Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and thirty-eighth piece in this series. This week’s is a 783- worder by yours truly, Morgen Bailey. This story will be podcasted in episode 42 (with two other stories and some 6-worders) on Sunday 27th July.
Neville wasn’t used to this. No one usually took any notice. He was the grey man who blended into any scene. Here, everyone looked at him, at his face. His face was, Neville corrected, the last but one thing they looked at after they’d stared at his feet, working their way up his too-skinny body. A quick glance at his beaver-felt hat with its simple black banding, and they’d be back at his boots, before looking away or talking to their neighbour who’d repeat the process.
The expressions on the faces of the men and women – children didn’t seem to understand the significance – had been hard to read until Neville saw enough of them to work out why they were paying him, or rather the boots – the dead man’s boots – so much attention.
All he had to do, Neville decided, was to act brave and he’d be brave. Be the new boots’ owner and live up to their reputation. So he’d held his head a few inches higher, his shoulders squarer to their frame, his scrawny chest puffed out as far as it would go and still allow him to breathe.
The first challenge, he knew, was to dismount the grey mare with the confidence of a seasoned rider, not of a man who’d screamed when he’d come across the half-dozen bodies, sending all but two of their horses fleeing. He’d then grabbed on to the reins of the grey and the chestnut, and gone where they led. The chestnut reminded him too much of his uncle’s horse, so Neville hadn’t wanted to try to get on that one. The grey seemed calmer so, after three failed attempts and a mouthful of dirt, Neville had shuffled his almost non-existent backside into the saddle and gently nudged the grey into action, with the chestnut’s reins secured so it had no choice but to follow.
As it turned out, when Neville reached the town’s only hotel, he needn’t have worried about dismounting, as a tubby little man rushed towards him. Normally Neville would have flinched, but he watched the man grab the two sets of reins and secure them to the long wooden rail that stretched the width of the hotel’s saloon bar.
The man shuffled a few feet and picked up what looked to Neville like a plain box but as the man brought it nearer, Neville could see it was a large step. The man put it down between the horses, looked at Neville’s boots and laughed nervously. He then held out his hand. Neville nodded, dismounted with ease, and gave the man one of two silver coins – the only money Neville possessed.
The man grinned, nodded repeatedly as he backed away, then watched, head bowed, as Neville entered the saloon.
Neville’s new boots were three sizes too big, so he dug his toes down on to the leather lining so that his feet didn’t move around too much, and took slow, deliberate strides into the bar.
He knew everyone was looking at him, even those who couldn’t see his boots. The pianist stopped playing, card games paused, and the few women in the room broke into hushed conversation while the men watched Neville, their eyes narrowing.
Neville wanted to smile, to lap up the attention but he knew hard men didn’t smile – his uncle had never smiled – so he gritted his teeth, straightened his shoulders until his back ached, and made it to the counter.
Most of the customers waere seated, leaving just three people at the bar: the tall dark-haired barman, a shorter white-haired man with most of his teeth missing, and a woman in a very fetching russet ruffled dress who had been fawning over the man despite him being old enough to be her grandfather. “Probably is,” Neville thought.
The old man shooed the woman away as Neville took off his hat, pushed back a stray auburn hair that had been tickling his nose for the entire ride along the dirt-track that was the main road into town, despite him puffing air at it until he’d spotted people staring at him.
Neville placed the hat on the bar – not his hat, another dead man’s hat – and turned it round so it faced front. Neville liked things to be neat, just like his mother had. He couldn’t help but make the sign of the cross on his torso whenever he thought of her. The barman put down a glass he’d been cleaning, replicated Neville’s gesture, pausing his index finger on his right shoulder blade before lowering his hand and picking up another glass.
“Hello,” Neville squeaked.
The barman and customer exchanged glances.
Neville coughed then growled, “Get me a beer.”
*
Here I usually ask my guest what prompted this piece, so this is what prompted me…
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The latest prompt from storyaday.org is below. For the other prompts given this month, see the SADM 2014 page.
It’s the end of the StoryADay May 2014 challenge.
But it is just the beginning of the rest of your writing life.
I hope the challenge this year has opened your eyes to how very, very creative you can be; to how well you can write; and how important it is to the world that you keep writing.
Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming Revisions course and do keep in touch!
An Ending And A Beginning
Tips
Without wishing to sound like a motivational poster, the end of one thing leads to the beginning of something else. Write your story today in that moment of transition.
Will your character struggle with the idea of the ending, or be wildly excited about the new beginning? Will your character’s expectations be upset? By what?
Every stage of life has transitions. Some are expected (leaving school, getting married, starting a new job) and others come completely out of the blue (a death, the end of a friendship, a job offer, a pregnancy, someone else leaving home). Think about how this affects your character’s reaction.
Go to town on this story. Use everything you have learned this month about: how you write best, when you write best, what length works for you, what tone/style works for you, what kinds of characters speak to you most, the kinds of dialogue or description that you enjoy, the use of suspense, beginnings, middles, ends, theme, character, conflict, action, the ways you’ve learned to get yourself into the writing zone… Everything you have worked on in your writing this month is a tool you can use in this story, today. Have fun. Let yourself go. Finish the story.
Get up tomorrow and keep writing.
GO!
*
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I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.
Tags: 2014, books, character, character development, characters, creative writing, descriptive writing, dialogue, Facebook, first person, first person narrative, first person point of view, first person viewpoint, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Fridays, Julie Duffy, kid, literature, main character, micro fiction, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, motivational poster, Multiple Perspectives, novelist, Omniscient, omniscient narrator, opportunity, Originality, perspective, podcast, second person, second person point of view, second person viewpoint, short stories, short story podcast, story a day, Story A Day May, story author, story authors, Third Person, third person limited point of view, Third Person omniscient, third person viewpoint, title, titles, traditional narrative, traditional narrative story, twitter fiction, William Shakespeare, writer, writer's, writing, writing advice, writing tips
The latest prompt from storyaday.org is below. For the other prompts given this month, see the SADM 2014 page.
There are 215 days left in 2014. What will you do with them?
As the StoryADay May challenge for 2014 winds down, it’s time to look back a bit, forward a bit, and plan how you’ll use the lessons learned in this month of extreme writing. Hop on over to the community hand have a chat about your plans.
But not until you’ve written today’s story.
Two Hundred And Fifteen
Tips:
- You could really go anywhere with this.
- Use the number as a countdown; a hotel room number; the number of tasks someone has set themselves to complete before they die…anything.
- Remember to give us a character through whose emotions we can feel the whole impact of the story.
GO!
*
** You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.
For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.
As I post a spotlight or interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.
Tags: 2014, books, character, character development, characters, creative writing, descriptive writing, dialogue, Facebook, first person, first person narrative, first person point of view, first person viewpoint, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Fridays, Julie Duffy, kid, literature, main character, micro fiction, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, Multiple Perspectives, novelist, Omniscient, omniscient narrator, opportunity, Originality, perspective, podcast, second person, second person point of view, second person viewpoint, short stories, short story podcast, story a day, Story A Day May, story author, story authors, Third Person, third person limited point of view, Third Person omniscient, third person viewpoint, title, titles, traditional narrative, traditional narrative story, twitter fiction, William Shakespeare, writer, writer's, writing, writing advice, writing tips
The latest prompt from storyaday.org is below. For the other prompts given this month, see the SADM 2014 page.
On May 29, 1913, Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score ‘The Rites of Spring’ premiered in Paris and sparked a riot!
(Wouldn’t you love to have a short-story-reading public that was so passionate about the art, they were willing to throw punches?!)
Write About A Gathering Of Experts That Degenerates Into A Rammy
Tips:
- This could take place at a business or scientific conference. Imagine someone presenting a radical, innovative idea and being rowdily challenged by his fellows.
- This could be historical, present day, fantastical or sci-fi. You decide.
- Make sure you set high stakes for the participants. In Stravinsky’s case, he was a young composer, trusted by the great choreographer Diaghalev to compose something new and untested. There were two factions in the audience: the wealthy, conservative ballet lovers and the young upstarts who wanted to revolutionize all things artistic. What will your story’s opposing forces have to lose if their ideas are rejected?
- Remember, as well as the spectacle and opportunity for action in this story, it must be about characters. Make us care about your characters.
GO!
*
** You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.
For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.
As I post a spotlight or interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.
Tags: books, character, character development, characters, creative writing, descriptive writing, dialogue, Facebook, first person, first person narrative, first person point of view, first person viewpoint, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Fridays, Julie Duffy, kid, literature, main character, micro fiction, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, Multiple Perspectives, novelist, Omniscient, omniscient narrator, opportunity, Originality, perspective, podcast, second person, second person point of view, second person viewpoint, short stories, short story podcast, story a day, Story A Day May, story author, story authors, Third Person, third person limited point of view, Third Person omniscient, third person viewpoint, title, titles, traditional narrative, traditional narrative story, twitter fiction, William Shakespeare, writer, writer's, writing, writing advice, writing tips
The latest prompt from storyaday.org is below. For the other prompts given this month, see the SADM 2014 page.
And yes, I do mean the winter / Christmas / Thanksgiving / Hannukka / Samhain / Diwali / Hogmanay / New Year / Kwanzaa / Chinese New Year / Solstice / Saturnalia / Festivus November / December / January type of holiday.
If you ever think of submitting your stories to literary magazines, contests, anthologies, or other publications, you need to know two things:
They are often themed and holiday stories are always popular. Your story needs to be written, edited, submitted, selected, corrected, and green lit, month in advance of the actual holiday. Write your December stories now. Time’s running out.
Write A Story Tied To A Holiday That Takes Place In November / December / January / February
Tips
- Evoke the sights, smells, sounds and emotions you associate with that holiday.
- Put on some appropriate holiday music to get you in the mood.
- Go beyond the obvious idea for the story associated with your chosen holiday. No saccharine tales of redemption or bitter humbug retellings of A Christmas Carol, for us!
- Make the characters stronger than the trappings of the holiday.
- Write the story for someone who has never participated in your holiday traditions. Show them what it’s like to be you at Christmas / Hanukkah / Hogmanay / Groundhog Day.
GO!
*
** You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.
For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.
As I post a spotlight or interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.
Tags: books, character, character development, characters, creative writing, descriptive writing, dialogue, Facebook, first person, first person narrative, first person point of view, first person viewpoint, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Fridays, Julie Duffy, kid, literature, main character, micro fiction, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, Multiple Perspectives, novelist, Omniscient, omniscient narrator, opportunity, Originality, perspective, podcast, second person, second person point of view, second person viewpoint, short stories, short story podcast, story a day, Story A Day May, story author, story authors, Third Person, third person limited point of view, Third Person omniscient, third person viewpoint, title, titles, traditional narrative, traditional narrative story, twitter fiction, William Shakespeare, writer, writer's, writing, writing advice, writing tips
The latest prompts (yes, there are two today) from storyaday.org are below. For the other prompts given this month, see the SADM 2014 page.
1. Illustration: click here for the details.
2. Today’s scenario starts with character and very little in the way of setting.
Alex is cold. She is climbing a snow-laden mountain. The wind strips the heat from her as soon as it radiates out to her skin. She clutches her arms. Where is her coat? She wants to sit down, lie down, but knows that is the most dangerous thing she can do. Suddenly, she’s doing it anyway. But the snow feels wrong under her body. It is smooth and hard and dry and not at all like snow. In an instant her hip and cheek are aching as if she’s been lying here for hours. She can’t hear the wind anymore. She is still cold but now she knows she is inside. In a room? She opens her eyes. She has been dreaming. Instead of the unending expanse of the world around her, she can see only a few feet to the dirty white wall. She is still in the room. On the floor. Her chest contracts, but she lacks even the strength to curl up in a ball and cry. She is still here. Maybe this afternoon she will try the door handle again. Or maybe not.
Tips:
- Alex needn’t be a woman. Or human. Or called Alex. But start your story with someone in a (presumably) locked room. Make us care about your character, or at least wonder what he/she has done.
- If you’re not a fan of mystery, you can let Alex out of the room quickly.
- If you don’t like the tone I set with this opening, write your own.
- Your character’s prison need not be physical. Maybe the door is unlocked and your character is in a comfortable bed, but is locked into a psychological hell instead.
- Or maybe this is the opening to a comic tale where Alex has done something incredibly silly and ended up here. She needs to extricate herself from the situation, piece together what exactly led her to be here, and set about putting things right, in a ridiculous, hilarious way.
Go!
*
** You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.
For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.
As I post a spotlight or interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.
Tags: books, character, character development, characters, creative writing, descriptive writing, dialogue, Facebook, first person, first person narrative, first person point of view, first person viewpoint, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Fridays, Julie Duffy, kid, literature, main character, micro fiction, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, Multiple Perspectives, novelist, Omniscient, omniscient narrator, opportunity, Originality, perspective, podcast, second person, second person point of view, second person viewpoint, short stories, short story podcast, story a day, Story A Day May, story author, story authors, Third Person, third person limited point of view, Third Person omniscient, third person viewpoint, title, titles, traditional narrative, traditional narrative story, twitter fiction, William Shakespeare, writer, writer's, writing, writing advice, writing tips
The latest prompt from storyaday.org is below. For the other prompts given this month, see the SADM 2014 page.
Today’s writing prompt is a traditional ‘scenario’ prompt. I give you the scene and a character, you run wild with it.
Tonight is the kid’s talent show. Your character is determined to be there. Unfortunately your main character is no run-of-the-mill suburban parent. This time, though, they’re not going to let that job get in the way. No matter what comes up, they’re going to let someone else handle it. They can’t stand the thought of getting that look from the kid one more time…
Tips:
- The prompt is intentionally vague. Your character can be male, female, trans; human, fish-person, orc (hey, where is it written that orcs can’t be caring parents?)…the kid can be any kid, any age — whatever works for you.
- What could possibly keep this parent from seeing all their kid’s shows and games, and has them running late to the few birthday parties they’ve managed to attend?
- Will you write a humorous tale of disaster or a dark, sinister horror thriller? Will your story be uplifting or tragic, or a more realistic mixture of both.
GO!
*
** You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.
For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.
As I post a spotlight or interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.
I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.
Tags: books, character, character development, characters, creative writing, descriptive writing, dialogue, Facebook, first person, first person narrative, first person point of view, first person viewpoint, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Fridays, Julie Duffy, kid, literature, main character, micro fiction, Morgan Bailey, morgen bailey, Morgen with an e, Multiple Perspectives, novelist, Omniscient, omniscient narrator, opportunity, Originality, perspective, podcast, second person, second person point of view, second person viewpoint, short stories, short story podcast, story a day, Story A Day May, story author, story authors, Third Person, third person limited point of view, Third Person omniscient, third person viewpoint, title, titles, traditional narrative, traditional narrative story, twitter fiction, William Shakespeare, writer, writer's, writing, writing advice, writing tips
Neville wasn’t used to this. No one usually took any notice. He was the grey man who blended into any scene. Here, everyone looked at him, at his face. His face was, Neville corrected, the last but one thing they looked at after they’d stared at his feet, working their way up his too-skinny body. A quick glance at his beaver-felt hat with its simple black banding, and they’d be back at his boots, before looking away or talking to their neighbour who’d repeat the process.
