The challenge was to write in the present tense as much as possible, 1000 words max. This can make the action seem more immediate and intimate. I was stuck for an actual story idea, so I I used the writer-igniter from diymfa.com to give me idea. I got Character - taxi driver, Situation - gets a cryptic letter, Prop - finds a lucky penny, and Setting - see the image below. This took a while to write, as I think I'm a little rusty, but I like how it turned out. 1067 words. 

Lucky Penny

 It’s a dark and stormy night. Dan much prefers to be snuggled up in bed to be driving his cab in this crap, but this is the only way to compete with all the ride-shares out there. They can afford to avoid the bad weather and slow nights. His old clunker has worn wiper blades and a shitty defroster, but the tires are good and it’s his clunker. Dan makes a good living doing this - but he can’t afford days off. He’s had a number of different jobs, bodyguard, chef, trucker, but this is getting to be his least favourite. He spots a flickering sign through the drizzle - Nell’s. It looks like a cute little diner - he could do with a coffee and a break.

The diner is clean, warm and cosy, with the radio tuned to a quiet jazz station. He’s just sliding into a booth when the waitress appears. Touch of grey, about his age, with a big smile.

“Coffee, sir? It’s a damp night. And I can recommend the pecan pie.”

(Moved from main blog)

The challenge for this was one from the blog Terrible Minds, a few years ago. Use this link to get a set of nine random 'interesting' pics from Flickr. Pick three. Write a story, 1000 words max. 

I can't post my images (copyrights) but can describe them: happy people sprawled on a hill below a scarecrow-like sculpture; a detailed colourful telescope view of the Horsehead nebula; a VW camper van in a parking lot. 

Here's my story -  983 words. 

Rapture and Romance

We were a mismatched group. We'd all hung out together at Frosh Week, as we were all from the same small red-neck town. I was on a football scholarship, Tia, a tiny little hippy girl with beads and coloured hair and swirly dresses, was doing a Physics and Astronomy double, and John and Joanne, both from Bible-thumping families, were in religious studies. They were a nice couple, not that pushy about religion, at least to us. We'd decided to share a cheap house near campus, and we each had our own space. Only a three bedroom, but Jo-Jo, as we called them, said they were ok to share a room. They seemed to have resolved the conflict between a growing physical attraction for each other and the strict rules of their upbringing.

After a looong break, here's another Flash Fiction story. It's a tad dystopian, but I've been in a mood.  

The challenge was as follows - 

It's 3 AM. An official phone alert wakes you up. It says "DO NOT LOOK AT THE MOON". You have hundreds of notifications. Hundreds of random numbers are sending, "It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."  No more than 1000 words - mine is 745.

Do Not Look At The Moon

It had come as an official WorldGov alert, popping up on my phone. 3 a.m. my time, but supposedly it was worldwide. I'd checked my messages, and there were hundreds of them, from friends and strangers, dismissive of the alert.

"It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."

No arguing with that. The last few full moons had all been beautiful, even since the Clear Air project. Pollution in the atmosphere had been just getting worse and worse, for decades. Corporations had been thriving, of course, but not people, with respiratory ailments on the rise. There seemed to be no simple solution either, until WorldGov came up with Operation Clean Air. Technology to the rescue, with a new chemical compound that would precipitate all those harmful chemicals and particles from the air. It would be launched quickly, as a new public-private worldwide initiative, an added payload in a massive expansion in the Starlink satellite program.

Well, it's been a while, but here's another Flash Fiction Friday offering. This one took a bit longer than the normal week - several, in fact. I'm trying to relax a bit and write without constant self-editing and the accompanying procrastination. Could be better, I'm sure, constructive criticism is welcome. 

The challenge was to write a story, examining a character, and the way they manage their stress. Plus, use a random character generator to give them three character traits. 1000 words max. I got naïve, caring and coarse, and decided to do as three characters. 

Like I said, took longer than planned and is a bit over at about 1080 words.

The prompt was to write about an old-school tavern, and to include one of six random objects. 1000 word limit.

I went with them all: iPod, shawl, broccoli, fake flowers, glasses, and a bookmark. Why not. I'm not sure how well this one worked. It's different. 903 words.

The challenge was to write a story about a pair of glasses. Special glasses, whether through science or magic. I missed my deadline by a week (!) so I will backdate the entry.  975 words.

This time, the challenge was to write about Halloween. Not from the point of view of kids, or students in a pub, but use that of pensioners. I missed the Friday deadline by a few days, but did get done. It's a cute story, I think. 998 words.

This week's prompt was a beautiful photo of autumn trees, with the sun shining through onto a path.  Out for a walk, exploring, you hear a faint cry in the distance, So, you check it out. 

Mine is 891 words.

This week's story was to be set in a bookstore, and include a random six words form a list of twenty. I got broken, music, mechanical, grubby, backpack, and cowboy. I've bolded the six words in my story. It took me much to long to get started, but I am happy with the result.  917 words, many of them good. 

Note:  These stories used to be posted on my Ravensview blog, but I'm going to start putting them here.