August 2011 Flash Fiction Challenge!

Sophia

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I'd like to congratulate Lillie, who made her first sale with one of the fourteen stories she wrote during the May Flash Fortnight. Way to go, Lillie!

* * *

Welcome to the August Flash Fortnight!


The August Flash Fortnight will run from Monday 15th August (Day 1) to Sunday 28th August (Day 14). Each morning during the challenge, I'll update this post with a new prompt for the day, so please check back if you find them useful! All of the challenge prompts will remain permanently available to you, so if you'd like to use any of them outside of the Fortnight, please feel free to do so.


*


Prompts


Day 14 : On the last train leaving a region falling to war.
Day 13 : A garden where the flowers all bloom at night.
Day 12 : The unheard adventures of a well-known fairy tale character. (This is the specified prompt for an upcoming issue of Vestal Review).
Day 11 : A stranger in town who you know from somewhere, but can't place.
Day 10 : Stepping through an escape hatch after being trapped for some time.
Day 9 : Arrested.
Day 8 : A small consequence of an alien in a rural village.
Day 7 : An unusual customer in an ordinary shop.
Day 6 : An unexpected conversation during a car journey.
Day 5 : Running a conference while suffering from OCD.
Day 4 : A technology vampire.
Day 3 : A pressed flower found between the pages of an old journal.
Day 2 : A light on, where there shouldn't be.
Day 1 : Dinner at a haunted mansion.


*


Tips on using the prompts

Think of the prompt as a starting point. When you look at it, certain words, phrases or ideas might immediately come to your mind. Try writing these down. For each of these things, consider what words, phrases or ideas that they, in turn, inspire.

Keep going in this way. You could free associate on the thoughts you're getting, or ask yourself questions on each thing: What is it about this that I'm drawn to? What would happen if I followed this train of thought to its logical conclusion?

Try not to censor yourself, or second-guess your imagination. In the end, the idea you end up with might be completely unrelated to the prompt - and that's completely fine!


Good luck!


Optional: Signature art!

1.jpg
7.jpg
13.jpg


Here are some images that you are welcome to use in your post signatures, if you wish, to mark your achievements in each challenge. They indicate the total number of days during the Flash Fortnight on which you've completed a story draft. There are 14 images available, one for each day.

You can update your signature with a single new image each day, or put one image up at the end of the challenge; however you prefer.

The images are currently hosted on Photobucket. To add them to your signature:

Go to your User CP (the left-most link in the blue menu bar that is near the top of every page);
Click on the Edit Signature link from the list on the left of the page;
Paste the URL into the signature box, preceded by
;
Click on Save Signature.

The URLs of the images are all in this form:

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad65/elarasophia/AW Flash Fiction Forum/1.jpg

Right-click on the link and copy it, and then edit the 1.jpg at the end to the number you would like (e.g. 10.jpg) after you paste the URL into your signature box.


But there's more!


You can also choose a signature picture from this second set of images, which was very kindly created by Williebee:

W1.png
W8.png
W14.png


Again, there are images available for each day of the challenge. The URLs for these are all in this form:

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad65/elarasophia/AW Flash Fiction Forum/W1.png

Right-click on the link and copy it, and then edit the W1.png at the end to the number you would like (e.g. W14.png) after you paste the URL into your signature box.
 
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Lillie

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Thank you, Sophia :D
 
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Might give this a go this month, I need to do something to break out of this rut I've been in the past few months. :)

Also, nice going, selling that story. :D
 
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Tienci

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Me too--I'm thinking I might have a go at the full run this month, committing to tackling something daily.
I'm already a day behind but that just means I get to do two today! :D
 

Psychomacologist

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Oh, well done Lillie! I'm up for having a go this month, did a few last month but not the whole 14. Let's see how far I get this time!
 

Archerbird

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Hmm. Could really do with something like this. Do you have to show what you've written when the challenge is done or can you choose not to?
 

Sophia

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No, it's just a challenge for yourself. If, once you've revised a story and are happy that you've done as much as you can on it, you're welcome to upload it to the Polished and Ready section (for which the password is flashed) for critique. But there's no obligation to show what you've written to anyone.

Typically, participants in these challenges produce a few rough drafts and several story openings during the fortnight. The focus is a little more towards quantity than quality. After the challenge, you can go back to drafts or openings that you feel drawn to, and complete them properly.

Or, perhaps you'd like to challenge yourself to produce a draft every day, as some participants have done. It's entirely up to you what you do. The aim of the Flash Fortnight is simply to help participants get into the habit of writing regularly, with an eye on publication.
 

wishflower

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This is great! I always liked doing prompts each day to begin creative writing classes. I really like the first couple of prompts this month, too!

One of my friends is an illustrator and it's her anniversary in September. I spoke with her about the story I started from yesterday's prompt because I used her and her partner as inspiration for the characters. She's really excited and is illustrating it for him for a present. It gives me a lot more motivation to work with it and make sure it's polished.

I can't wait to see what you have for us tomorrow!
 
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Archerbird

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Obviously it's not necessary, but this is neat. 1. at about 960 words, will probably do 2. and 3. later today.
 

Tienci

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Just submitted the story from Day 1's prompt. It went from 1300 to about 1700 words in its final (although it still feels like the first) draft.
Day 2's story sputtered and died around 450 words. I'll have to get back to that idea later.
Day 3's story is all planned out from beginning to end and looks very promising. Not sure I'll be able to write it out by the end of this month considering anthology deadlines I want to make but I'm happy I've got the bones.

Aaaaand that's as far as I got lol. :D
I think I'm going to jump to the Day 6, 7 or 8 prompt--they're the ones in relief to me at this time...
 

Tienci

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I have problems with this flash thing--the day 6 prompt ended in a story currently 2400 words, the day 12 story currently 1800.
Once the day 3 story is written out, there's no way it'll be anywhere near flash--I'm predicting somewhere between 3k and 5k. Minimum.

(Did I mention the 2 stories inspired by June's FFF Day 7 & 13 prompts ended up at 4k and 3600 words respectively? :eek:).