories then we switched them around and everyone wrote a short story with someone else’s opening line.
I close Mozette’s title. https://article94.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/muffled-silence/
I like this one… this is a story I can see as a novella or a short series of books – depending on which way you take it. 😀
Thank you for picking my really vague title. 🙂
Thanks, Moz! If you’d like to read more: https://article94.wordpress.com/tag/victorious-maiden/?order=asc
Ah! It did feel like a fragment. Very atmospheric!
Here’s mine with a special to J.T. Wilibanks.
Not quite fiction. Not quite fact.
The Fine Art of Becoming Nothing
We have become the monsters under the bed waiting for the bare feet and supple ankles to hit the floor.
I highly recommend this as piece of higher thought reading. I can’t say I completely grasped every nuance, but if you are all about the nuance and subtleties of language, then this one’s for you.
I took zer_netmouse’s title, for a quick and dirty piece of revenge noir. I may double dip as well. http://andreaspeed.com/2015/flash-fic-challenge-rage-walks-beside-me/
I liked this, especially your descriptions. Very vivid, and I liked the way they flow (like the way you used the sea and shore imagery, for example).
Very good ! I loved your descriptions, firm and tight!
Dirty, gritty, with some very vivid analogies. Might have gone a knife too far describing the throat-slitting scene. Either that, or I am a squeamish pansy. I think you may have liked killing the bad guy just a tad too much. Might need to seek therapy for that. Otherwise, great piece of work.
From Aaron Jeffries: A Message from Her
Your link didn’t show up… did you forget to put it in?
My mistake…I don’t know what I was thinking, that we should say which one we chose before writing. But I guess I did that already on the first blog post. No, I have not written it yet.
Aahh… looking forward to it. 😀
I chose Tabitha Beth’s title… 😀
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/i-am-not-alice.html
Enjoy!
Wow I didnt not expect yor story to go in the direction that it did. Well done
Thank you… actually I didn’t expect it to take me there either. I don’t plan my stories, they take me along for the ride as much as they do for you – so both you and I were surprised the same way. 😀
Great story!
Thank you Rebecca and Curtis… I know some of it was a big vague, but I did my best with it. 😀
Here’s mine. I’m borrowing Gordo’s “The Crack in Lucy’s Eye.” This one turned out pretty weird, even for me…
http://strangeandcuriousthings.blogspot.fi/2015/09/terribleminds-challenge-borrowed-title.html
I really enjoyed your story. Great imagery.
Nice.
Nice job!!
Thanks, guys:)
LIke!
What a cool idea! I really liked this title but couldn’t think of an idea to do it justice, which you definitely did. Really like the personification (demonization?) of these maladies.
You have a light touch with weird and a delightful take on what you might see if you too had a crack through which to view the true cause of much human misery. Maybe you need to explore your dark side more often?
[…] am making this short story as a reply to the Flash Fiction Challenge: Now Choose your Title: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/09/25/flash-fiction-challenge-now-choose-your-title/ I chose the title “H is for Hammer Time” by Nick. I hope it does… kinnov a […]
Hello 😀 I chose Nick’s title: H is for Hammer Time! I took a more gamerly approach to it rather than murdery… because I am more about human interaction than horror.
Here it is:
https://maddashalfofthewholestory.wordpress.com/2015/09/26/flash-fiction-challenge-2-h-is-for-hammer-time-title-by-nick/
I chose Joshua M. Neff’s title: The Man from the Ministry of Fog
http://study-in-ink.tumblr.com/post/129949695055/the-man-from-the-ministry-of-fog
This was quite fun! Nice break from my usual work.
I liked it. Felt like it really belonged to that title.
You have a very good grasp of character voice. I could truly picture the cantankerous old woman and the much put-upon ministry agent. I have to say, though, they sounded suspiciously efficient for government agents. They must have a better infrastructure in your fictional world than they do here.
Holy cats, I absolutely LOVE that! Honestly, that’s very much the kind of story (in tone, if not in setting) that I had in mind when I came up with the title.
I appropriated Mark Davis’s “The 2nd Street Writing Syndicate.” I haven’t had this much fun writing a story in a while. I hope you like it too.
http://accidentallyinspired.com/2015/09/26/the-2nd-street-writing-syndicate/
Fun, funny, original, and just the right amount of snark-loved it!!
Glad you did!
That was awesome. No “prosometer” necessary.
Right on! Sometimes you think up something that just NEEDS to be in the real world…
Loved it!
I took that title too. I challenge you to compare our separate visions: http://wp.me/p4K3CH-cf
From mrdugdarley, the title is simply:
Greetings.
Be sure to add the link when the story is written!
I picked “Gold Like Your Blood,” courtesy of erimeh.
[…] story is brought to you by FLASH FICTION CHALLENGE: NOW CHOOSE YOUR TITLE at Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds. I mentioned that msshonnerz’s suggestion of […]
Here’s my entry, inspired by msshonnerz’s title of “Cornbread and Cognac”.
http://fredgyost.com/2015/09/27/flash-fiction-challenge-cornbread-and-cognac/
I really enjoyed this. Great work!
Thanks!
This was awesome! Really enjoyed it. Reminded me a bit of the comic Southern Bastards.
Ooh, I’ll have to check that one out. Glad you liked it!
[…] is another Chuck Wendig Friday Flash Fiction challenge, but in a way, it’s a story I’ve been writing for years. It is set in the world of, but […]
I chose Leigh Statham’s wonderfully evocative “Turbulence and Sunshine.”
[…] is yet another entry for Chuck Wendig’s flash fiction challenge, found here. This week, we had to pick someone else’s title and build a story from it. Simple, right? My […]
Well, here goes. Greetings looked interesting so that is what you have. https://modernauthors.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/greetings/
I apologize. My title was GREETINGS from mrdugdarley.
well that was eerie. i love it!
Thanks! To be honest, I was a bit worried about this one.
Well I’m glad you pushed through.
I loved it
Thoroughly enjoyed that. The sense of powerlessness was quite apparent.
Thank you. I hope I’ve done your title justice.
Well done! I loved its creepiness… and how weirdly polite it was.
Here’s “Beers of the World After” – thanks NinjaGW:
http://cubiclemonster.weebly.com/writings
Very fun. I wish every job had demented magic beer……..
Thanks, boundbeautifunk! I work part-time at a brewery, so it was kind of cathartic for me to write!
I suspected something similar. There’s only so many times you can answer the same question. “Boy cows don’t give milk? Wow, I never realized that before,” says a middle aged man with children……
I’m going with “The Sound of Fire” by Russell (NLN), the story for that one just popped out. If nothing else, this has forced me to create a blog to post stories on, which will probably lead to creating a website. Dammit Chuck, you’re costing me money here!
I used Angélique Jamail’s title : “Farce Macabre”
Many many thanks !
https://impulsedevice.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/farce-macabre/
loved it
Very dark but it definitely kept my attention. Great job!
I appropriated “Cobblestones of the Road” from maddaandhalfofthewholestory.
This is my first Flash Fiction attempt, seeing as I am rather new to this whole writing thing, so I would greatly appreciate any feedback, complimentary or brutal.
https://dcxli.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/cobblestones-of-the-road/
But what was in the chest!?
loved it, i imagine there is a lot more here than meets the eye,
That is indeed the question, my friend. I’m glad you liked it!
I took thenotebook183’s title, “Under the River” and came up with this!
http://aimee-ogden.tumblr.com/post/130131859011/terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge-under-the
Beautifully worded. It reads like a song. =)
Thank you! 🙂
I did missalimcd’s The Mysteries of Her Head
https://cheesywriterblog.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/the-mysteries-of-her-head/
Good one!
Thank you! Showers have such good ideas in them….
Thank you. I hope I’ve done your title justice.
[…] MY Original Fiction – Title suggested by David Marks from Chuck Wendig’s Epic Battle […]
I went with ‘She Never Dies Quietly’, contributed by nkharrold (https://freelancefedora.wordpress.com/). your title took me to a dark place… I hope that I did it justice. 😉
http://writingaboutreading.com/writing-about-writing/ffc-wendig-title/
I’ve seen some people posting the opening sentence(s) of their stories, so I’ll do the same… perhaps it will draw interest some of you. 🙂
“She screamed when I killed her for the last time. Of course she had. She always did.”
Really a chilling tale! Well done.
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment! 🙂
Courtesy of David Marks’ Title: The Second Street Writer’s Syndicate.
“I tell you, Boss, Dewey’s got to be remaindered.”
https://kirisalazar.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/i-literarily-have-an-offer-you-cant-refuse/
[…] Chuck set us his weekly challenge. That week, it was to come up with a title for a short story. This week, he then challenged us to pick one of those titles and come up with a story about it. I choose […]
I picked ‘Of Those in Shadow’, which was created by Anton. this is what I wrote for it:
https://princessofdragons.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/of-those-in-shadow/
I decided to double-dip, and this time I choose Lee Langtom’s title: The Hand Drawn Man. Enjoy!
https://dcxli.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/the-hand-drawn-man/
[…] Now Choose Your Title Title: Kilara (via lightningstarlight) Word Count: 271 […]
My Attempt:
https://sarahspelbring.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/flash-fiction-challenge-now-choose-your-title/
Okay, I decided to do another one, and use Dustin Miller’s title: https://article94.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/the-rocks-above/
Tobias and the Seven Dwarves? I really enjoyed it. It seems like a world ripe for the exploring.
Thanks! If you’d like to know more: https://article94.wordpress.com/brass-automaton/
[…] following is the result of this week’s Flash Fiction Challenge at Chuck Wendig’s blog. The challenge last week had particpants come up with a title (without […]
Well, that was very different from my usual stuff (not only because it’s in English), certainly my weirdest yet. 373 words grown from Medina’s “How to Sing Butterflies” http://en.thomasdiehl.eu/?p=126
Hi,
I really liked writerchick’s title, Banjo and the Wormhole. Thanks Anita.
http://wp.me/p1MxFw-3H
[…] week’s challenge, take a title by someone else and turn it into a story. I went over by about 400 words on this one, […]
Courtesy of David Benson: Neon Sky. (And only 400 or so words over)
https://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/neon-sky-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
I chose to write a flash fiction story for the title “The Wolf of Banderville Moor”, title by Matthew J Daniels..Here is my web address:
https://patriciaruthsusan.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/the-wolf-of-banderville-moor/
“Cut + Paste” got my imagination working. Here’s what it came up with.
https://grahamwrites.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/flash-fiction-cut-paste/
By the way, thank you Adan Ramie.
Great action and I loved Sunny
Guess that was for me? Thanks!
I used Sodmikail’s The Shipping List. It’ll be live in about 30 minutes.
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2015/10/02/friday-flash-fiction-the-shipping-list/
I always enjoy your work.
Thanks!
Got my title from Jemima Pett, and made a continuation of last week’s story. Weather Permitting:
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2015/10/flash-fiction-weather-permitting.html
Without anything for today, I picked your Walking Backwards into Hell. So, it’s too late for this challenge….
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2015/10/16/friday-flash-fiction-walking-backwards-into-hell/
I chose “Showdown at Evermore” by JQ Davis. It came in just under 400 words. A part of me wants to keep writing the story to see what happens next.
http://www.matthewmarchitto.com/blog/2015/10/1/flash-fiction-challenge-choose-your-title-edition-showdown-at-evermore
(Spoiler (sorta): I like to think Marda fought her way to the center of the Evermore.)