by Mayumi-H | Jul 4, 2012 | Persona 4 Fan Fiction, Short Stories
I had quite a bit of fun with last week’s picture prompt; my head certainly went in a new direction from where I’d been before!
But the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups this week (week 48) is a phrase prompt:
… I blamed it on the dog…
Julia says: “Your pieces should be 106 words long (the prompt plus 100).” Without further ado, here’s what I’m offering, this week:
“Blame the Hound”
“That girl definitely knows what she’s doing, let me tell you…!”
“Who? Anna?”
“No. Juliet.”
“Juliet? I thought you were out with Anna, last night?”
“Canceled.”
“She canceled?”
“No, I canceled. Keep up, would you, mate?”
“Why’d you cancel?”
“Have you seen Juliet?”
“So, what? Anna’s history, then?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because you went out with another girl last night, that’s why!”
“It’s not like I told her I was going out with another bird, moron.”
“So, then, what was your excuse for not taking her out last night?”
“I blamed it on the dog.”
“You don’t have a dog.”
“She doesn’t know that!”
Another dialogue-only piece; sorry about that. Again, I didn’t see the need for any description; I think the words speak for themselves.
Personally, I appreciate a man who is faithful, kindly, sweet…all that good stuff. Yet, it’s fun to imagine the life of a hound. (You know, just so long as it’s all in my imagination!)
![By kallerna (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://mayumi.amorphous.press/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2012/08/256px-pharaoh_hound1.jpg "256px-Pharaoh_Hound")
What did you blame on the dog, this week?
by Mayumi-H | Jun 27, 2012 | Short Stories
Week 47’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups is a picture challenge, of the Teapot Dome Service Station in Zillah, Washington:
Julia says: All you have to do is produce a creative piece of 100 words in length from the emotions / thoughts that this image stir in you.
My head is likely not in the same place as most people’s on this one, but I’ve just begun the process of producing a documentary, so my mind is on editing and video a lot, lately. The following is what I came up with (names have been changed to protect the “innocent”):
“Flirting with Temptation”
Raw footage review is a thankless task. But an editor’s job, as they say, is never done. So he sits in this cramped room the same as he’s done for the last week straight, poring over seemingly endless reels of kitschy novelty attractions, while the world goes on outside the door.
Sitting beside him, equally tired and equally antsy, Emma asks when was the last time he saw his wife.
“When was the last time you saw your husband?” he replies with a snicker.
She doesn’t laugh, though.
“Let’s not talk about that,” she says, just before she kisses him.
Temptation
Don’t ask me why I went there….
by Mayumi-H | Jun 20, 2012 | Short Stories, Songbirds
Welcome to another submission for the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (week 46)!
I didn’t submit to last week’s article prompt (though I did use it as inspiration for another vignette), but this week, we’re back to my bread and butter of flash fiction writing. Prompt as follows, per Julia:
… in the dark recess of my mind …
As usual you have 100 words to add to these 7 making 107 altogether. Make sure you keep the prompt as it is….
Here’s my take:
“A Wild Ride”
“…Are you scared?”
“No. Now, stop talking. You’re shaking the plane.”
“Would you relax? Nothing’s going to happen. We’re perfectly safe.”
“Look, logically, historically, empirically, I know that. But, in the dark recess of my mind, I can’t help but think this is impossible! Man simply was not meant to scream through the air in a giant sardine tin!”
“The only one screaming, here, is you.”
“Your compassion is overwhelming.”
“Listen. Whenever you feel nervous, just squeeze my hand. Just like that. There. Better?”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
“I love you, you know.”
“I love you, too.”
“Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet my parents- ow!”
I’ve been up and down on planes so many times in the last week-and-a-half, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take that somewhat cryptic, almost foreboding prompt of words and make it into something light-hearted…and close to my own experiences.
I don’t usually do straight dialogue-only pieces, but I don’t think any description is really needed, here. Plus, my Songbirds stories are built around simplicity.
How did you interpret the prompt? Did you go dark, or light?
by Mayumi-H | Jun 17, 2012 | Fearless, Short Stories
The 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups this week (week 45, for those keeping count) was to write an article to fit the headline, there’s a buzz about this place.
I don’t “do” journalism. And I wasn’t going to participate in this week’s challenge because I’m on holiday…but the phrase stuck with me during a particularly long traffic ride, and the following popped into my head, already mostly-formed:
Boys’ Night
The packed club was Niall’s idea. He likely planned the steamy, sweaty bodies, too, those writhing to the thumping beat that prevented coherent thought.
Ross just blinked around him. Then a leggy bird whipped her hair into his face, while another swayed obliviously into his arm, jostling his ale onto his shirt.
He rolled his eyes. Did he really used to enjoy this scene?
It was late when he finally crawled into bed, ears still buzzing.
Amber hummed as he wound his arms about her. “Did you enjoy boys’ night?”
Ross exhaled into her neck, and smiled. “I am, now.”
I used to go clubbing when I was younger, but in my old age once I found my soul mate, I put the heels and fishnets away, and found the excitement in the quieter moments.
Since I didn’t follow the instructions for this past week’s prompt, I’m refraining from submitting it to the 100WCGU page. But I liked it too much to let it sit alone on my hard drive.
For those of you who did follow the rules, I salute you! (As for me, I’ll go back to cuddling with my guy, in my warm and comfy bed.)
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 kallerna (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://mayumi.amorphous.press/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2012/08/256px-pharaoh_hound1.jpg "256px-Pharaoh_Hound")
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