In Other Words, topsy-turvey…

up becomes down
and flat becomes round,

lies become truth
and values become moot

welcome to topsy-turvy madness

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Just silly five lines for this silly little world that we live in.

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Write a story or poem of 5 Lines or Less
Use the picture and/or the word topsy-turvey  as inspiration
Link back to this post
If you are on WordPress this will create a pingback.
If you are not on WordPress put a link to your post in the comments.
You can also post your story or poem in the comments.

Prompt: In Other Words, topsy-turvey…

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Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #26

Joe Roberts at DeviantArt.com

When the two old roommates saw their Uber coasting toward them, they got up to flag it down.

“Ugh, I’m glad we quit drinking. Otherwise we’ll be puking all over the cab,” @n+h0ny started.

“So what if we didn’t quit drinking? This is the latest Uber cab that has automated cleaning services, complete with refreshing and cleansing abilities. It wouldn’t have mattered even if we puked,” N:9e1 replied. “It will simply clean up everything and we even have time for a smoke before we reach our place.”

“But I do miss the taste of beer and alcohol. And the smokes, of course,” @n+h0ny said wistfully as they loaded themselves into cab.

“Well, you gain some, you lose some. I mean, we could be dead 500 years ago,” N:9e1 countered. “Uploading our consciousness into this latest GT-2000 models and living to see all this – ” he waved at their surroundings. “worth it!”

“Yes, worth it!” @n+h0ny agreed and they laughed as the driverless Uber beamed to their private planet two galaxies away in less than 7 minutes.

(177 words)

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Hmm, I must say, this is my first time trying my hand at a sci-fi genre. It’s not as easy as it looks, and I did not even go into details. I don’t know how sci-fi writers, or fantasy writers, craft a completely alien yet recognisable world. Salute.

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Welcome to “Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge.” Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenge bloggers to write a relatively short flash fiction piece inspired by the photo. While there are no definitive style or word limits, I suggest trying to keep your posts to under 300 words.

Prompt: Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #26

FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER: WEEK #33

XxL3HMZ9Ywgj72pIQZQLuQZRBTr68OTE2WBG7e41 freephotos.cc

The Best-Laid Schemes

Not all hot air balloons fly.

Some drift and others float. Ours died and the pilot, together with his crew, is desperately resuscitating it. The envelope rises and falls to the rhythm of our bored breathes as the crew members blow, ironically, cold air into it with the fan before they turn on the propane burners. Another crew member is circling the balloon like a patrol soldier – not knowing what to look for but pretending to look busy to avoid a scolding from his commanding officer.

The weather looks good; the prognosis does not.

“Oh, how can this happen?” my wife cries and stamps her feet. “We should be up there hours ago, enjoying the sight!”

“M’am, I’m sorry but we are trying our best -” the pilot starts.

“Well, your best is not enough! Try harder!” my wife yells back.

I shake my head in resignation. I could have told him it is pointless to explain; she is used to getting her way.

She turns to me. “This is so unfair!”

I nod. It is very unfair indeed, God. I was looking forward to going up there in the balloon and pushing her off.

(196 words)

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I have no idea where this story comes from. I started with the sentence “Not all hot air balloons fly.” without an idea what I want to write next. I thought about going all philosophical but decided against it halfway. Before I knew it, this darkly humorous story completed itself in front of me and I wondered “Why not?”

I would have probably made a very good murderer if people leave me alone long enough…

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below,

Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner is a weekly writing challenge designed for both the flash fiction newbie and the more experienced writer. It is the desire of this challenge to allow writers the opportunity to clear the cobwebs from a more tedious and involved project. Becoming a part of a new and growing writer’s community might be just what the doctor ordered to rejuvenate your writing juices.

The challenge for Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner will open early Wednesday morning.

Allow the prompt to take you anywhere you want to go! (Limit your stories to 200 words.)

The Six Easy Guidelines

1. A photo prompt topic is to be used as your ‘muse’. They will arrive promptly at midnight each Wednesday morning.
2. Include the photo prompt and its credits with your story on your blog.
3. All stories are to be crafted and honed to under 200 words in length.
4. Each flash fiction piece should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. No serial stories. It is harder to stay abreast of a serial story. (Please keep content PG-13.)
5. Once you have your post complete, create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. If that is not an option for you, add your post’s link in the comments section.

Prompt: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER: WEEK #33

Inspiration Call: Micropoetry Monday

Photo credit: © Pixabay.com

peeping through the keyhole
my love
sailing toward me
from the world beyond me

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I could think of nothing except this. Trust a secret romantic to come up with something so cheesy.

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Inspiration Call: Micropoetry Monday – use this picture as inspiration for a micro poem (a short poem with no particular rules).

Publishing Opportunity: At the end of every year we will publish an anthology using our daily inspiration calls. Want to participate? Simply write your interpretation of the photo that inspires you and share it in the comment section of the original post right here on our blog. You will be notified here also, should your work be chosen for inclusion in the publication. We donate 100% of all proceeds from our anthologies to the Starving Artist Fund. For more details visit our site.

#WritingPrompt #WritersChallenge #InspirationCall #CreativeTalentsUnleashed

Get Creative at www.facebook.com/CreativeTalentsUnleashed

Prompt: Inspiration Call: Micropoetry Monday

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #39

CCC#39

Territorial Chains

“Now children, how many times must I tell you not to go near the chains? It marked the boundary between us and what is dangerous,” their mother chided them.

“But what’s so dangerous?” one of the triplets piped. “They look harmless!”

“Oh listen to me,” his mother smacked his head. “They only look harmless. But they’re dangerous! They’re intelligent, cunning and manipulative; they make it seem all our fault so they’re justified to kill us!”

“Why are they justified to kill us when they come into our homes?” another triplet asked.

His head got smacked too.

“Haven’t you heard what I said? They’re very manipulative. They can make us out to be bloodthirsty killers even when they come swimming into our homes!” their mother scolded them again. “Now let’s swim deeper so they have trouble finding us.”

The mother shark led her three baby sharks deep into the ocean.

(149 words)

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It’s a silly story and it took me a long time to write, but all in all, I really enjoyed writing this.

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Welcome to my weekly challenge—open to all—just for FUN, FUN, FUN

Here’s how it works:

Every Wednesday I post a photo (this week it’s that one above.)
You respond with something CREATIVE

Here are some suggestions:

• An answering photo
• A cartoon
• A joke
• A caption
• An anecdote
• A short story (flash fiction)
• A poem
• A newly minted proverb, adage or saying
• An essay
• A song—the lyrics or the performance

You have plenty of scope and only two criteria:

• Your creative offering is indeed yours
• Your writing is kept to 150 words or less

If you post a link in the comments section of this post I’ll be able to find it
If you include Crimson’s Creative Challenge as a heading, WP Search will find it (theory)
by ‘Searching’ in the WP Reader (fingers crossed)

Prompt: Crimson’s Creative Challenge #39

Twittering Tales #149 – 13 August 2019

Photo by Wal_172619 @ pixabay.com

Traffic Problems

John decided the worst thing about driving was not getting stuck in traffic, neither was it getting stuck in traffic with a garrulous taxi driver.

It was getting stuck in traffic with a garrulous driver live streaming your wife, complete with commentary, after her water broke.

(276 characters)

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Oh…the horror…

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

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. This is important as I have noticed that some of the ping backs have not been working. If you would prefer to post your tale in the comments (some people have very specific blog themes but still want to participate), I am happy to post a link to your site when I post your tale in the Round Up.

Prompt: Twittering Tales #149 – 13 August 2019

I Write Her Weekly Haiku/Senryu Challenge #32

political climate

autumn clothes on sale
dressing up scores of scarecrows –
petrification

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That seems to be the situation in many countries now, leaders hedging on certain social issues despite the sense of urgency to resolve the problems.

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

PLEASE follow them! I’d hate to not see your piece(s) represented in the recap the following week! Confused? Any questions – email me at sushibocks@gmail.com   

For more detailed information, read about this challenge here.

• Create a standard three line, 5/7/5 syllable count haiku/senryu
• Deadline to submit for this week’s challenge will be 11:59pm 8/17/19
• Up to 3 pieces permitted
• Link your piece to this “IWH Haiku/Senryu Challenge” on your post
• Always give photo credit if there is one
• Complete entry form below

Prompt: I Write Her Weekly Haiku/Senryu Challenge #32

Kira’s Sunday Scribbles

By Kira for Sunday Scribbles

It picked up yet another one who was to be born and measured his worth before deciding where to place him. It had been doing this for a very long time now – so long that It had forgotten whether this was a pleasure or a pain. Or whether this was pointless.

Some called It “The Creator”, some “Gaia”, others “They” and until recently, “God”. It never felt the need for such distinction or identity though- It knew who It was and that was enough.

But at that moment, It was wondering if what it were doing worth anything; half the time, It did not even know what It was doing, only that It was supposed to do what It was doing. And everyone did not seem to thank It. Some were even bemoaning and grudging It for their circumstances.

But what was It supposed to do? They had their own purposes, just as It did.

It was Life.

(159 words)

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If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Welcome to Kira’s weekly inspirational art piece.

Let the whole picture tell you a story, or dive into the small intricate details to make one up! Write a poem, a fiction piece or come up with a picture or drawing of your own, that you feel relates to it.

Feel free to copy Kira’s drawing, to add it to your own post!

Anything goes, there are no rules. But don’t forget to link us to your post with a pingback. Not sure how to do that? See how to create pingbacks here.

Prompt: Kira’s Sunday Scribbles

Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt!

Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels.com

His frustration was all time high; first there was a confirmation code, then there was a re-captcha, and next was the OTP – One-Time Password – before the final test, his actual password.

He could not remember.

There were simple too many passwords to too many accounts, from social ones to productivity ones to business ones.

The fingerprint lock was possibly the best invention that ever happened to him, since all his passwords were protected by forgetfulness.

He gave up and click on “Forgot Password”, something he had been clicking on too many times these days before he paused.

What was his account ID?

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I don’t know if any of you have this problem, but these days, I found myself unable to remember the passwords, sometimes, even the account ID. Then there were times I went to a website to register, only for the website to go “Tsk tsk tsk, you have registered this email with us. Come on man, try to remember.”

I could easily write it all down on a notebook but I have already established the fact that I am paranoid. Also, I have once done that and then proceeded to lose the said book…

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.
Come back here on Thursday, link your post…
Spread the word and put in a good one to your fellow writers 🙂

PROMPT WORD:  CODE

Prompt: Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt!

Inspiration Call: Create a 6 -Word Story

Photo credit: © Pixabay.com

reflecting upon fragments, dreaming of whole

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If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Inspiration Call: Tell the story behind this picture in just 6 words. A Six Word story is a challenge for each writer to come up with a short story within six words.

Publishing opportunity details for this writing prompt can be found at Open Publishing Projects.

#WritingPrompt #WritersChallenge #InspirationCall #CreativeTalentsUnleashed

Get Creative at www.facebook.com/CreativeTalentsUnleashed

Prompt: Inspiration Call: Create a 6 -Word Story