Tag: fridayflash (page 3 of 4)

Ahem, ahem.

Hear ye, hear ye.

Here are the three opening lines I’ve chosen:

Brendan Gannon: “Everyone else remembers it as the day the saucers came, but I remember it as the day a man in a suit shot my father.”

Joe Parrino: “Three truths will I tell you and one lie.”

Delilah Dawson: “Thursday was out to get me.”

This was, as so many contests here are anymore, a tough one to pick. Nearly 200 entries (!) and many of them good. (Though, pro-tip: bad spelling and/or typos will never help you win here.)

Here’s roughly what I ended up looking for:

I wanted lines that told multiple potential stories. Meaning, a writer could read it and find a world of stories coming out of that one line — not just the one obvious one, say. Some lines were very specific to a genre or to an event and so I hesitated using them, despite their inherent awesomeness. The exception here might be the “saucer” one, but it was so cool I had to use it. Don’t judge me.

So, the three who won:

Contact me, I shall hook you up with a copy of Bait Dog.

(Bait Dog is now available, by the way. Just $2.99 until next Wednesday. Plug, plug, hint, hint.)

Everybody else:

You’ve got 1000 words.

Write a story using one of the above opening lines.

Due by Friday, Aug 17th, at noon EST. Post online, link in the comments.

You know the drill.

Last week’s challenge: “Antag/Protag.”

This is a two-part challenge.

First part of the challenge is a part we’ve done here before: opening lines. I want you to write the opening sentence to a story. That’s it. Just the opening sentence. Can be suggestive of any genre. Should be no more than 50 words (and even that’s pretty long — you’re best keeping it roughly at “tweet” length).

A good opening line is punchy. It may have a question implicit — or, at least, is itself a hook that will snare the reader by the neck and drag them into the tale whether he likes it or not.

Write the opening line.

Post it below.

You get one entry.

Your due date is — note this change — Thursday at noon EST (8/9).

Because then by Friday I will have picked my three favorite opening lines.

And each of those three people will get an early e-copy of BAIT DOG, the Atlanta Burns sequel. Three formats available: PDF, ePub, and MOBI. Oh, but we ain’t done yet, my little squidlings.

Then, your next challenge will be to write a story using one of those three opening lines as, well, the opening line to a piece of 1000-word flash fiction. More details next week.

Good?

Let’s read some opening lines, then.

Last week’s challenge? Must Love Time Travel.

This week, I talked about what it takes to write an antagonist.

And so it seems like a good time to connect a flash fiction challenge to it.

Here’s what you’re going to do.

You’re going to write a flash fiction story, maximum 1000-words.

You will write half of it from the perspective of a protagonist.

You will write half of it from the perspective of the antagonist.

As always, post your stories online, and drop a link in the comments below so we can read your work.

Share yours, read others.

You’ve got one week. Due by August 3rd, noon EST.

I’ll choose three random participants to receive a copy of my newest writing-related e-book, 500 Ways To Tell A Better Story. Now go forth, word-wranglers. Write your words.

Last week’s challenge — “The Android and the Wondering Chamber.”

Yesterday I had the fortune of interviewing Misters Hornshaw and Hurwitch (who sound the purveyors of fine meats) about their funny book on time travel (So You Created A Wormhole).

As such, I thought, well, let’s carry the ball forward a little bit.

You have 1000 words in which to write a story where “time travel” is a prominent feature.

Anything and everything else can feature —

As long as it has time travel.

Post at your online space, then link back here in the comments.

You have, as always, a wee widdle week. Due by noon EST on Friday, July 27th.

NOW GO, TEMPORAL WIZARDS, GO.

Last week’s challenge? “The Fairy Tale Upgrade.”

A few weeks back I was playing with that random sentence generator used in another flash fiction challenge, and I got what was, for me, a truly fascinating story-inspiring sentence.

That sentence:

“The noticed android walks past a wondering chamber.”

I don’t know what the fuck that means, but I like it.

So, your flash fiction challenge should utilize this sentence.

In fact, it should be your opening sentence.

After that, you’ve got up to 1000 words to tell the story, whatever that story may be.

Post online at your space, then drop a link here so we can all see it.

Due by Friday July 20th at noon EST.