writing

La Dolce Vita – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 28 Comments

Title: La Dolce Vita
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

neon lit fountain in a square at dusk

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

Reality’s wispy figments hung beyond her grasp. Days begun at four in the afternoon kept her translucent skin safe from the sun’s ravaging rays. Neon demons, crowded clubs, and illicit pharmaceuticals eased her into sensational poses. The paparazzi clamored for more.

Fellini scenes, gray-scale backdrops to life, encouraged Sylvia, sweet Sylvia’s whispers. Begging for peace, she scoured each avenue for escape from her manic world.  Exhausted, detached, bordering on sociopathic but yearning for connection, she ended each dawn at the fountain in search of the answer. Hidden from the world for so long, she had forgotten where her soul drowned.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Kaidan – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 9 Comments

Title: Kaidan
Source:  Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story about 100 candles.
Word count:  99 words

lit candle in foreground with blurred candles in the distance

Photo by Tim Umphreys on Unsplash

Twilight fell as storytellers crowded into the room. Ryu finished lighting one hundred candles. They gathered to repeat their favorite accounts of weird happenings, walking sprits, and vengeful ghosts.

They told tales of a man’s escaped from hell, monsters roaming misty woods, and bridges conveying the dead into eternity.

At each tale’s conclusion, the storyteller rose and extinguished the life of a single torch. The night progressed, the chamber grew darker, and shadows haunted foreboding corners.

Ryu earned the honor of the evening’s final story. With his last breath, he blew. His candle smoldered, and everything descended into darkness.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Channeling Prometheus – Weekend Writing Prompt

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

Title:  Channeling Prometheus
Source:  Weekend Writing Prompt # 158 – Downpour
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 88 words.

black and white photo of clouds above mountain thunderhead

Photo by Martin Vysoudil on Unsplash

Threats sometimes backfire.

You’d expect me to hide from a formidable opponent, but my soul is hard-wired for defiance and committed to protecting those who cannot defend themselves. Black cumulonimbus clouds rise forty thousand feet in the air to provide Cyclops with his anvil. His forge is the birthplace of lightning, tornados, and hailstorms.

Plunged into darkness, frightened souls huddle. Sobbing like small children, they pray and beg for forgiveness. Despite deafening thunder, eye-searing lightning, and a pounding heart, I step into the downpour with my fiery purpose.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

 

Rock ‘N Roll Band – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 39 Comments

Title: Rock ‘N Roll Band
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

makeshift stage with band at a festival with tents

PHOTO PROMPT © CEAyr

“I’m not a fan.”

My smitten boyfriend never heard a word.

“You’re gonna love ’em,” Ken insisted before launching into the reasons this band was on a collision course with destiny.

I caved, and let Ken drag me to the sold-out show. His date night extravaganza included backstage passes and an exclusive meeting with the lead singer.

That’s when it happened. Our eye locked, he rocked my world and brought me to my knees. The rest is history. I’m his muse, he’s my man.

This VIP no longer needs a backstage pass.

Still, I sometimes wonder whatever happened to Ken.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Dark Encounter – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 13 Comments

Title: Dark Encounter
Source:  Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story that answers the question, “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you are in absolute danger?”
Word count:  99 words

selective focus photography of fox

Photo by Geran de Klerk on Unsplash

I stayed too late. Perils line the path home, and no guiding lights pierce the darkness to keep dangers at bay.

A rustling bush. I freeze. Frozen. Heightened awareness, my senses alerted to keep me alive.

Muscles tense, heart pounds, breath held, pupils dilate. My mouth fills with cotton balls.

Grasses sway without a breeze, an inky silhouette and steely eyes regard me. Somehow, they seem as surprised as I.

Flight or fight. Fight or Flight.

Sinews prepare for action as we stare, access, evaluate.

Golden orbs wink, I inhale and dip my chin.

Tonight, we go separate ways.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

24/7 Girl – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 22 Comments

Title: 24/7 Girl
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

colorful hats on a rack

PHOTO PROMPT © Jan Wayne Fields

My schedule promised a marathon. Starting strong, my trainer pushed my outer limits. The nutritionist questioned the candy bar breakfast I inhaled while consulting the laundry service and the hack who called herself a housekeeper.

The stylist sneered at my messy ponytail, baggy tee-shirt, and leggings. “You can do better,” she said as I rushed to rouse groggy children. The crisis negotiator morphed into the childcare specialist, reminding me of the lessons with the student-teacher.

Meetings with the CFO, meal planner, and the head chef completed my morning. Exhausted, I wondered how many hats quarantine would force me to wear.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Why Not? – 3 Line Tales

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya.

balloon graffiti pulling a stick figure with the string labeled time flies

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

I climbed my mountain, reached the pinnacle, and discovered its peak was only a foothill.

Disillusioned, stranded by my too small dreams, time flew while I stood paralyzed, consumed with fear, and worry over “what ifs?”

At last, I realized I could wait no longer, so I gathered my courage and jumped.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Adrift – 3 Line Tales

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya.

man in black shirt inside car with red letters reflected on his face

Photo by Daniel Monteiro on Unsplash

He lived life at a safe distance, careful to keep his demons at arm’s length, far from emotional contact.

Buried memories spoke in voices he refused to hear, a broken heart smoldered in ashes, and though the pain was real, he remained apathetic, haunted.

Red lights marked where accidental worlds collided, leaving shattered illusions on a city sidewalk and the scent of her perfume in the air.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Grandfather’s Legacy – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Title: Grandfather’s Legacy
Source:  Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story to nourish.
Word count:  99 words

evergreen bonsai tree growing on a rock

Photo by Elissar Haidar on Unsplash

We discovered the tenacious evergreen sprig on our daily walk. Grandfather pitied the seedling clinging to bare stone. A full-grown pine needed access to the earth’s nutrients, and the minuscule reserves in the stone’s clefts and crevices would stunt the tree if it lived at all.

I was only a child, but I vowed to help the sapling. On warm days, we carried water. We sheltered it from storms and patted dirt at its roots.

Today my grandson and I took a walk. I introduced him to the tough tree and smiled when he vowed to protect Grandfather’s legacy.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer