FLASH FICTION CHALLENGE HAS RETURNED FOR THE NEW YEAR
*flash of lightning*
*crash of thunder*
*angry geese*
I don’t know why there are angry geese here, but they’re probably upset by all that lightning and thunder and maybe me yelling. Whatever, geese. You’re not the boss of me.
Regardless, it’s time for the fiction challenge to return proper, and this week’s challenge is simple enough: I want you to go ahead and click this link.
That link will take you to a page of nine images over at Flickr — nine images that are a sampling of the photos chosen by Flickr’s “interestingness” algorithm.
You will choose one of these photos and use it as inspiration for a 1000-word flash fiction story.
Post that story at your blog or other online space. Then come back here and drop a link to that story in the comments so we can all come and read it. Do not forget in your post or in your comment to indicate what photo (by link) you chose to provide you with inspiration for the story.
You have one week to complete this task or you will be assassinated.
*checks notes*
Sorry, you have one week to complete this task or nothing will happen except that you won’t have written this story or fulfilled this challenge in any way — my lawyers are very keen on me emphasizing the fact you will not be assassinated. Please and thank you.
The story is due by next Friday, noon EST on 1/15/16.
GO DO YOUR THING. And don’t mind the geese. Or the assassin.
jtsanz says:
Good Morning! I’m gonna take a crack at this (1st timer/post) Anyhow, are these lines to be included or just the photo as the prompt? Thanks for your time.
*flash of lightning*
*crash of thunder*
*angry geese*
January 8, 2016 — 8:30 AM
terribleminds says:
Haha, no, you do not need to include those.
January 8, 2016 — 8:35 AM
jtsanz says:
Thanks! I was rather fancy of the *angry geese* Have a stellar day. I’ll be back;
off to bleed on paper.
January 8, 2016 — 8:48 AM
thesexiestwriter says:
Geese are such assholes…
January 8, 2016 — 8:52 AM
thesexiestwriter says:
You will find in the comments below that if you don’t immediately save your link to the photo, you may have trouble finding it again. These images are not static and change with every click.
January 8, 2016 — 12:02 PM
Mozette says:
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/vortex.html
I also wrote one at Christmas – on Christmas Eve – which follows on from the one about Krampus in 2014… it’s called ‘Santa’s Workshop’. 😀
January 8, 2016 — 8:53 AM
Mozette says:
Oh! the pic I used was the spiralling stars on the rocky outcropping. 😀
January 8, 2016 — 8:54 AM
jtsanz says:
@thesexiestwriter OK. Then pluck it and dip the quill in a well of anger. Surely, it’s imperative for inspiration;)
January 8, 2016 — 9:08 AM
thesexiestwriter says:
Well, my story wasn’t angry, but I felt inspired so it’s a victory, right?! I’ve been looking forward to Chuck coming back and throwing flash fiction challenges (and angry geese) at us again.
January 8, 2016 — 12:23 PM
AA Payson says:
…thousand words on angry, ninja geese. Got it.
#notawakeyet
January 8, 2016 — 10:35 AM
thesexiestwriter says:
Ok, this one came out pretty easily, let me know what you think…Sorry, though, I left the geese out. Did I mention that geese are assholes?
https://criticalsexualmass.wordpress.com/
January 8, 2016 — 11:20 AM
Delia (Postcards from Asia) says:
I didn’t save the pic and later on I couldn’t find it. Every time I refresh I get new images. 🙁 In the off chance anybody has seen it, please post the link – it was called The Great Hall (black and white tiled floor, a half open door to the left and stairs straight ahead). Thanks.
I wrote the story, though, but it needs some polishing.
January 8, 2016 — 11:34 AM
thesexiestwriter says:
Instead of continually refreshing, go to the slide show at the top. You can scan all the slides as thumbnails, maybe you can find it that way…
January 8, 2016 — 11:54 AM
Delia (Postcards from Asia) says:
I tried. It really bugs me because I also tried finding it using the pic name and still no luck. That was a great pic. Anyway, that will teach me how flickr works – save it now or it will be gone forever! Thanks for trying to help. I really appreciate it.
January 8, 2016 — 1:22 PM
Alyson Hart says:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/47071837@N02/6883588298/in/photolist-buhbYS-nz81Pf-aByeR5-qV6yuZ-8JAESB-8VYaAW-9jmyvX-sDh5BP-n7d4qc-dYe8f9-7bFmjx-xaXUyZ-pheVYK-zhy9Jp-qUNTKq-zpghyK-tK5v6m-9NfsAy-nEhvos-reyQyB-fbdT5W-cjpDnu-9bNYXx-ejdTva-fac9GB-oQYxPA-djAc55-nMK156-92kzov-yqegLc-f8JUy3-kA8sU4-q8k4en-nvxCtY-yFNiYP-7se7R3-e1DsoV-fac5ha-7iHboA-8MHLD5-f8JUPs-951FDr-fuUJE8-dSpUL4-asMpjj-dSvNfq-85vjFX-fD4rGF-7MwtCQ-3kUYha
Is it this one?
January 10, 2016 — 7:45 PM
Delia (Postcards from Asia) says:
No, but thank you. The one I saw looked like a hallway from an old building. I feel like kicking myself for not saving it.
January 12, 2016 — 5:15 AM
Jemima Pett says:
Delighted to have you back, Chuck, although I have been struggling on, referring back to old lists to get new combinations for titles while you’ve been busy. I think you’ve been busy, anyway. That’s the overall impression I got! I have a picture prompt ready, so I’ll use that, if I may, and save your link for later 😉
January 8, 2016 — 1:27 PM
Sophie Giroir says:
I chose the pic of the grass for mine. I meant for this to be a flash fiction. It didn’t turn out that way. But…at least I got nearly 1000 words down for the day!
https://lifeinmyshoesandsometimesout.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/fields-of-feldar/
January 8, 2016 — 2:01 PM
Beatriz S. says:
Hey, I read your story (or whatever you want to call it). I liked it; it really did feel like the beginning of a longer work. I have high expectations for her, running for 2 years now 😉
My only criticism is that even though you described the surroundings I still couldn’t quite SEE most of the scenes (besides the one she is laying on the grass, that was a good one).
January 10, 2016 — 2:35 PM
Sophie Giroir says:
Thank you so much! I’ll definitely have to add a bit of scenery. =)
January 10, 2016 — 8:58 PM
Don't Want To Write says:
Just saving this here. My Friday night commences…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/23787450049/
January 8, 2016 — 2:10 PM
jordansharpe says:
I got a photo of a mountain and the title was “Euphoria.” Excited to share what I’ve got next week.
January 8, 2016 — 2:14 PM
dcxli says:
Here is my work, titles “Sunset”.
https://dcxli.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/sunset/
And here is the picture:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/catmacbride/23545689563/#
January 8, 2016 — 4:16 PM
jademwong says:
Ahh, this shall be my first crack at one of your challenge prompts. I shall be back!
*dodges ninja assassins*
*sidesteps angry geese*
January 8, 2016 — 4:32 PM
Andre Gonzalez says:
I have a question with regard to research and writing. I have plenty of ideas circulating in my head. Some of these ideas come with voices, some of them come with vague sceneries, maybe a scene and even some of them come with multiple characters with names. What they don’t come with is the information in-between to glue these pieces together. This is where research comes in. Research sometimes poses as a hulking obstacle for momentum and cools the fire of the story burning in my hands. I know its important to “finish your shit”—so I guess this is the cue for my question: How do you write through the stumbling blocks of research (or lack there of)? How to get to the finish (of a messy draft) and ignore the pitfalls pocked through the page? Any response, fellow writers, is/will be appreciated!
January 8, 2016 — 6:00 PM
Aimee Ogden says:
I use placeholder words to great effect! I don’t remember where I originally came across this idea (it’s certainly not one I came up with myself), but whenever I hit an “I don’t know” point in writing, I just put the word “elephant”. And then I keep writing. After the draft is done, I go back and take the time to do the research needed to fill in all the elephants. But while I’m writing, I don’t need to know the average high temperature in City X in September or what kind of mammals display a large degree of sexual dimorphism or what languages they speak in Timbuktu. This has been a HUGE factor for me in being able to finish my shit without getting derailed a million times along the way!
January 9, 2016 — 2:58 PM
jademwong says:
That’s actually quite brilliant. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to just use some sort of placeholder and keep writing. Man, I am LOVING this blog and all you awesome people on it.
January 12, 2016 — 4:23 PM
Pavowski says:
Just leave something in the text that you can do a find & replace for later. For me it was just a *** that I’d insert mid-page, mid-paragraph, even mid-sentence when I got hung up. Just leave all that crap for a future version of yourself to work through.
January 10, 2016 — 11:45 AM
Andre Gonzalez says:
Thank you, everyone for these replies! Thoughtful, helpful, and I’ll definitely try them in the draft! 🙂 You guys rock!
January 15, 2016 — 3:19 PM
N'Eligahn (@NEligahn) says:
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
Blog link: http://neligahn.blogspot.com/2016/01/flash-ficton-challenge-mausoleum.html#more
Photo Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alextrenta/24123550955/
January 8, 2016 — 8:33 PM
Fred G. Yost says:
*Geese Thunder!*
So this:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23386859@N03/24126730912/
amazing image sparked this:
http://fredgyost.com/2016/01/08/flash-fiction-challenge-loose-ends/
rough story. It’s fantasy! It’s set in a pub! What’s not to love?
Anyone else feel a bit rusty having not done a proper one of these in a few months?
January 8, 2016 — 9:00 PM
dcxli says:
You had me at fantasy. I really liked this, and I would love to hear the larger tale that it comes from. And yes, I did feel the rust, but I’m glad that Chuck has returned Flash Fiction to us.
January 10, 2016 — 1:07 PM
Fred G. Yost says:
Thanks! I’m hoping to work on the trilogy that this springs from once I finish my current WiP, though I think there are five projects that I’m chomping at the bit to start, so who knows which one will catch creative fire next.
January 11, 2016 — 12:05 PM
Rebecca Douglass says:
I had to look because it was fantasy in a bar 🙂 I’ve been keeping on with my own FF prompts while Chuck has been otherwisely occupied, so not feeling too rusty. You don’t seem to be doing too badly.
January 15, 2016 — 1:00 AM
Princess of Dragons says:
This was a lot of fun 🙂 My photo was Forgotten Flame.
https://princessofdragons.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=3377&action=edit
January 9, 2016 — 8:13 AM
mariahavix says:
Your link isn’t working! And it has flame, I was hoping to read about a warm thing.
January 10, 2016 — 1:52 PM
Princess of Dragons says:
Oh, thanks for pointing that out. Try this link instead: https://princessofdragons.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/flash-fiction-challenge/
January 11, 2016 — 4:16 AM
Don't Want To Write says:
Here you are, Sir Wendig. I took the photo quite literally. Need to exercise the old imagination a little more, I think: http://wp.me/p5dXec-3m
And the photo link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/23787450049/
January 9, 2016 — 10:42 AM
the story hive says:
*is also a ninja assassin, sits down with the other assassins to have a smoke ‘n’ play cards* Oh noes, you found my only weakness, angry geese!
My photo is called “cold and empty” by Nicolas Sundberg.(https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicl/24175811185/) Lets get to work.
January 9, 2016 — 2:00 PM
the story hive says:
https://thestoryhive.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/cold-n-empty/
January 14, 2016 — 4:10 PM
Aimee Ogden says:
I had fun writing this one! Here’s how mine came out:
https://aimeeogdenwrites.wordpress.com/2016/01/09/flash-fiction-close-and-bright/
Based on this picture:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ewitsoe/23872439260/
January 9, 2016 — 4:10 PM
Chantal Albrecht says:
It is my first time to participate in one of the challenges, I had a lot of fun! Sorry for the lack of content on the site, I’m stil translating most of it to English, as I write both in Dutch and English.
Thanks in advance for reading and responding!
http://www.calbrecht.nl/english/flash-fiction-challenge/
January 10, 2016 — 8:41 AM
Pavowski says:
Here’s “Chick Magnet,” inspired by a lovely photo of a forlorn dude surrounded by pigeons taken by Peter Meijer. Photo is linked and attributed within the post below.
Story here: http://accidentallyinspired.com/2016/01/10/chick-magnet/
January 10, 2016 — 11:47 AM
Amanda Johansson (@amandajtweets) says:
Right here goes nothing – first timer here. Will be back shortly! 🙂
January 10, 2016 — 11:55 AM
Adan Ramie (@AdanRamie) says:
I love this challenge, Chuck. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew the story I had to tell. It’s called Ground Zero, and it has nothing to do with terrorism. It’s the story of a destructive relationship and the fallout from its inevitable end. (The link goes live January 15th at 8AM CST.) http://adanramie.com/2016/01/15/ground-zero/
January 10, 2016 — 12:57 PM
mariahavix says:
All your senses! Hopefully.
For the pretty picture that inspired me (because it is cold) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirchmeier/24180731665/in/photostream/
For the words I wrote after seeing the photo http://insani-x.com/2016/01/10/cold-escape/
And for the bonus, I did an audio version for those who prefer http://insani-x.com/wp-content/uploads/Cold-Escape.mp3
It’s cold here this weekend so mostly I just feel cold and went with the cold photo because cold. Cold. Cold. Must find more socks. Did anyone write something warm?
January 10, 2016 — 1:48 PM
Mila says:
I’m so glad these are back.
This one is much shorter than I am used to writing, but I felt like it hit a really good, frustrating end for the readers and couldn’t force myself to go on. The picture I chose is in the post.
http://blackwidowart.net/2016/01/10/alive/
January 10, 2016 — 2:09 PM
Josh Loomis says:
Very happy to see you here. Unsurprised your writing continues to be haunting and wonderful.
January 11, 2016 — 1:31 PM
Mila says:
I’ve done a couple of these now. Thank you very much for the compliment. This particular piece has been surprisingly popular.
January 12, 2016 — 12:33 AM
Adam says:
Glad to have the Flash Fiction Challenge back for 2016!
Here is my “Switch Trouble”
http://adamhugheswriter.com/switch-trouble/
January 10, 2016 — 9:11 PM
curleyqueue says:
The comment below is supposed to be for you Adam. Can you tell its a Monday? 🙁
January 11, 2016 — 10:29 AM
Adam Hughes says:
Yep … it was so much of a Monday that I didn’t notice your note until Wednesday. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!
January 13, 2016 — 10:08 AM
curleyqueue says:
Liked this very much. Great voice and mood and I enjoyed the darker turn the story took- well done!
January 11, 2016 — 10:28 AM
Josh Loomis says:
This is one of the strangest stories I’ve ever written.
http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/2016/01/11/flash-fiction-walking-widdershins/
January 11, 2016 — 1:30 PM
Mila says:
I like the different POV.
January 12, 2016 — 12:34 AM
Jody says:
Next month, you should totally do this again except to have people incorporate ALL the photos into the story!
January 11, 2016 — 2:23 PM
Delia (Postcards from Asia) says:
And throw in a few random words (*cue evil laugh here).
January 13, 2016 — 5:27 AM
Ashlee says:
I found a cool picture of an Airstream on Flickr. And thus I give you, The Reluctant Bohemians: http://cubiclemonster.weebly.com/writings
January 11, 2016 — 2:23 PM
Delia (Postcards from Asia) says:
I loved your story. Very nice opening. Dialogue makes a difference, doesn’t it? I really must work on that. And by the way, I love your blog name. 🙂
January 13, 2016 — 6:00 AM
Ashlee says:
Hi Delia! I really appreciate the kind words! I’ve really been trying to “cut the fat” from my story-telling, so I’m glad it’s working!
January 13, 2016 — 9:14 AM
Anna says:
Hi guys! It’s fricking cold here in Finland, so here’s a wintery story for you:
http://strangeandcuriousthings.blogspot.fi/2016/01/terribleminds-challenge-random-flickr.html
January 11, 2016 — 2:32 PM
Danny says:
That was fantastic! The ending was truly something.
January 15, 2016 — 8:50 PM
writerchick says:
found a great moody picture for inspiration: http://wp.me/p1saO-1lk
January 11, 2016 — 4:33 PM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
All right folks, here you go. Opening the Stars: https://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/opening-the-stars-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
My image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ch3micals/24209195545/
January 11, 2016 — 9:08 PM
Allison Maruska says:
I combined this with another flash fiction challenge. http://allisonmaruska.com/2016/01/11/flash-fiction-the-crowd/
January 11, 2016 — 11:35 PM
dcxli says:
I liked the way that you meshed the challenges. And I’m very glad that it wasn’t a dream
January 12, 2016 — 6:28 PM
Jocelyn @ 52Letters says:
Here’s my take on a picture of towering redwoods. I’m pretty happy with it, considering I haven’t done one of these in a while…
Pic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/101624127@N07/24237019576/
story: https://52lettersinthealphabet.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/flash-fiction-forest-of-monsters/
January 11, 2016 — 11:59 PM