Author: JoHawkTheWriter

The Skeleton Ball — 100 Word Wednesday

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Title: The Skeleton Ball
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 95
Word count: 100 words (x2)

In honor of Halloween, I have written two 100-word sections. Enjoy.

Photo by NeONBRAND

Jim Reaper didn’t want to go to the party, but his friends all said he needed to pick up somebody. The last time he went to a party they used him as a coat rack. Before he got inside Jim saw right through a beautiful girl.

“Hi, I’m Jim Reaper.” Jim hoped his rattling bones didn’t show how nervous he was.

“I’m Dee, Dee Ceased,” she said looking down at her bony hands.

“Do you like the party?”

“No, there is no body to dance with,” Dee said.

“Dance with me?” Jim asked as his bony hand touched hers.

***

Jim looked at Dee’s blank expression as a slow song started.

“Let’s sit this one out,” Jim said, pointing to a table.

“Great.” Dee followed, thinking dancing with Jim was fun.

“My favorite band is The Grateful Dead,” Jim said, sitting next to her.

“Oh, I like them. Them, and Bone Jovi.”

“Me, too.”

Jim’s friend Mumford stopped in front of them.

“Hey, you guys want a drink?”

“Sure,” Jim responded. “We’ll have two beers and a mop chaser.”

Dee laughed and moved closer, “I like you, Jim.”

Jim draped his arm over Dee’s scrawny shoulder and pulled her close.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

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horror-for-me-has-to-involve-some-sort-of-fantasy-horror-is-something-that-is-in-your-dreams-or-your-nightmares-cassandra-peterson

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, is ready to provide a little horror straight out of your dreams on this Halloween. I hope you find time to indulge in some trick or treating, a bit of candy and a Movie Macabre.

Happy Halloween.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Investigation — FFfPP

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Title: The Investigation
Source:  FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #44
Word count: 190 words

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Rick replaced the camera on the bed and scanned the one-room studio apartment. It was spartan. A single folding chair sat angled next to the window. A card table stood not in front of the chair, but behind it. The table held a stained ashtray devoid of ash and butts. A roll of black trash bags lay by the door, otherwise, the room was empty. No pictures hung on the walls, no clothes in the closet, no toiletries in the tiny white bathroom.

With two steps Rick crossed the room and sat in the chair.

“What do you see, boss?”

“Guess,” Rick replied.

“The victim’s apartment?”

“Her bedroom, the bathroom and… Hand me the camera with the telephoto,” Rick said. He extended his hand and waited. Feeling the camera’s weight, he moved it to augment his view, and spun the lens ring, refining his focus.

Rick laid the camera on the card table and stood. Despite excess paint clogging the jamb, it opened easily. He grabbed the camera, held to his eye, and scanned victim’s building.

“Boss?”

“She’s not his only victim,” he said. “She is just the first reported.”

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Flower Garden — Weekly Writing Challenge

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Title: The Flower Garden
Source:  Weekly Writing Challenge #165
The five words: ROUGH, GATE, RAG, HIP, WINE
Word count: 210 words

Photo by Tim Shapcott on Unsplash

It was Tasha’s favorite place in the entire world. A wooden fence that had seen better days encircled the flower garden. There were still places where white paint clung to the rough, weather-worn surface. The broken latch allowed the gate to bang in the wind with the consistency of a deer scarer.

The seasons slowly slipped through time. Greedy yellow finches plucked the coneflowers bare of seeds and the once purple petals faded to rusty brown. The clematis clung to the black iron trellis. Its cloud white petals, blown free by the mornings freezing breeze, lay scattered across the garden.

Whether the scrubby rose bushes held the fence upright, or the fence contained the wild rose was a topic of debate Tasha entertained daily.  This morning she carried the rag woven basket Gram had made for her. Full of matured crimson rose hips, Tasha dreamed of the fragrant tea Gram made each fall.

Even in the flower garden, they harvested everything edible. The elderflowers and their berries were fermenting in bottles, and if she behaved, Gram would allow her a sip of the wine. On a blustery winter’s day, one sip would transport her, warmed like blissful summer the memories would unfurl of the most beautiful place on earth.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Greystone Dreams — FFfAW Challenge

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Title: Greystone Dreams
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count: 155 words

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Jade M. Wong. Thank you, Jade!

Lizzy trembled and checked her phone. The address was correct. The house was a huge Romanesque Greystone Mansion, the kind they built after the Great Chicago Fire. She didn’t dare hope, but she breathed deeply and proceeded through the wrought-iron gate, and up the steps.

A thin woman wearing magazine styled grey hair and clothes to match answered the door.

“You’re Lizzy,” she stated more than asked and extended her hand. “I’m Rose. The apartment entrance is on the side. Follow me.”

They walked along the side of the house and around the corner where Lizzy stopped and gasped.

“It’s not large, a thousand square feet, living room, and kitchen downstairs, bedroom and bath upstairs. Security deposit is twelve hundred, rent is twelve hundred. Security and first month’s rent is payable at lease signing.” Rose said unlocking the door.

“I’ll take it,” Lizzy blurted.

“Well, welcome home, Lizzy.” Rose laughed and swung the door wide.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

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the-reason-most-people-never-reach-their-goals-is-that-they-dont-define-them-or-ever-seriously-consider-them-as-believable-or-achievable-winners-can-tell-you-where-they-are-going-wha

It is that time of year again. NaNoWriMo will start in 48 hours on November 1st. The goal is 50.000 words written in the 30 days of November or 1,667 words each day. I seldom have a time block to write 2,000 words.

Employing more math, I broke it down to work for me. In a 20-minute writing session, I can write an average of 800 words. If I allow a cushion of say 650 words in 20 minutes, it means I need to schedule 77, 20 minutes sessions to reach the 50,000 words. The math works out to 2 or 3 sessions per day.

If you are doing NaNoWriMo, what is your plan to reach the goal?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

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when-im-writing-my-mood-is-very-good-and-i-love-life-hisham-matar

Ah, the planets and stars are aligned, and they portend great swaths of uninterrupted writing time.  I am excited the week will start on such an auspicious day. Don’t come looking for me, my phone will be silenced, social media too, and the house will be empty except for the sounds of fingers pressing keyboard keys. The coffee pot will brew steaming cups of inspiration at my command.

I need to arrange these days more frequently.

Are you able to carve a little writing time today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

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i-really-started-writing-music-to-challenge-myself-to-see-what-i-could-write-amy-winehouse

Writing is a wonderful challenge and an exciting adventure. The stories that surface surprise me and I am thrilled when they connect with a reader. I love when a story I have carried for years materializes on the page and becomes more than a memory.

What will you write today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Disavowed — Thursday photo prompt

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Title: Disavowed
Source:  Thursday photo prompt: Way-stone #writephoto
Word count: 250 words

No one told me the truth. Not until it was too late. It took years to find. I spent my free time tracking leads, digging through documents and asking strangers intimate and private details.

Today I was deep in the woods following the Plat of Survey from the County Assessor’s Office. The town was named for the family who first settled the land, her name. The town grew, but times changed, and the children left for larger towns and cities seeking more opportunities, more jobs, more life. If you took a chance, you could leave small-town life and small-town values.

The children never returned. Parents died leaving a ghost town echoing with their unfulfilled dreams. A gas station and a diner remained in the boarded-up town, a convenience for travelers as they headed elsewhere.

The woods were peaceful, the birds sang, and squirrels scampered in the trees as I walked the old overgrown path. No one visited. A forgotten fence lay rotting on the ground while forest plants grew, threatening to obliterate the site. Moss-covered stones melted into nature. I tore the moss from marker faces, wiped the grim hiding what I sought.

My search didn’t take long. Her name was carved beneath the words “Devoted Daughter” followed by birth and death dates. They were all that remained to bear testimony of her life. My hand caressed a name hardened, etched upon my mind, my final connection. I knelt at her grave, and whispered, “Hi Mom. Do you remember me?”

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

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im-the-most-communal-person-that-exists-and-a-very-solitary-person-so-i-think-writing-is-a-form-of-getting-to-the-community-and-being-alone-and-its-the-best-of-both-possible-worlds

This quote describes me well. I tend to be a very solitary individual, content to spend hours alone at my keyboard, clickety-clacking away.

But time alone must be balanced with the rest of the world.

What activities do you engage in to provide balance to your writing time?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer