by Mayumi-H | Jun 6, 2012 | Short Stories
Late for this week’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups. This week’s prompt, per Julia:
Here in the UK we are celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. There is bunting and celebration everywhere.
You have all been lulled into a false sense of security with the last few prompts which have been – let’s face it – easy! So combining both these situations the prompt this week is to write a poem. It doesn’t have to rhyme or be specifically about the Monarch but it should capture the passing of sixty years. I will give you some poetic license with the number of words and say 100 words -ish!
I really stink at poetry; I have real admiration for those who can write in this style on a regular basis. That said, I couldn’t let a whole WCGU go by without trying to make it work, however non-poetic I may be.
“Hero Time”
The first ten years were blush with feeling, brimmed
with kisses, glee, and rampant, wild love.
The second ten brought children with it: two
To charm, and teach, and keep them up at night.
Before they knew, ten more had passed. Thirty, then!
How mad! Just yesterday, it seemed, to be
They’d met, at school, as barely even friends.
Yet, here they were, wife and husband dear.
So, forty years – and fifty, too – they spent,
Still loved and loving…if not how once they’d been.
Then sixty came. What more was left? But one
More chance to show the world, heroes never die.
I wrote these two characters – another set of friends who became something more – for a long time. I had sorted out a whole life story for them, that I may still write, someday.
This week’s challenge gave me the opportunity to revisit them a little bit, something I haven’t been able to do in a while. Hope you enjoy!
by Mayumi-H | May 23, 2012 | Short Stories, Songbirds
It’s week 43 for the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (100WCGU)! The prompt this week is:
“…The flame flickered before…”
I wrote this one quickly – on my 20-minute morning train – but I quite like it. Usually, I fret over the words much more than I did with this one. I don’t know if that means I’m getting better at writing these, or if I “hear” the voices of my Songbirds so much more clearly than the voices of other characters, or if the prompt just worked out right for me, this week. Whatever the reason, I hope you enjoy!
“That Unexpected Spark”
Flame Kiss, by Martin Eftimov
She didn’t know when it happened, only that it wouldn’t let her go.
Perhaps, it had begun in the old DVD store, when she’d first seen his lopsided smile. Or in the library, when he’d sat beside her, listening to a history of angels. Or in that moment of desperate terror, when she’d thought everything hopeless…and then felt his arms surround her.
Or, perhaps, it happened the first time she kissed him: an unexpected spark of feeling for a friend who could be something more.
The flame flickered before, but that kiss had made it flare.
Sally wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Other writers I follow always seem to be able to do so much more with those 100 words than I can do. I suppose it’s just my style, that I tell things slowly? Regardless, I enjoy these challenges, and I look forward to more. (I just wish I could write like other people, sometimes.)
How did you interpret the idea of a flickering flame?
by Mayumi-H | May 2, 2012 | Short Stories
The prompt for this week’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups is “Ruby,” to celebrate the 40th week of this challenge.
We have 100 words to fulfill the prompt, and – while my idea is pretty cheesy – I hope that you enjoy my take. 🙂
“Precious Promises”
Amid riffling chiffon, she presses back against the door. It clicks, and she smiles.
He turns, tails flapping. “You shouldn’t be here-!”
Three strides, and she’s in his arms, silencing him with a kiss that makes him hum…and leaves a ruby smear across his lips.
“Sorry!” she laughs, and starts to thumb the smirch away.
He doesn’t laugh, though, but holds her tight. “Promise you’ll still kiss me like that after today?”
The question’s as important now as it will be in an hour. So is her answer. So she rises, seeking his smudged lips again, and whispers, “I do.”
“Precious Promises” by Mayumi-H
(I think I spent more time drawing this little doodle than I did writing this week’s prompt!)
I know that most of what I write with these 100-word challenges are fluff. But, I think, subconsciously, I need to be writing fluff, right now. I’m in the middle of a first draft novel that has a lot of heavy emotional drama in it, and I find these lighter-toned pieces of simple love and family life to be cathartic.
As for the doodle, I did a quick, small sketch in my pad during my train commute, and just had to flesh it out. It’s tiny, so there isn’t a tremendous amount of detail, which makes it quite cartoon-y. But I had much fun drawing and coloring something so simple with my Prismacolors.
So, how did you interpret this prompt? 🙂
by Mayumi-H | Apr 25, 2012 | Short Stories, Songbirds
The prompt for this week’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (week 39) is, per Julia:
….I’m exhausted. Shut the door behind you….
So, to remind you of the rules you have an additional 100 words to complete your piece making 107 in total. Please make sure it is suitable for a PG certificate and please visit the other entries as that is where we can get ideas as well as support and challenge each other.
Julia always knows just when to remind me that I need to keep these to a PG rating! 😀 That said, I didn’t really have much trouble coming up with a flash fiction to fulfill this week’s prompt. Without further ado, I’ll let my Songbirds speak for themselves:
“These Nights Won’t Last”
Girls Playing Dress Up, by Isabella Kung
http://www.behance.net/isabellakung
It’s the girls’ excited shrieking as they play that makes Sally snap. She loves them, but the noise-! What happened to those lovely nights when they’d cuddle peacefully, dozing off to faery tales?
Sensing her tension, Larry eases her to the bedroom. “You all right?”
Sally sighs. “I’m exhausted. Shut the door behind you, please?” And she settles back, to relax amid the quiet, alone.
But, after a while, she realises: solitude isn’t what she wants. Because these nights won’t last, either. So, rather than waste it, she rises, to find her family snacking on biscuits while puzzling over a jigsaw.
She smiles. “Room for one more?”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pushed one of my girls away, desirous of peace and quiet and just a little bit of alone time…only to then call her back and let her play or cuddle, because my own guilt has gotten the better of me. 🙂
This one feels a bit short, to me, but it does clock in at 107 words, per instructions. Perhaps because, like my Sally, I simply find myself longing for those bygone, tiny baby days…!
They settle down, eventually. 🙂
by Mayumi-H | Apr 18, 2012 | Fearless, Persona 4 Fan Fiction, Short Stories
This week’s prompt for the 100 Word Challenge for Grown-Ups was to write a sonnet, in recognition of arguably the most famous sonneteer in history, William Shakespeare. The specifics of the prompt are as follows:
Your mission, should you wish to take it up, is a BIG one. We are going to celebrate the Bard by writing sonnets! I can see some frowns! Don’t worry it will stretch your creativity.
- You MUST write 14 lines (this is the minimum)
- You can use 10 syllables per line (choice)
- You could use the following rhythm – a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g. (choice)
So, the least you have to do is write 14 lines. Limit is around 100 words. You may need to go over slightly if you choose to do 2 and 3. The topic is of your choice but of course if you fancy including George and that dragon he is supposed to have slayed then feel free!
Writing my Fearless protagonists, I’ve decided that I can’t turn down a challenge when it arises, either. So, here is my offering:
“Daddy and the Dragon”
Image courtesy of the Royal Society of St. George
http://www.royalsocietyofstgeorge.com/stgeorge.htm
Atop the sofa, clad in argent satin,
St. George and sword rise tall and full of might
To face the horrid, furious dragon,
And keep all tiny children safe at night.
One cheers, one gasps, as Mummy tells the tale
Of fabled times and ancient beasts most foul,
While Daddy swings the sword and clashes mail,
To play St. George and make the dragon howl.
But with a whoosh! and whack!, he seems to fall,
And both girls cry for his recovery.
So Mummy urges help, however small,
With clap and laughter, bringing victory.
Then kisses come; the toys are put away.
But George and beast will fight another day.
…So, a poet I’m not. 🙂 Still, this was a fun exercise.
It’s been ages since I’ve tried anything within such a confining structure as iambic pentameter. I did cheat a bit, as you can see, but I wanted to tell a story, rather than just writing a love sonnet. (Besides, no one will ever be as successful at the love sonnet as William Shakespeare. Or Kermit the Frog.)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT1p3KyaW-I&w=420&h=315]
As a lovestruck young woman, I tried to write poetry, of course, as most teenagers do. But it just wasn’t happening. The product of those candlelit writing sessions is the main reason why I long ago gave up on being a poet of any kind.
I went back and forth on what I wanted to write for this subject…but, as usually happens, my initial idea is the one that ended up working best. You may not agree (I didn’t say it was a great effort, just my personal best). But, no one can fault me for being a little bit fearless.
Late for this week’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups. This week’s prompt, per Julia:
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