by Mayumi-H | Feb 23, 2013 | Short Stories
I seem to be ping-pong-ing with my challenges, lately. Hope that’s all right with everyone. If not…well, too bad.
This is week 78 for the 100 Word Challenge for Grown-Ups, provided by Julia’s Place. For this week, Julia says the prompt is:
…what does it taste like…
There were no specific rules about including this phrase in our submissions, so I just ran with the spirit of the prompt.
“In His Kiss”
He smelled clean, electric, like a fresh summer rain that prickled her nostrils every time she drew breath. He felt like it, too: skin slick beneath her fingers, lips wet as he pressed them to hers. His body gave off a flowing heat she felt in wavy vapors as he took her in his arms.
Whispering his desires around their mouths, he pulled her to the ground, plucking gently at her buttons.
She let him do it all. Because she couldn’t go back to the farm. Not after that first kiss, when she’d tasted this fate on his sweet lips.
I’d considered calling this one “A Taste of Things to Come,” but, that just made me think of Shang Tsung.
No raunch, this time. Just good, old fashioned sweetness.
can remember to do so. This prompt provided some fun practice.
As writers, we paint with words to describe. Most often, those words relate to the visual sense. But, what are your next favorite senses in description?
by Mayumi-H | Feb 9, 2013 | Short Stories, Songbirds
Only one prompt this time, for 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups. This week (76), Julia’s prompt is:
…beneath the surface…
We are to “keep to the 100 words plus the 3 above,” giving us a total of 103 words to tell the story.
This one came pretty easily to me, as I cranked it out in about an hour. But, then, I think this is likely a situation close to many of our hearts, not just my own….
“A Deeper Reflection”
Doodling the bod
Fixing her gaze on her disrobed reflection, Sally sighed.
What lay beneath the surface was more important, she knew…but, what had happened to that surface? The flat belly, high breasts, slim hips – where had they gone?
The creak and click of the bedroom door, signalling Larry’s return, made her scramble for pants and bra.
His warm, damp embrace stopped her. “Just a mo’.”
Cringing from his tickling hair, she laughed, despite herself. “You’re wet!”
“You’re gorgeous,” he replied, nuzzling her neck.
She hummed. “You think?”
He plucked her clothes from her hand; they fell to the floor with his towel. “I know.”
I have some writerly friends who can use this short form of storytelling to weave tales of excitement, danger, whimsy, and mystery. I can manage that, on occasion. Mostly, though, these prompts tend to lead me to more mundane places, such as Sally’s fretting over her aging, motherly body…and Larry’s still-full love of the same.
Writing for these Songbirds often feels like writing my own life (sans the fantastic timey-wimey stuff, of course). Maybe that’s why I keep coming back to them. I suppose I should feel blessed that my life and loves are basically happy. And, I certainly am. It doesn’t exactly make for riveting storytelling, though.
How did you look beneath the surface, this week? Let me know!
by Mayumi-H | Feb 2, 2013 | Short Stories
Is anyone surprised I’m combining prompts again? This week, it’s Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction prompt of “DELICATE,” as well as Julia’s Place’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (week 75, for those of you counting). The 100WCGU prompt is this picture:
Full photo can be found at Julia’s Place
Additionally, Julia asks us “…to close your eyes and imagine you are one of those figures looking out over the Grand Canyon. Your 100 words can either [be] the conversation that might happen or your thoughts as you look and experience the scene.“
First-person pieces are not my forte, and I didn’t exactly follow the rules. But, this could be one conversation that might happen, just not to me….
“At the Edge”
We approached the edge side by side, but not together; I was only supposed to be his guide, after all, a familiar face to show him some wonders on his American holiday, nothing more.
“Beautiful,” I murmured when we reached the rail; there was his hand, settled so close, but who knew what might be said if anyone noticed. “It always makes me feel insignificant, like a snowflake in a storm.”
“Singular, perhaps,” he said, “but, hardly insignificant.”
Something in his voice made me look up, into his face, just as he took my hand, whispering, “I’ve left my wife.”
(forgive the rushed job on the hands, please; I did this one in about an hour)
As indelicate as this situation is, it’s one close to my heart. Am I venturing too much into reality? Or, does this still smack of fiction to you? I feel like I’m blurring the lines more and more, these days.
What conversations did you have as you looked out over the Grand Canyon this week? What did you think? Something DELICATE, or not? Feel free to let me know!
by Mayumi-H | Jan 2, 2013 | Persona 4 Fan Fiction, Short Stories
I’m doubling-up on prompts again! (Why not start the year off right?)
Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction prompt is “ENDING” and week 71’s prompt for the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups over at Julia’s Place is “…as midnight struck….”
As a side note, I rarely put forward for Julia’s challenges anything I personally would deem above and/or beyond the PG rating certificate (Lillie’s challenge comes with no caveat about rating, though I think we police ourselves well enough), but I’m rather liberal about mature subjects, myself. I leave you to be the judge if this is inappropriate.
“Between Them”
The first time they heard midnight strike together, there was just the job between them: script, soundtrack, timecode, a story due by deadline.
The second time it happened, though, they passed between them their own stories, of husbands, wives, and wanton regrets, kept secret until that moment.
By the third, between them there was nothing at all, save the taste of wine on fevered lips…and prospects of forever whispered in his dark hotel room.
So, on the fourth, while still wrapped around each other, he asked the question smoldering between them. And, in his bed, as midnight struck, she answered with a kiss.
I’ve stayed away from Robb and Emma for a while, but this double-edged sword of a mixed prompt plucked at my heartstrings a bit too much to ignore.
What ENDING did you create? What happened when midnight struck? Let me know!
by Mayumi-H | Dec 22, 2012 | Short Stories, Songbirds
It’s Week 69 for the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups!
This week, Julia is being particularly timely, with the prompt of …Bah Humbug!….
I’ve been writing plenty of 100-word stories for the Nightingales, but this one struck a familiar chord in me, as it’s based on a true story. I hope you enjoy!
“Shattered Silence”
Despite the danger of discovery, Sally let herself whine. For so much sweeter than any cinder toffee was the taste of his shoulder, so much more warming than any port was his breath against her neck. Even all the wrapped, ribboned prizes tucked beneath the tree in the parlour – she’d trade them all for just a few more minutes clutched in his strong, stolen embrace…!
But Katie’s shriek – “It’s Christmas!” – followed by Billie’s less articulate echo after, shattered the moment like a delicate glass ornament.
Larry groaned. “First thing tomorrow,” he muttered, “I’m arranging for a vasectomy.”
Happy, safe, restful holidays to you all!
This is week 78 for the 100 Word Challenge for Grown-Ups, provided by Julia’s Place. For this week, Julia says the prompt is:
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