The challenge prompt today, from storyaday.org, is to write about a character who tells a story within the story, to avoid a disaster — like Scheherazade did. My story is based on an idea I had for a full novel, which never quite took off. *** Final Confession Even the tightest shackles barely fit Kavon’s … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #12: Final Confession →

Today’s prompt from storyaday.org is to write a story of exactly 100 words. Since my daily goal has been a minimum of 1,000 words, I decided to write 10 interconnected vignettes of exactly 100 words. Each vignette focuses on a different character in a busy, fantasy-style tavern, on a rainy evening. I think this is … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #11: Tavern Tales →

Nearly 1/3rd of the way through the monthly challenge, and well over 10k words written! I’m really happy that I’ve been hitting my daily goal so far. Today’s storyaday.org prompt is to write a letter to your 14 year-old self, answering fears, concerns, questions and insecurities while offering reassurance. But that might get a bit … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #10: Letters Not Yet Sent →

Today’s storyaday.org prompt is the classic challenge of writing a six-word story. However, since my goal is to write a complete 1k word story each day this month, I decided to use my six-word story as the title for a full-length flash. *** When Pigs Fly, Pork Prices Rise On that fateful day, Farmer Brooks … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #9: When Pigs Fly, Pork Prices Rise →

Beginning week two of the monthly challenge, today’s prompt from storyaday.org is a little more specific than the previous ones: In a mysterious valley, two rival abbeys of nuns and monks serving the same strange god play a secret game unbeknownst to their superiors. When the stakes for the game become souls, how can the … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #8: Mind Games →

Back again to finish up the first week of the storyaday.org challenge prompts! So far, it’s been a great experience for me. I’ve hit my main goal of at least 1k words a day, and my less-serious goal of trying a new genre each day. Today’s prompt is to write a story that’s driven by … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #7: An Old-fashioned Beau →

Today’s challenge prompt from storyaday.org is to write an interview with a character whose invention changed the world, a long time after the change took place. Please excuse the terrible techno-babble in my story this time. *** The Final Question “Welcome, Professor Galveston. I’m Julia Eddyton, it’s a pleasure to meet you at last.” A … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #6: The Final Question →

Today’s challenge prompt is to write about a character who’s lost an object of great value to someone they love. My story this time features a cruel starship captain and a robot who's still figuring out what's of value, and who he loves. *** Top Priority “Stupid, incompetent, ugly, bucket of bolts!” The starship captain … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #5: Top Priority →

Today’s Story-A-Day May challenge prompt is simply to end the story with a particular sentence. Just for fun, I’m trying to make my story a different genre each day — we’ll see how long I’m able to manage that! This time, it’s a murder mystery involving a less-than-honorable detective. *** “Stumped again, inspector?” The detective … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #4: The Man Killed by the World →

Today’s challenge from storyaday.org is a very unique, two-part prompt. The first part is supposed to be a fictionalized, third-person account of a mundane event from the writer’s life in the past week. And the second part switches to first-person and jumps 10 years ahead, to show how that event was unexpectedly significant. So here’s … Continue reading Story-A-Day May #3: Visitors on the Wind →