Tag Archives: twittering tales

October 23, 2018

Twittering Tales #107 – 23 October 2018

By Kat Myrman

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 #106 – The Roundup
img_3147

Starting us off…
The Great Christmas War
“This is the Christmas War exhibit,” droned the tour guide.
“What’s a Christmas?” asked a wide-eyed boy.
“Well,” the tour guide winked, “50 years ago, Christmas was banned because it drove people nuts! Filled ‘em with greed, hate, envy, rage!”
“Sounds scary!”
“It was buddy. It was.”
~kat
280 Characters

By Reena at ReInventions:
Diversity and Inclusion
“I asked you to find the missing arm, not replace the upper body.”
“It was faster.”
“But the outfits are not designed to accommodate male breasts. And what’s it with that neckpiece? Where does it originally belong?”
“Holy fish… that cap?”
“This is retail, not a diversity challenge.”
(280 characters)

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
I had hoped to make it until this Christmas. But my battery started draining too quickly and my human decided to trade me in for the latest model, which was just released a few weeks ago. I’ve been returned to this warehouse to be decommissioned and harvested for spare parts.
(276 characters)By Teresa at The Haunted Wordsmith:
At the End of the Day
All his friends were there. They would always be there. Watching. Forever watching. They watched as he fell into a pit of despair. They watched as he celebrated years in a single day. They watched as he plunged the knife deep into his chest, and when he took his last breath.
275-characterBy The Dark Netizen:
Party
I was excited.
It was the first time that I had been invited to a house party. It was being hosted by this group of the coolest people in college. I had loads of booze, and finally passed out.
When I came to, the house party was still on.
Just that now, I was inside the dollhouse.
Character Count: 280By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian:
The Tomb of our Ancestors
Perfect features and permanent grins gazed at him blankly as he shone his torch into the sealed room.
It had been closed for a hundred years, since the last time artificial intelligent beings had tried to take control.
This time we’d learned from our mistakes. The humans had not.
[279 characters]By Ramya at And Miles to Go Before I Sleep:
A Glimpse
I heard that she is a beautiful maiden..
I longed to meet her and one day, I did.
Her house was full of stone mannequins.
Some had their hand detached, some had emptiness in their eyes..
And I also joined her collection.
Wish I hadn’t longed for a glimpse of Medusa..
Character Count – 262By Hayley at The Story Files:
Hallomas
A war was going on in the office between the Halloween lovers and the Christmas lovers. All the decorations kept getting switched around until one day, everyone around at work and saw that someone who had clearly had enough of the war had created a new combined holiday; Hallomas.By Deb at Twenty Four:
Nadia walked slowly around the piece, considering it from every angle and as she did so, her brow furrowed.
Her girlfriend had been quite insistent and though she had waved her comments aside, now that she looked, there was no denying it.
The resemblance to her ex was uncanny.
(275 characters)By Anurag at Jagahdilmein:
Rave Party
“I saw these people having a good time, so I asked them for a glass of eggnog, Officer. The next thing I knew, I woke up when your boot hit my backside. I was missing an arm, a kidney, and…OMG, my beard.”
“Sir, can you please tell me your name?”
“Sant…urm…just Nick, Officer.”
280 characters.By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The Party
She hated the Christmas party.
They said it was good for staff morale and all that crap!
She hated it!
All that posing. The bling. Yuk!
Then the boss started to come on to her. She lost it.
Smack!!! Right on the nose. It looked broken.
He was a bully, and pretty ‘armless.
What a dummy!
(280 characters)By the Universalunionist:
He coulda had class. He coulda been somebody. He coulda been a contender. . Instead he’s dumped. The AI chips removed, disarmed, left with the nearly made it rejects and spares, a decorated mannequin when he coulda been a man he coulda been somebody.By Hélène at Willow Poetry:
Arm in Transit
Humans are celebrating in the store.
We have it better in here, the girls are naked.
It’s not as much fun with one arm though.
Some girl didn’t have enough and kept my hand.
But it was attached to my arm. She still has it.
I got some weed now and feel no pain. Can you tell?
275 charactersBy Von Smith:
Party
The party rivaled any Brad had attended. The drinks, food, music, and company seduced him; it felt like Mardi Gras, Christmas and Carnival happened today. Brad mistook the witch’s grin for revelry; instead, it was devilry as she stripped them all of humanhood.Thanks to everyone who joined the challenge this week. You all did a splendid job! You are no dummies…that’s for sure! hee hee! With the full moon coming into view this week in close proximity to Uranus…(sorry, I couldn’t resist)…and Halloween just around the corner, I am offering up a trio (remember last year?) of Halloween/Harvest Scenes from Pixabay.com for you to consider. You can write a tale about one or all three…in 280 characters or less. Have fun. I’ll see you at the next roundup!

Twittering Tales #107 – 23 October 2018

Photo by Capri23auto at Pixabay.com

Photo by dlife88 at Pixabay.com

Photo by simonwijers at Pixabay.com

Every night she dreamed she was in an insane asylum surrounded by hundreds of ravens, cackling wildly. But it was the grounds that were most terrifying. There were people hiding behind trees everywhere.

“Don’t drink the pumpkin spice lattes,” they screamed.

It was horrible!

~kat
(276 Characters)

 

 

 

38 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Flash Fiction, Random Thoughts and Musings, Twitter Tales

October 16, 2018

Twittering Tales #106 – 16 October 2018

By Kat Myrman

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 #105 – The Roundup

img_3105 Photo by Matt Artz at Unsplash

Starting us off…
“I’m a moron,” Brad groaned.
“It’s all the rage!” she said. “You have a chance to get in on the ground floor.”
He’d spent his savings on the very first plein air writing kiosk. It became a favorite spot for texters and gamers.
“Cool sculpture,” they’d say, smart phones in hand.
~kat
278 Characters

By Martin at Martin Cororan:
You Maniacs
After years of churning out gibberish the apes finally typed the complete works of Shakespeare.
The boffins in their lab coats seemed very pleased with themselves.
Many moons later Charlton Heston rode along the beach and encountered a semi-submerged Statue of Liberty…
Bloody boffins!

By Hayley at The Story Files:
Working Air
It was a crazy idea, an office set up outside wouldn’t work! Mr.Cooper believed his team would be more productive without the ‘shackled desk’ atmosphere. It did improve things for awhile but then it rained and nobody wanted to work outside anymore.

By Reena at ReInventions:
Alas
Tickety-Tac ….. the fingers din’t stop rattling the keyboard, and dropping white sheets stained with stories on the sand.
But what were the stories?
The great drama unfolding on the horizon, of the meek winning battles….
Then?
They did not live long enough to witness it on Earth.
(276 characters)

By Willow at WillowDot21:
Nightmare
It was the same nightmare that he’d had for years. He’d arrive at work and not only had the office and carpark gone. In their place, among the weeds were five desks and five typewriters. He pinched himself on the arm as Dr Capaldy had suggested. But this time he didn’t wake up.
(280 Characters)

By The Dark Netizen:
TYPEWRITERS
A madman once read that monkeys typing on typewriters are bound to produce a novel. And so, he made monkeys type. Everyone mocked him. But, they were all proven wrong. The monkeys produced a masterpiece!
The madman stood triumphant, the typewriters stood as relics of his victory.
Character Count: 280

By Michael at Morpethroad:
In the house of lost story the keyboards sit idle, awaiting energetic fingers to restore them to life.
Each machine is overflowing with tales gallant and brave.
They sit idle ready to pour forth the next best seller.
A word escapes flops momentarily but gasps a lack of inspiration.
(279 characters)

By Deepa at Sync With Deep:
Eye Love You
for hours
we sat in silence
me and my typewriter
my heart was
his typewriter
and he typed
his love
through my eyes

By Ramya at And Miles to Go Before I Sleep:
Unwritten Fate
News headline read –
Want to change your fate? Then excellent opportunity for you!!!
Be the writer of your own destiny.
Write your own fairytale.*
Write the unwritten.
*Conditions apply – Fate once written cannot be changed back.
Character Count – 223

By Deb at Twenty Four:
With care Lola sprinkled the last grains of sand and then, finally satisfied, took a step back, it looked perfect.
“What is it for though? Old beat up typewriters in the desert?”
She scowled, tourists, they just didn’t comprehend artistic vision.
(247 characters)

By Anurag at Jagahdilmein:
The Writers Shall Inherit the Earth
“Are you sure these were the last of them?” I asked my General.
“Yes Sir,” he replied.
I sighed in relief. We’d managed to extract the last group of writers too.
Now we could safely go ahead with the invasion & annihilation of Planet Earth as per our plans.
258 characters.

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The Sand Fly Typing Pool
The experiment had been tried before with monkeys.
Now, working with sand flies, it was thought that, eventually, their landing on the row of keyboards must lead to a work worthy of Shakespeare.
What a pity Charlie, the office junior, had forgotten to load the platens with paper!
(279 characters)

By Jan at Strange Goings on in the Shed:
Ancestral Burial Grounds
The ancestral burial grounds were a place of pilgrimage
And reflection.
An echo of great literary undertaking
And beauty.
And now,
The ancestors lay shrouded in memories and silence,
For the age of typewriters was all but gone,
A distant memory in the minds of the ones that came after.
(280 characters

By the Universal Unionist:
You already know about the SAS but the existence of an even more secret elite force that fought in WWII has now been revealed by a blogger known only as “agent Kat”. The STS or Special Typewriter Service played a crucial role in undermining and interfering in NAZI signal traffic, I could tell you more but agent Kat has restricted me in revea…..

By the Indie She:
The keys on the typewriters rusty as no one touched them.
Relics of history,they were consigned to the arid plains of oblivion.
Epitome of grander times,when you ruled the keyboard.
Time has turned.
The travesty of our times that keys rule us ,more smaller and smarter.
(267 characters)

A late entry from week #103 by Soul Connection:
Prediction
Ur View On Dis?
May Be Ancestors Prediction On Future.
Mean?
Dey Wr More Intlgnt Den V R 2day.Till Date Almst Evry Prdctn Is True.May B Dis Is Smthng Imprtnt Dey Predicted Abt Future Tht Need Attention n Thts Y Its Dfclt To Decode As U Can C It Includes Almst Evrythng Frm D Univrse.

Well done everyone! I was surprised by all the monkeys (and sand fleas) that made their way into this week’s tales. I guess I’m a bit out of touch. But they were great. Very entertaining, some nostalgic, some that made me think.

This week’s odd photo is by Buzz Anderson at Unsplash. I hope you have fun with it. In 280 characters or less of course, and I’ll see you and next week’s roundup! Have a great week!

Twittering Tales #106 – 16 October 2018

Photo by Buzz Anderson at Unsplash.com

The Great Christmas War

“This is the Christmas War exhibit,” droned the tour guide.

“What’s a Christmas?” asked a wide-eyed boy.

“Well,” the tour guide winked, “50 years ago, Christmas was banned because it drove people nuts! Filled ‘em with greed, hate, envy, rage!”

“Sounds scary!”

“It was buddy. It was.”

~kat

280 Characters

29 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Flash Fiction, Random Thoughts and Musings, Twitter Tales

October 9, 2018

Twittering Tales #105 –  9 October 2018

By Kat Myrman

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 #104 – The Roundup

Before we move on I want to give a shout out to newcomer, Hrida who forgot to link her tale for the Shoe Tree Prompt. Visit her site for an interesting lesson on “shoefitis”.

Tired of painting on various canvases, walls and other inanimate things, I wanted something raw, something alive. Came across a dying tree and decided that it’d be my canvas this time. I randomly tossed shoes upon it, and named the art – Shoefiti.

~247 characters

Starting us off…
Dr. Willis’ decades-long quest for the mdju netjer, “words of the gods” had been rewarded with an amazing find. As he read the tablet’s message, he realized no one must know. Suddenly, a wind whipped up the sand burying him in a matter of minutes. He was right. No one would know.

280 Characters

By Martin at Martin Cororan:
Pyramid Scheme
Rameses had promised his favourite concubines that he wouldn’t bury them alive upon his demise, but apparently that had been a catacomb-sized lie.
‘Well that’s just great,’ wailed Hehet over his mummified corpse. ‘What now?’
Ngozi began to angrily carve at the stone walls. ‘Now we make shit up and screw with future historians.’

By The Dark Netizen:
Hieroglyphs
There it was, the hieroglyphs I had searched my entire life for.
I placed the torches down, and fished out my translation book, notepad, and a pencil from my bag. began noting the translation of the first line. I jumped up in joy. This was indeed it.
Here lies the recipe for beer!
Character Count: 280

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
At the Zoo
“What does it say?” the boy asked.
“It’s about how the ancient Egyptians built a zoo using crude tools,” the man said. “And all of the birds, animals, and snakes they kept at the zoo.”
“Wow,” the boy said, “really?”
“I don’t know, kid,” the man grinned. “I can’t read hieroglyphics.”
(280 characters)

By Willow at WillowDot21:
The Stone
Moses stormed out of Peter’s office. He was so angry! “I spent week’s writing those commandments. And now they are gone!”
Down on earth Azriel was happily playing in the sand waiting for the tide to turn? Satan had promised him a paddle if buried the stone. For Mr Carter to find.
(279 Characters)

By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian:
The Overlords
When it was translated, the stone caused uproar.
It said “We, the Overlords, leave you now to govern yourselves as you see fit. We will return in five thousand years. From the heavens we will come.”
This stone was dated to the time of the first dynasty, Five thousand years ago.
[276 characters]

By Reena at ReInventions:
Scripted
“From inky thumb impressions of the illiterate to biometrics … the world is round. This script may be old, but the images will convey what alphabets cannot. We can use this in digital devices for the unlettered.”
“Sure, I have already figured out how to dupe them of their money.”
(279 characters)

By Deepa at Sync with Deep:
Pastime
a few years before: “don’t scribble the wall. ”
now: Stop flooding my wall with your memes and jokes
writing on the wall has been my favorite pastime since long.

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
Those new contraceptive tablets were great.
The instructions were really clear.
I just had to make a sheath out of the intestine of a goat and stretch it over my organ, before ravishing all the handmaidens I desired.
I didn’t have an organ, or a piano, so I stretched it over my lyre!
(280 characters)

By Hélène at Willow Poetry:
Short Reign
It is said that the son of God will rise in the West. He will be given the name, Trump. He will be recognized by his distinguished orange hair. At the end of his reign, he will be remembered for his Pinocchio nose. His famous nose could stretch all the way to Rocket Man’s Land.
278 Characters

By Ramya at Miles to Go Before I Sleep:
Missing Link
Examining the tablet, the researcher concluded that the tablet depicts an actual event.
A good piece to the puzzle.
Could this be an elaborate hoax or the Missing link?
Character Count : 167

By Deb at Twenty Four:
She frowned as she studied the hieroglyphics.  This was getting beyond a joke, they couldn’t be serious but as she studied it, she knew that they were and she almost groaned aloud.
Write an essay praising our glorious and virtuous leader, Cleopatra.
As if.
(254 characters)

By Anurag at Jagahdilmein:
Apocalypse Now
Amidst falling debris, I quickly started the translation software on my computer.
The screen said- WHEN YOU LIFT THE TABLET, AN EARTHQUAKE SHALL DESTROY YOU UNLESS
I kept staring in despair at the frozen screen, which now said-MICROSOFT WINDOWS IS NOT RESPONDING. PLEASE WAIT.
276 characters.

By TheIndieShe:
The murals told the tales of distant past long gone .Men then fought and killed each other. All glory laid to dust.
The myriad figures stand alone.
But the story has not changed.
Men still keep on fighting and killing each other.
And the stony walls blood washed shine anew.
(272 characters)

By at Hrida at Inked Beliefs:
Cryptic Glyphs
Cooper had finally reached the end of the cave. Translating etchings, he realised that it was a doorway to something special. The glyphs of fishes, birds, men toiling and stars only meant a treasure deep under the river which would open, upon discovering only under the moonlight.
~ 280 characters

Thank you to everyone who participated this week.

Now on to this week’s fun photo by Matt Artz at Unsplash. You know I like to find interesting photos to challenge you. I hope you’ll have fun with this one! In 280 characters or less of course, and I’ll see you and next week’s roundup!

Twittering Tales #105 –  9 October 2018

Photo by Matt Artz at Unsplash

“I’m a moron,” Brad groaned.

“It’s all the rage!” she said. “You have a chance to get in on the ground floor.”

He’d spent his savings on the very first plein air writing kiosk. It became a favorite spot for texters and gamers.

“Cool sculpture,” they’d say, smart phones in hand.

~kat

278 Characters

36 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Flash Fiction, Random Thoughts and Musings, Twitter Tales

October 2, 2018

Twittering Tales #104 – 2 October 2018

By Kat Myrman

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 #103 – The Roundup

img_3008

Photo by PDPhotos at Pixabay.com

As promised, the story behind this photo from the Union Tribune:
Winds, weight of soggy namesakes do it in
By Tony Manolatos, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 9, 2008

BALBOA PARK – It was called the shoe tree, and it was one of San Diego’s strangest landmarks.

Hundreds of pairs of shoes – sneakers, high heels, Rollerblades, you name it – hung from its branches. For some reason, people tossed their shoes onto the massive tree, which graced hole No. 2 at Morley Field Disc Golf Course for about three decades.

Tourists – yes, tourists – would drive to Morley Field to get a peek.

Until Sunday.

Wicked winds knocked the old tree to the ground. It had died years ago, but it was never cut down because of its popularity.

Still, not everyone knew about the tree, one of 10 or so throughout Balboa Park lost to the winds.

Richard Amero, an unofficial park historian, said he’d never heard of the shoe tree. Others are mourning the loss.

“Oh yeah, it’s missed,” said Mitch Zunich, who works at the disc golf pro shop. “Everybody is pretty bummed out.”

Zunich and other park employees suspect all of the rain-soaked shoes did the tree in. They said that when the high winds swooped in, the wet shoes served as anchors, pulling the tree to the ground.
Yesterday morning, three workers used a chain saw to slice the tree into pieces. The shoes were loaded into two tractor beds – each about the size of a twin bed – and hauled to a nearby Dumpster. It took five trips to get rid of all the shoes.
Legend has it that the shoe tree started with a bet. The loser of the disc golf game had to toss his shoes into the branches.
By yesterday afternoon, all that was left of the shoe tree was a single branch and a 6-foot stump. It looked as if the stump had been pushed over; the base was still attached to its roots.
All of the shoes were gone, but there were two pairs of laces – one turquoise, the other white – strung around the branch. And what looked like a black handkerchief was actually a pair of Victoria Secret panties.
“Somehow that’s appropriate,” a nearby golfer remarked.
At some point last year, shoes started showing up on another tree. This one is on hole No. 11.
Now in Morley Field, disc golfers are waiting for the other shoe tree to drop.
Now on to our recap:
Starting us off:

The Shoe Tree
She lost her greening when lightning singed her, tip to root. But life still flickered in her core where tiny creatures nested and cicadas laid their eggs.
One day someone tossed his shoes over her bare limbs. More followed. She was useful again. Life has a way of surprising us. ~kat
279 Characters

By Reena at ReInventions:
Rituals
It is a ritual for budding sportsmen to tie a shoe on this tree. They believe it gives success.
What started as a way of documenting my son’s journey from childhood to youth has become a beacon of hope to so many. He became a legend for early success, before leaving us forever.

By The Dark Netizen:
Shoes
There it is, another pair up on you, my dear tree.
Please continue carrying the burden of my shoes for a little while longer. I promise it won’t be long now. These torn shoes are proof of my training and serve to remind me of the pains I have taken.
I will be a gold medalist soon!
Character Count: 280

By Michael at Morpethroad:
Money didn’t grow on trees but the old tree at the end of the road grew shoes.
Old one’s mum said as she pushed the pram past it each day.
“As if I’ve time to waste on getting up there for a pair of size nines,” she’d say telling us we only had one pair and to be grateful for that.
280 Characters

By Deepa at SyncWithDeep:
The First…
I am going to get you new shoes, dad said.
Running and toiling behind the entire family for 30 years, mom was all ready to set her foot for the first marathon run.
(163 characters)

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Taken Too Literally…
“What is that?” Franklin asked his son when he saw that the small tree in their backyard was covered with shoes draped over its bare branches.
“I made a present for you, Pop,” the boy said. “I heard you tell Mom the other day that you needed a new shoe tree. Well, there it is!”
(277 characters)

By Hayley at The Story Files:
Lost Shoes
It began as a simple thing after the ship wreak, one of the rescuers put the dead boy’s shoes in a tree. More followed and it became a way to keep count of the deaths. The tree was overburdened and it started to wither. It became a memorial; a memory for those lost.

By Willow at WillowDot21:
The Gift.
”What in my name is this.” The big man turned to St Peter who shrugged. “It’s quite a piece of art.” As they were admiring the tree Azriel, his arms full of trainers came into view!
Satan smiled,make him a shoe tree he had told Ariel. Azriel’s naivety, a gift that kept on giving.
(279 Characters)

By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian:
The Blood Price
The tree was a monument to a lost generation.
Each shoe represented a child who’d been shot dead at school.
The killings had to end but the tree would remain until Congress passed laws restricting access to guns.
It would likely remain a while until the blood price was paid.
[275 Characters]

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The tree had become quite a tourist attraction.
57 pairs of shoes in the branches.
114 uppers, 114 laces, 114 throats, 114 tongues, and 114 heels.
Beneath the tree there were only half that number of tongues, all belonging to the 57 bodies buried there!
Please pray for their souls!
(279 characters)

By Deepika at DeepikasRamblings:
A crowd gathered at the dilapidated hut in the village. Worried, they were all busy discussing about the otherwise barren tree which had grown “shoes”.
The villagers decided to offer one of their shoe to the “shoe tree” as an oblation, lest some tragedy befell on them..
269 characters

By Amritha at Igniting Hope:
POI (Point of Interest)
“People paid 20$ just to take pictures of an unusual sight – a shoe tree. Graduate students would hang their shoes in that tree in celebration on their final day. The truth though remains a mystery”, our guide remarked.
“Whoever started this custom, he is clever!”, I pondered.
(277 characters)

By Deb at Twenty Four:
In Australia the shoe tree was a common sight so their friends were confused that they kept returning to this one, to take photos and comment on the additions but the smile they shared suggested there was a secret.
No one knew they had thrown up the first pair on their honeymoon.
(279 characters)

By The IndieShe:
The Wishing Tree was once lush and green.
Tiny birds crooned and ambled on its wavy branches.
Their nests hung in myriad shapes.
A microcosm of life!
But man made the world his own and life a travesty!
The leaves withered and birds left.
Now costly shoes hung on the dried branches.

By Jan at Strange Goings on in the Shed:
Long John Silver’s Revenge
See that tree. Every shoe’s been pinched from his shop. He can see it from his window, but can’t do anything about it. The damned cur!
The homicidal cobbler finally met his nemesis. He took my leg, and I took his business, down, down, into the Abyss.
John! Time for your medication.
(280 characters)

By Anurag at Jagahdilmein:
Shoes that Touch the Sky (Three Stories for the Price of One)
Story 1
“How the hell did THAT happen?”
“Well, Coach, the athletes said that we basketball players are no more than overgrown monkeys, so we broke into their locker room last night, and used their shoes instead of a ball for practice…on a tree. That’s where monkeys live, right?”
272 characters.
Story 2
My father taught me that we should always use the enemy’s weapon against him.
So when those runners threw a shoe at us, they should have known better than to dry their newly-washed shoes in the open.
NOW let’s see who’s the monkey?
231 characters.
Story 3
“Mom, I swear ’tis not my fault. I did watcha told me to do.”
“Then how come this tree is laden with shoes ‘stead of fruit, Jack?”
“I did throw away those beans, but how was I ‘sposed to know that they would fall on the terrace where those athletes were drying their shoes?”
272 characters.

By Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
Toss for a Cause
Thanks to the social media, what started as a local event,  gained momentum to become one of the most sought after annual philanthropic meet, christened “Walk with dignity”. The new pair of shoes and the money raised, was donated to the needy, of the remote interior villages.
Letter count : 279

By Lorraine at Lorraine’s Frilly Freudian Slip:
Shoe Tree Nation
Shoe Tree was the trending store and internet influencer.
Life-sized reproductions dangled the designer wares from limb-like “branches”; customers tree-climbed to find their own style and size.
Footwear concierges available to provide a leg up.
Viral video moments guaranteed.
(character count: 264)

By Soul Connection:
Creativity
“So its easy to tackle cmptitve world wd creativity.Here are shoes,Shw ur creatvty”
He tk few shoes,mobile stair wd him n gne ot,tied shoes in pairs n hangd on tree
Owner ws watchng,Publc too ws curious
He-“Loved?Select here n buy thr”
Pointing 2wrds Showrm
Ownr-“Congrats,U R Selcted”

By D. Avery at ShiftNShake:
Those shoes up there?
I thought you knew.
Unshod they took to the air
bare footed, brave things-
spread their wings
took off and flew!
(127 characters)

By Universal Unionist:
Arbor calceus; grows in abundance on the Russian Steppes. Notable variations of the species developed in Holland, Abor clogus nederlandia, and in China, the often much-criticised miniature or dwarf variation, Abor parva pedess.

By Indhu at Always:
Partner in Crime
“Tree of shoes” takes another life! read the headline of the local daily. This is the 36thmysterious murder and the victim’s shoes were on the tree.
The corner news read that the crimes in the town has gone down recently.
He stood in front of her and thanked his partner in crime.
<279 characters>

Well done everyone! This week we have an ancient etching, photo by fotoerich at Pixabay.com. Tell me the story of this ancient artifact…how it came to be, where it ended up, or, have a bit of fun with it, and translate a line or two based on the glyphs depicted. You have 280 characters to tell your tale. I’ll see you at next week’s roundup!

Twittering Tales #104 – 2 October 2018

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Photo by fotoerich at Pixabay.com

Dr. Willis’ decades-long quest for the mdju netjer, “words of the gods” had been rewarded with an amazing find. As he read the tablet’s message, he realized no one must know. Suddenly, a wind whipped up the sand burying him in a matter of minutes. He was right. No one would know.

~kat

42 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Flash Fiction, Twitter Tales

September 18, 2018

Twittering Tales #102 – Broken Barbies – 18 September 2018

By Kat Myrman

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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.

Twitterting Tales #101 – The Roundup

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Starting us off:

The Best Kind of People
“They were the nicest people. Kept to themselves. Friendly enough. What do you suppose happened over there officer?”
“Why don’t you tell me ma’am.”
“Oh I have no idea. I could tell you stories now. But I don’t want to keep you.”
“Go ahead ma’am. I’ve got all night.”
~kat
(269 Characters)

By Reena at ReInventions:
“Is there a pattern to the arrangement of titles?”
“That is my challenge tonight. Rearrange titles to let new stories emerge. They are waiting inside me for long, outside the pages of authors’ perspectives.”
“That’s just partial freedom. Why does one need prompts or challenges?”
(277 words)

By Deepa at Sync With Deep:
My Companion
‘You are going to miss out on a beautiful nature and life if you don’t travel,’ Ian said.
I smiled at him as I recollected the places I visited through my companion – my books.
(176 characters)

By Ron at Read4Fun:
Dad knew I was at the library and would be home by six. Ever since the neighborhood attacks, he has been a worry wart. I should have known he would come to pick me up. I shouldn’t have worn this shirt. Maybe he won’t see me before I get to the bathroom and wash off the tattoo.
<277 characters>

The Books
“So many books? You must love reading.”
Not really.
“Then why borrow so many?”
They are for my best friend.
“Oh! She loves reading?”
No. She can’t read.
“Ah! You teaching her?”
Nope. Reading to her.
“Young man, if you could teach her, that would help her more.”
I can’t. She’s blind….
Character Count: 278

By Amritha at Igniting Hope:
Maggie and Me
She went around the library and collected as many books as she could.
“Did you find the book you were looking for?”
“No”, she replied in negation.
“What next?”, I asked
Its time to write my own book, she announced.
A ‘best-selling author’ in making, I thought to myself!
(267 characters)

By Schwetha at Face the Music:
The Wonder
The indigenous men believed Mowgli was a cursed child. Despite being raised in the jungle-sleeping under the trees, swimming with the whales and climbing mountains, he yearned for an urban life. The city-bred humans were not considered to be the best kind of people on the move.

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
They’re Books
“Books,” he said. “At least two dozen. A variety. Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, self-help, inspirational, male authors, female authors.”
“Okay,” she said. “May I ask what they’re for?”
“What do you think they’re for, young lady? They’re books. You read them.”
(276 characters)

By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian:
The Weight of Knowledge
It was clear that they were dealing with a particularly sick minded killer.
To crush a librarian to death under a pile of her own books was horrific.
It would have been a kinder, quicker death if they’d used more hardbacks and fewer paperbacks.
[242 characters]

By Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
Books – My World
Friends envied my collection of books which ran into thousands. Innumerable authors writing across various genres kept me busy all day long.
Books became my world since that fateful accident, that left me confined to bed for life. Maybe I was the Cursed child!
Letter count : 262

By Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs:
A New Name
I am afraid we can’t publish it under your real name.
Why?
Books by female authors in this genre rarely sell.
Joanne was a single parent, struggling to support her child. All she ever wanted was to publish her book
She choked back her tears and scribbled down a pen name-J K Rowling

By Willow at WillowDot21:
The snow had fallen for days now. The whole town was cut off. Those stuck in the library were warm and well entertained. Micheal was helping Gabriel search for his talc and Azriel. St Peter had told the Big Man it was a Code White. Satan was warming himself by the fire, happy.
(277 Characters)

By Hayley at The Story Files:
Stocking Up
September payday arrived, Kim had worked overtime to have enough money for her shopping spree. At the till, she watched the cashier cashing up everything.
‘That’s a lot of books!’ the cashier said, counting eighteen total.
‘It’s my winter stock pile,’ Kim replied, grinning.

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
I could always recognise her by the tattoo on her arm, a beautiful rose, and by her shiny black hair.
I always greeted her with a cheery “hello”.
I longed to see her face, but she always seemed to hide behind a pile of books.
I determined to peek behind those books.
I wish I hadn’t!
(279 characters)

By Deb at Twenty Four:
Few could comprehend it, fewer knew the truth.
She had strolled into the library and borrowed the maximum number of books allowed and in the dark of the night she had set them alight. Tears staining her face.
Was it a protest? A cry for help? A plea for justice?
No one knew.
(275 characters)

By Anurag at jagahdilmein:
The Disappointment
Harry saw the lone dog-eared book in his son’s hands, and said in a disappointed tone, “Albus, look at yourself, and look at Hermione & Ron’s daughter, Rose. She’s got such a huge stack of books from the library. Why can’t you learn from her and try stealing a few more books?”
277 characters.

By the Universal Unionist:
You ordered pizzas, I bought you books. You wanted spicy, fruity, cheesy, something to share, something hot, it’s all in this lot. You can keep them in the fridge, the oven or the pot, you’ll get a bit hungry, but your soul and your mind, will be nourished, a lot.

By hridrayanka at Incandescent Spirit:
Reader
A girl of eight sits next to me in the library that I visit every fortnight.
Yesterday, she whispered “What do you do, sitting idle?”
I said, “I read people and try finding their stories, by the books they read.”
“And what do you do sitting next to me all day?”
“I read you.”
~279 characters

By Indhu at Always:
Reminiscence
Raj helped her unload the books on the table. She looked at him and smiled. It was a mixture of blush and pride.
They chose each other’s favorite and slipped into different worlds.
“Happy 25th!” their son’s message flashed on phone.
“Re-living our first date night 😉” replied Raj.
<277 characters>

By Kalpana at Gemini in the Sky:
Books
“why are you hiding behind the books?”
“I have no face , no identity.”
“Why?”
” I dive into the pages, swim with the words and get into the skin of the characters. I lose myself”
“But you have to surface to reality.”
“That’s the toughest part. I loathe it.”
(252 characters)

Thank you to everyone who participated last week. I was impressed by the different takes on the prompt. Clearly we all have a love of words and books. Be sure to visit your fellow twitterers.

I almost decided to scratch the photo below. I had selected it before I prepared the links to your tales from last week. And I wondered as I revisited it…is this photo too weird? It is weird. And maybe a bit disturbing. So, against my own trepidation, I am going for it. No telling what stories you all may come up with. That’s the best part. The anticipation and the excitement I feel as I click on your link and read what you’ve written. It makes my week. Really. So go wild with it. Have fun. And I’ll see you at the Roundup! 🙂

Twittering Tales #102 – Broken Barbies – 18 September 2018

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Photo by Skitterphotos at Pexels.com

Smart Girls

“This is exactly how I found them Doctor. I don’t know what to think! Should I be worried that my sweet daughter has mangled her Barbie dolls?”
“Have you asked her?”
“I did. She told me she hated Barbie. Who hates Barbie?”
“Smart little girls, Mrs. Jones. I hope you’re listening.”

~kat

(278 Characters)

42 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Flash Fiction, Random Thoughts and Musings, Twitter Tales