Crimson’s Creative Challenge #64

CCC#64

“We are going to die!” They screamed when the structure came down. Then the second one, the third one, until six structures appeared.

But they did not.

The worst part, however, was the constant pounding. For days on end, there was non-stop pounding. Dust flew and the earth turned. They scurried around even as they tried to maintain a semblance of normal life.

When it was all done, their home was surrounded by the structures. They were trapped!

As one unit though, they had already formed a contingency plan; they had started shifting their home.

The ants were resilient in that manner.

(102 words)


If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

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)

Here’s wishing you inspirational explosions. And FUN.

Prompt: Crimson’s Creative Challenge #64

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Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #47

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Unsplash.com

Clear blue skies greeted our family of four, as they piled into the family car and began their journey to their holiday spot. The drive was long and when they reached the bridge connecting their town on one side to another town on the other side, the traffic was horrid. Everyone was honking but nothing was moving.

There it was, our family was stuck on the bridge. The mother was shouting over the radio and their two-year-old boy’s crying, while their ten-year-old daughter was complaining about everything, from how hot the car was to how she wanted to be with her friends instead of going on a holiday trip. The father stared moodily out the window, wishing for something – anything – to end this nightmare.

The sky became darker without warning and everyone, out of curiosity, looked out the window. What looked like a dark cloud was fast approaching the bridge. Against the wind.

Everyone started screaming.

A giant foot had appeared of nowhere toward the bridge!

The father knew he should run but out of morbid fascination, stayed where he was and stared while the mother was screaming and shaking him. The giant foot landed precisely where their car was, flattening countless other cars and destroying the bridge at the same time. Then the giant foot lifted and came down on the same spot. Again, and again.

And again…

“No,” the mother narrowed her eyes at her son. He showed her his toy cars and pieces of his Lego. “I’m not going to buy you new toy cars and Lego. I don’t know what you were thinking but I saw you stomping on them!”

The little boy scrunched up his face, about to cry. Perhaps he should have thought through his story more thoroughly…

Thus, the tragedy ends!

(300 words)


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.

For the visually challenged writer, the image shows a two lane bridge spanning two mountains along a coastal road high above a deep gorge or inlet.

I hope this week’s image will generate some great posts. If it inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FFFC, and link back to this post.

Thanks to all of you who have participated in these challenges so far. Your posts have been very creative. Please take a few minutes to read the other responses to this photo challenge.

Prompt: Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #47

Three Line Tales, Week 204

three line tales, week 204: a hamster in a bit plush green towel

photo by Frenjamin Benklin via Unsplash

He turned off the lights and was about to go to bed when he heard a squeak, not of the mattress type but of a mouse type.

Curious, he turned on the lights again and saw a mouse staring at him with a what’s-the-big-idea look.

He guessed the bed belonged to the mouse now.


If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

You’ll find full guidelines on the TLT page – here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write three lines inspired by the photo prompt (& give them a title if possible).
  • Link back to this post (& check the link shows up under the weekly post).
  • Tag your post with 3LineTales (so everyone can find you in the Reader).
  • Read and comment on other TLT participants’ lines.
  • Have fun.

Happy three-lining!

Prompt: Three Line Tales, Week 204

100 Word Wednesday: Week 140

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Pool Party

We really don’t understand what the fuss is about.

It was an open pool party invitation. Doesn’t that mean anyone can come? Although I must admit, I probably got a bit too excited and informed too many friends. Still, it’s rude of the organiser and the other guests, the manner they treated us when we arrived to make ourselves comfortable on the poolside chairs.

You should have seen how they over-reacted – screaming, running and overturning everything. The nerve of them!

I mean, we still feel hurt at the treatment even though we are dead!

(95 words)


The dead silence at the pool is a legend…If the pool is empty and quiet, something must be wrong. LOL

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

How to participate? A few guidelines as we begin….

  1. Simply check my feed, or search the reader, for the 100WW or tag #100WW, post each Wednesday. I’ll also be posting on my InstagramTwitter, and Facebook Feeds.
  2. Write your submission on your blog, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook Feed and ping back to the weekly blog post. Feel free to use the image provided or your own. Please do credit the artist whose image we use — Links provided.
  3. I have not enabled automatic pingbacks due to a plethora of spam messages attempting to link up. Do feel free to also continue posting your links and I will enable your pingbacks as I check my blog. Thank you for understanding!!
  4. I’ll provide a Weekly Summary, or Windup, of posts on or by Tuesday; take the opportunity to read and comment on your fellow bloggers posts {keeping in mind to give each other grace and space}. I try to read them all and post your submission in the Weekly Windup.
  5. Have fun! I enjoy reading your challenge submissions!

Prompt: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 140

Twittering Tales #157 – 8 October 2019

astronomical-observatory-4520900_1280

Photo by noelsch at Pixabay.com

Into Space

Everyone believed that building the observatory on the mountain was a good idea.

The mountain was very tall and that was about as close to the stars as the astrophysicists could get.

That was until Earth lost its gravitational force and the mountain began to float into space.

(274 characters)


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 #157 – 8 October 2019

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #46

CCC#46

Mystery at the Bottom of the Path

“You’re lying,” Jack whispered back. “No way a dead body is down there.”

“Sure is! You can check it out if you don’t believe me,” Kenny whispered back again.

“Why should I go check? You said there is a dead body down there. You go,” Jack shot back.

“Fine, we’ll go together!”

Jack hesitated before nodding. “All right.”

Gingerly, the two boys went down the steps and Kenny guided Jack to the body.

“There! I wasn’t lying, was I?” Kenny looked triumphantly at Jack.

“Well, it doesn’t look- Argh!” Jack cried out. The lifeless hand had grabbed his ankle. Jack immediately kicked to loosen the grip and scrambled up the path, screaming.

Kenny chortled. “Coward,” he muttered. “And thanks, Gor!”

His elder brother, Gordon, got up and grinned. “That was more fun than I thought actually. But you still have to clean my room for a month as you promised!”

(150 words)


If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

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 #46

Weekend Writing Prompt #125 – Ultimatum

photo of audi parked near trees

Photo by Vlad Alexandru Popa on Pexels.com

“That’s an ultimatum!”

“But – ”

“No buts! Get in there!” he commanded.

Shakily, she got into the car. Before he could lock her in, she appealed to his empathy again. “Please, let’s talk about this. Just don’t do this,” she sobbed. “I’m sure we can work something out!”

He gazed at her steadily. “It’s time you conquer your fear of driving!”

(62 words)


If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

The challenge is simple: each week you will be given an exact number of words you can use to write a poem or piece of prose.  You can use any format or style you like; go wherever your inspiration takes you.  The only rules are these:

  • your poem / prose must contain this week’s word.  The word does not have to count towards the exact word count total – it can be in the title, or the first letters of the lines of a poem can spell it out – you can be as creative as you want as long as it’s there somewhere.
  • the length of your poem / prose must match the number of words stated in this week’s challenge.  No more.  No less.

Prompt: Weekend Writing Prompt #125 – Ultimatum

Ecological Museum – Great Machinery of Ancient Civilisation

Photo Credits: Tien | ArtScience Museum, Singapore (2019)

…All right, and if you would follow me, let’s step over this way.

We have just seen beautiful creatures of ancient times, flying in skies and swimming in waters. But what you are about to see next is a world of natural wonders. We are about to enter a lush world that is vastly different from what we have known and what we have seen so far.

It has taken a dedicated team of biologists, archaeologists and scientists to bring this ancient world into visualisation. A team of technicians and engineers have also spent months reconstructing every last detail of this visualisation from scratch. And with stunning attention too!

So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, without further ado, I present to you, the latest Experiential Illusion™ of Amazon Prime Dot Com Waterforest!

Yes, what you are currently seeing is a virtual restoration of the legendary clustered trees of the current intergalactic corporation sector 2B-0-N0-2B, formerly known as Basil Federation of Republic Amerikas before the Old Tech Big Bang! Do take note, everyone, that what you are seeing is the actual dimensions of this waterforest.

Now, just a brief historical context before I continue with the introduction of Amazon Prime Dot Com Waterforest. As we all know, the collapse of ancient civilisations occurred during the Old Tech Big Bang, which is estimated to be about three hundred digital resets ago due to a brutal energy exchange among various allied federations. Not much about those dark days was recorded, as our ancestors were scrambling to salvage whatever Old Tech they could before fleeing to safety.

But before that, it was the Golden Data Age. The single most powerful invention during that time was the GlobalWeb. And our ancestors from different allied federations participated in communal sharing of any data, from science to art. It was also on this GlobalWeb that our archaeologists managed to uncover bits and pieces of data regarding Amazon Prime Dot Com Waterforest.

While there were millions of articles which faithfully documented a plethora of methods to cultivate various aspects of life in a succinct manner, our ancestors were, sadly, rather crude in documenting their methods of building this grand waterforest. The archaeologists believed that those records were kept in more perishable physical forms called “books”, which were made from the very waterforest they built.

Naturally, the knowledge of our ancestors is not to be underestimated and we have much to learn from them. Indeed, as mentioned earlier, our ancestors had the foresight of building the waterforest and then actually, harvest it into physical forms of record which allow their descendants to install, as well as to copy and paste what had been done previously. The very nature of this programming action is called “recycling”.

The archaeologists have also discovered that our ancestors, after building the waterforest, had left gaps in the knowledge. They realised that the GlobalWeb was replete with questions, incomplete information and even misinformation at times.

Our scientists are currently exploring the nature of this trickery but they believe that our ancestors were wise in the sense that these questions, incomplete information and misinformation were actually all an attempt to foster social co-operative learning called “research” among the allied federations. After all, they did not have the luxury of installing knowledge into their brains like we do now.

Of course, our scientists have recreated the GlobalWeb for your amusement. You may wish to replicate these programmes into your mind. Alternatively, you may also want to participate in some of the social co-operative learning methods in the same prehistoric manner as our ancestors did.

For those who are interested, I’ll leave you here to enjoy the immersive experiences of discovering and naming unknown species of the various plants and animals in the Experiential Illusion™ of Amazon Prime Dot Com Waterforest.

For those of you who wish to continue on with the journey to see how our ancestors survived the Old Tech Big Bang, as well as their subsequent return to the Original Earth in Milky Way for its rehabilitation, please follow me to the next stop, The Deep Space Survival.

Let’s teleport through this dimensional gate and you will see…


Originally published for Lit Up on Medium

In Other Words, peanut butter…

So this is where you hid the peanut butter huh?

If you can’t tell that I’m a parrot, then something is wrong with your eyes.

Who says anything about you owning me?

I say I’m a parrot, I didn’t say I am your parrot.

I’m just here for the loot – isn’t it obvious?


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(s) peanut butter 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, peanut butter…

Saturday Six Word Story Prompt (6WSP) #3 – September 14, 2019

dog beside bag

Photo by Renata Cholpankulova on Pexels.com

doggedly excited for owner’s next adventure!


Have I ever mentioned how much I love six word story? No? Be ready to hear it then.

I LOVE SIX WORD STORY!

Imagine my ecstasy when I found another blogger hosting six word story prompt! All hail the power of six word story!

If you are interested, the prompt is linked below.

Welcome to Week #3 of the Saturday Six Word Story Prompt. Click here to read the guidelines for the Saturday Six Word Story Prompt series.

Prompt for Week #3 (September 14, 2019 – September 20, 2019)

Dogs

Click here for the 6WSP image.

I will do a roundup post each Friday. So please be sure to participate before time runs out!

Prompt: Saturday Six Word Story Prompt (6WSP) #3 – September 14, 2019