30 Days of Flash Fiction, Round 2: The Prompts and the Challenge

After ravenswept‘s meme and with permission, kc_obrien and I present the second 30 days meme.

The rules, such as they are:
Write something of approximately 250 words, +/- 50 words, to each prompt.
Go wild with genres (ex; prompt 25 is “noir” but it’s meant as more a mood/flavor).
Have fun.
If, like some people I know (*cough* Clare *cough*), you don’t like flash fiction, feel free to write 30 parts of a very strange 7500-word short story.

As an added bonus! Prize! If you complete the 30 prompts by September 16, 2011, and I know you’re doing this meme, I will enter your name into a random drawing for a $10 Barnes&Nobel or Amazon.com gift card.

Here is your month of prompts:

1) the story starts with the words “It’s going down.”
2) write a scene that takes place in a train station
3) the story must involve a goblet and a set of three [somethings]
4) prompt: one for the road
5) write a story using an imaginary color
6) write the pitch for a new Final Fantasy styled RPG
7) prompt: frigid
8) write a scene in the middle of a novel called “The Long, Dirty Afterwards.”
9) prompt: mourning dead gods
10) write a story set in three different time periods
11) Write a movie trailer style trailer for a story, existing or not-yet-written
12) prompt: sweet iced tea
13) re-write a story that everyone knows
14) write a vanilla story dealing with kinky subject matter
15) prompt: ascension
16) write a scene that takes place at the end of a long road trip
17) write an uncomfortable story
18) prompt: a step too far
19) write a story in which something goes BOOM
20) Write the end of the story “The Purple Bag.”
21) Roll a d20 twice (Random.Org). Combine the themes of the two previous stories for those numbers
22) prompt: knight in shining armor
23) write a scene that takes place in a place that is war-torn
24) prompt: founding fathers
25) write a story set in a library
26) prompt: elemental
27) write a story using only one period. Bonus: write the story using only one /ending punctuation at all.
28) write a story set in a laundromat
29) (from Lilifluff) Randomly pick a number between 1 and 28 (Random.Org) . Re-write that prompt as a Spaghetti Western or Melodrama
30) the story ends with the words “coming up.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/75523.html. You can comment here or there.

Mighty Sword – from the_vulture’s prompt – Old!Reiassan

Jul14

From the_vulture‘s prompt – “An intelligent and mighty enchanted sword… that’s afraid of the dark.”

Old!Reiassan (pre-Rin and Girey by at least a war). I’ve written half a short story involving Lyuda and never posted it.

Cardon had gotten the sword for her. In retrospect, she should have suspected something right away, but he generally made sure his fighters were well-equipped; the business rode on their well-being and capability to finish missions.

And on the surface, it was a nice sword. It was etched all over in enchantments, some of them so old neither Lyuda nor her scholar friends could read the language. It held an edge no matter what, cut through just about anything, and never got too heavy. Attuned to her through a ritual that, for síra-flingers and priests, was blessedly short, it would never cut her, although it had once cut her greave in half when she’d misjudged a swing. On a mission, it was a perfect sword.

Until the first nightfall she camped in the [Dark] Forest Valley, and the sword, sheathed at her side, began talking to her.

Complaining, really. It sounded like an old soldier whose teeth had gone, querulous. At first, she thought someone was playing a trick on her, a village kid or a vagabond.

“A forest? Really? Who camps in a forest? Barely a ground cloth and a blanket to your name – what sort of mercenary are you?”

She’d been on the road for two weeks, and her riding goat and remount weren’t much conversation. If someone in the woods wanted to talk to her, she’d talk back.

“A sensible one. The nearest inn is another four hours’ ride away.”

“And what kind of country doesn’t have inns on the road, I ask you that?” The voice had a strange drawl to it, when you got over the whine.

“And who’s asking?” She couldn’t place the accent; it sounded almost Bitrani, but old-fashioned.

“I am. Adsplodea. Your sword, you uncivilized lout.”

“My sword.” She was less surprised than she perhaps should have been; Cardon had gotten the thing for her. “Okay. So what’s wrong with the woods? It’s a clear night, beautiful, warm…”

“Dark.” The weapon nearly hissed it. “It’s dark in here, lout. I can’t stand the dark.”

Lyuda swallowed a laugh. She needed this sword, damnit. “Come share the fire with me, Adsplodea. There’s plenty of light by its warmth.” She unsheathed the weapon and lay it over her knees; the bladed shimmered, and sighed. Yep, it was definitely the blade speaking.

“Perhaps you are not a complete lout.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/79438.html. You can comment here or there.

Old Friends? Rin & Girey/Reiassan, from fayanora’s prompt

Jul11

From fayanora‘s prompt “An unexpected ‘Hello.'”

From Rin & Girey/Reiassan, after In Context (available in Tales for the Sugar Cat).

Speaking of context, the important thing to know here is: Rin’s nation has won the war over Girey’s, and she is bringing him home as her captive across the length of her country. Girey was the prince of the defeated nation, and is in enforced incognito (Girey is a very common name in their country) as the son of a dead Duke.

Rin & Girey have a landing page (LJ Link

Karak and Noni were generous, friendly hosts, and it took Rin little time at all to relax into their company. They’d fought together, after all, Karak and her, and she’d known Noni since they were children (even if, like Rin, the name Noni wore now wasn’t the one she’d worn then).

Even Girey started to relax. He still complained about the colors, but, some of what had to be his royal manners kicking in, not in front of their hosts, and less and less so she found the most muted Callanthe silks she could to dress him in, and a tailor that could actually fit the clothes to him. If his qitari buttoned on the left, well, it would be a while before he figured that one out, and he could complain then. In the meantime, it suited some small petty part of Rin’s soul to keep him in the dark, his clothes marking him as unskilled, if affluent, labor.

And, despite his complaints, he was paying close attention to the crowds as they shopped. There was a shift in his shoulders and his tone of voice since they got to Ossulund, the feeling that he was trying to act of be someone different. He seemed uncomfortable with the idea of Rin having friends, especially male friends that weren’t him. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought he was jealous.

“Geer?” The voice, high-pitched, excessively feminine, and loud, came from across the marketplace. Rin turned before her prisoner did, uncomfortably curious. “Girey? Geer, hello!”

Now, he turned, though he glanced at Rin and their hosts first, and now all four of them were looking at the woman who was, despite the decorative shackles tinkling on her wrists, waving wildly at them.

“Friend of yours?” Rin murmured softly. If she had been, what she was, now, was a soldier’s war trophy, lovely and fragile in her tight, left-buttoned silk qitari and delicate house slippers, her blonde hair pinned in curls over her head. A decoration.

Girey’s shoulders were tense as he turned back to the belts they were looking at. “She must have the wrong Girey,” he muttered.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/76482.html. You can comment here or there.

Fiction/Reality juxtaposition

Jul11

Via Candlemark & Gleam’s twitter feed…

Minimalist, Futuristic Library, although my experience with libraries locally makes me question their shock at OMG! Books!

This library reminds me in part of The Planner’s Library, seen in this icon by meeks.

Original article has more pictures & details.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/76184.html. You can comment here or there.

Taking Prompts!

Jul10

…between now and 24 hours from when I began (18:32 EST tonigh), I will write to requests. Anything I can get done in a 10-minute writeordie (approx. 250 words, or a standard flash fic drabble in this journal).

Request away!

Original prompts post (LJ Link); what I’ve written so far:

Joff Gets a Pony (LJ Link)
Bringing Home the Bacon (LJ Link), Autumn, Stranded World
Frying Pan, Fire (LJ Link), Tir na Cali
Coming of Age (LJ Link), fae apoc

I will start working on prompts again in the next hour or so.

Tips are appreciated but not required; as always, a tip will get you more story (300 words per $5)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/74337.html. You can comment here or there.

Psst…

Jul9

…between now and 24 hours from now, I will write to requests. Anything I can get done in a 10-minute writeordie (approx. 250 words, or a standard flash fic drabble in this journal).

Request away!

(Writing will start after dinner or so)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/72764.html. You can comment here or there.

“Because he’ll eat your soul” isn’t reason enough?

Jul8

stolen from recessional, who stole it from thatyourefuse:

Give me a character’s name and I will tell you three reasons why it would be terrible to try to date them, have sex with them, or be in a long-term relationship with them.

For an extra challenge, pick characters you know I’m fond of. Anyone can tell you reasons not to date Cthulu, after all.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/71994.html. You can comment here or there.

30 Days – drawing to a close & restarting!

Jul7

Others I know who are also doing the 30 days meme include:
Meridian Rose
Amanda-Sheree
Inventrix
Ravenswept, whose meme it is
Limiinal
K.C.O’Brien
Lilfluff!

If you know others, let me know, and I’ll add them to the list. Guys, there’s a lot of absolutely awesome stuff here!

kc_obrien and I are working, with ravenswept‘s permission, on another 30 days list. Any requests?

(There may be a prize for this one, too; any requests?)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/71847.html. You can comment here or there.

30 Days, Daily Prompt, Kink Bingo… Make you Mine

Jul5

Day 25 of 30 days of Fiction: “27) Prompt: trapped.”

From dailyprompt: “life and liberty”.

A double up on kink_bingo – O-1 – possession/marking – from my card.

An excuse to use a new icon from djinni

And in the Harem sub-setting of Tir na Cali. (all that for 500 words!!)

“‘… among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”

Stephen was talking to himself when Ursula came into her suite. She’d left the manor for a couple days, her ostensible purpose a meeting at the Agency but her side goal giving him a little time to get used to the room and the idea of being hers.

She returned to find him staring out over the vineyards from her balcony, murmuring what she believed was probably part of the American’s Declaration of Independence, over and over again.

“ ‘That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,’” she provided from memory, and was rewarded by a twitch in his shoulder blades.

“I didn’t know you were back.” He hadn’t turned around yet, but he did remember to add, rather belatedly, “my Lady.”

“I just got home. We have most of the American documents in our library, you know.”

“I was just thinking,” he said, his bare back still to her and his back tense, “that I took it for granted, back home. I never really thought about the Declaration, or any of that. Liberty. You people barely even have the concept.”

“That’s like saying your people don’t have the idea of ‘pursuit of happiness,’ just because ours do it better,” she objected mildly. “It’s just not a priority for us, the way it is for Americans.” She hadn’t intended to argue with him today. She never intended to.

“I guessed that.” Now, now he turned around, frowning, and raked his eyes over her in a way that would have gotten him whipped by most of her cousins and peers. His eyes stopped at the narrow gold collar she was holding in her left hand. “Being trapped here, and all.” His gesture was a bit choppy as it took in the scenic vista behind him.

“Trapped,” she agreed softly. He was, after all, with her or in the harems. He was never going to go home again. “How are you enjoying your new cage?”

He winced, and she almost felt guilty. Almost. “The newspaper on the bottom is nicer, and it’s a bit roomier than the old one,” he quipped back. “Quieter, too. I’m still not sure about that part.”

“I’ll try to be sure you don’t get too lonely,” she assured him. His eyes were still on the collar in her hand; she wondered how long he could keep making jokes while staring at it.

Not long, it seemed. “I already have a collar,” he snapped abruptly. “Where are you going to lock that one?”

“You have my grandmother’s collar.” She set this new one down on the table, her eyes still on him. “Kneel for me, Stephan.”

“Make me,” he snapped back, his hands going to the steel band around his neck. “What’s the difference? A collar is a collar. They all make me a slave, right?”

He was, she noted, really freaking out. “This one will make you mine.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/69723.html. You can comment here or there.

Reader Input: Kink Bingo

Jul3

I finished a line of Kink Bingo!

Which line of my card should I do next? Either a horizontal line or, since I have ideas for another story for Sense Dep. and Marking, one of the vertical lines headed by those topics.

View poll: Kink Bingo: Next Line

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/68532.html. You can comment here or there.

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