Category Archives: Challenges and Writing Prompts

Twittering Tales #27 – 25 April 2017

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About the challenge:  Each Tuesday I will provide a prompt, and your mission, if you choose to play along, is to tell a story based on that prompt in 140 characters or less.

If you accept the challenge, be sure to let me know in the comments with a link to your tale. A final note: if you need help tracking the number of characters in your story, there is a nifty online tool that will count for you at charactercountonline.com.

I will do a roundup each Tuesday, along with providing us a new prompt.

Have Fun!

Twittering Tales #26 – The Roundup

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Photo from Pixabay

From Reena at ReInventions:

Do you fear that followers will catch up, or will you give them an opportunity? The acceleration speed shows the Leadership Quotient.
(133 characters)

From Lost In Translation 79:

Thunderous roar of the pavement below,
Throttle on full with no fear,
Grinding of teeth with baggage In tow,
The objects in mirror disappear…
(138 Characters)

From Kitty at Kitty’s Verses:
It’s always prudent not to be lost in the past, but it doesn’t do any harm to take a step back and view the broader perspective.
(129 Characters)

From Willow at Willowdot21:

The view with the wing mirror is a time annominally. The past is following us, the future approaches yet we are here now. Where are we really.
(140 Characters)

From Lorraine at In 25 Words More or Less:

Lane assist, self-breaking, computer, gps, blue tooth.
Car virtually drives itself.
Look, no hands on the wheel
and no proble . . . .
(132) (18.5)

From Michael at Morpethroad:

Reflective perspective
Makes for a fascinating discovery
Is it coming at you?
Will it collide with you?
A flash and it’s gone
You breathe again.
(140 characters)

From Gayl at Gayl S Wright:

No Turning Back
No turning back now
We said our goodbyes and left
Never to return
Oh, how they pleaded
The danger will be too great
Our minds were made up
(133 characters)

A Sad Departure
The lights of the town faded as we pulled farther away.
The fire had destroyed everything. With tears in our eyes we drove into the unknown.
(140 characters)

A New Adventure
Everyone cheered and wished us well. Leaving the city
behind us, we headed out for the adventure of a lifetime! What secrets would we find?
(139 characters)

From Kathryn at Another Foodie Blogger:

After driving 24-hours straight, Tim’s paranoia would not stop. The barren desert flew by his windshield, but when he looked in the mirror…

From Francine at Woman Walks Max:

He’s behind us, he’s catching up.
Dad said “You marry that boy over my dead body”.
Didn’t believe him. Go faster, gotta get to the church
before Dad.
(146 Characters)

From Peter at Peter’s Ponderings:

On reflection I knew the twins were safer now than they’d ever been. Their father too! I wound down the window and tossed the 3 empty cases.
(140 characters)

From John at BroadsidesDotMe:

I want to break free, On the long and winding road, looking back in anger at the fading lights.
(95 Characters)

From Kirst at Kirst Writes:

By sunset I’d reached the border. The traffic thinned as the road climbed towards the mountains. On the other side, a new life was waiting.
(139 characters)

From Lady Lee at Lady Lee Manila:

Seatbelt on, clutch, mirror, indicate, off we go. Turn right, got to emphasise that I’m looking at my side mirror, then indicate. All good!
(139 Characters)

From Sangbad at Thoughts of Words:

Past is the reflection…present now, the moving car…future is the headlighted gray road, traffic, indicators…the distant horizon…
(136 words)

From susmitamukherjeea at Uniquesus

Adieu
As I passed the town to settle elsewhere I looked back despondently in the rear view mirror. “If it weren’t for this darn job”, I sighed.
(138 characters)

From Patty @pjtemple (from Twitter)

Maniacal was that terrible thing in that one still moment. But now that it’s passed I release a cautious sigh.

and my tale:

“Do you see them?”
“No…I think we’ve finally lost them. Just a few more miles.”
“Then what?”
“We may never know. Look ahead. They’re coming.”
(140 Characters)

I found so many of this week’s tales on the “reflective” side. 😉 Hee hee! Another great round of diverse ideas and thoughts. Some of you definitely had me thinking and guessing and cruising! Thanks to everyone who came along for the ride last week. On to the next photo challenge. What’s happening here? Who is this woman? Who is the artist? Just a simple transaction…or something more? Send me a tweet and have fun! 🙂

Twittering Tale #27 – 25 April 2017

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Photo from Pixabay

He never forgot her face. They met at the cafe. Only once. He spent the rest of his life drawing the woman he might have known.
(130 Characters)

kat


Marginalia Mania – NaPoWriMo 2017 #24

Whatever in the world were they thinking?
These maniacal manuscript scribes of old,
Whatever in the world were they thinking?

Fantastical tales their scribblings told;
creatures and beasties, some seeking revenge,
These maniacal manuscript scribes of old,

Nature revolting against maids and men,
Snails, flying monkeys, dogs, lions, cats
Creatures and beasties, some seeking revenge

Stranger than strange and that is a fact
Obviously it was someone’s worst nightmare,
Snails, flying monkeys, dogs, lions, cats

Elephants, bears and violent hares
It’s all quite odd, I’m sure you’d agree…
Obviously, it was someone’s worst nightmare

If there is a message, what could it be?
Whatever in the world were they thinking?
It’s all quite odd, I’m sure you’d agree…
Whatever in the world were they thinking?

~kat
{NaPoWriMo 2017 #24: to wrote a poem about Marginalia…very bizarre illustrations of medieval manuscripts. I chose a Terzanelle to explore this prompt. See other illustrations by googling “marginalia” and clicking on images.}


Cats ‘n Dogs

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cats
solitary nocturnals
lazing in sunbeams
granting admiration from afar
supercilious.

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dogs
affectionate companions
lap top snugglers
always underfoot, unquestionably loyal
magnanimous

~kat
(NaPoWriMo 2017 #23 – a Double Elevenie exploring opposites)


“Do No Harm” – NaPoWriMo #20

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ultimately, “do no harm”
whilst rooting through his cavities
one false move ’twould cause alarm

with steady practiced hand disarm
poor Sam of his infirmities
ultimately, “do no harm”

funny bones might lose their charm
guard his broken heart, avoid brain freeze
one false move ‘twould cause alarm

it takes a skilled touch to perform
the tricky stretch, ankle to knee
ultimately, “do no harm”

from stomach where butterflies swarm
to ankles wrenched and watery knees
one false move ‘twould cause alarm

in surgery there’s no lukewarm
one must be sure, determined, you’d agree
ultimately, “do no harm”
one false move ‘twould cause alarm

~kat
(NaPoWriMo 2017 #20 – A silly Villanelle Poem (A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2) tackling today’s prompt: to write a poem that incorporates the vocabulary and imagery of a specific sport or game. In case you didn’t figure it out…my game of choice is the Operation Game by Milton Bradley.)


Birth of a Lie – NaPoWriMo 2017 #19

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the birth of a lie

once upon a time, when words had meaning
when everyone believed that words were true
no living soul conceived they’d need to question
or turn a blind eye in the face of proof

it was a time of blissful innocence
until the day the first untruth took hold
‘twas only meant to spare another’s feelings
I’m sure you’d do the same, if truth be told

but oh what happened after its telling
the ignorance and bliss of those deceived
everyone agreed, it bore repeating
and so the lie, it grew like a bad seed

when naysayers tried hard to deny it
they were swiftly cast aside, reviled
greedy profiteers began to sell it
for blissful happiness, the crowds went wild

soon the truth was hidden twixt the pages,
and history rewritten, as preferred,
faux everything became the rage of ages
and truth was just an inconvenient blur

sometimes truth will show up unexpected
like a fragile flower amidst the weeds
you can recognize it using reason
don’t be surprised if nobody believes

kat – 19 April 2017
(NaPoWriMo 2017 #19 – a dramatization of a creation myth…birth of a lie for today’s prompt in the form of a Fable Poem.)