It is Friday the 13th.
Easily a day we ascribe to “horror,” but here, I’d like to take a different tack with it — I’d like you to write a short story about LUCK. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever. But luck. Doesn’t have to be horror at all, though it certainly can be.
Length: ~1000 words
Due by: Friday, April 20th, noon EST
Write at your online space.
Give us a link below.
Luck it up, motherluckers.
Elaine McCarthy says:
I wish you provided an option for posting a story other than on one’s website, as my website evaporated when my webmaster son died, and I don’t have the skills for DIY. Thanks,
April 13, 2018 — 12:07 PM
terribleminds says:
I’m very sorry to hear about that, Elaine.
Sadly, I don’t really have any options here — comments are too unformatted and too small for a piece of fiction, and further, once you post it to my comment section, it becomes as much mine as it does yours. Better to have you host your stories somewhere, which is really an ideal thing for a writer to find. You can find cheap or free options (and easy to setup/manage) with WordPress and other blog hosting sites. Best of luck.
April 13, 2018 — 2:49 PM
Alexander Williams says:
You know, there are a multitude of social media networks that are quite receptive to longer-form content (if we can imagine that a thousand words are “longer form,” which makes me shudder to imagine).
The prettiest one is probably Medium (https://medium.com/), which doesn’t require you to subscribe to or do anything but create an account on to be able to write on, and probably has the nicest looking writing environment of any current blogging or social media platform. The results also end up looking very, very nice.
There hasn’t been an excuse not to post your content for public consumption on a blogging site for quite a while now. If you want to write, you can write. If you want people to read what you write, that’s pretty easy, too.
April 13, 2018 — 5:35 PM
Mozette says:
Hey Elaine,
Chuck’s right with posting it here – it’s a legal thing and he’d rather not get involved with the Intellectual Property rights of another author. It’s messy in every possible; and it’s best if your do start up your own blog – like many of us here have.
I have found that Blogger is a great and easy way to write my stories… however the best way I’ve done it to write it first in Word then copy and post it into the Post part of Blogger, then change the text to the form and size and colour I wish, add a label and title… and I’m done. And for sharing? Well, I click on my title and it shows up in the address bar up the top, and I right click, copy it then paste it onto the comments. Very basic and you don’t need a webmaster to own your own blog either. It’s a learn as you go kinda thing – designing your own blog is lots of fun. 😀
Good luck in your blogging endeavours. 😀
April 14, 2018 — 12:40 AM
Elaine McCarthy says:
Thanks. I’ll look into it when I get time. Too many threads!
April 14, 2018 — 2:42 PM
monadnockwritersgroup says:
Wattpad is very easy to use and has a large community.
April 16, 2018 — 11:55 AM
Edmund J. Asher says:
Dumb Luck
http://edmundjasher.com/2018/04/13/dumb-luck-stories-from-nyth/
A bit over at 1350.
April 13, 2018 — 2:26 PM
Rose Gray says:
You can *feel* the grinding teeth of Chaos
April 16, 2018 — 10:45 PM
John Winkelman says:
Fun story. I like that Chaos is such a well-ordered individual. Also: “Luck ran out.” Niiiiiice!
April 20, 2018 — 2:24 PM
Mozette says:
https://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2018/04/the-lottery.html
enjoy.
April 14, 2018 — 1:55 AM
StarNinja says:
So yesterday I got a surprise double shift at work and my tire blew out on the way home so I had to change it in the rain, in the dark, in a sketchy part of town, and got home just in time to get two hours of sleep so I could get up and go work another double today. It probably wasn’t bad luck though, right? Can I ascribe divine wrath to this particular case?
April 14, 2018 — 1:04 PM
rhythmandcrime says:
Hope things are getting better!
April 15, 2018 — 8:28 PM
Cary Richards says:
Great contest, hope I can get a look at some of the entries.
Keep up the great work
thanks
Cary
April 14, 2018 — 2:26 PM
James O'Dae says:
I’m submitting a Star Wars Force Awakens Fan Fiction — hope that’s copacetic. I already posted it on my site, though recently, and just edited it down some.
Han Solo Lives — 977 words.
I love the new SW movies, though I had to imagine how my childhood hero could survive being stabbed with a janky lightsaber by his own kid. Spoiler: LUCK.
https://jamesodae.wordpress.com/2018/04/06/han-solo-lives-episode-i/
April 14, 2018 — 4:56 PM
Susan Monroe McGrath says:
Much shorter than 1000 words. A “flash” of luck?
https://susan-reads.blogspot.com/2018/04/luck.html
April 14, 2018 — 6:50 PM
Rose Gray says:
Nice notes of reverie/nostalgia with hints of desperation as it goes on.
April 16, 2018 — 10:15 PM
StarNinja says:
That was a fun read. And intriguing. Leaves me wanting more!
April 18, 2018 — 1:54 PM
grahamwrites says:
Lovely writing and description.
April 18, 2018 — 4:48 PM
Rose Gray says:
Maybe more a thought process than a story, but on target this week. I’ve called it Luck to signpost what I want the readers to pay attention to beyond the context of this challenge.
https://www.crowbarwriting.com/luck-value-equations
April 14, 2018 — 9:05 PM
grahamwrites says:
Yes, reads like you’ve wrapped your thoughts on the concept of luck up in a story. I’ve been there before. Can be a useful writing exercise. You know your motorcycles.
April 18, 2018 — 1:00 PM
John Winkelman says:
I enjoyed this one, particularly the way you presented the feeling of post-accident mental processes.
April 20, 2018 — 2:28 PM
Rose Gray says:
Um, yeah I cheated on that tbh – I did actually lowside my CB400 many years ago and from that moment sitting up on the embankment right after the crash to this present day, that is all I could recover of my brain’s recording of the event.
April 20, 2018 — 10:21 PM
Joel Spriggs says:
https://www.joelspriggs.com/blog/a-simple-bet
Just over 1000 words, and the first blog post of my site. Thanks for giving me a fun writing prompt to use for the first one!
April 15, 2018 — 10:05 AM
Rose Gray says:
Well that escalated!
April 16, 2018 — 10:17 PM
grahamwrites says:
Love the idea of personifying elemental forces and the like. Talk about black humour. And love the Thundercats lunchbox!
April 18, 2018 — 1:06 PM
John Winkelman says:
The phrase that comes to mind is “delightfully misanthropic.”
April 20, 2018 — 2:29 PM
solorien says:
What we label luck often has another side…
https://solorien.wordpress.com/2018/04/15/luck/
Great prompt. Thank you!
April 15, 2018 — 11:46 AM
grahamwrites says:
Lovely stuff. I need to look at doing happy endings for a change.
April 18, 2018 — 1:11 PM
Rose Gray says:
….My soul hurts.
April 18, 2018 — 2:14 PM
rhythmandcrime says:
1000 words exactly on the time stopping twist on luck meme.
https://rhythmandcrime.wordpress.com/2018/04/15/luck-friday-the-13th-flash-fiction/
April 15, 2018 — 5:25 PM
grahamwrites says:
“shit bit”: love it. Has a bit of an Adjustment Bureau vibe.
April 18, 2018 — 1:16 PM
Rose Gray says:
Loved the voice of this one
April 19, 2018 — 3:26 PM
Mark Gardner says:
I’m a little heavy at 1150 words, but here’s chapter 23 of Mental State: https://article94.com/2018/04/15/turnabout/
April 15, 2018 — 6:18 PM
joelspriggs says:
Thanks for a great topic for me to write my first blog post on my site I just put up last week. Here’s my entry, just over 1000 words. https://www.joelspriggs.com/blog/a-simple-bet
April 15, 2018 — 10:17 PM
Benjamin J. Kirby says:
What if luck were a superpower?
And what if superheroes aged out of their powers?
I give you “Lucky,” 998 words. Please enjoy.
https://benjaminjkirby.com/2018/04/16/lucky/
April 16, 2018 — 8:24 PM
Ashlee says:
Greetings, all. Please give ‘er a read and let me know your thoughts. I’m new to writing and wish not to suck at it. Behold, Lucky Salesman:
https://saveartex.wordpress.com
April 17, 2018 — 10:19 AM
John Winkelman says:
Hi everybody! Here is my contribution: “Luck, or Something Like It”. It picks up immediately after the events of my previous story from April 6.
http://www.eccesignum.org/2018/04/17/flash-fiction-luck-or-something-like-it/
These are fun!
April 17, 2018 — 2:17 PM
grahamwrites says:
This thing took on a life of its own. Started out about two people having a lucky, chance encounter, but then my bloodthirsty side kicked the door in and took the keyboard from me. That evil sumbitch. http://grahamwho.com/grahamwrites/2018/04/17/flash-fiction-martin/
April 17, 2018 — 5:48 PM
StarNinja says:
Here are three tales revolving around luck. They are continuations of the stories I wrote last week. Enjoy!
The Dark Half 2: Lucky Stars (https://wormholelesstraveled.wordpress.com/2018/04/18/the-dark-half-2-lucky-stars)
The Shining 2: Beginner’s Luck (https://wormholelesstraveled.wordpress.com/2018/04/18/the-shining-2-beginners-luck)
Mr. Mercedes 2: Lucky Devil (https://wormholelesstraveled.wordpress.com/2018/04/18/mr-mercedes-2-lucky-devil)
April 18, 2018 — 12:52 PM
Dirck says:
I thought I had struck lucky with exactly a thousand words, but it turned out one of them wasn’t wanted on the voyage. Still, pretty close:
https://dirckwrites.wordpress.com/the-current-story/lucky-day/
April 18, 2018 — 6:27 PM
StarNinja says:
Well, that was positively metaphysical. You really shine a light on what it means to be lucky in a number of different perspectives. Bravo!
April 19, 2018 — 9:21 AM
Dirck says:
{blushing, he wrings his cap in his hand and bobs his head}
April 19, 2018 — 10:18 AM
Sam Brady says:
738 words. This one was hard for me for some reason. Just my luck, I guess.
https://sambrady.wordpress.com/2018/04/18/chuck-wendig-an-examination-of-luck/
April 18, 2018 — 7:17 PM
kiya_nicoll says:
In under the wire! “Calendar of Fortunate Days”
http://kiyanicoll.com/2018/04/20/flash-fiction-calendar-of-fortunate-days/
April 20, 2018 — 11:51 AM