May 2011 Flash Fiction Challenge!

Sophia

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Welcome to the May Flash Fortnight!

The May Flash Fortnight will run from Sunday 15th May (Day 1) to Saturday May 28th (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 : A Strange Day at the Office
Day 13 : Noise, Where Silence is Expected
Day 12 : A Spot by the River
Day 11 : Visitors. (This prompt is the specified theme for an upcoming edition of 5x5 literary magazine.)
Day 10 : A Moment in the Trenches
Day 9 : A Spy in the Emperor's Court
Day 8 : A Discovery Made in an Old Attic
Day 7 : "It's quiet. Too quiet." (This prompt is the specified theme for an upcoming edition of 10Flash.)
Day 6 : An Incident During an Ocean Voyage
Day 5 : A New Kind of Forest
Day 4 : A Signal Sent to the Wrong Person
Day 3 : Written by a Prisoner
Day 2 : Driving on a Dark Night
Day 1 : The End of Summer​


*


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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ebennet68

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Sounds like fun! I'll try to participate as often as I can.
 

Sagana

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*Cheer* I'll be here tomorrow. Nice for me that it starts on a Sunday. It'll give me an off-work day to get started.
 

dpaterso

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Oooh, prompt appears in the 1st post above, fooled me! :)

Such shiny buttons!

-Derek
 

Lillie

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Hmmm.

*Thinking*

Thanks!
 

Sagana

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So I wrote a story. It's too long (2kish) but shorter than anything I've done to date, so a start. Cheated a bit as it was an idea I already had. And needs some serious editing and that will probably bring it down enough. And sorta kinda vaguely fits the prompt. Is there a check in of some sort for this?
 

Lillie

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I've written mine too, and I rather like it. It's only 500 words or so, but a rewrite would flesh it out a bit now I have the shape of it.

I don't know whether it's the sort of thing I could ever do anything with it, if it's saleable, but I'm glad I wrote it.

Thanks.
 

Sophia

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I'm glad the challenge is producing results so far. :)

Sagana, you can check in here if you like, or you (or anyone else) can create an on-going challenge check-in thread in this room that can be used every month. Either is fine with me.

My first day went quite slowly, but then in the evening, I got a new idea, and wrote the draft in around an hour after that. It ended up at 1050 words. The story turned out to be a lot closer to horror than anything I've written before. I like the idea of using this challenge to experiment with different genres and styles in my writing, so it'll be interesting to me to see what comes out of it. :)
 

dpaterso

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So far so good! On to Day 2...

-Derek
 

Yasaibatake

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Oh, I was so excited for this and then I forgot to check the prompt yesterday! I just wrote my first story and I'm getting ready to start on the second :)
 

Sagana

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I'm only about halfway through the 2nd (499 words), but today's was my husband's bday so family obligations ran into writing time. Will finish it tomorrow.

I'm really enjoying the prompts. Gives me something to think about all day while I'm wishing I wasn't at work :)

I also decided story number 1 is going to need a serious rewrite, but oh well, it was my first try. (The conflict wasn't conflict-y enough. I think I know how to fix it though.)
 

Lillie

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Thanks.

Mine's just short of the thousand. I rather like it and might be able to do something with it.
 

dpaterso

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Heh, haven't finished 1 or 2 yet, got a tad distracted, but they know who the master is and they know ah'll be back. Starting 3 also with great optimism!

-Derek
 

Lillie

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Number 3 done at just over a thousand words. Not at all what I expected to write, and something that will need loads of work if it's ever to be something.

But an interesting challenge. Thank you.
 

Lillie

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4 done.

1270 words here, so far too long. But there is a fair bit of crap that could be cut.
And I really like this one.

Thanks.
 

Sophia

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Fantastic going, Lillie!
 

dpaterso

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Yeah pretty good! I'm still only 1 finished... and several in progress. No retreat, no surrender!

-Derek
 

Sagana

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Whee, Lillie. That sounds like about where I am Derek. I have *something* for all the prompts, but most aren't really finished - more in progress. I'll have to really finish up and edit my favorite this weekend for my W1. Still, I'm going to end up with 14 ideas. And I'm getting the 'shorter' thing I wanted :)
 

Lillie

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5 done. Well over a thousand words.

Turned into an odd thing that really isn't any good, but it might provide the root of something better one day.

Thanks.
 

Eldritch

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So far, I've done the first five. They're not pretty, and about as rough as Brillo Pads, but some of them have potential.

Thank you, Sophia for the fun prompts. I look forward to logging on each morning to see what the new one will be.
 

Sophia

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I'm really glad that the prompts are of use, and thank you for saying so!

I've completed two stories so far, and am aiming to finish a third today, and hopefully get some of a fourth done. They need editing, but they've been very different from my usual writing, and I've been really enjoying writing them.

Go, go, everyone!
 

Yasaibatake

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Whee! I did 4 before getting completely derailed by my new puppy :D But I'm having a lot of fun with this! (the prompts and the puppy both, teehee) There's definitely some editing to be done but I like most of them at least...on to 5 and 6!