Tag Archives: Flash Fiction

Twittering Tales #100 – 4 September 2018

About the challenge: Each Tuesday I will provide a photo prompt. Your mission, if you choose to accept the challenge, is to tell a story in 280 characters or less. When you write your tale, 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 a new prompt. And if for some reason I missed your entry in the Roundup, as I have occasionally done, please let me know. I want to be sure to include your tale.

Finally, have fun!

And REMEMBER…you have 280 characters (spaces and punctuation included), to tell your tale…and a week to do it. I can’t wait to see what you create this week.


Twittering Tales #99 – The Roundup

horses-1759214_1280

Prompt photo by Conquero at Pixabay.com

Starting us off…

It was 8.3 on the Richter scale. The town had never experienced an earthquake. Fracking had rendered the bedrock unstable. Aftershocks sent herds of wild horses and other animals through the center of town. The worst was yet to come. No one would live to tell, when the dam broke. ~kat
(280 Characters)

By Reena at ReInventions:
Hatching Plans
She will never know…
He had let the horses out to kick up a dust storm. They would return home in the evening.
But she will not know what happened beyond the horizon – and he will never return to the palace, where she waited with a conspiracy to kill him.
(253 characters)

By Deepa and Sync With Deep:
Waiting for Prince Charming
I see chords of silver lining in my dark hair adding wisdom to my age. I was particular about marrying the guy of my interests. Waiting for my prince charming on a white stallion for years now, I failed to realize the one sitting next to me since childhood craving for my love.
(277 words)

By The Dark Netizen:
Run
They could sense him coming.
His scythe ready to swing at closest innocent. His mere visage could freeze the very blood of humans. However, for the herd, the source of fear was not the rider. It was the hungry monstrosity he rode.
Just as he hungered for men, it craved foals.
Run!
Character Count: 280

By Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs:
Final Moments
Her once taut rippling muscles had slacked. The thick glossy mane had lost luster. She could no longer lithely trot down the meadow or forage for food.
Staring at her twitching muzzle & lifeless 16-hands-tall body, Betty sighed.
Putting Belle to sleep was a difficult decision.
276 Characters

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
The Stampede
“There’s only one way outta here. Get on that horse over there. I’ll open the gate, smack a few horses on their butts, and get ‘em all to run out of the corral. Then you ride up to the gate and I’ll hop on.”
“This better work, pal, or we’ll be hangin’ from them gallows at dawn.”
(278 characters)

By Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
The Prophesy!
The recurring dreams of the horses running berserk tormented Amanda.
Staring at the same picture in the papers along with a news item a few days later, sent jitters down her spine.
She recalled the gypsy woman’s prophecy at the carnival, “Visions of the future will haunt you”!
Letter count : 279

By Anthony at Dear Daughter:
Their Own Path
The walk through the woods was peaceful as it always was. Joe and I were walking our normal trail, reminiscing about our recent trip to the little league world series, when a family of wild horses came rumbling through the woods. An array of colors from white, black, brown, white & brown.
We were Speechless.
Character count (255)

By Willow at WillowDot21:
“All I said was let them out for a run” Satan mumbled. Michael was having none of it.Gabriel had been sent for time out by the big man. Azriel sat in the corner happily.
The heavenly herd had rampaged the earth leaving destruction in their wake. Satan just couldn’t see the problem.
(280 Characters)

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The Hunt
I really think I’ve cracked it now.
Even though I say so myself, the form of the horses is quite superb.
My painting is almost like a photograph.
I’m really pleased with the result!
It’s such a pity that I can’t paint human figures, or dogs, or saddles, reins, or stirrups.
Tally Ho!
(280 characters)

By Jan at Strange Goings On in the Shed:
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt begins,
The Signal is given,
Cernunnos emerges from shadows and moonlight,
Calls forth the Old Ones,

Those who are resplendent in glory and deep mystery.
Epona’s children race forth,

Their riders are hidden,
The horn is sounded,

The hounds are loosed,
The Horned One flies!
(277 characters)

By Amritha at Igniting Hope:
The Gift
I was obviously curious to open the neatly wrapped gift from my dear friend. It was a portrait of a herd of horses in haste, prehaps to safety or towards their goal in grace that is personified with horses. Whatever it maybe, my bedroom wall is adorned by this photo frame.
(273 characters)

By Hayley at The Story Files:
Through the Mist
Everything was hushed at 6 am as I hide in the forest, breathe held. Through the misty trees ran the wild horses with their coats of many colours, their hoofs pounding the earth, manes and tails flying in the wind. It was a beautiful sight and well worth the wait.

By Anurag at jagahdilmein:
Night Shift
I woke up to find them lazing around on their sorry asses. My BP went shooting up like Apollo-13. Did they expect ME to keep feeding them indefinitely?
“OUT!” I shouted, and they broke into a stampede. People might be scared of them, but I too was the mother of all night mares!
278 characters.

By Universal Unionist:
I know that your young colt is a stallion Darling, but he must do something about his body sweat.

By Deb at Twenty Four:
He was silent and still as he watched them rush past, a cloud of dust rising as they found the forest path. He knew tomorrow there would be questions, but tonight he didn’t care.
When he had heard the boss on the phone talking to the slaughterhouse, he had known what he would do.
(280 characters)

Thank you everyone for joining the challenge last week. Some of your tales were very moving, some inspirational…and some gave me a chuckle. Well done everyone.

This week…DRUMROLL PALEEEAZZZZE! This week is Twittering Tale Challenge #100!!! I can’t believe we have been doing these twitter-sized tales for 100 weeks! When we first began, twitter only allowed 140 characters. Remember those days? Talk about a challenge! Then the rules changed and several of you wondered if you could ever get used to more characters. But it didn’t take you long. Those extra 140 characters were a welcome change! Just for the fun of it, I challenge you to write a tale using 140 characters or less in honor of this, the 100th challenge. Or not. Don’t fret if you need more than 140 Characters. I’ll post all tales 140 – 280 characters if you choose to join us for this milestone!the main thing is to have fun! Today’s photo is by Lauris at Pixabay.com.

I am so grateful for you, for your creativity, for your cyber-friendship in this strange place where we spend time pressing words. See you at the Round Up next week. 🙂


Twittering Tale #100 – 4 September 2018

number-484950_1280

Photo by Lauris at Pixabay.com

100 Memory Lane

“We’re here. 100 Memory Ln.”

“Are you gonna knock on the door?”

“Nope, just wanted to see it again.”

“I’m knocking….”

“I wouldn’t…”

“Oh god!”

~kat

Wondered if I could pull it off…140 Characters! 😊

 


Change – A Six Word Story

Whoever said “blondes have fun” lied.

~kat

For the weekly Six Word Story Challenge, Prompt Word: Change.


Twittering Tale #99 – 28 August 2018

1510584710974-1
About the challenge: Each Tuesday I will provide a photo prompt. Your mission, if you choose to accept the challenge, is to tell a story in 280 characters or less. When you write your tale, 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 a new prompt. And if for some reason I missed your entry in the Roundup, as I have occasionally done, please let me know. I want to be sure to include your tale.

Finally, have fun!

And REMEMBER…you have 280 characters (spaces and punctuation included), to tell your tale…and a week to do it. I can’t wait to see what you create this week.


Twittering Tales #98 – The Roundup

1534736165756

Starting us off…

It seemed to be the perfect hiding place. The thief lowered the satchel of cash into the sewer drain. He would retrieve it later.
Then the rains came. Days of rain. The sewers overflowed into the streets.
When the thief returned for his booty, a group of detectives was waiting.
~kat
277 Characters

From Reena at ReInventions:
Who forgot to place the lid?
What will emerge now –  a deep secret, a can of worms, reverse flooding? It will be fodder to Peeping Toms and Idle Minds. Curiosity makes you a business target.
I guess it was a deliberate move. Some people feed on dirt, and make money out of it.
(274 characters)

From Michael at Morpethroad:
The Dot
The dot had been there a long time.
One time the council had redone the path which meant under protest from the locals the dot had been ripped up.
Strangely the next day the dot was back.
Was it alien?
Was it a sign from on high.
Either way, you got a right jolt if you stood on it.
(280 characters)

From Willow at WillowDot21:
More Things That Go Bump in the Night
Marly watched as the drain cover opened. A man, or was it a woman emerged. The whatever it was did not seem happy. Cocking his head to one side Marly wagged his tail hoping that would endear him. Gabriel was not to be won over though. Satan’s laugh could be heard in the distance.
(280 characters)

From World of Wellness:
A Tale of 2 Cities
Susie hailing from Texas had just completed the worlds longest underground drain pipe exploration. She was thrilled to find herself in London.
She was upset that the media had ignored this adventure of hers. It is not often that a cockroach survives a transcontinental exploration!!
character count: 279

From Cara at Midnight Musings:
Cherry was horrified at the thought in her mind. If she put Myron out the airlock, she would be free forever of his threats. They were the only two living beings on the spacecraft; there was no jury to convict her.
“But I’d know, and living with it would drive me mad,” she mused.

From Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The Rose grower’s curse
I’ve got it again, I’m fed up!
What’s the matter now?
That horrible disease that spoiled all my roses last year is back again!
I thought you sprayed them, and cut back the worst affected.
I did, but just look. It’s on every rose and has even spread to the pavement.
Bloody black spot!
(279 characters)

From Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Hiding Place
Jack looked at the storm drain, at the narrow gap between the sidewalk and the street. He saw an orange glow, but there was no flickering, so Jack eliminated a sewer fire.
He walked over, squatted, and peered inside the gap. He was surprised to see Donald Trump hiding down there.
(279 characters)

From The Dark Netizen:
The Drain
He walked silently in the darkness.
Having memorized the location of the drain, he found it easily. Once the lights came back on, they would find him. He slipped the packet into the drain and quickly walked away. He was caught soon.
He would die, but the resistance would live on.
Character Count: 279

From Deepa at Sync With Deep:
Corporate Sewer
I’m dreaming of
a clear water stream,
greenery kissing the earth,
songs of birds in the fresh air,
a serene place to live.

concrete and steel
replaced the trees
corporate sewer line
covered the natural stream
noise of vehicles
ousted the song of birds
my lungs now, frantically looking
for fresh air!
(246 characters)

From Anurag at Jagahdilmein:
The Hiding Hole
The sewer was safe now, there were no more rats left there. But THEY didn’t know that, and so this was the safest place for him.
He opened the manhole cover, and got in.
Then, he started playing his pipe again, and as the kids followed him underground meekly, he shut the cover.
278 characters.

From Deb at Twenty Four:
He had set his chair on the sidewalk and waiting,
His patience was renown.
He watched as they passed by,
Consumed by thoughts of their own.
He hadn’t expected a long wait,
And his wasn’t disappointed.
She tripped and fell on the eve of the first day,
He filed the lawsuit when appointed.
(280 characters)

From Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs
The Secret Cult
After stepping on the asphalt, the hitchhiker quickly combed through the deserted area and paced down the sidewalk. On reaching the spot, he checked the contents in his satchel-vials of blood, a human skull, and some ancient manuscripts.
“Hail Satan!” A voice cried from the sewer
279 Characters

From Amritha at Igniting Hope:
Inside the Tunnel
“Food reserves are adequate. There is a connection between these tunnels in case of emergency”, boomed the army chief as the rat army was ready for war. A deaf rat got caught in the enemy’s trap in lure of cheese.
“Oh I cannot move on without my grandfather”, rued little Stuart.
280 characters

From Jan at Strange Goings On in the Shed:
GPS
What do you mean the GPS gave the wrong directions!
Look, those are the co-ordinates.
We’re in a sewer, and something’s touching my tentacles.
Just be thankful we didn’t go into a black hole.
We did. You should have checked the map beforehand.
There was no need.
Are we there yet?
No!
(277 characters)


Good ones this week everyone. As always, thank you so much for taking the time to tweet a tale. We are at week 99! Can you believe it? I surely can’t. That is a lot of tweeting…and a lot of tales told. Though I wouldn’t even presume to assume that, even combined, our tales could ever rival the twittering tales that come from a certain reality star gone political who shall remain nameless! haha!

I headed back to pixabay for this week’s photo by Conquero. It could be a dream or a nightmare. Or it could be a tale about a horse. You decide. I’ll see you at the roundup…yeehaw!


Twittering Tale #99 – 28 August 2018

 

horses-1759214_1280

Prompt photo by Conquero at Pixabay.com

 

It was 8.3 on the Richter scale. The town had never experienced an earthquake. Fracking had rendered the bedrock unstable. Aftershocks sent herds of wild horses and other animals through the center of town. The worst was yet to come. No one would live to tell, when the dam broke.

~kat

(280 Characters)


Heatwave – A Three Line Tale

tltweek132

photo by Khürt Williams via Unsplash

After days of sweltering heat, even the seashore was little relief to beach-goers.

Donna fanned herself under the shade of an umbrella, rolling a cool water bottle against the back of her neck, her toes digging deep through hot sand to the cool, damp packed base below.

She started seeing double, the world fading, as she realized, too late, that she had lingered too long.

~kat

For Three Line Tales Challenge.https://only100words.xyz/2018/08/09/three-line-tales-week-132/


Travel – A Six Word Story

Are we there yet?

Not yet.

~kat

A Six Word Story for this week’s Six Word Story Challenge hosted by Kirst Writes this week, and Wonderwall.