challenge

Ode to Clarice – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 19 Comments

Title: Ode to Clarice
Source:  Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story about Clarice.
Word count:  99 words

grayscale photography of woman sitting on chair

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Her obituary shocked me. The journalist revealed a woman I had never known. Who was this glamorous enchantress, this caster of spells and literary legend?

I caught her scribbling in her notebook either early in the morning, or sometimes late at night. She would look at me, smile, unceremoniously fold her pen within the pages, and conceal her secrets. By day she was nothing more than a middle-class wife and mother.

I discovered what she had shared with the world, unbeknownst to me. Ghost-haunted words portrayed silent and silenced women. I wept for Clarice. And I wept for me.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Life Signs – Weekend Writing Prompt

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments

Title: Life Signs
Source:  Weekend Writing Prompt # 147 – Perplex
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 90 words

Photo by Yann Allegre on Unsplash

He was an odd sort, friendly, mischievous, intriguing. I assumed he had forgotten me when my phone buzzed. His text served to perplex me further. Hyperlinked numbers connected to a map with a destination in the middle of nowhere. Answers to my questions lay in the palm of my hand.

A desolate road ended at a ghost town. Dilapidated buildings clustered together, lending each other the courage to stand.

Except one. Unbroken glass in freshly painted casings spoke of arrested neglect. I climbed the stairs and knocked on his door.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Creative Marketing – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 30 Comments

Title: Creative Marketing
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

Mateo checked at his watch. Running his hand through his thinning hair, he surveyed his produce stall.

Minutes crept by, but still no Luca. Without the delivery, he couldn’t make money. His customers wanted choices, baskets overflowing with the freshest items.

It was time to get creative. Repackaging crates to make them look full, he piled the contents into smaller containers. He squished his offerings together and eliminated empty racks. He worked to finish before the daily rush started. His loyal customers arrived and began bickering and fighting. Faced with scarcity, they bid against one another.

Mateo sighed with relief.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Rediscovering Freedom – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments

Title: Rediscovering Freedom
Source: Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story that includes the open road.
Word count: 99 words

forest covered in snow

Photo by Jonathon Young on Unsplash

In our family cubicle, Grandfather told stories of his time before The Glitch.

Hushed whispers painted an unbelievable alien world. He spoke of blue skies, green grass, tall trees, and wild animals who roamed across continents. He said nature’s wind caressed his skin like a lover’s exhaled breath. When he closed his eyes, my favorite recitations began. His calmness and joy infected us, and his hypnotic voice recounted tales of the open road.

They labeled his accounts as mere rantings from a senile old man, but I believed.

In his name, we escaped and became the Open Road Warriors.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer

Staring in Defiance – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 35 Comments

Title: Staring in Defiance
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

It’s been forever, and I wonder if I still look like I should.

You pause in the doorway. Your face reveals it was always about you. Despite your madness, I believed I could walk through fire, and I wear the battle scars of hardship, pain, and struggle. They are etched on my heart’s shield, and they call you a liar.

I introduce the characters in my parade, the countless faces, forgotten places, and lonely nights traveling to nameless cities for another show. The demands of Orion’s sword were not in vain.

I stand where you said I would never be.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Mums the Word – 100 Word Writing Dare

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

Title: Mums the Word
Source:  100-Word Writing Dare
Prompt: Photo
Word count:  100 words

white flower

Photo by Di Maitland on Unsplash

“Mums the word,” Calypso whispered.

Lethe stepped backward, sinking into the shadows, and pulled Calypso with her. Rivers of people surged around them. Lethe scanned their faces, searching for a clue. No one noticed two women hiding in plain view.

“Can you give me a hint?”

Calypso’s face paled as she extricated her hand from Lethe’s tenacious grasp, and she shook her head. “It’s a secret.”

Tears glistened in Lethe’s eyes as desperation suffocated her.

“You must tell me. For my assignment.”

“It’s not my story. You should ask the Administrator.”

Lethe’s shoulders slumped. Her only option was to wait.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Homeward Bound – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments

Title: Homeward Bound
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Dawn Miller

I ran, rejecting the past, I raced headlong into my future.

Twisted years manipulated iron forged values that made me a success machine. I paid a tragic price, leaving my heart on the altar. Then one morning the prodigal child woke and realize what I had become.

I didn’t need the GPS. The red barn was the only signal I needed. She looked older, neglected, but she still stood. She greeted me without reproach, her sun-worn boards reached for me, offering me comfort I didn’t deserve.

True North revealed forgotten facts and pointed to the golden road leading me home.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Touching Divinity – Weekend Writing Prompt

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments

Title: Touching Divinity
Source:  Weekend Writing Prompt # 144 – Sculpture
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 71 words

lady statue

Photo by Matthieu Pétel on Unsplash

Lenore dared to bend normalcy, pursuing a love the world condemned.

She imagined perfection and drew truth from her memory like a strand of silk from the Bombycidae. Ancient powers surged from an eternal source. Devine words merged with graceful movements, creating a work that demanded to be made. Delicate fingertips balanced the intersection of fleeting inspiration with brute determination.

Her hands revealed universal feelings which manifested in her beautiful sculpture.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer