Six on the Sixth – April
Not content with trying to cram a whole story into 100 words, I’ve decided to have a go at Adam Ickes’ “Six on the Sixth” prompt. The idea is to write between one and ten six word stories. Adam provides prompt words, which we don’t need to use – it’s all quite flexible really.
It’s six words on the sixth of the month – and it’s the twelfth today! Will the madness never end? If it’s the twelfth, do I get twelve words? Just checking… no, apparently I don’t.
There is a link-up so you can read all the other contributions – just click on the little blue froggy below. It’s amazing what people manage to fit into just six words!
For my first go I’ve decided to use each of the six prompt words as themes for my stories. Here goes!
Weather
Picnic’s promise stolen by Heaven’s tears.
Fire
Blindfold damp with tears. “Ready, aim…”
Pain
A careless step. Toe meets wall.
Pleasure
Chocolate, strawberry and vanilla (with sprinkles).
Ink
Head to toe, the tattooed man.
Purple
Blue and red – a winning combination!
New Flesh
It’s Friday and that means it’s time for Friday Fictioneers!
The goal is to write approximately 100 words, inspired by a photo which this week has been contributed by DLovering. Our host as always is Rochelle.
You can read all the other stories for this week by clicking on the little blue froggy. Here he is!
I’ve edited this a gazillion times and I’m still not entirely happy (I need about 30 more words!), but here it is anyway.
What with all this stuff at work I’m way behind with my reading but I promise I will try to catch up!
Copyright DLovering
The festival was over. For Manuel it had been most profitable. Wallets, assorted watches, rings… one ring caught his attention. It looked old. Really old. There was an inscription, written in a script he had never seen before.
He’d taken it from an old, gaunt man whose skin had felt like paper, and so cold – wrong somehow – as Manuel had crushed the life from him.
He put the ring on, suppressing a shudder as it seemed to melt into his flesh.
Far away, Galchallon, Lord of the Dark, smiled. New flesh to do his bidding. A new soul upon which to feast.
Yes, I know, I went with yet another demonic possession. Weird, huh? What’s going on in this head of mine?
Sharing My World Week 13
It’s time once again to Share My World! The questions have been posed by Cee over at her photography blog. I don’t have a lot of time, I’m off to work soon to start the “long weekend of work” so I’m writing this now in case I don’t have any more free time until next week.
Do you believe in extraterrestrials or life on other planets?
Of course there are other thingies and whatnots out there. Have you not seen the TV? I was watching an excellent documentary the other day, it was called “Star Trek” I think, and they had lots of pictures of extraterrestrials. Here’s one (copyright probably CBS/Paramount).
Not human, as shown in the documentary “Star Trek”
What type of pet or pets do you not want to have?
I wouldn’t want a duck-billed platypus as a pet. I would think that they’d be quite hard to take care of!
High-maintenance pet.
(Picture from State of the Environment, Tasmania website, credited to Dave Watts).
If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
I’d be bluey-purple. I like that range of colours. Or alternatively I’d be white, because no-one would use those much and I’d exist a long time.
What type of transportation would you be? Why?
Transportation? I’d don’t really fancy dragging people from place to place. If I had to be a mode of transportation, maybe a little boat, cutting through the waves in the sunshine. That might be nice. Except I wouldn’t know if it were nice or not, because I’d be a boat, and boats aren’t aware of such things.
From superyachts.com, for sale now at only £6.5m. I’ll take two!
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
Oh dear, this tricky question again. I’m grateful I’m still alive and kicking. I’m looking forward to the hopefully successful completion of this weekend’s big project at work.
See you next time when I will be “sharing my world” once again!
Lord of the Stage
It’s Friday Fictioneers time again, hosted as always by Rochelle. This week’s photo has been contributed by Kent Bonham.
I’m having to work all weekend, late nights and early mornings, so I’m slipping this in quickly before starting. I’ll try to read as many of the other contributions (which can be found by clicking on the little blue froggy below) as possible but I don’t know how much time I will have.
Copyright Kent Bonham
Harry stood in the empty theatre, staring at the stage light. Everyone else had long since gone, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the lamp. It seemed to be staring back at him through slit eyes, laughing at him through gaping maw.
So entranced was he that he barely felt the knife which slid into his back, neatly severing his spine. An arm slipped around him as his legs gave way, easing him to the ground.
“I dedicate this life to you, my Lord Calitrax,” whispered his killer.
The lamp seemed to glow red before fading away to darkness.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Street Life
Here are some photos for this week’s photo challenge, which asks us to show some aspect of street life. I usually find old photos which are relevant to the prompt, but I was in town this morning and took these specially for the occasion!
Every Saturday there is a little market in my local city of Truro. There is locally-caught fish, meats, flowers, crafts and even an olive stall! I was going to buy flowers for Mother’s Day tomorrow but I ended up buying them in the supermarket instead.
A teeming metropolis of twenty thousand or so people, Truro is the only city in Cornwall. Today was cold and raining 😦 . These were taken at around 9 am this morning using my phone.
Sharing My World Week 12
It’s time once again in draliman-land to Share My World, courtesy of Cee at Cee’s photography blog! This is a chance for bloggers to get to know each other a little bit better by answering some questions.
Here is the badge.
And here are the questions.
What is your most favourite smell/scent?
That’s a tricky one. I like the smell of freshly-mown grass (I borrowed that from someone else, but I do). I also like the smell of bacon cooking.
Mmm, bacon.
Here’s a picture of my tea the other day, some of which I bought in the monthly village market.
Bacon for my tea. Mmm, bacon.
That brown stuff is Worcester Sauce. Mmm, Worcester Sauce. And bacon.
Mmm, bacon.
I rate that tea at three out of five heart attacks. On the other hand I eat maybe one fried egg a year (the cooker in my rented place was rubbish) so I don’t feel too guilty.
How do you write: computer, longhand or other?
Other? What would that be then? I use the Force to conjure the words into the ether, there to reside until I need them again.
Actually, I tried that once but it didn’t work out. I could never find the words again. Everywhere I looked someone was waving his hand and saying “These are not the words you’re looking for.”
Ha ha. Ah haha.
I write everything on my computer. I write posts like this straight into WordPress and I write all stories in Word and then paste them in. My handwriting is not the best. Sometimes I come back to something I wrote ages ago and I can’t even tell what I wrote.
Your favourite blog post that you have written? (add link)
Oh dear, how can I choose? I can’t so I’m going to shamelessly do three. A kiddie’s one, a little story and one with a sort of moral (though it may not be obvious).
Spider Army (short kiddie poem with DraliDoodles)
Baptism of Fire (short story)
Until the End of Time (mock diary – be careful what you wish for)
What’s one of your favourite books from childhood?
Oh boy, I have no idea. My childhood was soooo long ago and I read so many books that I can’t remember. Just little flashes. I remember a lot of the books I read at school, but we had to analyse them to death so I didn’t really enjoy them.
It would probably have been sci-fi or fantasy, like The Hobbit. Okay, we’ll go with The Hobbit.
Here is a picture I just took of my copy of The Hobbit. Professional photographer that I am, it features a flash reflection and it’s on its side. But… Hobbits!
Yay, Hobbits!
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
Last week happened. I’m grateful nothing bad happened. Next week there’s some big stuff going on at work which I can’t afford to mess up, culminating in a weekend of doing the bulk of the tricky stuff, so I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to that.
I guess I’m just fundamentally an ungrateful person 😦 .
And on that bombshell… see you again next week!
Design Flaw
It’s Wednesday. That means it’s time for Friday Fictioneers! Which was posted on Tuesday.
I’m confused 😦
Never mind. I have written my little story. I’ve gone all dialogue-y this week. I hope it’s not too confusing who is speaking, it’s tricky to do three people without any “he said, she said”.
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the talented Rochelle and the idea is to write approximately 100 words in response to a photo, which this week has been contributed by John Nixon. Thanks, John Nixon!
Have a read of all the other submissions for this week by clicking on the little blue froggy below.
Copyright John Nixon
“Wow, these twigs look huge! Like a forest! Your miniaturisation device worked, Professor.”
“Indeed yes, Major. A triumph!”
“So, how do we de-miniaturise? Is that the correct term, Professor? De-miniaturise?”
“Indeed it is. I simply reverse the polarity of the emitter.”
“The emitter? The emitter way up there? Using that absolutely massive screwdriver?”
“Mmm, yes. In my line of work we call that a ‘design flaw’.”
“In our line of work we call that a monumental fu…”
“Secure that shit, Private!”
“Sorry, Sir.”
“So what do we do now? Yes, Private?”
“I suggest we run, Sir. That cat is coming back.”
Sharing My World Week 11
I can’t believe a whole week has gone by already, and it’s time once again for me to Share My World, part of Cee’s Share Your World feature.
Here’s the badge, which I must remember to pop on my sidebar.
If you were an ice cream cone how many scoops and flavours would you be and why?
Mmm, ice cream. What to choose, what to choose? I think we’ll start with cool mint choc chip. Add to that a bit of plain old creamy vanilla and add in a bit raspberry and I think we have the perfect cone.
Unless the raspberry clashes with the mint choc chip, in which case it’ll be gross.
Are you left or right handed?
I’m right-handed. Very right-handed. I can count on the fingers of one hand the things I can do with my left hand. I’m counting those things on the fingers of my right hand as my left hand is not up to the job.
Before making a phone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say?
I rehearse to the point that I have an idea what I want to say, and I decide up-front my opening line. A bit like when I’m giving a talk – have an idea, an outline, and know how you’re going to open and the rest will flow naturally.
I hate making phone calls. “Dread” might be a better word. I put them off as long as possible, so you can imagine what the past few months have been like, buying a house. Calls to the solicitor, estate agent, changing my address with a gazillion people. It’s never-ending!
How many rings before you answer the phone?
I actually stopped answering the land line phone ages ago. I was getting multiple junk calls a day, until I registered with the Telephone Preference Service, and then they largely stopped. My mum uses a code – a certain number of rings, hang up, then she rings again so I know it’s her.
As for my mobile, I’ll answer it as soon as I fumble it out of my pocket. Sometimes I accidentally answer it while it’s in my pocket.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful that in the three days I took off from work last week I actually got a lot done, rather than just vegging out like usual. I bought and constructed some bookcases, and they are actually really good, sturdy things. Unbelievable considering they only cost £22.99 from a warehouse chain store – I’m very impressed. Here’s a picture of one I put in my bedroom.
Finally “the gang” has found a new home!
I even registered with the local doctor! I needed antibiotics for my eye, which I had to pay for. £7.85, if you can believe that. It’s gone up since my last prescription back in the 90s. As a new patient the nurse did a full work-up including a blood test and now they want to monitor my blood pressure. I tried to tell her that it’s been “borderline danger level” for years and coming back to have it taken again in 4 weeks isn’t going to make any difference, but she wasn’t for swaying 😦 .
In the week coming up I’m looking forward to – nothing in particular. Let’s just get through it in one piece, shall we?
That’s me for this week. Tune in again next week, when I will be Sharing My World once again!
Time to Move Out
It’s time for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by the lovely and talented Rochelle. The idea is to write approximately 100 words in response to a photo prompt. And 100 words is not a lot, let me tell you 🙂
This week’s photo is of a staircase in an old building, and was supplied by Rochelle herself! You can read all the stories submitted for this week’s prompt by clicking on the little blue froggy.
Copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Harold wheezed, out of breath, as he reached his apartment block. A sharp sound – crack! crack! emanated from a nearby alley as he unlocked the front door.
“Damn gangbangers!” he muttered as he stepped over the semi-conscious junkie in the doorway and went inside. Fifty years ago this had been a nice, quiet neighbourhood.
As he approached the stairs he heard a scream and a body crashed down, bouncing off the grill lining the stairwell. Harold took a quick look. That pusher from next door.
He pulled out his phone and called his daughter.
“Honey, is that room still going spare?”
Storybook Corner – Pulse
Here is my submission for February’s Storybook Corner. This is a 300-500 word photo prompt hosted by talented fiction writer Adam Ickes. Here’s the cool logo.
Why not give this a go yourselves – you still have a couple of hours left for February! The word limit gives a little more scope than many of the photo prompts out there. You can read all the submissions by clicking on the little blue froggy below.
Click for a random post!
Woohoo!
I totally didn't win!
Share Your World
Friday Fictioneers
draliman on life 