Flash Fiction

100-Word Challenge for Grownups # 134 – Blackbird Conversation

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Julia is into birds this week on her 100-word story challenge. Here’s what she says: “I am very lucky to have a garden and even luckier that a variety of birds visit each day. At the moment we have 2/3 blackbirds who are really ruling the roost so to speak. They are beautiful song birds I know, but they are having a conversation. You can tell with the intonation of the sounds and the responses from another birds.

So, your prompt this week is to write that conversation!”

So I did. It’s below the picture.

 

BLACKBIRD ( TRI-COLORED) - PUB DOM

OVERHEARD CONVERSATION OF BLACKIE BIRD AND HIS FAMILY

 

“Mama!”

“Mama … we’re hungry!”

“Yeah, we’re hungry.”

“I’ll check on Dad’s progress.”

“Honey, found anything?”

“Not yet. Those dang Cardinals grab everything in sight!”

“They think just because they’re so splendid to look at they should get the best of everything.”

“Hey, two worms! I’ll grab ’em.”

“Oh, look out! Kitty-Kitty’s comin’ at you at 2:00!”

“If I run, I’ll lose the worms to the Bluejays.”

“Barn-a-Bee’s on the roses. Call for help.”

“Hey, Barn-a-Bee, Kitty-Kitty’s crouched to attack. Help!”

“On my way. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz … SMACK!”

“MEOW!!#%$!!#$%!!”

“Great hit!  Right on the nose! Thanks, Barn-a-Bee, old pal. I owe you one.”

~

 

I actually got the idea for this story from a whimsical poem my mother wrote many years ago, titled “Wish I Were A Bumblebee.” You can read it at this link.

 

Photo courtesy of http://www.public-domain-image.com/blackbirds-pictures/close-up-of-a-female-tricolored-blackbird-agelaius-tricolor.jpg.html

 

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Five-Sentence Fiction – 5/16/14 – ‘Making Sure’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

This is the first time I’ve participated in Five-Sentence Fiction. It was fun. If you’d like to join in, use the link below to find out the details on the home site.

http://lilliemcferrin.com/five-sentence-fiction-doors/

 

 

DOOR_6 - w. nameMAKING SURE

 

    The door to Samuel’s office was closed for good. Ever since he’d shot himself there, his father, the patriarch of the business, had forbidden anyone to open it once the body had been removed.
     Everyone thought Samuel had shot himself because of his wife’s death from an apparent heart attack, but Carol knew differently, and she had to get into that office to make sure he hadn’t tucked away a confession somewhere. Sam had given her a key, and she’d use it after the building was closed.
    If he had left a note admitting that he’d murdered his wife, Carol wanted to be sure he hadn’t told the whole story, including naming his accomplice.

 

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Velvet Verbosity # 378 – ‘The Happy Barber’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

 

 

This week’s Velvet Verbosity 100-Word Story prompt is the word “Beard.”

 

BARBER POLE - CLIPARTTHE HAPPY BARBER

 

Albert, the town barber, arrived at his shop to find a customer waiting.

“I thought you’d never get here!” the customer said.

Albert’s eyes grew round.

“Well, don’t just stand there,” the customer said, now in the chair. “Quick! Get me shaved.”

“Oh … I couldn’t!  I just couldn’t !  That’s the most perfect beard I’ve ever seen.”

“What!?!?”

“Why, it’s thick and velvety, with perfect color. Every barber longs for a customer with a beard like that to care for.  I’ll delight in trimming it for you, but I could never shave it off.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!  What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry to upset you, M’am.  But I will not shave off your beard.”

~~~

Author’s note:

I’ve reached the time of my life where I’ve had to learn to deal with one of those aggravating challenges that nag at ladies in their middle age years: those confounded extra hairs that keep cropping up above our upper lips and on our lower chins. Testy little things they are, and our determination to get rid of them – and keep getting rid of them when necessary – is without limit.
There are a number of weapons in our arsenal: creams, waxes, strips, eye-brow shapers, tweezers, and any number of exfoliating gadgets sold “only on TV.” So far, no one I know has had to resort to visiting Albert (thank God), but my personal small warfare in this area has undoubtedly attributed to my whimsical take on this week’s prompt.

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Clipart courtesy of http://www.wpclipart.com/working/signs/barber_pole.png.html

 

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100-Word Challenge for Grownups #133 – ‘Noble Gift’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Our prompt from Julia this week is “… the white horses were galloping …”  Join the fun at this link:
http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week133/

WHITE HORSE - ROYAL ALABASTER

NOBLE GIFT

Sebastian stood on the cliff and watched the white horses galloping away. His breath caught, and he blinked the salty mist from his eyes. Three generations — bred and born in his own stables. All issued from the grandfather of the line, Royal Alabaster. Sold only to clients who valued their animals as they did people and would provide them with only the noblest environment.

“How can you bear to let them go?” asked his wife, gripping his hand tightly.

“I will not allow those invading barbarians to even mount these glorious animals!” he replied, shadowing his eyes to watch the last two stallions safely out of sight.

 

~~~

 

 

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Friday Fictioneers – 5/9/14 – ‘Treasures from the Sea?’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

 

Happy Day – I am getting an opportunity to play with my friends at Friday Fictioneers once again. If you’d like to take part and write a 100-word story based on the picture below, hop over and check out the details of taking part.

This week’s photo is courtesy of B. W. Beacham

My story is below the photo.

 

the-tide-is-out-copyright-bw-beachamTREASURES FROM THE SEA?

 

Ben looked at his crude calendar: June, 2020. His mind still reeled at the catastrophic results of a nuclear e-bomb war: Thousands dead from radiation. The world’s electronics and technology gone. All life-sustaining medical equipment paralyzed. Manufacture and transportation of food impossible. Law-enforcement non-existent. Communication limited to people killing each other for a bottle of water.

Surprised they were still alive after the strikes, he and Cassie had jumped into their sailboat and let the wind carry them. Weeks later, they’d beached on this uninhabited island. No contact with any kind of civilization for six years now – until today – when the shopping cart washed up onto the beach.

 

 

 

 

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Story Challenge: ‘For Love of Bernadette’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

COW & MILKHere’s my own response to the story challenge I posted yesterday. (Write a story of 500 words or less that includes a cow, a barber, and a child.) Hope a lot of you take part as well. Find all the details about participating here.

 

FOR LOVE OF BERNADETTE

 

Herbie was a barber. And he was good at his job. He had customers from all over the county. But Herbie didn’t like his job. He’d inherited the business from his father, but he’d never enjoyed it.

What he really wanted to do was own a dairy farm. Every evening when he finished work, he drove out of town and cruised by Old Man Swagle’s farm, looking at the fields of cows and the neat homestead – and dreaming.

Sometimes he’d stop, walk to the fence, and pet the cows. They knew him by now and came to him, but there was one particular brown and white lady who made sure she got the most of his attention. It made him feel loved.

If only he could manage to buy the farm. Old Man Swagle had put it on the market last year, but so far no one had met his price. Herbie had some money saved, and he’d talked to the bank about a mortgage, but Isabelle, his betrothed, said he’d be a fool to leave a secure business and go into debt for a cow farm. He used to love to talk about his dream, but lately, he’d just stopped mentioning it to Isabelle. He didn’t like the quarrels it led to. Sometimes he wondered …. But … they’d been engaged a whole year. It wouldn’t be right to back out now.

One evening, as Herbie sat on the fence and petted his favorite cow, Swagle’s 11-year-old grandaughter came running across the field. He knew she visited often, and today she hailed him. “Hi,” she said. “Grandpa sent me to fetch Bernadette.”

“Oh, is that her name?”

“Yep. Grandpa let me name her.” She gave him a speculative look. “ My Grandpa said you want to buy this farm.”

“He did, huh? Well he’s right, but I don’t think I can.”

“Oh,” she said, hanging her head in disappointment. “I sure wish you could buy it.” She looked up. “My Grandpa is getting really tired and wants to come into town and live at my house with me and Mommy and Daddy. I stayed all night last night, and I heard Grandpa praying a long time that God would send someone today to buy the farm and take care of the cows the way he does.”

Herbie felt tears rush to his eyes.

“Why can’t you buy it?”

He cleared his throat. “Well … the lady I’m going to marry doesn’t want to live on a farm.”

“But you love cows. I can tell. I’ve watched you petting them and talking to them.”

Herbie nodded.

“And you’d keep them and take care of them just like Grandpa does.”

Herbie nodded again. “If I could buy the farm.”

“You know what I think?” she said.

“What?”

“I think you should tell that dumb lady to marry someone else, and you should come and live here with Bernadette.”

And Herbie did.

 

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Story Challenge: A Cow, A Barber, & a Child

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

Okay, blogging buddies, I’m in the mood for another story challenge this week. Write me a story (or a poem if you prefer) that includes the following:

 

 

COW & MILK

A COW

 

BARBER CARTOON - BLUE

A BARBER

`

BOY FOR RESCUE - SHORTER YELLOW
A CHILD OR CHILDREN
(Boys or girls, any age)

 

Word limit: 500 words or less.

Remember that my blog is “G” Rated.

Post your story on your own blog and hop over here and put the link to it in the “Comments” section of this post. Also make any comments you like as well.

Time limit: Challenge will run through next Saturday, May 10, 2014, and will close at 12:00 midnight that night (U.S. Central Daylight Time). But, of course, if you want to post a story any time after the 10th, that’s fine.

Feel free to use any of these pictures with your own story if you’d like to do so.

Happy Writing!

 

 

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Velvet Verbosity # 373 — ‘Light the Lamp’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

OIL LAMP, CROPPED -- PUB DOMAIN

“Light the lamp, Matthew. Set it clearly in the window.”

“But, Father, it’s burned every night for months.  Tom’s not coming home.”

“Yes, he is.  He promised me.”

“You know we heard that his whole battalion was wiped out.”

“No.  I feel him in my heart.  He lives.  And this snowstorm is so thick; he’ll need the light to guide him through the woods.”

“But there’s only a few hours of oil left.”

“Light the lamp, Matthew.  The oil will last.  The lamp will burn until your brother walks through that door.”

 

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Join the fun writing your own 100-word story based on this week’s prompt: BURN. 
http://www.velvetverbosity.com/blog/2014/4/7/100-words-373-national-poetry-month

 

 

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25-Word Story Challenge: ‘Wedding Plans’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

 

Here’s my story for the 25-word story challenge.

BRIDE_02 - PINK

 

 

WEDDING PLANS

 

“Sorry folks,” Carter said. “Seems my bride eloped with someone else.” He laughed. “She took the car I’d arranged for my own last-minute escape.”

 

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To join in the fun, hop over to the challenge itself and get the details (link above).    It’s really easy – well – easy to join – not so easy to write a complete story in 25 words – but, hey, if it were easy, why do it, right?

 

 

 

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Writing Challenge: The 25-Word Story

| Sandra Pavloff Conner
WOMAN AT COMPUTER - HAPPY

 

Well, my jolly blogging buddies, I have a new wee challenge for you this morning. Most of us have heard the story that at one point in his career, the writing legend Ernest Hemingway accepted a challenge to write an entire story in just six words. I don’t know that anyone knows the exact details of how that challenge came about, but the 6-word story attributed to him is the following: 

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Now, I’m issuing a challenge that is not quite as onerous as the one he met. And, in fact, it’s the same challenge I gave my college-level creative writing students this week: Write a complete story in only 25 words (or less if you prefer). You may choose the subject matter. 

You have one week to accomplish this task. Final post day, April 10 (although I have no objection to your posting a story at any time after that if you feel so inclined). When your story is complete, simply post it on your own blog, then copy and paste a link to it in the “Comments” section of this post.  Leave a comment too if you’d like.

Please be sure to include a link to this post on your own site as well, so that your readers can learn about the challenge and take part too.  And hop over during the week to check out the links to other writers’ stories.

Also, please remember that this site is open to readers of all ages, so it posts absolutely no “R” or “X” rated material. 

If you’re interested in participating but do not have a personal blog, feel free to post your story on your Facebook page or your LinkedIn page. (It’s short enough to go into the update window.) Then copy and paste the link in the “Comments” here.

When I write my own story, I’ll give it a separate post and paste a link here on this page with the rest of yours. 

Are you ready?  Let’s write!

 

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Friday Fictioneers – 3/14/14 – Bridge To Insanity

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Friday Fictioneers hostess, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields will welcome you into the Friday Fictioneers group if you’d like to take your best shot at creating a 100-word story prompted by this picture. The photo is courtesy of Adam Ickes.

My story is below the photo.

LONG WOODEN BRIDGE - ADAM ICKES

BRIDGE TO INSANITY

“So, Mr. President, you’re having a recurring dream?” the doctor asked.

“Yes.  At least a dozen times this past year. I’m walking down a long, narrow, wooden bridge. Ahead I see the pavilion where a peace treaty signing is scheduled. I know they’re all there, waiting for me.  But I can’t get there!”

“Why not?”

“Because the damn bridge keeps growing longer with every step I take!”

“And you think the dream means something particular?”

“Of course.  And that’s what’s driving me insane.”

“What?”

“It means there’s never going to be an end to war.”

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Friday Fictioneers – 3/7/14 — You Can’t Go Home Again

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Well, another week has rolled around, and that means another Friday Fictioneers 100-word story challenge. This whole week, the number 1 has not worked on my computer keyboard. I have to take special pains to get it to type onto the page. So I got to thinking that perhaps I could use that as an excuse to say I’m going to have to do a 2 hundred word story instead – because my number 2 works just fine. However, I decided that even Rochelle, with her merciful attitude toward our rather liberal use of the term ‘100,’ would not be inclined to agree. So I bit the bullet and forced my keyboard to type the number 1 against its will.

This week’s prompt photo comes from Danny Bowman. However, due to the nature of my story, I needed to use a totally different photo at the story’s beginning. You will find Danny’s picture at the end, and the reasons will be self-explanatory.

To join the fun, visit Rochelle at her site:
http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/7-march-2014/

 

YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN

GREEN MOUNTAIN - greener
“What are you looking at, Kor?”

“Hmm?  Oh, this photograph of Kate’s homeland. She’s kept it over her bed these 12 years that she’s worked at the space station.”

“My, what serene beauty. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

“Yes, she grew up on that mountain, and her greatest delight is the thought of returning tomorrow.”

“But … what if …?”

“I know.  I reminded her that earth has experienced a decade of atomic warfare. Much of it is beyond repair”

“And …?”

“She insists her mountain will be unchanged … but I … I fear for her a broken heart.”

DANNY BOWMAN VOLCANO CRATER

 

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Friday Fictioneers — February 28 — Leap of Love

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

HAY BALES - SANDRA CROOK

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LEAP OF LOVE

“You’ve GOT to be kidding!”

“Shhhh, you’ll wake your parents.”

“Good. Then they’ll be awake to plan the funeral.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Annette. You knew we’d have to do something unconventional to sneak you out without their knowing. What’d you expect?”

“Fool that I am, I expected a ladder, of course!”

“Shhh!  All right!  Forget it. I should have eloped with Bernadette when she begged me.”

He climbed back over the balcony rail and jumped onto the hay-filled tractor bed.

He looked at her, his heart aflame in his eyes.

Her own heart leaped over the balcony, and she had no choice but to follow.

~~~

Photo by Sandra Crook

Friday Fictioneers Hostess: Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Visit her site to find out how to take part in this 100-word story challenge.

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Velvet Verbosity #367 — Lunch with Xavier

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

I haven’t taken part in the Velvet Verbosity writing challenge previously, but I read Dawn Miller’s entries all the time, and it always sounds interesting, so this week I decided I should jump in as well. The prompt was the word “Lunch.” If you’d like to take part, you’ll find the host of the challenge and the rules at this link:
http://www.velvetverbosity.com/blog/2014/2/24/100-words-367-more-on-trains-and-writing

TABLE SETTING - PUB DOM - MUSEUM - LIGHTENED

LUNCH WITH XAVIER

Victoria had a lunch date – in a city where no one knew her. Sweating hands, butterflies – it was guilt. But why? After all, her husband Arnold had stopped making love to her, even stopped talking to her. She had to look for love and excitement elsewhere – like the Internet — and she’d used a fictitious name.

Excitement replaced fear now as she remembered that Xavier was the complete opposite of Arnold. Every word of his e-mails made her feel like a real woman again. Her heart pounded as she followed the maitre d’ to Xavier’s table for their initial meeting. Xavier stood and faced her:

“Victoria!”

“Arnold!!!”

 

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100-Word Challenge for Grownups – Week 120

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Well, I’m almost late with my story for this week’s challenge, and, to be honest, I’m a tad over the word limit, but I don’t have any more time to edit it further. So here’s my offering for Julia’s picture prompt.

Week#18

THE BUNDLE

At dusk, Marla went to retrieve her shoes from the window where she’d left them to dry after the storm. Glancing out, she saw an old woman exit the side of the building across the street. But that building had been abandoned for a year!

The woman, carrying a small, tight bundle, sneaked through the deserted street to the river’s edge. After looking around furtively, she heaved the bundle into the rushing water.

Barely able to see through the gathering gloom now, Marla glanced back at the building and saw an adolescent girl’s face in the window. The girl’s frightened eyes met Marla’s for a second before the girl ducked from view.

Marla tried not to understand what she had seen.

~~~

Visit the host of the 100-Word Challenge:
http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week120/

 

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